Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just a tool; it is a collaborator and in many ways, a decision-maker. As we step into what experts call the ‘agentic era of AI,’ the lines between human creativity and AI-driven efficiency are blurring faster than ever. For Wavemaker India, however, this transition hasn’t been a sudden shift; AI has been embedded in its DNA for years, shaping how it plans, strategises and executes digital innovations for brands.
Sairam Ranganathan, Chief Digital Officer at Wavemaker India, has witnessed firsthand how technology has redefined audience engagement, commerce and media planning. In fact, in 2024, the agency’s focus has been on integrating human and artificial intelligence and offering holistic commerce solutions. Blending AI-driven automation with human expertise, the agency has delivered measurable business outcomes, proving that technology alone isn’t enough; it’s about how brands use it. The agency has worked with clients like India Gate Basmati Rice, Cadbury Dairy Milk, and fintech brands and utilised AI-powered insights, personalisation, and interactive experiences to drive deeper engagement and performance gains.
As we move into 2025, Ranganathan highlights three key trends in technology that are critical for the future: focusing on the metrics that matter and driving outcomes, measuring and optimising connected television, and building strategies around first-party data. While Google has delayed the deprecation of third-party cookies, Ranganathan notes that brands are realising the importance of building direct, personalised relationships with consumers. Ranganathan recognises these trends as the cornerstone of future-proof marketing strategies and this is one of the key focus areas for the agency in 2025.
Additionally, this year, the agency is focusing on getting a deeper understanding of its clients, brands and consumers.
While 2025 is considered to be the agentic era — where AI agents are used to perform tasks autonomously; the advertising, marketing and media industries have been integrating AI into their systems for a while. Ranganathan shares that approximately four years ago, the agency was going to automate TV planning with RPA (Robotic Process Automation). The bots would handle the operational, repetitive tasks involved in TV planning, allowing the planners to focus their cognitive abilities on adding value and improving the TV plan. While this happened four years ago, this highlights AI’s potential to enhance efficiency.
However, Ranganathan believes that the techniques that worked in the past may not necessarily work in the future. Given the technologically adapted world’s volatile shifts, the agency’s approach to AI is client-centric, with a focus on improving outcomes across all functions, whether it’s planning, buying, operations or HR. The agency will focus on combining both right-brain creativity and left-brain analytics to drive outcomes. He believes that the trick is to use AI to make the process smarter and more efficient for every employee, regardless of their department.
As the industry grapples with the implications of privacy-first marketing, ad-free digital experiences and evolving search landscapes, future-proofing strategies have become important. Whether it’s leveraging AI bid optimisation in programmatic environments or navigating the emerging dominance of AI-driven search, the agency’s approach is rooted in adaptability and innovation.
In this conversation, Sairam Ranganathan unpacks the major tech shifts and Wavemaker’s evolving role in digital transformation in 2025, the shift to first-party data, and the opportunities that lie ahead in an AI-powered marketing ecosystem.
Edited Excerpts:
What were the primary areas of focus for Wavemaker in 2024?
At Wavemaker, we’ve always taken a customer-first approach. We focus on understanding evolving consumer behaviour and using those insights to drive outcomes. In 2024, we prioritised areas like performance marketing, commerce, and data transformation. By unifying these elements, we created cohesive strategies for our clients, enabling them to achieve greater impact.
This integrated approach allowed clients to see how combining performance marketing, commerce, and data strategies — such as leveraging first-party data — aligned with their brand objectives and strengthened audience connections. Our success is evident in client retention and the measurable business outcomes we’ve delivered.
Two significant achievements stand out. First, in performance marketing, we combined AI-driven automation with human intelligence to enhance media deployment strategies. This approach allowed us to add brand-specific value rather than relying solely on platform-based AI systems. For example, this strategy significantly improved results for a large client, leveraging digital platforms for sales and customer acquisition.
Second, in commerce, we evolved from a media agency to a comprehensive agency. By leveraging partnerships with WPP and GroupM, we provided end-to-end solutions, including media, creative, experience, analytics, technology, and automation. This empowered our clients to optimise their e-commerce presence and drive sales effectively.
In summary, our focus in 2024 has been on connecting disciplines, integrating human and artificial intelligence, and offering holistic commerce solutions.
Could you share what are the key trends in technology that you are expecting to shape the advertising and marketing landscape in 2025? How is Wavemaker planning the position itself?
Let me talk about Wavemaker India’s priority. Our main focus is to help our clients find better ways to grow. We follow a principle called “positive provocation,” which is not just a rallying cry but a core value that we live by. It means we need to have a deeper understanding of our clients, brands, and consumers. We know that what has worked in the past may not necessarily work in the future. So, how can we challenge the status quo? How can we combine both right-brain creativity and left-brain analytics? Additionally, we are committed to forming partnerships, both internally — within GroupM and WPP — and externally, with media or tech partners.
