After a year of experimentation and growth, Flipkart Ads has become the largest home grown Adtech platform

1. Flipkart Ads recently completed a year. How was the first-year journey?

Our first year has been a time of experimentation and growth. We have grown to become the largest home grown Adtech platform. On an absolute basis we would be the third largest after Google and Facebook. Advertisers have been consistently getting the highest ROI on the platform and are excited about the future possibilities of growth with us. We have also been able to get SMEs into mainstream digital advertising, which will expand overall digital ads market in the country.

2. As per EY- DAN report, by 2020 approximately 20% of the ad spending will be on digital. How are you planning to prepare for this shift?

Digital marketing has untapped potential and is observed as one source where accurate measurement is possible. 20% is just the beginning. As the industry grows, Ads safety, Ad blocking, Ad frauds, and relevance etc. would bubble up even more. We, at Flipkart, understand this and hence, our objective has always been to bring better sense to Admoney. Our intent based targeting which measures engagement throughout the consumer's journey, has been our focus right from the beginning. We are now building solutions which will further boost brand level engagement for each of the varied audience buckets, automatically.

3.The EY-DAN report shows a growing interest in digital video. How is Flipkart planning to leverage digital video as part of its ad inventory?

There is an immense growth in digital video and it is presently moving at a speed that's way faster than any other digital medium. However, ensuring the retention and viewability is a tricky business. We are currently exploring options, and have solutions which are in beta phase. We are also exploring exciting partnerships with mainstream publishers like YouTube etc.

4.What is the differentiating element for Flipkart Ads as compared to other digital ad platforms?

Intent data is shifting from horizontal search platforms to e-commerce platforms. This has led to the emergence of commerce advertising. As more and more consumers adopt to shop on e-commerce platforms you would see commerce ads becoming the prominent channel for advertising. Highly targeted ads coupled with unprecedented measurement tools makes commerce advertising to be super effective.

5.With a wide array of inventories already in stock for Flipkart, is there plans to leverage social media and search as an ad inventory, as well?

Yes, we are in early stages of some exciting partnerships, where advertisers would be able to use Flipkart data to target ads off Flipkart as well.

6.More and more consumers are switching to mobile for shopping. Would Flipkart Ads remain the same for desktop and mobile or would mobile be given preference?

The switch is largely because of the convenience and flexibility that mobile shopping offers. Based on the type of users our ad formats are also customized, for example, brand stories are on the app which offer the canvas an engaging story in one go. Having said that, Flipkart Ads will continue to be both on desktop and mobile.

7. What are your plans for Flipkart Ads in 2017?

2017 will see massive expansion of our reach on and off Flipkart. We are doing some exciting partnerships that you would hear about shortly. We aim to become a more mainstream ads channel for all advertisers and are taking definitive steps towards it.