MVP - THE MASTERS' VOICE PODCAST - MEDIABRIEF

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At least 30% of a brand's impressions are landing in content that doesn't suit it. None of it shows up on the dashboard.

That finding, from Channel Factory's own research, sits at the centre of this episode of MVP – The Master's Voice Podcast, in which host Pavan R Chawla, Founder-Editor of MediaBrief.com, is joined by Kartik Mehta, Chief Business Officer and Head of Asia at Channel Factory.

Digital advertising has spent two decades getting very good at finding the right audience. Kartik's argument is that the harder question is what that audience is watching when the ad arrives.

Kartik draws a hard line between brand safety and brand suitability, and says one of the two should no longer appear on a proposal at all. He challenges a word marketers use loosely, names the one ad format that settles the argument, and grades AI-made content on a scale of one to five — bluntly, about where a lot of advertising lands on it.

Kartik spent close to twelve years in traditional agencies before moving to technology in 2013, scaling businesses at Vserv and Silverpush, and joining Channel Factory as employee number two in India in January 2024.

IN THIS EPISODE
• From Ogilvy, JWT and Chaitra into advertising technology
• Resilience, human centricity, and taking over a region three years in the red
• Channel Factory from its founding in 2010 to roughly 100 people across Asia
• Brand safety versus brand suitability
• Contextual relevance beyond keywords: creators, sentiment and engagement
• Why block lists over-block — and what one word does to a basketball highlight
• View IQ, Activate IQ and Reporting IQ
• Why video-level understanding beats channel-level
• Intentional inclusion, and why inclusion lists must be dynamic
• India's languages, AI's blind spots, and where humans still sit in the loop
• YouTube as television, and planning for the living room
• Attention versus viewing, and grading AI content from quality to brain rot

QUOTE FROM THE EPISODE
"Avoiding content is the easiest. But knowing what kind of content to include is difficult." — Kartik Mehta

Read the full episode, with the complete transcript, on MediaBrief:
https://mediabrief.com/channel-factory-kartik-mehta-on-mvp-podcast/

MVP – The Master's Voice Podcast is MediaBrief.com's award-winning flagship series of in-depth conversations with leaders shaping media, advertising, marketing, communications, technology, business and society. Hosted by Pavan R Chawla, Founder-Editor of MediaBrief.com.

More at https://mediabrief.com

Want to pitch someone to be featured?

We have two podcast series: MVP - The Master's Voice Podcast, and MediaCast. Both are published by MediaBrief.com.

So, if you want to pitch someone to be considered for our podcasts, here's how you can do it: 

• First, follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram.
• Then, write to us at pavan [at] mediabrief dot com and alliances [at] mediabrief dot com, and also share links to your profiles that are following us. 

Connecting socially is something we believe in and advocate.  So go ahead.  Reach out. We're happy, social souls.  

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Every signal said he was the perfect audience for that chicken soup ad. High spender. Frequent buyer. Loves the convenience of q-commerce. He's also a vegetarian. That one example, from Hemant Arora, Vice President and Global Head of Truecaller's Ads business, is a very sharp case for why inferred intent can only take a marketer so far.

In this episode of MVP – The Master's Voice Podcast, host Pavan R Chawla, Founder-Editor of MediaBrief.com, and Hemant Arora work through what amounts to a masterclass in growth: the move from inferring what a consumer might want to asking that consumer directly, and acting on what they choose to share.

(Read the full post and transcript on Mediabrief.com, here: https://mediabrief.com/truecaller-hemant-arora-on-mvp-podcast) 

Hemant explains what Truecaller Pulse is and why he calls it a philosophy before a product; how it captures declared intent at Truecaller's after-call moment; how those answers become dynamically served creatives in real time; and how the resulting intelligence stack compounds across campaigns rather than expiring with one. He also explains why Truecaller discourages brands seeking a single quick activation, and why curiosity about a consumer is, in his words, a responsibility and not a right.

