Since joining INMA in May to lead the Advertising Initiative, I continue to be awed and inspired by the scale of global programming and the extraordinary innovations showcased throughout that programming from news media publishers around the world. 

Today, we’ll review insights and innovations from two recent INMA events: the South Asia News Media Festival in Mumbai and the virtual INMA Latin America Conference.

The conferences revealed how news publishers around the world are continuing to reinvent their advertising strategies in response to the ongoing challenges of traffic erosion, platform dependency, AI disruption, and evolving advertiser demands. 

These insights directly align with and reflect our Advertising Initiative’s mission and core priorities: first-party data activation, advertising format innovation, revenue diversification, and measurement excellence.

Both conferences showcased valuable lessons on how news publishers are evolving beyond a sole focus on print and display inventory sales toward solution-oriented advertising partnerships, with particular emphasis on data activation, creative format development (including print), AI applied to advertising and premium positioning.

But first, a few reminders on upcoming Advertising Initiative programming. 

• We’re continuing to confirm more and more participants for our virtual First-Party Data Activation for Advertising Master Class on September 11, 16, and 18, which will cover everything from first-party data foundation to building data-powered sales and activation strategies to AI targeting and commerce signal integration and more. Check out the full agenda here and consider signing up to attend.

• Reminder the Advertising Initiative will be part of Media Innovation Week in Dublin September 22-26. I hope to see you there!

Lessons from South Asia

The South Asia festival showcased an incredible array of advertising innovation, with publishers showcasing everything from AI integration to creative format development to strategic data monetisation in multiple ways.

First-party data as a revenue engine

South Asian publishers are rapidly activating first-party data beyond basic audience insights. HT Media’s tiered AI framework exemplifies this evolution. Their Rank AI tool automates SEO workflows using audience behaviour data, delivering 25% improvements in SEO yield, and 50%+ gains in targeted story traffic. 

As L.V. Navaneeth noted, “Advertisers today are not asking for slots — they’re asking for strategy. They want credibility and measurable outcomes.” (Please note I’m happy to confirm HT Media will participate in our First-Party Data Activation for Advertising Master Class in September.)

Data-driven audience segmentation

Further, South Asian publishers are pioneering sophisticated first-party data monetisation strategies that go far beyond basic demographics. The Hindu Group and HT Media are selling anonymised reader insight dashboards to brand partners and creating custom programmatic cohorts like “eco-conscious households in Tier 2 cities” that enable precision targeting for advertisers.

Regional publishers like Lokmat and Loksatta leverage city-tier-based segmentation to serve advertisers with hyper-local relevance, using micro-targeted WhatsApp campaigns based on readership clusters that have led to double-digit engagement gains. HT Media has adapted these principles to serve users across urban metros and vernacular regions, blending behavioural signals with regional preferences to improve advertiser outcomes.

This data-as-a-product approach demonstrates how publishers can compete with global platforms by offering cultural relevance and contextual understanding advertisers value, turning first-party data into a revenue-generating service beyond traditional advertising placements.

Premium format innovation and cross-media packaging

Creative advertising formats dominated conference discussions. The Times of India showcased 71 unique print formats, including AR integrations, scented pages, and QR-to-commerce experiences. Their digital innovations include AI-powered crosswords based on daily news and chatbot-driven advertising for product launches, boosting both engagement and lead capture.

Publishers are creating innovative advertising products — including QR code performance ads with integrated print-digital campaigns, moment-based campaigns (like Century Mattress’ Olympics tie-ups from IPG Mediabrands examples), and geographic bundling that combines print, digital, radio, and out-of-home advertising for comprehensive local market coverage.

Location-based ad bundling represents a future-forward approach, with EY India recommending publishers sell complete geographies (like Mumbai or Navi Mumbai) by bundling print, digital, OOH, radio, and programmatic in one package. SME-focused ad partnerships are creating new outreach models and data-sharing alliances designed to monetise India’s 63 million+ SMEs more effectively.

The conference emphasised that “print equals trust, touch, time, and thoughtfulness” — positioning premium print formats as anchors in multimedia campaigns. 

Premium print positioning and creative innovation

In fact, South Asian publishers are successfully repositioning print as a premium, trust-based advertising environment. As Ashish Pherwani from EY India noted, while 84% of advertising growth comes from digital channels, print maintains steady revenue through credibility and affluent audience reach.

Lokmat’s category-targeted ad editions for real estate, automotive, and wellness — supported by first-party audience data and QR-linked CTAs — demonstrate how print can be data-driven. Brand-funded educational inserts are being used in vernacular papers for health, insurance, and financial literacy campaigns, while Indian Express Group has proposed “Sponsor the Edition” products — branded takeover opportunities that sponsor entire print/digital editions with thematic alignment.

AI-enhanced sales approaches

Publishers in India are deploying AI strategically across the advertising lifecycle. Amar Ujala has developed AI-powered ad copy suggestions that recommend alternate copy, CTA language, and layout for SME advertisers based on historical engagement data, helping smaller advertisers create more effective campaigns.

The Hindu’s advanced AI implementation tests ad performance against modeled personas, with AI rewriting copy to improve outcomes. As Nagaraj Nagabhushan noted: “We ran adversarial models to test ad performance against modeled personas then had AI rewrite copy to improve outcomes” — demonstrating how AI can optimise advertising creative in real-time.

Image-layered advertising technology at Amar Ujala uses AI filters to place display bands on images while automatically excluding infographics, maintaining editorial integrity while maximising advertising inventory. 

E-commerce integration and personalisation

South Asian publishers are leveraging e-commerce principles for audience engagement. HT Media and The Times of India are using dynamic newsletter personalisation built around specific interests, behaviour patterns, and consumption timing to improve advertiser reach and engagement rates.

