Digital
Webinar unpacks how influencers turn attention into action
MUMBAI: MRSI’s November edition of its Wednesday Webinar series dug deep into one question that defines modern marketing: how do influencers turn scrolling into shopping? Titled “Attention to Action”, the session brought together experts who unpacked the fast-growing creator economy and its widening role across India’s consumer landscape.
The panel featured KlugKlug co-founder and CEO Kalyan Kumar, GroupM WPP and Goat Agency India’s business head Kunal Sawant, and Hansa Research Group’s vice president for quantitative research Pramod Pawar, with Sunder moderating the discussion.
The conversation began with a simple question: who exactly is an influencer? Kalyan described them as creators who build communities through content. Pramod defined them as people who sway decisions through digital platforms. Kunal added that anyone with the power to shift opinions or purchases through social media qualifies.
Kunal highlighted how influencer marketing has become a strategic priority across major sectors including FMCG, BFSI, manufacturing, and utilities. A GroupM study showed that 71 per cent of brands now favour an always-on model instead of campaign bursts. Analysing 60,000 influencers and posts from 52 brands, the study emphasised that content quality and engagement matter far more than follower count. Long-term relationships are rising too, with 72 per cent of brands and an impressive 95 per cent of manufacturing companies preferring sustained partnerships.
Discovery remains a hurdle, especially in regulated categories like BFSI. Engagement rate has become the core metric, while impressions and views continue to fade in importance. Although conversion stands at 23 per cent today, it is expected to climb as brands sharpen their influencer strategies.
Pramod presented a sweeping view of the ecosystem through Hansa’s Brand Endorser study. With over 500 respondents across 36 cities evaluating more than 350 celebrities and influencers, the study showed influencer recognition has grown nearly 50 per cent in recent years. The rise is strongest in the West, with regional creators dominating in the South and East. Though often seen as a Gen Z phenomenon, influencer impact is rising sharply among millennials too.
Relatability remains the biggest pull, with 82 per cent of consumers finding influencers more relatable than traditional celebrities. Preferences vary by category: polished creators work best for apparel; practical voices for finance; warm personalities for food; and regional creators for smaller towns. Comedy and entertainment lead growth, while food content is booming beyond metros. Podcasts are gaining traction among younger men, and tech continues to hold a niche but highly trusted space.
In a segment on B2B influence, Kalyan explained that while the dynamics differ sharply from B2C, influencer-like behaviour has long existed through subject experts. LinkedIn remains the most effective space, though credibility makes endorsements rare.
He also highlighted the scale of the industry. Influencer-led content today forms a Rs 10,000 crore market, with brands spending upwards of Rs 20 crore annually. More than 14,000 Amazon brands rely on creator-driven content to move market share. Beauty categories see up to 5 times earned media value multipliers, while home and kitchen categories reach as high as 7 times. Yet challenges remain; audience misalignment is common and multiple intermediaries often dilute budgets before they reach creators.
Kalyan called for brands to move beyond swipe-ups and link-in-bio tracking, which capture barely a fraction of true influence. With Gen Z and millennials forming 67 per cent of India’s internet users, social-first content now commands seven times higher brand recall compared to traditional media. Authenticity, agility, and relevance have become the new currency of marketing.
The webinar closed on a clear note: influencer-led discovery, trust, and purchase influence are no longer optional. They are reshaping the consumer journey, redefining marketing playbooks, and opening a massive opportunity for brands that bring data, creativity, and authenticity together.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
