MAM
Media Direction’ to ‘Optimum Media Direction
Omnicom’s creative agencies are DDB, BBDO and TBWA. In India, DDB has a 10 per cent stake in Mudra, BBDO has a majority stake in RK Swamy (50.1 – 49.9 % )- the first Indian agency to have an international tie-up) and TBWA a majority stake in TBWA-Anthem which took place last year with 60-40 ownership.
For the formation of OMD in India, one would assume that all the three creative agencies need to have majority holdings from their international partner, as that is the formula traditionally adopted by OMD in other markets. Considering DDB is a minority holder in Mudra, how OMD International will work this out is still a big question mark. What is clear though, is that the shareholder issues are coming in the way of consensus on the formation of OMD. Some clarity on this issue was given by Swamy, “OMD will come to India in the next few months.”
Internationally, OMD is an established media brand though Optimum Media and Media Direction as entities have been retained under OMD to handle conflicting interests. Media Direction currently functions as OMD’s partner in India, with its P&L separated which guarantees operational independence. Media Direction is also in charge of all OMD’s network client’s in India for recent years like Allianz, Singapore Tourism and Peoplesoft.
How will OMD make a difference to Media Direction?
States Tarkas, “It will make a difference to a limited extent. The big change being access to their international tools and knowhow. But in my experience, I believe that a lot of international tools needs to be tweaked and customised to Indian market realities. So, we are already developing our own indigenous tools.”
One would also assume, that if OMD is formed in the conventional way (which might actually not be the case) Media Direction and Optimum Media Solutions (Mudra’s media agency) will come together to form OMD. In this scenario, Media Direction may then get a significant push as a media agency both in terms of a independent stature as well as being taken more seriously by clients as a media hot-shop.
Brands
IPL franchises look beyond reach to monetise fan relationships
Study maps a Rs 45–50 crore annual upside from digital fan ecosystems
MUMBAI: After 18 seasons of relentless growth, the Indian Premier League has become one of the world’s most powerful sporting brands. Its franchises, however, are being told that reach alone is no longer enough.
A new analysis argues that the next phase of IPL franchise economics will be defined by how effectively teams convert broadcast audiences into long-term, owned fan relationships. The shift, it says, is from mass visibility to structured digital ecosystems that treat fandom as a compounding asset rather than a seasonal spike.
The central idea is simple: broadcast reach should be seen as the top of a longer value funnel. Digital engagement, in this model, is not a marketing afterthought but a system designed to turn anonymous viewers into known, monetisable users. Franchises that offer distinctive, personalised experiences can unlock direct revenues from fans and indirect gains through richer sponsorship propositions.
The study suggests that future media rights cycles will increasingly focus on yield per fan rather than raw viewership, reflecting a move from passive consumption to active participation. This places pressure on franchises to invest in digital infrastructure that goes beyond scale and focuses instead on repeatable outcomes: registrations, behavioural insight and personalised activation across platforms.
First-party fan data sits at the heart of this strategy. When identity, preferences, engagement history and transaction signals are unified and operationalised, franchises can segment audiences more precisely, improve retention and lift lifetime value. Without such a digital engine, fan monetisation remains episodic and hard to scale.
Done well, the report estimates, this approach could compound value of up to Rs 45 crore annually for a franchise over time, while also deepening long-term fan relationships.
The underlying opportunity, pegged at roughly Rs 50 crore a year, is broken into four levers: data-led sponsorship and advertising uplift (35 per cent, or Rs 16–18 crore); direct-to-fan commerce and experiences (30 per cent, or Rs 11–14 crore); memberships and recurring fan revenue (20 per cent, or Rs 7–9 crore); and efficiency gains that free up capital for reinvestment (15 per cent, or Rs 5–7 crore).
Actual outcomes will vary by market size, fan base and execution capability. But the direction is clear. The future economics of IPL franchises, the analysis concludes, will hinge less on how many fans they reach and more on how many relationships they own.
