Effie India 2026: Effectiveness takes center stage as AI meets human creativity
Effie India 2026 doubled down on what matters to marketers: business results. The show honored campaigns that moved metrics, with Leo India named Agency of the Year and Nestlé India taking Client of the Year. The deeper message was clear-creative work is being judged by outcomes, and AI is now part of the workflow, not the headline act.
The signal from the stage
Prasoon Joshi, Chairman of Omnicom Advertising India, called out a structural shift driven by technology and changing media habits. As traditional viewing declines, brands must rethink how they connect, keeping creativity aligned with brand purpose.
On AI, Joshi was direct: "The industry is going through a disruptive time, primarily because AI." Still, he framed it as an extension of human thinking-useful in execution, but not a replacement for insight or ideas. The emotional core of brand building remains human.
Lulu Raghavan, President APAC at Landor, stressed the long game. "I don't think hard work replaces anything," she said, reminding the room that progress often compounds quietly before it shows. Durable careers-and brands-are built through consistent effort.
What this means for marketers
- Measure what matters: set clear commercial objectives and score creative against business outcomes, not vibes.
- Align with purpose: keep the brand's core promise steady while you test new formats, channels and AI-driven tactics.
- Audit attention, not just reach: shift budgets toward placements and creators that earn time and intent, not just impressions.
- Put AI to work where it helps: content variation, media mix modeling, segmentation, and post-campaign analysis. Keep humans on strategy and story.
- Tighten the creative-data loop: feed insight into briefs, test fast, learn faster, and scale only what proves impact.
- Design for fragmented journeys: build modular assets that flex across touchpoints as consumer behavior keeps changing.
- Invest in team capability: upskill managers and creatives on AI tools, prompt quality, and measurement literacy.
- Play the long game: brand equity compounds-stay patient during slow patches, and keep shipping quality work.
Winners at a glance
- Agency of the Year: Leo India
- Client of the Year: Nestlé India
How to apply this on Monday
- Pick three AI use cases you can pilot in 30 days-e.g., creative variants for paid social, automated performance reporting, or dynamic audience clustering.
- Refactor KPIs so every major campaign ladders to revenue, margin, or retention-then socialize one scorecard across teams and partners.
- Run an attention audit: identify the 20% of assets and channels driving 80% of view time and action; reallocate budget accordingly.
- Create a "purpose check" in your briefing template to keep ideas consistent with the brand's North Star.
Further resources
Learn more about effectiveness standards from the Effies: Effie Worldwide
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