We believe that digital transformation, when executed properly, can drive brand love, and that, in turn, drives business growth. We have the necessary expertise, both horizontally and vertically, to make this happen.
As for the trends in technology, they keep evolving, but I’ll touch on a few key areas. One thing that might seem basic but remains crucial in digital marketing and digital planning is focusing on the right metrics. In digital, there are over 20 metrics to measure, and it can become overwhelming. However, our fundamental belief is that it’s important to focus on the metrics that truly matter and drive outcomes. For example, if the goal is to build a brand and drive awareness, then reach and frequency should be your primary metrics. It’s not about measuring everything but about measuring what’s relevant to achieving the desired outcome.
One area that’s growing is connected television (CTV). With the growth in this space comes responsibility. We need to measure it properly and link it to brand and business outcomes. At Wavemaker, we don’t believe in jumping on trends just for the sake of it. We want to do things that drive growth. Therefore, CTV measurement will be a key focus moving forward.
Another important area is first-party data. While Google has delayed the deprecation of third-party cookies for now, brands are realising the importance of building direct, personalised relationships with consumers. Because brands want to have more one-on-one conversations, many are creating first-party data programs. A great example of this is the “Oral Healthcare Month” initiative, which is not just about collecting data but solving a problem and creating opportunities for ongoing conversations with consumers.
In summary, these three trends are critical for the future:
- Focusing on the metrics that matter and driving outcomes.
- Measuring and optimising connected television.
- Building strategies and roadmaps around first-party data.
Can you share some examples of clients you’ve worked with and the challenges you faced?
For commerce, we worked with India Gate Basmati Rice to enhance their presence on quick commerce platforms, which see higher activity on weekends. We developed “Biryani Weekends,” a brand-owned experiential zone where consumers could explore recipes and engaging content, directly linking the experience to commerce.
For Cadbury Dairy Milk, we created an interactive experience in which users could shake their phones to reveal personalised gift suggestions for siblings. We seamlessly integrated the product into the activity.
In performance marketing, we collaborated with a large fintech client on their Universal App Campaigns (UAC). By analysing and optimising how AI handled these campaigns, we identified opportunities to enhance performance. This approach led to increased app acquisitions, improved business KPIs, and reduced acquisition costs by uncovering valuable growth opportunities.
We have seen social media platforms increasingly exploring ad-free subscription-based models. How might this shift impact advertising strategies and marketers’ ability to reach audiences effectively?
The reality is that India is still a very hugely free economy or a freemium kind of economy. The number of people subscribing to paid news platforms or OTT services is still extremely low compared to those engaging with traditional formats like physical newspapers. For instance, even Netflix had to introduce a mobile-specific plan tailored to the Indian market due to consumer preferences. Similarly, while YouTube has over 600 million users in India, its premium paid subscriber base is a small, single-digit percentage of that number.
India’s transition to a significant number of ad-free subscribers is still in its early stages. It may only happen when at least 30–35% of users move to paid models, which could take years. Until then, the current ecosystem remains largely ad-supported.
Even as some users shift to ad-free platforms, digital marketing will continue to thrive through content creation.
This includes working with influencers and producing branded content aligned with influencer strengths. These strategies will gain prominence as more consumers move behind paywalls.
This shift doesn’t significantly impact marketing strategies in India. We’ve had platforms like Hotstar offering paid subscriptions for years, but it hasn’t reduced marketing scale or effectiveness. The evolution toward ad-free subscription models may bring changes eventually, but it’s likely at least five years away.
With Elon Musk potentially playing a role in shaping U.S. social media regulations under the Trump administration, what changes do you anticipate in how platforms operate, and how might these affect advertising on these platforms?
To be honest, it’s not just Musk — other tech giants like Meta are also trying to engage with Trump. This could influence the broader regulatory environment.
Taking a step back, most large platforms today are under scrutiny in both the U.S. and European markets. These investigations stem from various concerns, including legislative compliance, monopolistic practices, and privacy issues. Regulations like GDPR and local equivalents have added pressure on platforms to prioritise compliance and privacy. This trend applies across the board, from major players to smaller platforms.
It’s a wait-and-watch situation regarding how the Trump administration’s potential policies might affect platforms like Meta or X. Both sides of the debate present compelling points, but it’s difficult to predict which way things will swing. The regulatory landscape is still evolving, and its impact on advertising strategies remains uncertain for now.
Google’s decision to retain third-party cookies has extended the timeline for a cookieless digital ecosystem. How has this impacted the industry’s readiness for privacy-first solutions and how are they addressing privacy concerns while maintaining effectiveness?
Today, laws and privacy cannot be overlooked, unlike 10 years ago when it was hardly a topic of conversation. Back then, you could create a website and collect data from visitors, and it wasn’t a big issue. But now, if you’re collecting data, there are strict legal compliance and privacy regulations that need to be followed.
Does the consumer care about these regulations? Not always, because many simply click through consent boxes without reading them — just like we all sign telecom agreements without fully understanding the terms. Over time, however, I believe consumer awareness will increase.
