Applications
Rich media, relevancy, ROI are key for successful mobile apps
MUMBAI: There are thousands of apps that are available in the mobile space. More come out each week. For them to be successful they need the three Rs – rich media, relevancy and ROI.
This point was made by appsnack director of mobile technology Jordi Duran i Batidor at the Internet And Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)‘s Mobile Marketing Conference on Thursday. His company helps brands achieve their objectives of using mobile as a platform. The company helps clients build engaging, app-like creative experiences. The company also gives publishers and app developers the ability to better monetise one of their sources of ad inventory – display ads in mobile apps.
The company delivers intelligence and has built a global database. He noted that today‘s generation are media consumers and multi taskers. This means that while they watch the TV they also use their mobile phone during ad breaks to find out more information on the show that they are watching.
So the efficacy of a TVC will drop. Nine out of 10 smartphone users abroad do this. “Advertisers need to follow changes in consumer behaviour. For instance, if someone works in finance then it is better for a company like Lexus to target him on the mobile when he is at home. It is important to remember that people use devices at different times. So in the morning one uses the tablet to read the newspaper.”
In terms of the three Rs which are important for mobile apps the first one is rich media. Apps are easy to use. They do not need a manual. Apps can be used to both save time and also fill time. For instance an app that lets you play Angry Birds helps fill time. But an app that helps you with the boarding pass of a plane helps save time.
The second R is relevancy which means that apps should target people who will buy those products. It is important to transform data by contextualising it. This provides intelligence that helps segment audiences. For instance ipad users tend to be heavier spenders. So a luxury brand can go there.
The third R is ROI. Awareness is important here. You need to know how many impressions, reach, frequency come into play. Then one can do branded studies. An efficacy of an app has to go beyond just clicks. It is about the user engagement with an app. Interaction rates are important. One can come to know about consumer‘s choices in things like shoes through this. One can learn about the kind of shirts, cars that people who engaged with the mobile ad love.
Applications
Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
