MAM
Nisha Samson named head of branded content at Outlook; brings luxe, AI, and monetisation magic to the fore
MUMBAI: Veteran media strategist and native advertising powerhouse Nisha Samson has taken on the role of head of branded content (marketing) at Outlook Publishing (India) signalling a new era of luxe narratives and AI-infused marketing playbooks for the legacy media house.
With nearly two decades in the media trenches, Samson isn’t just another content lead — she’s a revenue rainmaker. She previously scaled Condé Nast India’s native advertising arm into an 8-figure Rs business and held editorial reins at brands like MensXP, AskMen India, and Liquid.
At Outlook, she now helms Outlook Luxe, the group’s luxury vertical, where she’s curating high-octane storytelling and on-ground experiences for India’s upscale crowd. Also on the cards: an AI-led initiative with Outlook Business to turbocharge branded content with machine smarts and data-driven insights.
Samson is no stranger to reinvention. From launching the premium coffee table book Maharashtra (gifted to Barack Obama in 2010) to building The K(Now), a newsletter pulling in CEOs, founders, and MDs as loyal readers within just 75 days, her CV reads like a greatest hits of Indian new media.
Her recent gigs include chapter lead at AI Salon, where she catalysed conversations between AI founders and investors, and director of content development at The K(Now), where she crafted habit-forming content for high-level decision-makers.
The former CNBC-TV18 anchor has straddled TV, digital, and print with ease, threading business strategy into editorial elegance. Now, with Outlook’s backing and AI in her toolkit, Samson’s next chapter promises to blend storytelling, scale, and sharp strategy — with a touch of luxe.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
