MAM
Portfolio Evening champions the next wave of strategists
MUMBAI: The country’s strategy scene got a lively shake-up as Warc and DDB Mudra Group hosted the first-ever Portfolio Evening: Strategy Edition in Mumbai, giving young planners a rare chance to put their ideas under the spotlight.
The industry-first initiative brought together 40 emerging strategists with 0–5 years of experience and 20 seasoned jurors from leading agencies and brands. Each participant showcased two pieces of work, diving into problem-definition, insight-mining and strategic recommendations. The atmosphere felt part masterclass, part creative speed-dating, with participants receiving direct, practical and candid advice from some of India’s sharpest strategic thinkers.
DDB Mudra Group national strategy head Shashank Lanjekar, said the new format offered the kind of springboard young talent often misses. He added that having strategy veteran Madhukar Sabnavis in the room uplifted the evening, as he broke down what defines a truly powerful strategy using well-loved brand examples.
From Warc, India Editor Biprorshee Das highlighted the growing recognition of strategy as the engine of modern marketing, noting that the event mirrors Warc’s mission to build braver and more effective thinking through evidence-driven practice.
At the end of the reviews, three rising stars: Khushi Sharma, Chintan Mehta and Khushi Karve, were named the winners of the debut edition. Their prize: exclusive access to Warc’s Creative Impact Unpacked from Cannes, giving them a close look at global creative effectiveness.
Warc also presented insights from its new report, The Future of Strategy 2025, outlining how AI, culture and creativity are reshaping the strategist’s role in today’s fast-moving marketing landscape.
The evening drew an impressive jury lineup featuring Aditi Patwardhan, Anirban Mozumdar, Dheeraj Sinha, Ekta Relan, Ganapathy Balagopalan, Jitender Dabas, Kawal Shoor, Kirti Meera Sharad, Layla Khan, Mehak Jaini, Menaka Menon, Noor Samra, Prem Narayan, Rajesh Sharma, S Subramanyeswar, Sabiha Khan, Sanchari Chakrabarty, Shashank Lanjekar, T Gangadhar and Toru Jhaveri.
With its mix of mentorship, industry insight and real-world critique, Portfolio Evening: Strategy Edition set a fresh tone for how the next generation of thinkers can learn, grow and shape the future of effective marketing.
Digital
Truecaller opens Business Chat platform to global partners and enterprises
Expansion aims to replace SMS with trusted, rich and conversational messaging
MUMBAI: Truecaller has expanded access to its Business Chat platform, opening it up to global channel partners and enterprise solution providers as it looks to reshape how businesses connect with customers.
The move allows partners worldwide to offer the platform to enterprise clients, enabling a shift away from traditional SMS towards a more interactive, verified and media-rich communication experience. The company is positioning this as a higher-trust alternative in an increasingly cluttered digital landscape.
With over 500 million active users globally, Truecaller is betting on its scale and daily engagement to give brands a more direct and credible way to reach consumers. The platform supports contextual conversations, real-time insights and engagement metrics, allowing businesses to fine-tune communication across the customer journey.
“The definition of success for modern enterprises has evolved. It’s no longer just about delivery but about earning attention and driving meaningful engagement,” said Truecaller global head, GTM Priyam Bose. He added that opening the platform to partners creates a gateway for brands to connect with users in a more trusted and action-oriented environment.
The expansion is already underway, with partners such as Gupshup and OneXtel live in India, while Globe Teleservices, Cloudcom and Sling Africa are driving adoption in international markets.
By equipping partners with data-driven tools and a conversational interface, Truecaller aims to help businesses cut through noise and build stronger customer relationships. The platform also promises a cleaner, more secure interaction layer, addressing long-standing concerns around spam and trust in business messaging.
As enterprises rethink customer engagement in a post-SMS world, Truecaller’s latest push signals a clear ambition to become a central player in conversational commerce.