With India's festive quarter here — peak rates, compressed decisions, and wasted impressions costing more than they will all year — the timing is hard to ignore.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Hemant Arora's career across The Times of India, Discovery Networks, NDTV, Dainik Bhaskar and TikTok

• Truecaller today: more than half a billion users globally, around 350 million MAUs in India

• What Truecaller Pulse is, and why it's a philosophy before a product

• Inferred intent vs declared intent, and the limits of signals

• Ask, activate, learn — how Pulse works end to end

• The after-call moment, and the trust that makes a question answerable

• Pulse Signals, Pulse Insights and Pulse Trends

• Why consumer understanding can't be a one-campaign exercise

• The two assets every campaign should create: customer growth AND customer understanding

• 60 billion-plus calls processed daily, close to 6 billion ad impressions served daily

QUOTE FROM THE EPISODE

"I have to be curious every single day about you. It is not a right, it is a responsibility." — Hemant Arora

Read the full episode, with the complete transcript, on MediaBrief: https://mediabrief.com/truecaller-hemant-arora-on-mvp-podcast/

MVP – The Master's Voice Podcast is MediaBrief.com's award-winning flagship series of in-depth conversations with leaders shaping media, advertising, marketing, communications, technology, business and society. Hosted by Pavan R Chawla, Founder-Editor of MediaBrief.com.

Want to pitch someone to be featured?

We have two podcast series: MVP - The Master's Voice Podcast, and MediaCast. Both are published by MediaBrief.com.

So, if you want to pitch someone to be considered for our podcasts, here's how you can do it: 

• First, follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram.
• Then, write to us at pavan [at] mediabrief dot com and alliances [at] mediabrief dot com, and also share links to your profiles that are following us. 

Connecting socially is something we believe in and advocate.  So go ahead.  Reach out. We're happy, social souls.  

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 Natarajan Ramani, General Manager and Head, TransUnion India Data Analytics Solutions (INDAS), joins host Pavan R Chawla on MVP – The Master's Voice Podcast for a conversation about trust, data, identity, analytics and marketing effectiveness in India's rapidly evolving digital economy. 

Consumers now interact with brands across apps, platforms, media, dealerships and dozens of other touchpoints. That creates opportunity — and it creates complexity. Natarajan Ramani explains how TU INDAS approaches that complexity through a single enterprise journey: turning data into insights, insights into decisions, and decisions into actionable results.

Natarajan outlines how TruAudience, TruValidate, TruContact and TruIQ connect targeting, identity validation, trusted customer contact and analytics around one customer, and why identity resolution sits at the centre of all four. 

He is candid about the cost of getting it wrong. When an enterprise cannot tell that the same person appears across five channels, it reaches out five times in a week — driving up cost, and driving consumers towards disengagement. Inefficiency, he argues, is the biggest hidden cost in marketing today. 

The conversation also covers marketing mix modeling across digital, social, OTT, connected TV, television, print and out-of-home; TransUnion's recognition as a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Marketing Mix Modeling Solutions; and why privacy, consent and transparency are the foundation on which consumer trust is built. 

Natarajan's closing message to CEOs is the one worth carrying into your next planning meeting: the organisations that succeed over the next decade will not be the ones holding the most data, but the ones with the greatest confidence in how they use it. 

IN THIS EPISODE: 

• What TU INDAS does and how it enables enterprise decision-making 
• Turning data into insights, decisions and actionable results
• India's growing problem of data overload and data asymmetry
• TruAudience, TruValidate, TruContact and TruIQ 
• Digital, OTT, connected TV and the wider media mix
• Identity resolution, duplication, efficiency and marketing ROI
• TransUnion's Gartner recognition for marketing mix modeling
• Privacy, consent, transparency and responsible data use
• What CMOs and CEOs should understand about trusted consumer intelligence 

 Read the full episode, with transcript, on MediaBrief:  https://mediabrief.com/tu-indas-natarajan-ramani-on-mvp-podcast

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/TwXR7GQgLwA?si=7zhfi46OfbW74m9B

Want to pitch someone to be featured?

We have two podcast series: MVP - The Master's Voice Podcast, and MediaCast. Both are published by MediaBrief.com.

So, if you want to pitch someone to be considered for our podcasts, here's how you can do it: 

• First, follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram.
• Then, write to us at pavan [at] mediabrief dot com and alliances [at] mediabrief dot com, and also share links to your profiles that are following us. 

Connecting socially is something we believe in and advocate.  So go ahead.  Reach out. We're happy, social souls.  

