What made India the land of Adtech startups and unicorns?

Over the years, India has become a land of startups and unicorns. A fast-growing market that brings multifaceted challenges to many commercial experts. In this article, Adeeb decodes this fast-growing market, its latest trends, and cultural and business patterns to guide any commercial expert who wants to grow and thrive in this uniquely dynamic market.  

Could you tell us a bit about your background? 

I have been working in Advertising for about a decade now. Before this, I used to take care of revenue for TikTok, Zee5, BBC, and InMobi.  

What makes your day-to-day exciting as Head of Agency Business at Criteo India? 

Taking care of the agency business throws amazing challenges at you every day. Clients set expectations and targets with agencies and the agencies work with us to deliver the same. There is no getting bored as tasks and projects change all the time. I thoroughly enjoy tweaking the right solution for the right KPI and designing how it will pan out throughout the campaign is a brainstorming activity. Even though I've been in business for a decade now, I feel like I always learn something new. You never stop learning when working in advertising and that's perhaps what I love most.  

What makes the tech market in India so unique? 

The Indian tech market is wonderfully unique! For starters, it’s the land of start-ups and unicorns which makes it a vibrant and dynamic industry to be a part of. As these companies grow and try to woo customers away from the large conglomerates, advertising opportunities flourish for Ad Tech companies like us. Both large and emerging brands want to explore new ways to acquire and retain customers, whether with something as simple as retargeting or as new as retail media.  

What main challenges do you face from a commercial perspective? 

To me, challenges are simply natural. There are always the usual challenges like measurement and attribution complexities, pressure to deliver more with less, etc. With the landscape changing so rapidly and requests from clients growing more complex every day, keeping up with the same while maintaining strong relationships becomes a real challenge. From where I stand, any challenge can be overcome when you take two steps back and communicate transparently with internal and external stakeholders to deliver your best.    

What tips would you share with other commercial people to build and sustain business in India? 

Know your strengths and your market; that is even more mandatory to perform in today's market. Some of the biggest and best AdTech companies in India are those who have understood their niche and delivered on their one promise over and over for a good amount of time. Those companies have built their reputation and success, being eventually able to grow into other markets and expand their solutions platter as well. 

Do you manage to balance our global company culture with local particularism in your approach? 

Very well, even though we have a very different culture and way of working in India compared to other countries. To go even further, I'd say that India itself has varying cultures of living and working as you travel its length and breadth, but there are many similarities as well, especially in the way we interact with agencies across the globe. Diversity and Inclusion are promoted at agencies as well; they appreciate innovation and let us help drive it for them. I believe we have this mix of global and local culture that makes Criteo's environment so attractive. Perhaps that is why there is such a great synergy and collaborative atmosphere when Criteo, Agencies, and clients interact.  

What makes a company like Criteo attractive to clients in India? 

In the short term, the uniqueness and the accuracy of our solutions. Our reputation also, as we have been the first to the market in doing what we do and how we do it. What makes clients continue to work with us is the great service, transparency, and flexibility that we provide at Criteo.  

Can you share 5 things you need to perform as a commercial in Tech India?  

To thrive here, I think you need to:  

1. Understand consumer behaviors and local market dynamics and be clear on who is your solution a good fit for and why.
2. Nurture your own reputation, network, and relationships. If you are trying to sell a product, the customer should be able to trust you first.
3. Focus on what is the value to the client, crunch your numbers, optimize your solutions, and treat the client’s money as yours. 
4. Be ready to change and adapt. As India is a fast-growing market, needs change quickly and you should be able to meet new expectations. 
5. Do your homework and know your topic! You should know about the digital landscape in India, how new brands are leveraging it, and how legacy brands are pivoting towards it.