Meta hosts summit on adapting agencies to digital disruption
Meta held the Agency Edition of its Marketing Summit in India this week, bringing together over 350 senior agency partners in Mumbai and Gurgaon to explore how digital disruption is transforming the advertising ecosystem. The event focused on how artificial intelligence (AI), short-form video formats, and business messaging are reshaping agency operations and driving the need for new skills and strategies.
“The agency ecosystem, which is at the heart of India’s digital, brand and advertising growth, is on the cusp of a massive shift,” said Gaurav Jeet Singh, Director, Agency and VC Partnerships for Meta in India. “The evolving digital landscape powered by the growth of AI, short-form video formats such as Reels, and Business Messaging has meant that agencies of all sizes need to adopt new skills to grow.”
Singh emphasised that automation is helping agencies scale quickly, while newer content formats are redefining how consumers engage with brands. Sessions at the summit highlighted the integration of AI-powered tools, evolving creative platforms, and tailored solutions designed to prepare agencies for future challenges.
Generative AI was a key theme at the summit, with examples of how agencies are using it to drive precision and performance in campaigns. Sokrati India, for instance, has implemented Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns (A+SC) to scale multiple accounts. “We have deployed Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns and have seen an increase in not just the adoption of A+SC as a product but also a substantial increase in the spends on A+SC,” said Abhirup Datta, CEO of Sokrati and Performance Solutions.
Reels featured prominently in discussions on creative strategy. With India leading the world in weekly Reels production and home to the largest community of Instagram creators, agencies are now evolving into full-service brand consultants. Aakriti Sharma, Client Lead at Wavemaker, cited the campaign for India Gate Basmati Rice. “We worked with over 20 regional creators and mega celebrities to showcase its new packaging and reach a broader audience with Partnership Ads. The brand saw a 4.5-point increase in top-of-mind awareness vs 0.9 APAC benchmark.”
Blink Digital’s Sadhvi Dhawan discussed a festive campaign with Milton that utilised multilingual video assets across formats. “The campaign resulted in Milton seeing a 110% lift in conversations, 84% increase in conversions, and 31% lower cost per reach,” she said.
The summit also addressed the growing role of messaging platforms in the customer journey. Iti Kaul, Head of Digital at OMD India, noted the increasing importance of business messaging in achieving measurable outcomes. “Business Messaging on Meta has proven beneficial in driving KPIs, including high-quality leads at efficient costs and has made its way into our plans as a tried and tested solution delivering business outcomes,” she said.
Custom technology development was another area of focus. AdYogi collaborated with the platform to create BigAtom.ai, a performance management tool for e-commerce. “BigAtom.ai enhances product feeds with videos and utilises product-level videos to drive higher ROAS for catalog ads,” said Anshuk Aggarwal, Co-Founder of AdYogi. He added that the AI-driven system also filters underperforming products to save up to 10% in ad budgets.
The event underscored the urgency for Indian agencies to adapt to fast-changing digital norms. With technological advancements reshaping consumption patterns and marketing techniques, agencies are being called to expand their capabilities and position themselves as strategic growth partners.
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