The important thing is that brands are highly self-aware today. Both multinational and large Indian conglomerates have guardrails in place to ensure they operate in a privacy-compliant manner. Brands realise that privacy matters, and they’ve adapted their strategies accordingly. They also understand that short-term tactics, like clickbait, don’t build long-term trust or brand loyalty.
Brands are focusing on offering meaningful value in exchange for consumer data. For instance, Mondelez offers a service called Desert Corner, where consumers sign up for a newsletter offering interesting dessert recipes. The service is completely optional, and the value exchange is clear: Consumers receive useful content in return for sharing their email addresses.
Similarly, for Colgate, we run an Oral Health Care Month on WhatsApp, where consumers can answer questions or upload photos of their teeth to receive a personalised dental report. The experience doesn’t stop there; we also provide information on nearby dentists, encouraging consumers to schedule a visit. This type of engagement, which provides value and convenience, is key.
Consumers want experiences that either save them time, educate them, or inspire them. When brands offer these types of value-driven experiences, consumers are more likely to share their data.
If given the option, most would prefer to see ads that are relevant and meaningful to them, knowing these ads add value to their lives.
As AI companies like OpenAI and Perplexity consider entering the advertising space, how could this disrupt traditional search advertising? Could this signal the beginning of a new era in how brands approach search and performance marketing?
The reality is that traditional search advertising has always been built on relevancy. For example, if I search for a car, and a car ad appears in the search results, it’s relevant because it’s helping me make an informed decision. If AI companies like OpenAI or Perplexity were to enter the space, they would definitely present tough competition.
However, the conventional search we knew 10 years ago is already very different. Today, if I want to buy something, I’m more likely to search on platforms like Amazon or Instamart rather than Google because they’re more directly related to the purchase process. But if I’m researching or comparing products, Google is still the go-to platform.
What will change for marketers is that if AI companies like Perplexity or OpenAI offer new solutions, they will need to ensure their brands are visible in the right spaces, where the opportunity for discovery and selection is greatest.
You can already see how regular search is evolving. For example, Google now offers condensed results through its Gemini feature, and you can search within WhatsApp using Meta’s platform. The days of going to one specific place to search are fading. Each platform is trying to improve discoverability to better serve the consumer.
Consumers today are ruthless when it comes to finding solutions that meet their needs, and any platform that offers such solutions will eventually monetise in some way due to its scale.
There have been reports that we are stepping into the agentic era of AI. With AI potentially having the capacity to think and perform activities on its own, what does the next step look like in terms of personalisation in marketing?
Let me talk about our own journey with artificial intelligence. Ajay Gupte, our CEO, often jokes that about four years ago, one of the technologists on our team asked him to sign off on three or four bots. He asked, “Why do we need bots?” The technologist explained that we were going to automate TV planning with something called RPA (Robotic Process Automation). The bots would handle the operational, repetitive tasks involved in TV planning, allowing the planners to focus their cognitive abilities on adding value and improving the TV plan. This was four years ago, and it’s a great example of AI’s potential to enhance efficiency.
Another example from our group is something called Co-Pilot, an AI-based bid optimiser used in programmatic environments. If a human were to optimise a campaign manually, it would take a significant amount of time and effort. However, Co-Pilot does it far more efficiently, enabling the campaign optimisers to focus on other strategies.
AI has already been helping brands and organisations in areas where it adds the most value. This has been the case for a while, and other organisations are doing similar things.
As for AI-based agents and models, at WPP, we’ve also made strides in this direction. We believe AI has two major applications: one is foundational, where AI helps with media planning, content creation, copywriting, and cataloguing; and the other is transformational, which takes AI to a higher level.
For example, we have something called “Channel Brain,” which looks at multiple media channels and recommends the best ones to use based on past data, current data, and predictive modelling. We also have “Audience Brain,” which identifies sub-segments within an audience, like 18-24-year-olds, and suggests tailored media strategies. The most advanced one is “Brand Brain,” which fuses brand guidelines, creative assets, and data with media insights. This combination functions almost like a brand manager meets a media planner.
What’s exciting is that digital allows us to test different outputs in real-time. If one concept works better than another, we can scale it accordingly.
Our approach to AI is client-centric, with a focus on improving outcomes across all functions, whether it’s planning, buying, operations, or HR.
The key is to use AI to make the process smarter and more efficient for every employee, regardless of their department.
In fact, I was recently speaking with someone on the global team about how AI agents should also undergo an induction, just like new employees. They need to learn the do’s and don’ts to ensure they’re aligned with company values. We also had an interesting session about the biases in AI, which I found fascinating. As humans, we all have biases, and it’s essential to be mindful of that when we prompt AI for outputs. Addressing this issue will be crucial for the future of AI in marketing.
The advantage of being a market leader both in India and globally is that we get to benefit from the best practices from both regions. And bias in AI is an area we’re actively working to solve, which makes AI’s role in marketing even more compelling.
