Brands
Samsung becomes India’s most attractive brand in 2017
MUMBAI: The crown for India’s most attractive brand has yet again gone to a South Korea-based company. Smartphone company Samsung dethroned LG as India’s most preferred brand.
LG has slipped to second position followed by Sony in the top 3. Tata, after falling by almost three ranks in 2016 has come back to hold its position to rank 4th in 2017. Honda ranks 5th after ranking 4th in 2016 and 6th in 2015. The 6th most attractive brand in 2017 is Apple, which has jumped 12 places after ranking 18th in 2016 and 15th in 2015.
The survey for the 4th edition of India’s Most Attractive Brands was conducted among 2,456 consumer influencers across 16 cities and generated nearly 5 million data points and 5,000 unique brand mentions, out of which the top 1000 brands have been listed in this year’s report.
TRA Research CEO N Chandramouli mentioned, “The one aspect that has somehow stayed constant is the fight for the top 3 ranks between Samsung, LG and Sony. Will this be the case even next year? Well it may be difficult to predict as the rankings this year have seen some major rank climbs and falls, making a few of the former new category leaders and the latter resigning from their coveted spot.”
One of the list’s major brand rank climbs is Patanjali; from ranking 371 in 2015 to ranking 87 in 2016 to making it to rank 12 in 2017.
Chinese mobile phone maker Oppo has claimed the 20th position by taking a major jump from its position at 341 in 2015.
In the Media-TV segment, NDTV has emerged as the numero uno channel followed by Aaj Tak and Sony Entertainment at number 2 and number 3 positions respectively. In Hindi GEC, Zee TV slipped to number 2 position with an overall ranking of 226 which is a major slip from its last year’s position of 93.
Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali emerged at number 1 position in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) category with an overall position of 12 which is 75 ranks up than its last year’s position at number 87. Colgate followed at number 2 position and saw a slip in its overall ranking by retaining its position at 43.
In food and beverage category, Brooke Bond tea saw a major slip in its ranking. The tea brand ranked at 120 in the category but slipped by 776 points in its overall ranking this year with 941 as compared to last year’s 165.
In the branded fashion category, homegrown brand Fastback emerged as a clear winner at number 1 spot beating international luxury brands Gucci at number 2 spot, Tommy Hilfiger at number 3 respectively.
In DTH sector, Tata Sky was the most attractive brand with an overall ranking of 315. Reliance DTH was among the worst losers as it ranks at 888. Cadbury Perk joined the bandwagon of losers with its rank at 949 as compared to the previous year’s 499, a difference of 450 ranks.
“This year we have incorporated the theme of diversity in the report. Diversity is something that our study radiates,” concluded Chandramouli.
Brands
GUEST COLUMN: Beyond layoffs, India emerges as creative-tech hub
Shift in hiring and AI-led workflows is reshaping global media and marketing
MUMBAI:The global narrative around layoffs in media and technology may suggest contraction, but a deeper transformation is reshaping how creative and tech capabilities are built and deployed. For Sanjil Zaveri, general manager – India at Brandtech+, this shift is less about decline and more about redistribution, one that is positioning India at the centre of a new global operating model. In this piece, Zaveri explores how integrated workflows, AI-powered production, and evolving talent demands are redefining the creative-tech ecosystem, why India is emerging as a strategic hub for global content and innovation, and what this means for the future of media, marketing, and talent.
The global headlines around layoffs in technology and media continue to dominate industry conversations. From platform restructuring to reduced marketing spends, the narrative suggests a slowdown across the creative and digital ecosystem.
But beneath these headlines, a different shift is underway, one that is quietly redefining how creative and technology work is delivered globally.
Hiring is not disappearing; it is being redistributed. And India is increasingly at the centre of this transition.
A structural shift in the creative-tech ecosystem
The media and marketing landscape is undergoing a fundamental reset. Brands today are moving away from fragmented agency models and siloed teams toward more integrated, agile structures.
