Publicis Media's Lalatendu Das: 2026 to Transform Advertising with AI, Data, Trust

• Publicis Media India achieved strong double-digit growth in 2025, expanding its client base and launching Spark Foundry India.
• The company scaled its Connected Media proposition to a 580-million audience graph, integrating Media with eCommerce, Social/Influence, and CRM.
• Lalatendu Das predicts 2026 will be a "real inflection point" for advertising, moving beyond 2025's transition year.
• Key disruptive trends for 2026 include practical AI adoption at scale, data privacy becoming a boardroom priority (DPDP Act), and authenticity/community over mass awareness.
• The Indian media landscape is rapidly maturing, becoming more data-backed, programmatic, and biddable, with digital, eCommerce, social, and CTV gaining prominence.

Why It Matters: Lalatendu Das sees 2026 as pivotal for advertising, driven by practical AI, data privacy, and authenticity.