‘There’s no script anymore - agility is the only strategy’

At the e4m Confluence Conference 2025: The Media Investment Summit, industry leaders came together to decode how India’s media ecosystem can stay agile amid ever-changing consumption patterns, platform shifts, and fragmented audiences. 

The session, titled “Agile Media Strategies for an Unscripted Future,” featured Anisha Iyer, CEO, OMD India; Vinod Thadani, CGO - Media, dentsu India & CEO, iProspect India; and Priti Murthy, President - Client Solutions, WPP Media. The discussion was chaired by Nikhil Kumar, Chief Growth Officer, mediasmart.

Opening the conversation, Kumar set the tone: “We live in a world where plans are outdated before they’re even printed.” The panelists agreed that in 2025, agility is not a strategy - it’s survival. “Go ahead, put a layout for the year,” said Murthy, “but it’s not a prescription anymore, you never know.”

She added that agility today depends as much on client KPIs as it does on categories. “Even if it’s a beauty, BFSI, or retail client, if tomorrow they’re wanting an outcome-based or performance campaign, they’ll want to talk about which platforms to invest in because it’s all related to sales and outcomes.” Murthy also emphasized that performance shouldn’t come at the cost of brand connection. “Clients are now asking - what about my brand? How do I bring back my brand love in my performance or commerce campaigns? That, for me, is the interesting space ahead.”

Thadani spoke about balancing creative intuition with data, noting that technology has unlocked new ways to measure success but also new complexities. “Data can’t replace instinct,” he said. “The challenge is to bring the art and science together, to make sure that speed doesn’t compromise storytelling.”

Iyer agreed, pointing out that audiences today are fragmented across formats and languages. “Every platform, every audience has a different rhythm,” she said. “You have to adapt faster, and that means being brave enough to unlearn what worked yesterday.” She highlighted the growing influence of regional storytelling: “Regional content isn’t just about translation anymore, it’s emotion, tone, and local authenticity. That’s what’s making Indian stories global.”

The panel also discussed the rise of multi-platform ecosystems, where TV, OTT, and digital no longer compete but converge. Thadani noted that “cross-platform synergy” is now critical for reach and resonance. “Audiences move fluidly,” he said. “Your strategy has to move with them. The new media playbook is not channel-first, it’s consumer-first.”

Murthy added that marketers must learn to read between the numbers. “We’ve gone from GRPs to ROIs to outcomes,” she said. “But agility is about how quickly you can interpret those signals and react. You can’t wait for the next quarter to change the plan.”

As the conversation wound down, Kumar turned up the energy with a light-hearted “rapid-fire round” that lived up to the session’s unscripted theme. Asked which old-school format she’d like to revive, Iyer laughed, “Jingles aren’t gone! Mascots aren’t gone either.” When Thadani was challenged to create a campaign tagline to clean Delhi’s air, she shot back, “Now in limited stock, breathe responsibly. Conditions apply.” Murthy rounded it off with patriotic flair, choosing “Chak De India” as the theme song for India’s women’s cricket team.

The session closed on a reflective note, with Kumar thanking the panel for “keeping the conversation as unpredictable as the media we navigate.” As the audience applauded, one takeaway stood clear - In today’s industry, agility isn’t a buzzword, it’s the baseline.