The rise of ‘individual prime times’: Are brands following attention, not airtime?

As appointment viewing gives way to scroll-based consumption and algorithm-led discovery, marketers are increasingly questioning whether the idea of a single “prime time” still exists. Instead, brands are now planning campaigns around what many describe as “individual prime times” - personalised windows of attention shaped by behaviour, platform habits, moods and moments across devices. 

The shift comes as audiences move fluidly between OTT, short video apps, connected TV, gaming, podcasts and commerce platforms, making it harder for brands to rely on traditional high-reach television slots alone. For marketers, the challenge is no longer just about being present at 9 pm, but about identifying when a specific consumer is most receptive to messaging.

Industry executives say this evolution is fundamentally changing how media planning is being approached. Rather than chasing mass simultaneity, brands are leaning into intent signals, contextual targeting and behavioural data to capture consumers during high-attention moments throughout the day.

Brands across categories say this behavioural shift is also forcing a rethink of how audiences are segmented, targeted and engaged across platforms. 

Shankar Ramm, MD, Peps Industries said, “At Peps, we believe that the meaning of the word “prime time” has certainly evolved through the years. To us, particularly in the sleep and wellness field, this has really given us an opportunity to be more significant in our interactions.”

He added that content consumption today is deeply personal, making “prime time” less about fixed viewing slots and more about moments when consumers are open to conversations around comfort, wellness and lifestyle. As a result, campaigns such as ‘Some Breakups are Necessary’ and ‘Peps Vivah Mattress’ have focused on reaching multilingual audiences across YouTube and Instagram through more meaningful, segmented touchpoints instead of a few mass-viewing moments.

The move from mass reach to personalised engagement is also becoming increasingly visible across FMCG marketing strategies.

This was further reiterated by Pawan Jagnik, Head of Marketing, India (McVitie's) at pladis global, who said brands have moved from chasing one mass prime-time slot to identifying multiple “micro-prime moments” across platforms based on audience behaviour. He added that while brands need to maintain presence across platforms, creative contextualisation is equally critical, as content that works on YouTube may not drive engagement on Instagram or influence decisions on e-commerce platforms.

Jagnik said, “This has shifted planning away from burst campaigns toward an always-on approach across the full consumer lifecycle. Reels, YouTube, e-commerce, shopping platforms are all part of one connected journey. The idea is to show up at each of those moments with content that feels resonant and captivating, wherever that personal window happens to be.”

For legacy brands rooted in rituals and cultural behaviour, meanwhile, topicality itself is increasingly becoming the new prime-time trigger.

According to Amarnath Dutta, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at N. Ranga Rao & Sons, makers of Cycle Pure Agarbathi, prime-time still delivers impactful reach, but is now increasingly shaped by what is topical and personally relevant to consumers rather than fixed viewing slots. He noted that while cricket may define prime time for some audiences, others engage more with GEC programming, reality shows or even major events such as election results.

“We invest in media buys across all these occasions. In each of these moments, our communication centers on the ritual of prayer, whether it is someone praying for India to hit a six on the last ball, for their favorite contestant to win a reality show, or for their party to triumph in elections,” he said. 

Dutta further said the company’s first-party data shows discovery is increasingly digital across mobile, connected TV and social platforms, while purchases continue both online and offline. By mapping topical moments such as cricket, reality show finales and election coverage with cross-device behaviour, the brand identifies high-intent windows to build omnichannel campaigns around. 

This behavioural shift is also changing how brands interpret consumer journeys and media allocation strategies.

Ramm further said that over the past two years, media planning has shifted from demographics such as age, gender and income to behaviour and intent, with the brand closely tracking the customer journey as consumers increasingly discover, compare and purchase across multiple platforms. 

“All of our first-party data, website interaction, campaign engagement patterns, and regional behavioural insights help us understand when various audiences are most active, what they're interested in and what type of messaging would be effective for them,” he added. 

For Peps, this has translated into significant changes in media spends and messaging.

