Advertising future lies in contextually smart & creatively driven campaigns: Shahad Anand

The eighth edition of Screenage 2025, exchange4media’s flagship mobile-marketing conference, returned on 2 December 2025 in Mumbai, bringing together marketers, agencies, media platforms, and technology leaders to explore how India’s rapidly evolving screen-first audience is shaping brand strategies. Co-presenting partner Mediakart took centre stage during the Spotlight Session, “Stream Smart: When Context Powers Creativity,” where Shahad Anand, Business Head, Mediakart, shared how contextual intelligence is transforming campaign effectiveness across digital and connected TV platforms.

During the 15-minute session, Anand focussed on how contextual intelligence is transforming campaign effectiveness, particularly in the era of Connected TV (CTV) and mobile video. He outlined the critical journey from attention to awareness to action, stressing that capturing attention alone is not enough, campaigns must guide the consumer seamlessly through the funnel.

Citing a study, Anand explained that the most impactful approach is to direct attention strategically, helping consumers filter options and focus on what matters most. Translating this to advertising, he noted that campaigns achieve awareness, and ultimately action, only when three conditions are met: the content is personalised, it includes a clear call to action, and it offers an irresistible proposition. Standalone video ads can capture attention, but it is the integration of highly engaging creatives that drives meaningful outcomes.

“Standalone video ads can capture attention, but the real impact comes when these ads are married with highly engaging creatives, that’s when we see meaningful outcomes,” Anand said.

Delving into creative innovation, Anand highlighted the superior impact of three-dimensional creatives over traditional two-dimensional visuals. He explained that humans subconsciously perceive depth from infancy, and three-dimensional imagery taps into this instinct, creating a stronger sense of reality and prompting interaction. 

Anand also showcased how Mediakart applies this philosophy across platforms, from CTV to YouTube to mobile, ensuring campaigns are both contextually relevant and creatively compelling. He illustrated this with a demonstration: a regular video may blend into the feed, but when enhanced with Mediakart’s AI-driven approach, the same video becomes unmissable.

Concluding the session, Anand reinforced that the future of advertising lies in contextually intelligent and creatively driven campaigns, where understanding the consumer’s environment and needs is as important as capturing their attention.