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Achint Setia, CEO, Snapdeal, features on this episode of MVP – The Master’s Voice Podcast, in an expansive, rewarding and insights-filled conversation with Pavan R Chawla, Founder-Editor of MediaBrief.com.

Drawing on nearly two decades across technology, consulting, media, marketing and e-commerce, Achint shares sharp perspectives on Bharat consumers, value commerce, changing aspirations and the next phase of Indian e-commerce.

He speaks about Snapdeal’s focused Bharat opportunity; why value-conscious consumers are very different from merely price-conscious shoppers; what builds trust in e-commerce; and what Snapdeal is learning by engaging directly with consumers and sellers across India.

The episode brings together 10 important learnings from Achint Setia, with excellent insights into consumer behaviour, aspiration, Cash on Delivery, creators and social commerce, digital-first marketing, trust and seller quality, and the possibilities AI could unlock for Indian e-commerce.

And that is only a tasting bite of a conversation rich with perspective, experience and practical learning.

Listen to the complete episode of MVP – The Master’s Voice Podcast from MediaBrief.com.

Want to pitch someone to be featured?

We have two podcast series: MVP - The Master's Voice Podcast, and MediaCast. Both are published by MediaBrief.com.

So, if you want to pitch someone to be considered for our podcasts, here's how you can do it: 

• First, follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram.
• Then, write to us at pavan [at] mediabrief dot com and alliances [at] mediabrief dot com, and also share links to your profiles that are following us. 

Connecting socially is something we believe in and advocate.  So go ahead.  Reach out. We're happy, social souls.  

Send us Fan Mail

On MVP The Master's Voice Podcast from Mediabrief, Navtez Bal, VP & GM India & South Asia, Red Hat,  discusses open source, AI, hybrid cloud, enterprise resilience and India’s technology opportunity and leadership amid disruption, with Pavan R Chawla.

Navtez discusses open source, AI, hybrid cloud, enterprise resilience, vendor lock-in, governance, data privacy, India’s digital infrastructure, and leadership amid disruption.

The conversation looks at how Red Hat’s journey in India has moved from enterprise Linux to application modernisation, automation, hybrid cloud and AI infrastructure. Navtez also explains why open-source thinking gives enterprises more control, flexibility and long-term strategic freedom.

A sharp and timely conversation on why open source — and an open mind — remain the quiet but powerful foundation of enterprise resilience, AI readiness and India’s technomic future.

Want to pitch someone to be featured?

We have two podcast series: MVP - The Master's Voice Podcast, and MediaCast. Both are published by MediaBrief.com.

So, if you want to pitch someone to be considered for our podcasts, here's how you can do it: 

• First, follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram.
• Then, write to us at pavan [at] mediabrief dot com and alliances [at] mediabrief dot com, and also share links to your profiles that are following us. 

Connecting socially is something we believe in and advocate.  So go ahead.  Reach out. We're happy, social souls.  

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of MVP - The Master’s Voice Podcast, guest Thimmaiah Napanda, Managing Director and CEO of Alternicq Limited, speaks with Pavan R Chawla - show host and Founder-Editor of Mediabrief.com.

The conversation begins with the Manjushree Technopack rebrand to Alternicq and opens into a wider discussion on innovation at scale, rigid plastic packaging, circularity, supply resilience, leadership and India’s manufacturing opportunity.

Thimmaiah Napanda explains why this shift is far more than a rebrand, what the new name and logo are meant to signal, why packaging should not be treated as a commodity business, and how Alternicq is thinking about customer partnership, sustainability and future growth.

Read the complete post on Mediabrief.com and watch this video on YouTube, or listen to it on top audio podcast directories like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, JioSaavn, Gaana and many others.

Want to pitch someone to be featured?

We have two podcast series: MVP - The Master's Voice Podcast, and MediaCast. Both are published by MediaBrief.com.

So, if you want to pitch someone to be considered for our podcasts, here's how you can do it: 

• First, follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram.
• Then, write to us at pavan [at] mediabrief dot com and alliances [at] mediabrief dot com, and also share links to your profiles that are following us. 

Connecting socially is something we believe in and advocate.  So go ahead.  Reach out. We're happy, social souls.  

