The Changing Landscape of Advertising: Ms. Ankita Khatri Shares Industry Insights

By Riddhi

Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication (AIMC) featured an insightful session on “The Changing Landscape of Advertising” with Ms. Ankita Khatri, an AIMC alumna and Vice President, Market Place & Partnership . With over 15 years of experience in the media industry, Ms. Khatri offered students a practical understanding of how the advertising industry is evolving in response to changing consumer behaviour, emerging technologies and the growing influence of data.

Ms. Khatri began by discussing the fundamental role of advertising in transforming a product into a brand. She gave students an overview of the process involved in creating an advertisement, explaining how professionals from creative and PR agencies, research and consumer insights, activation and other specialised domains work collaboratively to develop an effective campaign.

Elaborating on the advertising process, she emphasised the importance of understanding both the brand and its consumers before developing an advertising strategy. Identifying the target audience, understanding pricing, defining the communication objective and determining the message a brand wants to convey are among the key aspects agencies need to establish at the outset. She also explained how the nature of a brand influences the timing and choice of advertising platforms. For instance, FMCG brands may intensify advertising around the beginning and end of the month, while categories such as automobiles and electronics often witness greater advertising activity during festive periods.

A key focus of the session was changing consumer behaviour and media consumption patterns. Ms. Khatri used industry statistics to discuss aspects such as gender-based screen time, OTT consumption, social media usage and sports viewership. Her insights highlighted the growing importance of data and consumer research in developing effective advertising and marketing strategies. At the same time, she stressed that data alone cannot create a successful campaign, as human experiences, observations and consumer insights remain equally important.

Ms. Khatri also traced the changing dominance of different advertising mediums. She discussed the strong presence of television following 2005, driven by the popularity of General Entertainment Channels (GECs) in India. However, the rapid expansion of digital content, particularly since 2020, has significantly transformed media consumption. Brands, especially those targeting Gen Z, are increasingly using audience data to identify the platforms where their consumers spend the most time and are consequently shifting greater portions of their advertising investments towards digital media.

Addressing the challenge of shrinking attention spans, Ms. Khatri discussed the importance of creating concise and engaging advertisements. She also highlighted the continued relevance of traditional media, particularly newspapers, which continue to command consumer trust and credibility.

The session further covered Outdoor Advertising, Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising and cinema advertising, followed by an interactive Q&A session. Discussing cinema as an advertising medium, Ms. Khatri highlighted regional differences in audience behaviour, particularly the strong connection audiences in South India have with cinema and film personalities. She explained that brands targeting these markets can strategically leverage cinema advertising to connect with audiences through their strong affinity for films and actors.

The session provided students with a comprehensive understanding of the changing advertising ecosystem and the factors shaping contemporary campaigns. While data and technology are increasingly influencing advertising decisions, Ms. Khatri emphasised that storytelling, human understanding and meaningful consumer connections remain at the heart of effective advertising. The interaction encouraged aspiring advertising professionals to continuously upskill, observe changing consumer behaviour, stay informed about emerging trends and, most importantly, develop clarity about the brand, its audience and the message it seeks to communicate.