Brands grapple with data, AI, and quest to measure success in the omnichannel wonderland

New Delhi: In the contemporary days, marketers are dabbling with a double-edged sword. On one hand, with an exponential rise in technology, marketers are able to abide by the principles of marketing - delivering the right message to the right audience at the right hour. 

However, this pacing technological changes have also given birth to complexities and one of them is the existence of myriad channels between a consumer and a brand. 

This was aptly pointed out by Tae Kyu Kim, Regional Director - Microsoft Advertising in a fireside chat on the evolving landscape of omnichannel marketing at Ad:tech 2025. This discourse, moderated by Anil Pandit, Head of Programmatic at Publicis, also featured Snigdha Bhatt, Digital Marketing Lead, PepsiCo F&B, Gauri Malhotra, CMO, Bombay Shaving Company, and Deepak Oram, Sr Vice President - Growth Marketing & Martech, HDFC Bank. 

Kickstarting the discussion, Kim revealed how in his family of four, there are 18 devices. This goes on to show how the consumers of today engage with a brand on multiple devices and platforms. These multiple digital touchpoints make it difficult for brands to navigate and foster consistent messaging. 

The solution? Omnichannel marketing. But this realm is not fully grasped by advertisers and missteps linger all across. 

Present predicaments

Speaking on the challenges, Kim said, “There are numerous digital and enabled devices, posing significant challenges for brands and marketers in developing an omnichannel strategy. The primary difficulty arises when platforms fail to communicate with each other. If a strategy is implemented on a specific platform without inter-platform integration, it becomes exceedingly complex to track user behavior and devise an effective personalization strategy.” 

With consumers engaging across platforms - social media, e-commerce, CTVs, smart phones, websites, mobile apps, voice assistants - ensuring a cohesive experience becomes a significant challenge. 

Oram pointed out how the omnichannel approach is different in the banking sector. “Omnichannel for a bank is unique as it involves a far higher level of customer expectations,” Oram said. 

Zooming in, he added, “Customers demand much more from banks, and that’s the challenge we face. Solving it isn’t easy because the channels are so disparate. Picture a bank with 10,000 branches nationwide: some customers use the mobile app, others call the call center, and some walk into a branch. 

The customer’s current need is scattered across multiple systems, platforms, and touchpoints—be it branches, apps, or other information ports. Piecing it all together is incredibly difficult.”

Role of data

The omnichannel interoperability gets even less probable when one considers a brand like PepsiCo that sells more offline than online. It functions under the impulse category. For brands like PepsiCo, omnichannel conundrums are even more complicated. 

To the rescue comes the data. Elaborating on the role of data in respite, Bhatt said, “For brands like ours—and I’d say most brands—mental availability is exceptionally strong. Physical availability supports mental availability, and to boost mental availability further, it’s critical for us to build connections with consumers.

This is where first-party data comes in, playing a key role in creating those consumer connections. Our apps serve as our real estate, bridging the gap between the physical and digital worlds.” 

Completing Bhatt’s statement with an example, Malhotra shared how churning the quick commerce, modern trade B2C data tells the Bombay Shaving Company exactly what the consumer is buying in certain localities, let alone a city. This data then supports the company’s presence, consistency of message, remarketing, and availability. 

CPG (Consumer packaged goods) brands, according to Bhatt, can have an ecosystem of mass media such as TV and digital and conversion channels such as quick commerce and e-commerce. 

Building on this thought, she said, “When a person shops on an e-commerce or Q-Com platform, they usually know exactly what they want to buy. What e-commerce and Q-Com brands can do for us is optimize those conversions, connect with consumers more effectively, and potentially boost repeat purchases. 

On the other hand, TV and digital—what I mentioned earlier—focus on driving revenue. Unless I have awareness and penetration established at the top of my funnel for both the category and my brand, no e-commerce, Q-Com, or even retailer purchase will drive sales on its own.” 

Role of AI

Analyzing and building a structural understanding of huge amounts of data is a strenuous task. But, at the same time, this tumultuous task is what will stitch the omnichannel ecosystem together. 

According to Microsoft’s Kim, artificial intelligence and machine learning is what will play the role of the modiste. 

“By leveraging AI, marketers can analyze massive amounts of data. These tech providers are also able to offer more precise targeting, optimize campaigns, and provide a unified dashboard to monitor all those devices. With AI, we can truly maximize results,” said Kim. 

According to him, while the capability had always existed, the recent surge of AI has allowed marketers to save significant time and money. 

“This capability has always existed, but the recent surge in AI has allowed us to save significant time—tasks that were once incredibly time-consuming are now streamlined. And this comes with a relatively small investment of money. That’s the trend I’m seeing. Marketers are just beginning to embrace AI, and we’re navigating that journey together. But more importantly, I’m confident that for omnichannel strategies in particular, we’ll see an increase in AI-powered solutions moving forward.” 

PepsiCo is also using AI in various ways. However, the most extensive usage is done for identifying the right cohorts of consumers. Elaborating on it, Bhatt shared an example, saying, “For instance, if I’m launching a spicy product, AI can determine who my target end-game consumer is. Similarly, if I’m introducing a zero-sugar product, AI helps us figure out who that end-game consumer might be. We rely on AI heavily for cohort segmentation and to power campaign recommendations.” 

The F&B giant also uses AI for its media strategies. “We've integrated AI into our media strategies, collaborating with teams worldwide. We deploy it at a granular node level, enabling us to understand what type of ad placement or timing—like a specific day part—drives better conversions. It also helps us optimize CPMs, uncover efficiencies, and boost YouTube conversion rates. And the results speak for themselves—we’re seeing clear benefits from AI in both media and business outcomes, no question about it.” 

Measure malady

While data and AI seems to be aiding the interoperability of multiple channels to create a holistic omnichannel ecosystem, an issue that breathes under the sheets is the measurability. According to Malhotra, the omnichannel is yet to gain momentum and mature in terms of the mechanics of it. 

“Frankly, I think we’re all at a fairly decent stage with omnichannel execution. To be completely honest, though, we haven’t measured it as effectively as we could.

For us, as long as we see clicks on every pack we send out and consumers keep returning—converting, engaging with the agency, and building that connection—it’s a key indicator of whether omnichannel is working. 

That’s one of the metrics we lean on to assess its success. It’s performing very decently, but honestly, I don’t think anyone can pin down razor-sharp metrics to definitively say, “This is success, and this isn’t.” Still, what we’ve got going is really quite good,” she said. 

Oram chimed in on the conversation, saying, “Since the omnichannel is still in very early stages, it makes the measuring tricky, even if we are heading in the right direction.” According to Oram, omnichannel marketing goes beyond just the tech. Customer care plays a pivotal role in HDFC’s strategy to bring together various channels under a single ambit.