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Publicis Starcom wins Flipkart Group’s ₹750-cr media account | Prasar Bharati proposes PPP model for D2M
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Starcom India will deploy its full-funnel media capabilities, anchored in Publicis Groupe’s AI-powered Growth OS platform and its Connected Media approach.
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We bring you top five news updates from the world of advertising, marketing, and business of brands.
Exclusive: Publicis Starcom wins Flipkart Group’s ₹750-crore media account, replaces EssenceMediacom
Walmart-owned Flipkart has awarded its integrated media mandate, estimated to be worth around ₹750 crore, to Publicis Groupe’s Starcom India, marking one of the largest media account wins in the Indian advertising market this year.
The mandate spans the entire Flipkart Group portfolio, including fashion arm Myntra, value-commerce platform Shopsy, travel booking platform Cleartrip, and fintech venture Super.money. The account was previously handled by EssenceMediacom, part of WPP Media.
Prasar Bharati proposes PPP model for D2M Broadcasting: MIB report
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting now in its Annual Report 2024-25 have stated that Prasar Bharati has advanced plans for a nationwide rollout of Direct-to-Mobile (D2M) digital terrestrial broadcasting by submitting inputs for a draft Cabinet note and a proposal for the Committee of Secretaries (CoS), signalling that the government is preparing to take a policy call on deploying the technology under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
WPP, Havas, Omnicom: Are advertising’s biggest holdcos recasting agencies as AI Operating Systems?
For years, the world’s biggest advertising companies treated artificial intelligence as a feature: a faster way to write copy, resize an image, surface an insight. At CES 2026, they began presenting it as infrastructure — the system that will run the agency.
In separate unveilings this week, WPP, Omnicom and Havas each introduced a new layer of software meant to sit above their sprawling networks of agencies, data sets and specialist teams. The branding differed — an “agent hub,” a rebuilt “marketing intelligence platform,” a secure “LLM portal.” The direction did not.
X responds to MeitY notice on Grok misuse; Govt to seek further clarifications
The company has assured the government that it will initiate corrective measures, including the suspension and removal of accounts found to be violating its platform policies if such behaviour continues.
Disney+ bets on vertical video to boost daily engagement and Ad appeal
Disney is preparing to introduce vertical video to Disney+ later this year, marking a significant shift in how the streaming service hopes to drive more frequent user engagement and attract advertisers. The move was announced during the company’s Tech + Data Showcase at CES in Las Vegas, where Disney also outlined new advertising tools aimed at linking brand storytelling more closely with performance outcomes.
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