MAM
Shashi Sinha is BARC TechComm chairman
MUMBAI: The first step towards making the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) operational has been taken with the formation of the television audience measurement body‘s technical committee.
IPG Mediabrands India CEO Shashi Sinha has been appointed as the chairman of the technical committee of BARC.
BARC, constituted in July 2010 under the Companies Act, aims to set up a transparent and credible television audience measurement system in India. BARC would be the umbrella body and television audience measurement service providers like TAM Media Research, a joint venture of Nielsen and Kantar, will function under it for the purpose of providing ratings.
India TV strategist Paritosh Joshi and Hindustan Unilever head of CMI South Smita Bhosale are members of the committee.
Sinha said, “Setting up of the technical committee is very important for the pushing of BARC but the board (of BARC) is supreme. The Committee will make all the recommendations in terms of how sampling and other technical things should be done. So it will be a recommendation body but the final decision will be taken by BARC board.”
BARC is headed by Zeel CEO Punit Goenka as chairman. The board includes six broadcasters, two advertisers – HUL executive director home and personal care Hemant Bakshi and ex-P&G India chairman and managing director Bharat Patel – and two agency executives – GroupM South Asia CEO Vikram Sakhuja and RK Swamy BBDO chairman and MD Sunder K Swamy.
BARC is 60 per cent owned by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) and 20 per cent each by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA).
MAM
Ad:tech honours 2026: Full list of winners announced
Expanded awards spotlight winners across 22 categories as industry doubles down on intelligent automation
NEW DELHI: Marketing’s tech elite took the spotlight as the ad:tech honours 2026 returned with a sharper focus on AI, data and immersive media, signalling how deeply technology now underpins brand strategy. Held at Yashobhoomi on March 17, the second edition drew industry leaders to celebrate innovation that is reshaping engagement and performance.
Presented with the International Advertising Association India chapter and new partner Huella, the awards expanded from 8 to 22 categories, tracking the rapid convergence of creativity, automation and analytics.
The winners’ list reads like a snapshot of marketing’s future. In affiliate and partner marketing, Lyxel & Flamingo – Boat and Paytm Ads – Giva took silver. Mobavenue Media Private Limited struck gold in AI-driven dynamic creative optimisation, alongside a silver for Laqshya Media Limited.
Creative AI collaboration saw Rediffusion Brand Solutions Private Limited win gold, with Saltinc Consulting Private Limited securing silver. Laqshya Media Limited continued its strong run, taking gold in AI conversation agents and adding multiple wins across categories, including silver in GenAI-led creative and both gold and silver in interactive DOOH campaigns for Tanishq and Tata Coffee.
Predictive AI honours went to Strong Metrics and Tyroo, both silver, while Orient Bell Limited picked up silver in immersive retail tech. In GenAI-led creative, Laqshya Media Limited, Salt – Kotak and Sumimoto each secured silver, reflecting the crowded race in generative creativity.
Publicis bagged silver in influencer management and gold in performance marketing, where it shared the stage with Arm Worldwide and The Trade Desk, both silver. Glad U Came Private Limited stood out with gold in influencer measurement and analytics.
Marketing automation saw CereOne Media Pvt. Ltd. and Globale Media win silver, while ADMOTT Private Limited claimed silver in OTT innovation.
Programmatic media categories highlighted the shift to advanced targeting and connected screens. Mobavenue Media Private Limited clinched gold in connected TV advertising, with Animmoov Digital Media Pvt Ltd – Asus and Lyxel and Flamingo taking silver. Cheggout Services Private Limited won silver in retail media advertising, while Paytm Ads – Versuni secured gold.
On social platforms, Vayner Media India took gold in community and UGC engagement, with Under 25 – Oppo winning silver. Segumento rounded off the list with silver in the innovation category.
Jaswant Singh, country managing director at ad:tech India, underscored the momentum, saying generative AI and data-driven decision-making are now central to marketing impact. Neena Dasgupta, IAA mancom member and chief executive and founder at The Salt Inc Consulting, added that the awards celebrate not just technology, but “the people, the creativity, and the relentless effort behind it.”
Backed by Comexposium Group, ad:tech New Delhi has long tracked digital disruption. Now, with the honours, it is rewarding those who are not just adapting to change but engineering it.
In an industry racing towards automation, the message from 2026 is unmistakable. The future of marketing will be written not just in ideas, but in algorithms.
