MAM
WPP to host India’s first edition of ‘WPP Commerce’ in Mumbai on October 16, 2019
MUMBAI: WPP will host its first-ever WPP Commerce event in India. Held at the Four Seasons Mumbai, the half-day event will feature open dialogue with global and local experts, along with workshops on ecommerce essentials and thought leadership.
As more millennials and Gen Z shoppers go online and the reach of online commerce extend beyond cities into smaller towns, strong growth opportunities exist for both e-commerce players and businesses alike. Consumer trends of experiential shopping and the need for wellness and premium products are also expected to drive good volume growth[1].
“Commerce is experiencing rapid growth in India, with increased internet and smartphone adoption signalling strong market opportunities for e-commerce players. We are excited to host WPP Commerce for the first time in India. Coupled with insights from industry stalwarts, this is a learning opportunity for all who are keen to understand how to cater to the next generation of shoppers,” said CVL Srinivas, India Country Manager for WPP.
Participants at WPP Commerce will have the opportunity to learn about mobile commerce, chat apps, omnichannel strategies, cross-platform capabilities, data optimisation, machine learning and conversational commerce. WPP agencies Geometry Global Encompass, GroupM, Kantar, Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R will present workshops that demonstrate the use of innovative technology and creative marketing models.
WPP partners Adobe will also discuss how to strengthen shopper engagement through a scalable platform, personalisation and customer intelligence, while Google will highlight why omnichannel shopping is relevant for winning consumers. As India emerges to be the second largest app ecosystem globally with users spending 90% of their time on apps, InMobi will showcase how to drive growth through in-app marketing for mobile commerce.
Other WPP Commerce topics include:
• Omnichannel Commerce: bridging the gap between offline and online
• Technology: enterprise level Ecommerce solutions built using AI/ML
• Role of Media: leveraging partnerships with marketplaces to help clients maximize their media spends
• Marketplaces: how to help sell better on MPs through strategy, content and media
• Analytics: to help predict online sales
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.