He said consumer needs in the category differ widely across life stages, from young couples setting up their first homes to families upgrading during festive periods or customers seeking orthopedic support. This has shifted the brand’s media planning significantly, with digital and online now accounting for 65-75% of marketing spends. He added that the focus is increasingly on multilingual, localised storytelling, as consumers across cities engage with the category differently, making personalised communication more effective than one uniform message. 

Industry experts say changing consumption data is further accelerating this shift in media planning.

According to Vibhor Gulati, Founder of Defodio Digital, prime time today is less about fixed hours and more about moments of high intent and attention. He noted that while brands once relied on a handful of television slots for scale, audiences are now consuming content across OTT, short video, connected TV, gaming and creator platforms throughout the day.

Citing Nielsen’s 2026 Upfront Planning Series, he said streaming accounts for 66.7% of ad-supported TV viewing among audiences aged 18-49. Gulati added that while tentpole events such as the IPL and reality show finales still command collective attention at scale, most consumption has become deeply personalised, with prime time increasingly shaped by consumer behaviour, platform context and attention quality rather than broadcaster schedules. 

He said, “We are increasingly looking at signals such as repeat engagement windows, watch duration, search intent, commerce behaviour and content affinity to build sharper audience cohorts. That is reshaping media planning from being channel-first to audience-first.”

He further noted that the shift is also changing how budgets are deployed, with brands moving away from fixed media bursts towards always-on ecosystems where messaging evolves in real time based on audience behaviour. Gulati added that the rise of connected TV and retail media is accelerating this trend by combining the scale of traditional formats with the precision and measurability of digital platforms.

Meanwhile, Smita Khanna, COO, Newton Consulting India Pvt ltd said, “Micro time moments are quietly replacing prime time. It is no longer about one big slot in the evening but about dozens of small, high-attention windows spread across the day, unique to each consumer. In India today, brands are rethinking media planning around these moments.”

She added that media planners today are less focused on “what time to advertise” and more on identifying when consumers are most receptive, whether during an Instagram scroll at lunch, OTT viewing during commutes or late-night YouTube sessions. According to her, traditional day-parting has now given way to behaviour-led planning, with brands using data to map browsing, viewing and shopping habits in real time. As a result, media plans are becoming more fluid, with budgets increasingly triggered by consumer behaviour rather than fixed time slots. 

Better ROI?

Beyond engagement, marketers say the shift is increasingly translating into measurable business outcomes. 

Ramm said the shift towards personalised, behaviour-led engagement is driving both stronger efficiency and better business outcomes for the brand. He noted that digital platforms help continuously educate consumers in a low-awareness category like mattresses, while also enabling the brand to engage audiences across different life stages and buying intents more efficiently. According to him, this has strengthened brand relevance, loyalty and trust as consumers increasingly research and compare products across multiple touchpoints before purchasing. 

“We complement prime time with always-on digital engagement, where much of discovery now happens. This shift has given us both efficiency and impact. Beyond reach, we see stronger resonance campaigns tied to topical cultural moments and everyday rituals that drive measurable uplift in brand affinity and sales,” noted Dutta.

According to Jagnik, the shift is ultimately about driving stronger business outcomes, as in today’s fragmented media environment, a single exposure is rarely enough to influence a purchase decision. “Consumers need consistent, yet relevant, brand interactions before they decide to buy. The more a brand shows up across touchpoints, at the right moments, the more naturally the decision to buy follows.”

Khanna further explained that brands today need a balance between sustained targeting and high-impact moments to build both relevance and recall.

While always-on targeting helps brands stay present in everyday consumer moments, she said high-impact cultural events such as festivals, live entertainment and creator-led activations make brands “unmissable” and drive deeper recall.

Citing Coachella 2026 as an example, she noted that brands such as Pinterest, Barbie and Coca-Cola extended visibility beyond the event through influencer collaborations, livestreams and social content, allowing audiences to engage with the same brand moment at different times. According to her, even smaller brands can create similar spikes in attention through smart creator partnerships, trend-led content and culturally relevant integrations rather than large spends alone.

As audiences fragment across screens and platforms, marketers are moving away from the idea of one universal prime-time slot towards multiple behaviour-led windows of attention. In the process, media planning itself is evolving from schedule-led buying to a more fluid model driven by context, intent and sustained engagement.