Outdoor vs. The Algorithm feat. Ranga Somanathan (Global Chief Strategy Officer, billups)

Episode 24 What does a Global Chief Strategy Officer at one of the world's most sophisticated out-of-home companies actually think about the state of media? Quite a lot, and almost none of it is comfortable. In this episode of The Indian AdGeek, Vishal Mehra sits down with Ranganathan Somanathan, Global CSO at billups and former CEO of both Publicis Media and Omnicom Media Group across Southeast Asia. Ranga has spent over two decades running some of the most complex media operations in the APAC region, and he's arrived at some sharp conclusions. They cover the holding company model's quiet unravelling, why outcome-based pricing remains a zombie idea despite years of industry consensus, whether programmatic DOOH is solving the right problem or destroying what made OOH powerful in the first place, and what Zepto and Blinkit's rise actually means for outdoor media's next brief. They also go deep on India's pitch culture dysfunction, the real margin story inside media agencies, and why the seniority trap in advertising is more structural than anyone admits. Plus: the role of AI in media planning, what a young media professional should genuinely bet on, and what being named in Campaign's 50-over-50 really felt like for someone who's wrestled with self-doubt. The Indian AdGeek streams on all major podcast apps. Vishal on X What Next? by Rishad Tobaccowala