Contextual commerce integration has emerged as a key revenue driver, with HT Media and Sakal creating daily product round-ups and contextual e-commerce promotions inside e-papers, tied to current headlines (budget, festivals, sports). HT Media’s first-party interest graph tracks interest tags at user level (cricket, tax, veganism), powering recommendations and personalised ad delivery for advertisers.

Creator economy integration

South Asian publishers are also building creator networks that combine editorial credibility with influencer reach. Lokmat’s evolution into a multi-platform influencer model, sourcing local creators from community groups, demonstrates how news brands can compete in the creator economy while maintaining journalistic standards.

As Lokmat’s Hemant Jain said, “A local hero makes a bigger impact than a celebrity in hyper-local communities” — with their Amazon campaign scaling from 20 to 300 influencers, driving 680 million views and delivering measurable results. This suggests publisher-led creator networks can deliver superior results for regional advertisers.

Revenue model evolution

The conference also highlighted diverse revenue streams beyond traditional advertising. 

Publishers are monetising events as intellectual property (ABP’s Ideas of India Summit), creating branded content studios, and developing passion verticals around astrology, education, and matrimonials. This diversification reduces platform dependency while leveraging editorial trust for commercial partnerships.

Lessons from Latin America

The INMA Latin American conference revealed sophisticated approaches to branded content, e-commerce integration, and audience personalisation, demonstrating how Latin American publishers are innovating and building sustainable advertising ecosystems in the “post-traffic era.”

Branded content as strategic innovation

O Globo’s G.Lab studio exemplifies branded content evolution, producing over 10,000 pieces annually through a six-stage framework: editorial integration, depth conversations, answer positioning, SEO optimisation, “brandformance” measurement, and influencer partnerships. Their campaign for Bradesco bank achieved a 20% brand perception lift, demonstrating measurable branded content impact.

Additional success stories include their Banco Safra project, which was so effective that three years later, the company remained top of mind for investments. For nutritional supplement Sustagen Kids, G.Lab developed branded content addressing common parental questions, published in trusted outlet Crescer, resulting in the No. 1 organic Google search rankings.

Since 2019, G.Lab has seen 332% growth in branded content output, combining influencers, events, and multimedia formats — including award-winning native ads and in-person activations — to transform branded content into a strategic communication platform. Their influencer partnerships within G.Lab’s framework use specific publications paired with influencers in fashion, beauty, celebrity news, and home décor to broaden reach.

As Federico Ehrenfeld said, “In 2025, it’s very hard to find a media outlet that doesn’t have a branded content unit.”

E-commerce integration and personalisation

Latin American publishers are also leveraging behavioural insight for audience engagement. Industry advisor Santiago Arieu emphasised how first-party data enables targeted content delivery similar to e-commerce remarketing: “We can contact users with more content on topics they’ve shown interest in or promotions related to articles they’ve already engaged with.”

This sophisticated approach demonstrates how publishers can apply e-commerce strategies to news consumption, using first-party data to create personalised content pathways that drive both engagement and advertising effectiveness.

Data-driven audience segmentation

Grupo Clarín’s real-time data platform demonstrates advanced audience intelligence, tracking user behaviour across all digital properties to create micro-segmented campaigns. Led by Product Manager Matías Franco, their proprietary data collection and analysis tool allows the team to measure all user activity, understand habits and interests, and anticipate behaviours to adapt both content and campaigns.

Their approach focuses on reaching increasingly specific audiences by combining data analysis with innovative advertising formats. This creates detailed audience profiles with robust insights, enabling precision targeting that improves advertiser outcomes while maintaining editorial integrity. 

As Franco said: “We wanted the tool to connect to other tools to be able to show the correct type of ad in the correct format to each audience.”

This sophisticated segmentation approach, combined with real-time creative adaptation and performance measurement, exemplifies the INMA Advertising Initiative’s goals for first-party data activation and advertiser value demonstration.

Measurement and attribution excellence

Latin American publishers are implementing comprehensive measurement frameworks that go beyond traditional metrics. Publishers now measure brand lift and incrementality for branded content projects, addressing the challenges of delivering long-term branding campaigns in a short-term sales environment.

G.Lab’s client dashboard allows advertisers to see real-time campaign performance, with Silvia Rogar noting that “real-time performance gives the advertising this feeling that the investment value is a lot.”

When a large health company wanted to address topics like excessive screen time and burnout, G.Lab created 14 pieces of content published in O Globo, resulting in 20% brand recall advantage over competitors with 45% saying the campaign motivated them to take action.

The emphasis is on developing new KPIs and dashboards to keep up with changing audience behaviours and market conditions, moving beyond traditional Internet metrics to focus on engagement quality and brand impact measurement.

Revenue diversification strategies

Latin American publishers are successfully expanding revenue streams beyond traditional advertising. Events now contribute up to 25% of total advertising revenue for some organisations, representing one of the most successful diversification strategies. Publishers are also exploring affiliate marketing and education initiatives, though scaling these initiatives presents ongoing challenges.

The focus has shifted toward creating organisational structures segmented by industry, providing consultancy and media solutions that go beyond traditional advertising relationships. This approach emphasises customised solutions for advertisers while maintaining strong journalistic brand integrity.

About this newsletter

Today’s newsletter is written by Gabriel Dorosz, based in Booklyn, New York, United States, and lead for the INMA Advertising Initiative. You can read his full bio here.

Reach him at gabriel.dorosz@inma.org, connect on LinkedIn, or join the INMA #advertising-initiative Slack channel.

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