14 hrs ago
AI Reshapes India’s Digital Marketing Playbook for Fragmented Consumers
India’s companies are using AI more often to advertise their products.
A new guide called DCODE 2.0 explains how brands can use AI in marketing.
It covers search, social media, online shopping, creators, content and advertising.
AI can help make marketing content quickly and at lower cost.
However, the people behind the guide say humans are still important for building emotional connections with brands.
Younger people often find products through short videos, creators and AI searches.
They may check whether a brand’s promises are truthful before buying.
Companies must therefore combine new technology with trusted messages and their original identity.
Measuring how many people see an advertisement is becoming harder because consumers use many different platforms.
DS Group, WPP Media and MICA launched the second DCODE digital marketing playbook.
DCODE 2.0 integrates AI across search, paid media, content, creative and performance marketing.
Gen Z increasingly discovers brands through visual feeds, creators, short-form content and AI queries.
Marketers face growing difficulty measuring net reach across fragmented digital platforms.
India’s advertising revenue is projected to grow 9.7% in 2026, with digital accounting for 68.1% of the market.
- Who
- Dharampal Satyapal Group, WPP Media, MICA, and marketing executives Rajeev Jain and Navin Khemka.
- What
- They launched DCODE 2.0, a digital marketing playbook that places AI across major marketing functions.
- Where
- India.
- When
- The playbook was launched on Thursday; India’s advertising growth projection refers to 2026.
- Why
- To help brands manage AI adoption, fragmented consumer journeys, and changing discovery and purchasing behavior.
AI-Led Efficiency
Human-Led Brand Building
Role of AI
AI-Led Efficiency
AI can generate content quickly and economically and support discovery, targeting and engagement across the consumer journey.
Human-Led Brand Building
AI should not replace human-led brand building, especially when brands seek emotional relationships with consumers.
Reaching Younger Consumers
AI-Led Efficiency
Brands can use visual feeds, short-form content, creator videos, social commerce and direct AI queries to reach Gen Z.
Human-Led Brand Building
Younger consumers increasingly scrutinize brand claims and may trust peers and creators more than celebrities, making authenticity and delivery essential.
Marketing Strategy
AI-Led Efficiency
Integrating technology, commerce, performance and multiple media channels can address increasingly complex consumer journeys.
Human-Led Brand Building
Legacy brands should not simply chase younger audiences; they must adapt while retaining their core identity.
Key facts
- Playbook
- DCODE 2.0
- Organizations involved
- Dharampal Satyapal Group, WPP Media and MICA
- AI applications
- Search, paid media, performance marketing, content and creative
- Projected 2026 advertising growth
- 9.7%, reaching Rs 2.02 lakh crore
- Projected digital market share
- 68.1% of India’s advertising market
- Fastest-growing digital segment
- Commerce-led advertising, projected to grow 24.2%
- Measurement challenge
- Fragmentation across platforms makes net reach difficult to assess
Quotes
Navin Khemka
President, South Asia, WPP Media
“AI has been helpful in churning out content at a fast pace and at an economical rate.”
financialexpress.com
“From awareness to consultation to purchase, all can be happening in the same session.”
financialexpress.com
Sources
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