The second edition of DCODE, the digital marketing playbook from DS Group, WPP Media and MICA, is out. DCODE 2.0 no longer treats artificial intelligence as a standalone chapter. It shows how AI is working inside search, paid media, performance marketing, content and creative.
The launch lands at a pivotal moment. WPP Media’s TYNY 2025 report projects India’s total advertising revenue will grow 9.7% in 2026 to Rs 2,01,891 crore, adding Rs 17,844 crore over 2025. Digital, including digital extensions of all media, is expected to account for 68.1% of that total.
AI as a marketing layer, not a side project
Rajeev Jain, senior vice president of corporate marketing at DS Group, says the guide is meant to turn rapid change into practical knowledge. He describes AI as “fundamentally changing how marketers think, create, engage and measure.”
WPP Media South Asia CEO Prasanth Kumar sees marketing moving from fragmented channels toward a connected, adaptive ecosystem. AI is accelerating that shift, he says, but the real impact will come from “how effectively marketers integrate it across the entire consumer journey, from discovery and media to content, commerce and measurement.”
MICA director and CEO Jaya Deoras Deshmukh adds the academic view. She argues the next phase of marketing will require brands to combine technology with human intuition and look beyond existing demand.
Where the growth is
Inside digital, commerce-led advertising is the segment to watch. It is projected to grow 24.2% in 2026, driven by retail media, quick commerce and social commerce. Other digital channels are expected to grow 11.1%, while AI-powered search, voice and agentic discovery are projected to grow 8%.
WPP Media’s projections show OOH and cinema growing 8.9%, television 3.1% and audio 1.5%, which makes the contrast with commerce-led digital impossible to ignore.
What to do about it
- Map AI touchpoints across search, paid media, performance, content and creative instead of running a separate AI workstream.
- Rebalance budget toward commerce-led digital, the fastest-growing segment at 24.2%.
- Refresh your Paid, Owned and Earned planning for AI-powered and agentic discovery.
- Use DCODE 2.0 as an evolving training resource; DS Group says it will be updated periodically.
DCODE 2.0 is aimed at corporate and agency marketing teams, media planners, students, academic institutions and senior marketing professionals. For teams still piloting AI in isolation, the playbook’s structure is a benchmark: put AI where decisions happen.
Source: Storyboard18
