ASCI to stay ahead in tech curve, will increase focus on financial sector: ASCI Chairman

On Wednesday evening, post the 38th Annual General Meeting of the Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) decided to appoint Partha Sinha, President and Chief Brand Officer of Bennett Coleman & Company Limited, as the Chairman of the ASCI Board of Governors for 2024-25. Sinha discussed in-depth about growth of ASCI, challenges, technological advancement and role of the self regulatory body in consultative process.

The board appointed Sudhanshu Vats, Managing Director Designate, Pidilite Industries as the Vice-Chairman and S Subramanyeswar, Group Chief Executive Officer and Chief Strategy Officer-APAC, MullenLowe Lintas Group as the Treasurer. Storyboard18 first broke the story on Partha Sinha's appointment as the newly elected Chairman.

After his appointment as the ASCI Chairman, Partha Sinha spoke to Storyboard18 and said, "It is a privilege to become Chairman of ASCI, one of the foremost bodies in the field of advertising, communication, and marketing. More importantly, ASCI plays a significant social role. That is what makes my responsibility substantial. It is a bit overwhelming that I have received such immense support from the members."

Growth of ASCI

Talking about ASCI's growth as a self-regulatory body over the years, Sinha said, "I think there have been two distinct types of growth. One is, of course, the increase in the volume of complaints, and the other is the rise in the number of advertisements that ASCI is addressing. Complaints have grown by 14 percent compared to last year."

Sinha further added, "The growth I value most is our ability to involve more and more people over the years, helping them understand that self-regulation and responsible advertising are perhaps the best ways to connect with consumers. You do better business by being responsible."

Sinha said, "Our role as a self-regulatory body is not just about catching misleading ads; it’s mainly about sensitizing the industry to work together to protect the small consumer. This philosophy is at the heart of even a marketing company. They also want to protect the consumer, and nobody wants to take advantage of them."

"But I think the best growth ASCI has seen over the years is becoming a consultative body. We are increasingly becoming a mechanism for people to embrace self-regulation and responsible advertising," Sinha added.

Will continue to be vocal

Sinha succeeded Marico MD and CEO Saugata Gupta. When asked if he will continue to be vocal about the advertising industry after assuming the post of ASCI Chairman, Sinha said, "If I’ve been vocal, I will continue to be vocal, and I see no reason to change after being appointed as ASCI Chairman. We achieved many things under Saugata and Subhash, and we will continue to achieve more as a united team because it not only makes for a better advertising ecosystem but also a better society."

He further said, "Protecting society and the common man is what excites us, and we will continue to do as much work as possible. Today, technology plays a very significant role in our complaint-picking mechanism; over 90 percent of our complaints are now suo moto."

Sinha continued, "But I believe we need to stay ahead of the tech curve, and our focus on technology will persist. Additionally, we will target sectors where we can work slightly ahead of the curve, such as in the financial sector. I think we need to do more because many people are being short-changed in the financial world today."

Sinha further said, "During my tenure, I will ensure that our purpose of protecting consumer interests remains central. Today, ASCI, as a self-regulatory body, is protecting consumer interests."

Elaborating further, Sinha said, "In my tenure, I will 100% ensure that every single initiative we undertake keeps the protection of the ordinary consumer at its core, whether in our engagement with the government, tech companies, the advertising industry, or global bodies."

On Digital Advertising

With the increasing number of digital ads and rising complaints, Sinha said, "Number one is that we need to determine how we stay ahead of the curve. With the advent of AI, we've noticed that if something happens, it can change before you even have a chance to react. Therefore, one needs to think six months or even a year ahead and stay ahead of the curve."

Sinha further added, "We have been doing a lot of work on dark patterns, DPDP, consumer protection, data privacy, among other issues. By staying ahead of the curve, we need to understand the patterns, trends, and insights behind what will transition in the future, and then develop policies accordingly. Staying ahead of the curve will be a significant game-changer."

Challenges for the ASCI Chairman

Sinha said, "Staying ahead of the curve is a challenge, and for that, we increasingly see ASCI publishing white papers by involving more experts. We understand that we have to borrow some of this expertise because ASCI doesn’t have it all internally."

"The second challenge is that today, large advertisers, agencies, and media houses are all part of ASCI. Whether it's Meta, Times of India, Disney Star, HUL, or P&G, everyone is a member of ASCI. The larger challenge is to bring smaller agencies and brands to join ASCI. Here, the ASCI Academy will play a crucial role. Every other day, we see a new brand being launched in the D2C space, and we want to create content for such brands and put it on our platform so that smaller brands can learn from it and start practicing responsible advertising."

Talking about the strategy to add more members to ASCI, Sinha said, "Today, we have slightly less than 400 members, and we need to expand that. Currently, there are at least 3,000 fairly regular advertisers. So, the market is large, and more people are beginning to understand that self-regulation leads to better business practices, which are more profitable and robust."

Sinha said, "We will continue to focus on increasing our reach, but more importantly, even if brands don’t become members, they should start using ASCI Academy’s material and produce responsible advertising. Our ultimate objective is for every single ad to be thoughtfully created in terms of responsibility and self-regulation."

On Policy Matters

Discussing ASCI's role as a consultative body, Sinha said, "We have been working with the government in a consultative capacity for many policies involving advertisements, agencies, and platforms. The advantage for ASCI is that other than us nobody understands this space or has the cumulative experience we have. So, both government and private bodies reach out to us for consultations."

Sinha added, "Data privacy and protection are critical, and we will continue to work on them as the government reaches out to us. We are always willing to help create a positive, consumer-centric ecosystem."

Sinha has worn many hats in a career spanning over three decades. He has been a nuclear design engineer, a banker, a strategy and marketing head for media and internet companies, and an advertising strategist.

Sinha is also President and Chief Brand Officer of Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd, has been associated with organizations and agencies like Citibank, Zee, Ogilvy & Mather, McCann Worldgroup, BBH, and Publicis in the past.

He has won numerous awards, including Effies, WARC Awards, and Cannes Lions.