MAM
Cereone Media partners with Yahoo DSP to revolutionise Indian advertising
MUMBAI: Advertisers, rejoice! The future of programmatic advertising in India just got a major upgrade. Cereone Media has partnered with Yahoo demand-side platform (DSP) to supercharge ad campaigns with AI-driven insights, omnichannel reach, and precision targeting. Effective immediately, this collaboration promises to put Indian brands in the fast lane of digital marketing, arming them with the best-in-class programmatic tools Yahoo DSP has to offer.
In the cutthroat world of digital advertising, brands demand more than just flashy impressions. They crave transparency, razor-sharp audience insights, and return on investment that makes CFOs sleep easier at night. Enter Yahoo DSP- a powerhouse platform backed by AI-driven optimisation, premium ad inventory, and robust identity solutions. Through this alliance, Cereone Media aims to help advertisers decode complex consumer behaviours and turn data into pure marketing gold.
What’s in store for Indian advertisers? A whole new level of precision. Yahoo DSP’s omnichannel capabilities allow brands to seamlessly run and optimise campaigns across mobile, desktop, and even Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH). Meanwhile, its AI-powered engine, Yahoo Blueprint, analyses vast data signals to provide real-time campaign adjustments, ensuring brands get maximum bang for their advertising buck.
“Advertisers today demand greater accountability, efficiency, and transparency from their media investments. By integrating Yahoo DSP’s robust programmatic technology with Cereone Media’s expertise, we are empowering Indian brands to make data-driven decisions, optimise performance, and scale their advertising strategies globally,” said Cereone Media Pvt Ltd co-founder & director Deepak Karnani.
Yahoo head of commercial sales, southeast Asia, Kenneth Koh added, “We’re excited to work with Cereone Media to bring more powerful programmatic solutions to Indian advertisers. With Yahoo DSP, Cereone can help brands navigate an evolving digital landscape—giving them smarter optimisation, premium inventory, and privacy-first identity solutions to drive real business impact.”
This partnership doesn’t just stop at programmatic wizardry. By teaming up with both Yahoo and FreeWheel, Cereone Media is unlocking new frontiers in addressable TV advertising. With premium inventory and Yahoo ConnectID’s precise targeting capabilities, Indian brands can now craft hyper-personalised campaigns that drive engagement and real business results.
Cereone Media Pvt Ltd co-founder Harish Patil commented, “Partnering with both Yahoo and FreeWheel enables us to bring addressable TV to Indian advertisers. With premium inventory from FreeWheel and Yahoo ConnectID, our clients can achieve precision targeting and gain accurate performance insights to optimise their campaigns effectively.”
With Yahoo DSP already trusted by Fortune 500 brands worldwide, this partnership signals a new era for Indian advertisers-one where data reigns supreme, AI takes the wheel, and programmatic advertising is smarter, faster, and more effective than ever before.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
