MAM
Mobile campaigns in India deliver stronger results in H1’21: Report
Mumbai: Mobile campaigns in India posted lower brand risks than display, viewability on mobile environments increased in India, and ad fraud rates decreased in desktop and mobile web display. These are some of the findings from Integral Ad Science’s (IAS) Media Quality Report for H1 2021. The report released on Tuesday highlights brand safety, ad fraud, and viewability trends across display, video, mobile web, and in-app advertising while providing transparency into the performance and quality of Indian digital media, alongside global comparisons.
Mobile campaigns in India had more viewable impressions in H1 2021, with viewability on mobile web display increasing by one percentage point (pp) to 58.9 per cent in H1 2021, while viewability on mobile in-app display increased from 51.3 per cent to 54.1 per cent, as per the report.
“Mobile advertising has gained strong traction among Indian advertisers as consumers continue to spend more time engaging with content on mobile,” said IAS commercial lead India Saurabh Khattar.
“According to a report by App Annie, average smartphone usage is about 4.6 hours a day in India, which stands third in global rankings after Indonesia and Brazil. As spending increases on mobile, media quality challenges may arise such as ad fraud, unsafe brand environments, and unviewable inventory,” he added.
“With the upcoming festival buying period, advertisers are well-advised to work with third-party verification companies to help protect their campaigns from ad fraud, brand risks, and lower viewability to maximise engagement and ROI,” Khattar further said.
Mobile campaigns in India post lower brand risks than display
According to the report, brand risk worldwide was lower across all formats and environments in H1 2021, an indicator of brands’ increased efforts to optimise ad placements toward contextually relevant content. The overall brand risk dropped below four per cent across all formats and environments. In India, the display was one of the safest environments for advertisers, with desktop display brand risk at 0.8 per cent, down by 1.4 percentage points (pp).
Mobile web display brand risk fell from 2.6 per cent to 1.8 per cent, while the worldwide average was 2.6 per cent. Programmatic desktop and mobile web display inventory showed higher brand risk in India than publisher direct at 1.8 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively. This data suggests the market is actively using solutions to protect brand reputation and place its ads in suitable environments.
Viewability on mobile environments increased in India
Mobile campaigns in India had more viewable impressions in H1 2021, as against global display viewability, which was down 2.4 pp on desktop and 3.3 pp on mobile web year-over-year, reaching 69.5 per cent and 64.3 per cent, respectively, as per the report.
The worldwide reductions were driven by drops across Asia-Pacific, with India registering a 7.2 pp drop to post 54.9 per cent viewability in desktop environments. In India, desktop and mobile display environments showed significantly higher viewability rates in programmatically traded inventory than publisher direct. Connected TV (CTV) remained the most viewable format overall, averaging 93.2 per cent worldwide in H1 2021.
Ad fraud rates decrease in desktop and mobile web display in India
Both desktop and mobile web display had a marginal decrease in optimised ad fraud rates to reach 0.9 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively, in H1 2021, stated the report. The worldwide non-optimised fraud rate for desktop display was 9.4 per cent and 5.5 per cent on mobile web display, clearly indicating that fraud mitigation strategies can reduce risks and reduce ad wastage.
MAM
Hyphen launches sunscreen campaign featuring Kriti Sanon as SPF Police
Campaign drives SPF habit; Blinkit tie-up enables instant sunscreen delivery.
MUMBAI: No SPF, no mercy Kriti Sanon is out patrolling your skincare routine. Hyphen has rolled out a new campaign film starring its Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer Kriti Sanon, who steps into a playful alter ego as the brand’s “SPF Police”, turning sunscreen reminders into a full-blown public service announcement with a wink. The campaign kicked off with a cheeky social media tease suggesting Sanon had “stepped down” from her role, sparking chatter online before the brand revealed the twist: she hasn’t gone anywhere, she has simply taken on an additional avatar, one dedicated to ensuring people do not skip sunscreen.
The film leans into humour to drive home a serious point. In a slice-of-life setting, Sanon intercepts a gym-goer about to step out without sunscreen, promptly handing over Hyphen’s ‘All I Need Sunscreen’, which arrives instantly via Blinkit. The message is clear: forgetting SPF is no longer a valid excuse when it can be delivered in minutes.
Beyond the laughs, the campaign taps into a well-known gap in everyday skincare habits. Sunscreen, despite being one of the most recommended steps, is often the most ignored. By gamifying the reminder through an “SPF Police” persona, Hyphen aims to turn a routine into a reflex.
The multi-stage rollout from intrigue-led teasers to the final film has been designed to spark conversation while embedding the brand into daily behaviour. It also spotlights Hyphen’s quick commerce partnership with Blinkit, positioning accessibility as a key enabler of consistency.
Sanon, who remains closely involved in product development and brand strategy, noted that the idea stemmed from a simple insight: skincare works best when it is easy, habitual and hard to ignore. The campaign reflects that philosophy equal parts science, storytelling and a nudge you cannot quite escape.
The film is now live across Hyphen and Blinkit’s digital platforms, with further activations expected to extend the campaign’s reach and perhaps keep the SPF Police on duty a little longer.
