Mobile marketing in India is undergoing a significant transformation as brands grapple with shrinking attention spans, escalating media clutter, and an increasingly dynamic consumer landscape. This shift compels marketers to reassess their strategies for engaging audiences on mobile devices. According to industry experts, the traditional approach of high-volume outreach and isolated mobile strategies is proving ineffective, draining budgets without fostering brand loyalty. In its place, a more nuanced framework is emerging, emphasizing authenticity, cross-channel coordination, data-driven insights, and creative relevance that captures consumer attention instead of ambushing it.
Amidst this evolving landscape, the industry is also contending with a complex trust equation. As data privacy regulations tighten and consumers become more cautious of invasive targeting practices, the definition of personalisation is shifting to prioritize consent, context, and first-party data intelligence. With artificial intelligence transitioning from experimentation to widespread application, marketers are recalibrating their mobile strategies to balance growth with governance. The result is a mobile ecosystem that increasingly values subtlety over noise, signifying a maturation of the industry.
KG Subramaniam, CMO of LT Foods, outlined three key structural shifts influencing mobile marketing: diminishing attention spans, increasing clutter, and an urgent need for precision. He stated, “It’s extremely important that brands become more authentic about what they communicate, authentic about the values they espouse,” while also emphasizing the necessity for brands to adopt a data-driven approach to identify their target consumers more accurately. Subramaniam stressed that brands must manage their communication responsibly in terms of both frequency and volume.
Santosh Kumar, COO of Innocean India, highlighted a critical shift from siloed mobile strategies to integrated, cross-channel marketing approaches. He remarked, “Mobile marketing in silos doesn’t work today,” underscoring the importance of unified strategies that align with a common objective. As consumers navigate multiple platforms, a cross-channel strategy becomes essential for effective engagement.
On the technological front, Kumar observed that AI is moving from a phase of experimentation to one of implementation. “Last year was the experimentation for AI. This year is the real implementation of AI,” he noted, pointing out that future efforts will see more tasks being managed by AI agents, allowing humans to concentrate on strategy and creative endeavours in a hybrid model between human and machine learning.
Nabajit Nath, Sales Director at Kargo India, stressed the significance of creative relevance as the new measure of consumer engagement. With user attention spans waning, particularly in India, he emphasized the necessity for “contextually relevant” advertisements and innovative creative strategies. Nath indicated that the industry is trending towards “innovative creative, contextual targeting, relevant placements, and a more brand-safe environment.”
Abhishek Ranjan, Digital Head at Catch Spices | DS Spiceco, echoed the technology-driven shift, particularly concerning artificial intelligence and machine learning. He noted that “more media money will shift to digital for sure,” and highlighted emerging trends such as connected TVs and 5G technology as vital areas for marketers to explore in the next phase of mobile-led growth.
As brands navigate the balance between personalisation and consumer trust in an increasingly privacy-focused environment, KG Subramaniam cautioned that relevance should not compromise consumer comfort. “Personalisation is important, but not at the cost of being intrusive,” he stated, urging brands to carefully regulate their communication frequency and volume. He emphasized understanding consumer behavior—how they engage with products and the role brands play in their lives—as critical for developing effective engagement strategies.
From a compliance and data governance perspective, Santosh Kumar highlighted that “data protection is a top priority for any brand,” especially with India’s new Data Protection and Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act coming into effect. He advocated for a stronger reliance on first-party data through customer relationship management systems while underscoring the need for strict adherence to the DPPA Act and GDPR guidelines for non-first-party data. Kumar noted that personalisation could still be achieved without identifying individuals, relying instead on contextual signals such as content consumption patterns and transaction behaviors, thereby forming audience cohorts using available metadata.
This recalibration of mobile marketing in India not only emphasizes the importance of authenticity and precision but also reflects a broader trend towards responsible engagement in an age of heightened consumer awareness and regulatory scrutiny. As brands adapt to this new reality, the focus will increasingly shift to creating meaningful connections that respect consumer preferences and privacy, marking a crucial step in the evolution of mobile marketing.
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