MAM
Fujifilm partners Anushka Sharma for Instax range of instant cameras
MUMBAI: Fujifilm India has announced a strategic partnership for its Instax range of instant cameras with Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma.
A sweeping promotional campaign for Instax will be rolled out across social media platforms with Anushka’s participation for four months starting from August 2018 till November 2018.
The Instax has been a global hit in more than 100 countries, with over 30 million units sold. Its quirky design and retro look has helped the brand carve a winning niche for itself. This year holds of great importance to Fujifilm as Instax celebrates its 20th anniversary. The company aims to further explode Instax’s awareness through its strategic collaboration with one of the most followed Indian personalities. Sharma is one of the most powerful personalities in the country today and she is known for her inherent charm and novelty. She perfectly complements the brand attributes of Fujifilm Instax.
Fujifilm India managing director Haruto Iwata says, “We are very excited and optimistic to embark on this digital partnership with Anushka Sharma. She is an iconic symbol of the Indian entertainment industry and popularly known amongst the youth for her uniqueness and charm which perfectly blends with our brand. She embodies what Fujifilm INSTAX is all about – young, fun and ‘kawaii’ (cute in Japanese). Instax is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and we will be rolling out many more surprises for our customers in the coming months.’’
“For me, photography is all about self-expression and preserving memories and what can be better than a camera that comes from Fujifilm which has an extensive and profound expertise in photography nurtured over the last 80 years. Instax captures the magic of the moment and seals it in a picture instantly and serve as reminders of those beautiful memories forever,” Sharma comments.
Fujifilm India head of image capturing SM Ramprasad adds, “Anushka Sharma is undeniably one of the most gifted and accomplished women of her generation and a role model to young women. The association with Anushka is in line with our aim to bring in a youthful vibrancy by spreading the joy of printed pictures.”
Within these four months, Fujifilm will roll out a special contest. The winners from the challenge will get an instax camera along with Anushka’s instant pictures, duly signed by her.
MAM
Madison World to launch AI platform M BrAIn for media planning
Agency group invests about $1 million as it shifts to AI driven growth planning.
MUMBAI: If media planning once ran on spreadsheets and gut instinct, the next chapter may run on algorithms and curiosity. Madison World is preparing to roll out the first version of its proprietary artificial intelligence platform Madison M BrAIn in early April, as the independent agency group accelerates its transition toward AI driven planning and product led media services.
The platform, expected to involve an investment of around $1 million, is designed to reshape how the agency approaches strategy by combining internal knowledge, external data sources and advanced AI models into a single intelligence ecosystem.
According to Madison Media, OOH and Hiveminds partner and group CEO Ajit Varghese the initiative forms part of a larger structural rethink within the organisation. “Traditionally agencies built frameworks around media planning and allocation. We are redesigning that structure into what we call a Growth Planning System (GPS),” Varghese said.
The shift reflects a growing belief that effective media strategy must begin earlier in the decision making process. Instead of jumping directly to channel allocation, planners must first decode the market itself identifying consumer barriers, purchase triggers and the core challenges facing a brand.
Once those insights are mapped, agencies can build clearer growth agendas for clients and design media strategies that connect more closely with business outcomes.
To support that approach, Madison has built Madison M BrAIn as what it describes as a human AI cognitive ecosystem. Acting as a central intelligence hub, the platform aggregates proprietary insights alongside external data sources and large language models, enabling planners to access deeper market intelligence before building campaign strategies.
Varghese said one of the core objectives is to democratise knowledge across the organisation. “In the past, this level of understanding was largely available to senior leaders or experienced strategists. With Madison M BrAIn, even a junior planner should be able to access the same intelligence and approach clients with a far more informed perspective,” he said.
The agency has already implemented the new planning philosophy internally and completed three months of testing for the AI platform, with early trials showing encouraging results in terms of learning capability and system performance.
While the first version relied on global large language models, Madison is now developing its own proprietary Small Language Model (SLM) to serve as the core of the M BrAIn ecosystem.
“The SLM will be able to read global LLMs, but the LLMs cannot read the SLM,” Varghese explained. “That ensures all the intelligence we build remains within the Madison ecosystem and strengthens our proprietary knowledge base.”
The first version of Madison M BrAIn is expected to go live in early April, with a more refined version targeted by the end of June. Over time, the platform will integrate additional external data streams and APIs including consumer insight platforms, social listening tools and client datasets.
These integrations are expected to enhance the system’s learning capability and enable it to generate increasingly sophisticated strategic recommendations.
Although the platform is currently being deployed for internal use, Madison sees potential for it to evolve into a licensable product in the future.
“At the moment, our focus is to stabilise and strengthen M BrAIn internally. But over time there is potential for this to become a product that could be licensed externally,” Varghese said.
The AI platform is also part of a wider technology transformation underway at the agency group. Alongside M BrAIn, Madison is building a broader digital infrastructure called the Catalyst operating system, which aims to integrate operational processes, data and product platforms into a unified ecosystem.
This broader technology stack could require an additional $1 million to $1.5 million investment over time, though spending will be phased and reviewed regularly.
“We are evaluating progress every three months and prioritising the most critical capabilities first,” Varghese said.
Madison expects the full AI and operating ecosystem to be fully functional within 12 to 18 months, positioning the agency to combine human strategy with machine intelligence as the advertising industry enters its next data driven phase.
