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MMA Global India & Publicis Commerce India to launch D2C Advantage X Toolkit
Mumbai: MMA Global India and Publicis Commerce India will launch a first-of-its-kind and insightful joint report ‘D2C Advantage X Toolkit: Guide to maximize ROI of D2C eCommerce Investments’. The toolkit is designed to empower brands in navigating the direct-to-consumer (D2C) commerce landscape, identify levers to unlock value and maximise ROI from their D2C investments. The launch event on 5 March will bring together leaders from the corporate space, MMA Global India and Publicis Commerce India and feature captivating discussions, unique perspectives, and compelling insights.
Co-authored by Publicis Commerce India and MMA Global India with insights from Performics India and Google, the toolkit dives deep into the opportunities and challenges presented by D2C as a channel, the overall value proposition of investing in D2C strategy, and the considerations and capabilities required to make a profitable D2C venture.
India’s e-commerce sector is on a meteoric rise and currently projected to hit $400 billion by 2030. With D2C emerging as a key e-commerce channel for businesses, the need for actionable guidance has never been more critical. Recent data reveals the significant growth and investment in D2C ventures, with nearly 42.9 per cent of e-commerce funding in India directed towards D2C businesses in 2022. As legacy brick-and-mortar businesses embrace D2C as part of their omnichannel strategy, the landscape presents both opportunities and challenges for brands seeking to thrive in this space.
The in-depth toolkit, tailormade for the C-Suite and Brand Leaders, explores key levers required to scale up D2C businesses including developing consumer insights for personalised experiences, augmenting consumer mindshare, setting north-star metrics and driving first-party data strategy.
Publicis Groupe South Asia CEO Anupriya Acharya said, “D2C offers great value to companies and consumers alike. For consumers, it is frictionless transactions, convenience, and personalised experiences. For companies, there are multiple advantages such as enhanced revenue streams, better assessment of demand and thereby supply chain management and faster, speedier execution and turnaround. This toolkit, born out of extensive research and collaboration, offers a comprehensive roadmap for brands to unlock the full potential of their D2C businesses. We are sure that the toolkit will go a long way in helping brands adapt and innovate on commerce.”
Performics India CEO Lalatendu Das, which is a key growth driver of Publicis Commerce India said, “Successful D2C businesses share common traits from a clear business proposition to a relentless focus on delivering exceptional consumer experiences. The toolkit distils these key insights into actionable strategies, providing brands with the guidance and frameworks needed to navigate the complexities of the D2C landscape. D2C is still an untapped opportunity for many companies and yet this is an area which must be a strategic imperative in an omnichannel commerce world and one which yields long-term gains. Publicis Commerce India is strongly invested in D2C transformation for brands, with demonstrated experience in areas such as technology architecture, platform and builds, optimising supply-chain, marketing content and automation, seamless user experiences.”
MMA Global India country head & board member Moneka Khurana said, “In a fiercely competitive D2C eCommerce landscape, gaining the ‘X’ advantage is imperative for marketing teams and key to maximise value. D2C as a platform brings along with incrementality in business growth. A robust D2C roadmap is crucial to be able to traverse the path to profitability and evolve the D2C play as a part of the eCommerce landscape. This report, shaped by primary surveys and industry insights, isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution; it’s a tailored strategy guide for businesses seeking sustainable growth. I am proud to announce this collaborative initiative, yet another one by MMA Global India, to empower and enable marketers in their modern marketing journey.”
NATIONAL: Amazon Ads has laid out a sharply tech-led vision for the advertising industry in 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence, streaming TV and creator partnerships will combine to turn brand building into a more precise, performance-driven business.
At the heart of the shift, the company says, is the fusion of AI with Amazon’s vast trove of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, allowing advertisers to move beyond blunt reach metrics to campaigns designed around real customer behaviour.
“The future of advertising is not about reaching more people, but the right people with messages that resonate,” said Amazon Ads India head and vice president Girish Prabhu. “By combining AI with deep customer insights, we help brands move from broadcasting campaigns to having meaningful conversations wherever audiences spend their time.”
One of the biggest changes, according to Amazon Ads, will be the collapse of the wall between media planning and creative development. Retail media, powered by first-party data, is increasingly shaping everything from brand discovery to final purchase, pushing marketers to design campaigns around audience insight rather than internal instinct.
AI is also moving from a support tool to a creative engine. Agentic AI, which automates and accelerates production, is expected to make high-quality creative accessible even to small businesses, compressing weeks of work into hours and giving challengers the ability to compete with larger brands on speed and scale.
Behind the scenes, AI-driven analytics will take on a bigger role in campaign optimisation, identifying patterns, spotting opportunities and recommending actions that would previously have required teams of analysts.
Streaming TV is another big battleground. With India’s video streaming audience now above 600 million and connected TV users at 129.2 million in 2025, advertisers are set to treat streaming not just as a branding channel but as a performance engine, measured increasingly by sales, sign-ups and bookings rather than just reach.
Finally, Amazon Ads sees creators and contextual advertising reshaping how brands tell stories. Creators will act less like influencers and more like long-term partners, while scene-aware ads on streaming platforms will allow brands to insert hyper-relevant offers into the flow of what viewers are watching.
Taken together, Amazon Ads argues, these shifts mark a move towards advertising that is both more human and more measurable, where AI handles the complexity, and creativity does the persuading.
