Ad Campaigns
Stories that (Pod)cast a spell
Let us set the scene. Imagine 3 women seated in a coffee shop on a frigid, rainy and cloudy Sunday afternoon,chatting casually with their hands wrapped around steaming cappuccinos. As an observer, what do you think they are talking about? Often, common stereotypes take the better of us and lead us to the conclusion that they are probably gossiping about their neighbours or discussing their recent shopping sprees.
Contradicting these stereotypes,Franklin Templeton has created Meri PyaariSaheliyan, a podcast series designed for and by women with Hansi Mehrotra. In today’s global environment conversing about the role of money is often considered rude or a sensitive topic, however the series is designed as a vehicle for women to share and discuss the things that give them meaning in life. The series also presents their experiences in the real world, adversities they’ve faced, and the journey they embarked on to overcome them as well as the role that money has played in their lives.
JuzerTambawalla, (Director and Head of Marketing at Franklin Templeton, India) states that, “MeriPyaariSaheliyanis an incredible window into the lives of women in modern India. The podcasts provide a very immersive insight into their eventful and colourful lives. Such podcasts are extremely valuable for all listeners because it’s not everyday that we get the opportunity to listen in on heartfelt conversations and have the ability to learn from the stories within them. Being a part of this campaign has been enjoyable, inspiring and eye-opening. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.”
Furthermore, Geetanjali Sachwani, (AVP of Marketing at Franklin Templeton, India) says that, “The choice of podcasts as a medium for Meri PyaariSaheliyanis one that I feel is extremely important. In today’s era where screens surround us wherever we go, it can sometimes be overwhelming to take in all that information. Podcasts allow us to focus on the message that is trying to be conveyed without being distracted by other visual stimuli. Additionally, when looking at Meri PyaariSaheliyan where women discuss their lives, their experiences and their goals podcasts allow the listener to be engaged with and to an extent become a part of that engrossing conversation. Ultimately, the goal of the campaign is to make women comfortable talking about their experiences, aspirations and money and I feel that in an informal setting such as a podcast, this goal can really bear fruit.”
The podcasts are written and hosted by Hansi Mehrotra, a well-established and distinguished mentor from the Finance industry. She is the Founder of The Money Hans. Speaking about the campaign, she says, “The Meri PyaariSaheliyan concept is based on my real life conversations with my real life girlfriends on real life issues. I hope it inspires women to talk openly with their girlfriends about money issues. “
The campaign is spearheaded by Mumbai based Digital Agency Mirum India, a WPP group company. Naila Patel (Executive Creative Director, Mirum India)said, “MeriPyaariSaheliyan is an extension of our previous campaign 'Invest for Progress', where we urged women to not just learn to earn but also to learn to invest. These podcasts branch out from the same idea. We have created a series of conversationsaround problems that most women face when it comes to talking about money. These women conversing about life, money and investments, I believe normalises the issue at hand.”
You can access the podcast series here:
https://www.franklintempletonindia.com/investor/investor-education/meri-pyaari-saheliyan
Meri PyaariSaheliyan is also available on popular audio podcast platforms such as Soundcloud, Spotify, Saavn, Audioboom, Pocket Casts and many more.
NATIONAL: Amazon Ads has laid out a sharply tech-led vision for the advertising industry in 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence, streaming TV and creator partnerships will combine to turn brand building into a more precise, performance-driven business.
At the heart of the shift, the company says, is the fusion of AI with Amazon’s vast trove of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, allowing advertisers to move beyond blunt reach metrics to campaigns designed around real customer behaviour.
“The future of advertising is not about reaching more people, but the right people with messages that resonate,” said Amazon Ads India head and vice president Girish Prabhu. “By combining AI with deep customer insights, we help brands move from broadcasting campaigns to having meaningful conversations wherever audiences spend their time.”
One of the biggest changes, according to Amazon Ads, will be the collapse of the wall between media planning and creative development. Retail media, powered by first-party data, is increasingly shaping everything from brand discovery to final purchase, pushing marketers to design campaigns around audience insight rather than internal instinct.
AI is also moving from a support tool to a creative engine. Agentic AI, which automates and accelerates production, is expected to make high-quality creative accessible even to small businesses, compressing weeks of work into hours and giving challengers the ability to compete with larger brands on speed and scale.
Behind the scenes, AI-driven analytics will take on a bigger role in campaign optimisation, identifying patterns, spotting opportunities and recommending actions that would previously have required teams of analysts.
Streaming TV is another big battleground. With India’s video streaming audience now above 600 million and connected TV users at 129.2 million in 2025, advertisers are set to treat streaming not just as a branding channel but as a performance engine, measured increasingly by sales, sign-ups and bookings rather than just reach.
Finally, Amazon Ads sees creators and contextual advertising reshaping how brands tell stories. Creators will act less like influencers and more like long-term partners, while scene-aware ads on streaming platforms will allow brands to insert hyper-relevant offers into the flow of what viewers are watching.
Taken together, Amazon Ads argues, these shifts mark a move towards advertising that is both more human and more measurable, where AI handles the complexity, and creativity does the persuading.