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Join Amir Durrani of NTT DATA on MVP for a strategic playbook on Agentic AI and Full Stack leadership. Discover how India is driving global innovation and digital transformation in the enterprise AI era.

Delighted to bring you the 134th episode of MVP – The Master’s Voice Podcast, featuring a deep-dive conversation with Amir Durrani, Global Head of Applications and Business Process Services at NTT DATA. He speaks with Pavan R Chawla, show host and Founder-Editor of Mediabrief.com.

Recorded in Mumbai, this dialogue explores how a $30B+ global powerhouse is redefining work and leadership. With billions invested in India, Amir frames the region as the primary engine for global innovation. This masterclass on Digital Transformation and Agentic AI explores why NTT DATA India leads in Enterprise AI Strategy and Full Stack technology. Amir Durrani shares why India Tech Innovation drives their Business Process Services, and how AI Upskilling and Leadership Skills anchor Responsible Innovation.

Inside the Episode: A Strategic Playbook for Leaders

The True Meaning of Full Stack: NTT DATA’s depth spans from undersea cables to boardroom consulting. This sea-to-suite model allows them to share risk and commit to business outcomes.

The Shift to Agentic AI: Moving from bots to autonomous decision-making. Amir explains the future lies in agent orchestration and training to minimize hallucinations.

Native AI Transformation: Under CEO and Global AI Officer Abhijit Dubey, the company reimagines processes from scratch, asking: "How would this look if created for the first time today?"

Key Discussion Highlights

India as the Innovation Core: The transition from a cost-hub to a global innovation engine, anchored by Bengaluru centers. The Evolution of AI: The shift from RPA to Agentic AI, supported by partners like OpenAI and Mistral AI. The Human Element: Why employees with intrinsic client knowledge are the best candidates to train AI agents—their trust and expertise are irreplaceable. Leadership in the AI Era: In a world of rapid shifts, failing fast and decisive speed are vital. Yet, human relationships remain the bedrock of success.

Why This Episode Matters: This story of leveraging Indian talent bridges high-tech strategy with human-centric values. Technical problems are solvable, but the true value lies in relationships and business nuance.

Experience how technological might merges with human excellence—all driven by empathy. Subscribe to The Master’s Voice Podcast for more masterclasses on leadership and transformation.

Want to pitch someone to be featured?

We have two podcast series: MVP - The Master's Voice Podcast, and MediaCast. Both are published by MediaBrief.com.

So, if you want to pitch someone to be considered for our podcasts, here's how you can do it: 

• First, follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram.
• Then, write to us at pavan [at] mediabrief dot com and alliances [at] mediabrief dot com, and also share links to your profiles that are following us. 

Connecting socially is something we believe in and advocate.  So go ahead.  Reach out. We're happy, social souls.  

Send us Fan Mail

Amit Syngle, MD and CEO of Asian Paints, is my distinguished guest on this episode of MVP – The Master’s Voice Podcast from Mediabrief.com. Over an extraordinary growth journey from Management Trainee to MD & CEO, Syngle has helped shape Asian Paints into Asia’s second-largest and India’s largest paint and home décor powerhouse, and one of the World’s Top 5 in Architectural coatings.

In this episode, Syngle speaks about Asian Paints’ 80-year legacy, its scale, turnover and the thinking behind its ‘Har Ghar’ festive campaign that celebrates India’s emotional bond with home. He explains how the company has moved from paint manufacturing to becoming a complete home décor solutions provider rooted in strong consumer understanding, design leadership and cultural relevance.

We discuss the expanding paints and coatings market, Asian Paints’ décor strategy, and how its training academies equip lakhs of painters and tradespeople with future-ready skills. Syngle also highlights how collaborations in public art and murals bring design, colour and cultural storytelling to communities across India.

The conversation dives deep into company culture, values, inclusiveness, contribution, belonging and the ability to embrace multiple generations at the workplace. Syngle also reflects on his own journey and the leadership lessons of passion, perseverance and people engagement.

We close with a discussion on reputation management and why safeguarding brand trust is a shared responsibility across the organisation.

A powerful and insightful conversation for anyone interested in branding, décor, leadership or the future of consumer-centric businesses. (Pavan R Chawla, Founder-Editor, MEDIABRIEF.COM)

Want to pitch someone to be featured?