Creative, technology, and media are no longer operating in isolation. Campaigns are now built through connected workflows, where ideation, production, and optimisation happen simultaneously.
This shift is forcing organisations to rethink where and how teams are built. Increasingly, the focus is on capability, speed, and scalability, rather than geography alone.
India’s emergence as a creative-tech hub
India’s role in this evolving ecosystem has expanded significantly.
Traditionally positioned as a backend execution market, India is now playing a far more central role in global campaign delivery. Teams based here contribute not just to production, but also to strategy, content development, and performance optimisation.
This is particularly relevant in a market where content velocity has increased dramatically. With the rise of digital platforms, OTT, and always-on marketing, brands require high volumes of creative assets without compromising on quality.
Industry insights from Ernst & Young point to India’s growing strength as a global content hub, while NASSCOM continues to highlight the scale and depth of the country’s digital talent pool. Together, these factors create a compelling case for India as a foundation for more efficient, integrated content ecosystems serving global markets.
A global company’s perspective on India
At Brandtech+, this shift is already shaping how we operate.
As a global organisation working across creative, marketing, and technology, our talent strategy is increasingly driven by capability rather than location. India has therefore become a key market for both scale and strategic talent.
In the first quarter of this year, we have significantly accelerated hiring in India across creative, technology, and operations roles, moving well ahead of plan and continuing to build strong momentum. We are actively hiring across multiple functions, with India playing a central role in delivering integrated creativetech solutions for global brands.
These signals reflect a broader change in how global companies view India, not as a delivery centre, but as a hub for connected creative, data, and technology capabilities.
“While much of the global narrative is centred on contraction, what we are seeing in India is a different kind of growth,” says Sanjil Zaveri. “As a global company, we are investing in talent that can work across creative, data, and technology, because that is where the future of marketing is headed.”
AI and the new content economy
Artificial intelligence is playing a critical role in enabling this transformation.
In today’s media environment, the demand for content has scaled exponentially. Brands are expected to create, adapt, and optimise creative assets across multiple platforms in real time. The scale of this demand would be difficult to sustain through traditional production models alone.
AI is helping make this possible.
Rather than replacing roles, AI is streamlining workflows, automating repetitive tasks, accelerating production timelines, and enabling faster experimentation. This allows creative and strategy teams to focus on higher-value outputs.
“AI removes the mundane and elevates the meaningful,” says Zaveri. “It allows teams to focus on ideas and storytelling, while technology drives efficiency.”
For media platforms and advertisers, this is redefining how campaigns are built, moving from linear production cycles to continuous, data-driven content creation.
What this means for media talent
For professionals across media, advertising, and digital, this shift is redefining skill requirements.
The traditional boundaries between creative, media planning, and technology are blurring. Content creators are expected to understand performance metrics. Media professionals are working more closely with data, platforms, and automation. Collaboration across disciplines is becoming a core skill.
This is creating demand for hybrid talent, professionals who can operate across disciplines and adapt to rapidly changing workflows.
India’s talent ecosystem is particularly well suited to this environment. With strong capabilities across content, design, engineering, and analytics, the market offers a unique combination of scale and versatility.
Importantly, global exposure is no longer tied to relocation. Professionals in India are increasingly working on international brands and campaigns, collaborating with teams across markets in real time.
Looking ahead: India at the centre of the reset
What we are witnessing today is not a temporary phase; it is a structural reset in the global creative-tech ecosystem.
Layoffs may continue to shape short-term narratives, but they do not capture where long-term growth is being built. That growth lies in new operating models, integrated workflows, and markets that can deliver both scale and innovation.
India is firmly at the centre of this transformation.
As global media and marketing organisations continue to evolve, India’s role will only become more critical, not as a support market, but as a strategic hub for content, creativity, and technology-led innovation.
The future of creative-tech will be defined by collaboration, speed, and adaptability. And increasingly, it will be shaped from India.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
