Digital
Indian Digital Brand Fest gears up for its 5th edition in Delhi
NEW DELHI: If you thought branding was just about catchy jingles and clever logos, think again. The Indian Digital Brand Fest 2025 is here to prove that in today’s hyper-connected world, building a brand is part science, part art, and entirely strategic.
This isn’t your average industry conference where suits swap business cards over stale sandwiches. On 26th November at The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi, picture instead a high-octane collision of ideas where over 40 trailblazers will dissect everything from AI-powered creativity to the mysteries of Gen Z shopping habits. Whether you’re curious about voice search optimisation or wondering how the Amul Girl would fare against Instagram Reels, this summit has answers.
The event kicks off with a provocatively titled panel: “CMOs in BANI World: Is your market ready for 1.4 Billion Indians?” Seven marketing heavyweights, including the minds behind Taco Bell India, Shree Cement, and the Rajasthan Royals, will grapple with India’s unique challenges and opportunities.
But the real intrigue lies in the day’s most philosophical question: “From Amul Girl to Insta Reels: Is Modern Advertising Losing Its Legacy to Metrics?” It’s a delicious debate about whether we’ve traded memorable storytelling for spreadsheet obsessions.
Gen Z, that enigmatic generation reshaping consumer behaviour, gets its own deep dive. Seven specialists will decode what these young consumers actually want (spoiler: it’s probably not what you think). Meanwhile, AI’s role in rewriting the creativity rulebook gets examined by marketing leaders from Motorola, Paisabazaar, and eGenome.ai.
The agenda doesn’t shy away from emerging territories either. Sessions on “phygital” experiences and social commerce promise practical strategies for brands navigating the blurred lines between online and offline worlds. There’s even a spotlight on Rich Communication Services, because apparently, humble SMS has had quite the glow-up.
From registration at 8am through to closing remarks at 5pm, attendees will network over lunch, absorb insights during spotlight sessions, and emerge with actionable strategies rather than just inspirational quotes to pin on mood boards.
Who should show up? Brand strategists, digital marketers, advertising professionals, content creators, tech innovators, and anyone remotely curious about where Indian marketing is heading. Even if you think branding is just fancy wrapping paper for products, this event might just change your mind.
After all, in a nation of 1.4 billion potential customers, standing out isn’t just important. It’s survival.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