We have two podcast series: MVP - The Master's Voice Podcast, and MediaCast. Both are published by MediaBrief.com.

So, if you want to pitch someone to be considered for our podcasts, here's how you can do it: 

• First, follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram.
• Then, write to us at pavan [at] mediabrief dot com and alliances [at] mediabrief dot com, and also share links to your profiles that are following us. 

Connecting socially is something we believe in and advocate.  So go ahead.  Reach out. We're happy, social souls.  

Send us Fan Mail

Abhay Singhal, visionary co-founder of InMobi and CEO of InMobi Advertising, joins Pavan R Chawla, Founder-Editor of Mediabrief.com and host of MVP – The Master’s Voice Podcast to share his masterclass perspective on the global future of mobile adtech.

InMobi, celebrated as India’s first startup unicorn in 2011, delivers a key differentiator in the industry: Return on Investment (ROI) at scale with convenience.

Unmatched Scale and Reach

InMobi Advertising provides monumental global reach. The platform connects with 80% to 90% of all mobile users worldwide and serves approximately 50 to 80 billion ads a day. For advertisers running video campaigns, InMobi consistently delivers a video completion rate of over 80%.

The AI Imperative

Singhal details how AI is rewriting the rules of the game across three dimensions: Creative, Agentic Platforms, and Insights. AI is fundamentally transforming creative development by democratizing access, drastically lowering the cost of generating custom creatives, and finally making the aspiration of the "right creative for right person at the right time" a reality. In fact, AI is expected to win major awards in advertising festivals like Cannes.

Innovation and Control: Buyer Hub

Discover the Buyer Hub, InMobi’s new self-service programmatic platform. Designed to empower mid-sized advertisers, Buyer Hub provides the precision, transparency, and control needed to plan, optimize, and purchase programmatic deals independently. Singhal argues that if you are a mid-sized advertiser, you may no longer need an external agency to run your campaigns.

Addressing Ad Fraud and Leadership

Singhal tackles the persistent challenge of ad fraud, describing the constant vigilance required as a "cat-and-mouse game". InMobi deploys sophisticated, homegrown systems that analyze hundreds of signals to block invalid traffic.

Finally, the conversation offers a critical leadership lesson: leaders must avoid "analysis paralysis" and act boldly because the future of adtech is being written now.

Listen to the full episode for deep insights into innovation, effective targeting, and how InMobi is shaping a transparent, impactful, and brand-safe digital ecosystem.

Want to pitch someone to be featured?

We have two podcast series: MVP - The Master's Voice Podcast, and MediaCast. Both are published by MediaBrief.com.

So, if you want to pitch someone to be considered for our podcasts, here's how you can do it: 

• First, follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram.
• Then, write to us at pavan [at] mediabrief dot com and alliances [at] mediabrief dot com, and also share links to your profiles that are following us. 

Connecting socially is something we believe in and advocate.  So go ahead.  Reach out. We're happy, social souls.  

Send us Fan Mail

This episode of MVP – The Master’s Voice Podcast, features Kartik Sharma, CEO - India at Omnicom Media Group, one of the most respected leaders in the media and marketing industry. He is in conversation with Pavan R Chawla, series host and Founder-Editor of Mediabrief.com.

Kartik reflects on steering OMG India to consistent double-digit growth, nearly twice the industry adex, while building a culture of innovation and resilience. He discusses the shift in client expectations towards integrated, business-focused solutions, the role of AI in shaping future strategies, and why creativity and measurement remain vital to brand success.

This episode also carries his guidance for aspiring professionals on thriving in a career he describes as a “mega test match.”

Listen to the full conversation for a strategic overview of leadership, culture, and future-ready marketing.

Want to pitch someone to be featured?

We have two podcast series: MVP - The Master's Voice Podcast, and MediaCast. Both are published by MediaBrief.com.

So, if you want to pitch someone to be considered for our podcasts, here's how you can do it: 

• First, follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram.
• Then, write to us at pavan [at] mediabrief dot com and alliances [at] mediabrief dot com, and also share links to your profiles that are following us. 

Connecting socially is something we believe in and advocate.  So go ahead.  Reach out. We're happy, social souls.