AD Agencies
Madan Bahal, Prateek Bhardwaj, and Amit Sharma appointed as Jury Chairs for Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show
Mumbai: Madan Bahal, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Adfactors PR, Prateek Bhardwaj, Chief Creative Officer and Head of Creative (India) at Lowe Lintas and Amit Sharma, Founder Director of Chrome Pictures join as jury chairs for Public Relations category, Direct category and Video Craft category respectively, at The Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show.
Madan Bahal, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Adfactors PR, has been appointed Jury Chair in Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in the Public Relations category.
Adfactors is India’s largest and most recognised public relations firm. Founded in 1997, Adfactors PR is also the youngest and the only independent firm in its peer group in India.
Over the last 25 years, Madan has had the privilege to serve as a lead communication counsel in many of the milestone events of Corporate India, including fundraises, M&As, disputes, litigations, issues, and crises. The firm currently serves over 500 retained clients, including many of India’s leading conglomerates, corporations, unicorns, financial institutions, and NGOs.
In 2022, the Arthur W. Page Society inducted Mr Bahal into its Hall of Fame. Some of the prominent recognitions that he has received so far include: International Communications Consultancy Organization’s (ICCO) Hall Of Fame (November 2017), PRovoke’s Individual outstanding achievement in Asia-Pac (September 2013), Communicator of the Decade by the Public Relations Council of India (PRCI), and the Life Time Achievement Award by the Public Relations Society of India (PRSI).
In October 2020, PRovoke recognised his firm as one of the seven global agencies of the decade.
A vocal advocate of continuous learning and development for PR practitioners, Madan is regarded for providing leadership in the Indian PR industry during major adverse events such as the global financial meltdown during 2008 and the two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prateek Bhardwaj,Chief Creative Officer and Head of Creative (India) at Lowe Lintas has been appointed Jury Chair in Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in the Direct Category.
With over 20 years in the business, Prateek has earned a slew of prestigious awards including the Grand Prix at Cannes Lions and Jay Chiat Awards, and the coveted Black Pencil at D&AD.
Prateek is ranked India’s No.1 most awarded creative for 2018, according to various sources, including CampaignBrief Asia. Prateek was the Creative Director behind the much acclaimed recent work on Nescafé (stammering comedian and RJ Rishi), Ministry of Public Health, Afghanistan (Immunity Charm), and Incredible India.
His other notable work includes long-running campaigns for Dettol and PayTM and the still-famous launches of Sprite (Bujhaye only pyaas), Kinley, and Chlor-mint.
Prateek has also been a creative entrepreneur and founded Eleven Brandworks in 2008.
Amit Sharma, Founder Director of Chrome Pictures, has been appointed Jury Chair in Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in the Video Craft category.
Amit is a leading ditrctor of ad films and now feature films. Some of his groundbreaking TVCs are Pooja Didi – Facebook, Dove #StopTheBeautyTest, Lifebuoy – Help A Child Reach Five, Silent National Anthem, Google Reunion and many more.
Amit has bagged several prestigious awards including Cannes Lions, D&AD, Spikes Asia, Adfest, London International Awards, Abby among others.
Amit’s style of filmmaking has always revolved around topics that question the society at large and challenges its norms. For instance, his National award winning feature film, Badhaai Ho (directed and produced under his banner Chrome Pictures), addresses the issues that a middle aged couple, with two grown sons, face when they get pregnant at the age of 51.
His latest film “Maidaan”, a biopic starring Ajay Devgn on the Indian football coach Syed Abdul Rahim has done well at the box office.
With a focus on choosing subjects which are path breaking and unconventional, Amit believes in telling stories which are relatable, relevant and thought provoking.
AD Agencies
Publicis acquires AdgeAI to sharpen predictive measurement in advertising
Deal integrates AI-driven content intelligence with Publicis production platform
MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe is doubling down on data-led creativity with the acquisition of measurement and content intelligence firm AdgeAI, a move aimed at helping brands understand what truly works in their campaigns.
Announced on March 12 in Paris, the deal brings AdgeAI’s analytics technology into Publicis’ AI-driven production ecosystem, allowing brands to measure and predict creative performance in real time. The company said the integration will help marketers move beyond guesswork and focus on content that delivers measurable business outcomes.
AdgeAI’s platform analyses engagement and conversion data across video and digital campaigns to pinpoint which creative elements resonate most with audiences. By identifying patterns that drive results, the system provides insights that guide content strategy and improve returns on marketing investment.
The acquisition comes at a time when brands are producing more content than ever before. While the tools to create campaigns have become faster and cheaper, many marketers still struggle to determine which messages actually drive sales.
Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun, said brands today need clarity rather than just volume. “In the AI era, brands do not simply need more content. They need to know what works, and why, so they can scale their messaging across audiences, markets and platforms,” he said. He added that the acquisition turns creative measurement from a backward-looking report into a forward-looking capability that predicts outcomes.
Publicis production chief executive officer Deepti Velury, said embedding predictive intelligence into the production process will allow brands to create fewer but more effective assets. According to her, AdgeAI’s technology can analyse creative components at a granular level and identify patterns directly linked to campaign performance.
AdgeAI co-founder and CEO Eyal Ben Shalom, described the deal as a shift in how the industry approaches creative intelligence. By plugging its technology into Publicis’ broader platform, he said brands will be able to move at the speed of digital algorithms without losing the spark of strong creative ideas.
With the addition of AdgeAI, Publicis is positioning itself to close the gap between creativity and data, giving brands a clearer view of what clicks with audiences and what drives the bottom line.
