AD Agencies
Havas plugs into YouGov power to stitch audience insight gaps
MUMBAI: Havas has doubled down on data by expanding its tie-up with research heavyweight YouGov, now covering 30 markets across its media, creative, and health networks. This souped-up partnership adds a potent dose of health insights from YouGov’s chronic and seasonal condition panels—feeding straight into Havas’ AI-driven converged operating system.
The move fuses first-party data with YouGov’s rich psychographic and attitudinal layers to create razor-sharp audience profiles at scale. The result? A 50 per cent bump in performance through faster activations and higher lead conversions.
“By accelerating adoption of YouGov’s data and insights, we’ve been able to build larger, smarter models, creating increasingly sophisticated audiences that can be leveraged across the entire agency network in our Converged operating system. For our clients, we’ve boosted performance while safeguarding customer privacy, and for our people we’ve unlocked new efficiencies that empower them to focus on more strategic tasks,” shared Havas global chief data & technology officer Dan Hagen.
The collaboration has been four years in the making. “We’re incredibly proud of YouGov’s work with Dan and his team at Havas since our partnership started four years ago,” said YouGov co-founder & CEO Stephan Shakespeare. “The enhancement of the relationship is testament to how much they value the quality and connectivity of our data, our pioneering products and our deep expertise. We look forward to further expanding YouGov’s partnership with Havas in the years to come as we continue to develop innovative approaches to show consumers’ reality across the world.”
With the Havas-YouGov power couple growing stronger, it’s clear: insight is no longer just nice to have—it’s the rocket fuel.
AD Agencies
AdTrust Summit 2026 to examine trust, AI and Gen Alpha in advertising
Two-day summit in Mumbai to explore ethics, regulation and the future of advertising trust
MUMBAI: At a time when advertising is navigating a delicate trust deficit, the Advertising Standards Council of India is preparing to bring the industry to the table. On 17 and 18 March, the body will host the inaugural AdTrust Summit 2026 in Mumbai, a two-day gathering designed to spark conversation around responsibility, regulation and credibility in modern advertising.
The summit, to be held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Bandra Kurla Complex, will bring together leaders from advertising, media, technology and policy to examine how brands can build trust in a marketplace increasingly shaped by algorithms, influencers and artificial intelligence.
In an age of deepfakes, dark patterns and blurred lines between content and commerce, the question is no longer just how brands capture attention, but whether audiences believe what they see. The AdTrust Summit aims to unpack that challenge.
Day one will turn its attention to the youngest digital natives. Titled Decoding Gen Alpha, the session will unveil ‘What the Sigma?’, a study by ASCI and Futurebrands Consulting that explores how children growing up in a hyper-digital environment encounter advertising and commercial messaging.
The report presentation will be delivered by Santosh Desai, founder and director at Think9 Consumer Technologies and a social commentator known for his insights into consumer behaviour. The discussion that follows will attempt to decode how Gen Alpha consumes media, interacts with brands and navigates the growing overlap between entertainment and marketing.
In a move that mirrors the subject itself, two Gen Alpha students will also join the conversation, offering a rare perspective from the generation advertisers are trying to understand.
The second panel of the day will shift the focus from observation to implication, asking what the report’s findings mean for brands, agencies and society. Speakers include Karthik Srinivasan, communications strategy consultant; Preeti Vyas, president at Mythik; and Abigail Dias, associate president planning at Ogilvy. The session will be moderated by Sonali Krishna, editor at ET Brand Equity.
Day two moves from insight to regulation. Under the theme From Compliance to Trust, ASCI will release its Ad Law Compendium, a comprehensive guide to India’s advertising regulations.
The day will open with a keynote by Sudhanshu Vats, chairman at ASCI and managing director at Pidilite Industries, followed by a chief guest address by Sanjay Jaju, secretary at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Legal experts from Khaitan & Co., including Haigreve Khaitan, senior partner, and Tanu Banerjee, partner, will present an overview of the current advertising law landscape in India and examine whether existing frameworks are equipped to deal with emerging technologies and formats.
Subsequent panels will explore issues increasingly shaping the industry’s ethical compass. Conversations will range from the limits of persuasive design and the rise of dark patterns, to the growing scrutiny brands face from digital creators and consumer watchdogs.
One session will also feature Revant Himatsingka, widely known online as the Food Pharmer, whose critiques of packaged food brands have sparked debate around transparency and corporate accountability.
Later discussions will turn toward media literacy among Gen Alpha, asking how children can be equipped to navigate a digital world where gaming, content and commerce are becoming indistinguishable.
The summit will conclude with a final panel on the future of advertising, bringing together voices from agencies, legal circles and technology platforms to discuss how innovation, intelligence and integrity can coexist.
For an industry built on persuasion, trust has always been its quiet currency. But as audiences grow more sceptical and digital ecosystems more complex, that currency is under pressure.
Events like the AdTrust Summit suggest the advertising world knows it cannot afford to take credibility for granted. The real challenge now is turning conversation into commitment.
