Awareness-to-conversion funnel is no longer linear: AnyMind’s Aditya Aima

In a digital economy where consumer journeys are fragmenting and traditional funnels are collapsing, AnyMind Group is positioning itself at the intersection of creativity, commerce, and AI-driven intelligence. 

The Tokyo Stock Exchange–listed company believes that the future of marketing and commerce in India and across Asia will be shaped not by isolated channels, but by the seamless convergence of content, data and technology.

Founded in Singapore in 2016 by Otohiko Kozutsumi and Kosuke Sogo, AnyMind began its journey as AdAsia Holdings, with a sharp focus on martech. Over time, the company evolved rapidly, driven by acquisitions across Japan, Southeast Asia, Greater China, and India. It rechristened itself AnyMind Group in 2020 to reflect a broader ambition. 

Today, it operates across 15 markets spanning 25–30 countries, offering solutions that cover the entire consumer journey from awareness to conversion.

At the heart of this evolution is a belief that the consumer, not the channel, is now the centre of the ecosystem.

AnyMind sees India as a market that is at the precipice of astronomical growth. High technology adoption, a strong domestic digital economy and the presence of global platforms such as Google and Meta have created fertile ground for innovation.

Unlike other regions, India’s growth trajectory doesn’t mirror any single global market—making it a unique sandbox for experimentation and scale.

Historically, mobile marketing has been AnyMind’s core strength in India, following its acquisition of mobile marketing company POKKT. While mobile remains a mainstay, the company’s focus is now on expanding decisively into the creator economy, social commerce, and AI-powered commerce enablement.

“We expect social and social commerce growth to continue, but the next phase will be driven by deeper creator participation—onboarding, enablement, and monetization,” says Aditya Aima, managing director of growth markets and co-MD of AnyMind Group in India and MENA.

Aima says that the traditional awareness-to-conversion funnel is no longer linear. Drawing on its proprietary research across India, Southeast Asia and the GCC, the company found that modern consumer journeys now involve 10–11 touchpoints and often don’t begin with searches at all. Increasingly, discovery starts directly on e-commerce or content platforms.

“Short-form video, in particular, is proving to be a powerful driver. Nearly 43% of video ads on key platforms are delivering disproportionately high conversions, underscoring the growing overlap between content consumption and commerce intent,” he adds.

This shift has major implications for brands. Discoverability, rather than intent-led search alone, is becoming central to driving conversion.

CTV, mobile gaming and the creator economy

Aima says connected TV (CTV) has clearly moved beyond a “test-and-learn” phase in India. Adoption has scaled across categories, such as FMCG, e-commerce, D2C, BFSI, and automotive. 

“With programmatic advertising forecast to account for 45–50% of total digital spend and overall digital ad spend expected to touch $19–20 billion over the next four to five years, CTV is increasingly considered a measurable, performance-linked channel rather than a digital extension of linear TV,” he says.

That said, Aima believes mobile gaming will be the fastest-growing opportunity. In-game video advertising, in particular, offers high engagement, strong completion rates and scalable reach.

“Combined with mobile’s targeting capabilities, gaming is emerging as a key lever for both brand building and performance,” he says.

Creators, meanwhile, are becoming central across the journey, not just as influencers, but as commerce enablers. AnyMind works with creators in a platform-agnostic manner, providing them with production studios, editing suites, cross-border growth strategies and brand-building capabilities. 

“Influencers are increasingly being converted into affiliates, tying content performance directly to revenue outcomes,” he adds.

Aima also sees untapped potential in live commerce in India. Inspired by the success of social and live shopping models in Southeast and North Asia, the company believes India is primed for similar adoption.