In conversation with Karan Khanna, COO and Co-founder of Huella Services
As Connected TV continues to reshape how brands engage with audiences, Agency Reporter interviewed Karan Khanna, COO and Co-founder of Huella Services, to discuss the format’s growing role in full-funnel marketing, creative innovation, and how NEXad is enabling smarter CTV experiences. Read on for Karan’s insights into the future of CTV in India.
Agency Reporter – The CTV space in India is witnessing exciting momentum. What are some of the most promising shifts you’re seeing in how consumers are engaging with content on Connected TV?
Karan Khanna – People aren’t just watching anymore – they’re engaging. From scanning QR codes to exploring product options on-screen, viewers are more involved. Average CTV session times have crossed 40 minutes per household, which tells us one thing – if your creative is strong, your brand gets full attention.
Agency Reporter – With its unique blend of large-screen impact and digital precision, CTV is quickly becoming a preferred medium for many brands. How do you see its role evolving in a brand’s media mix in the next 12–18 months?
Karan Khanna – CTV is moving from “experimental” to “essential.” As targeting and measurement improve, it’s becoming a key part of the media mix—especially for brand storytelling. We’ve seen up to 30% higher recall when brands tailor their creatives specifically for CTV instead of reusing TVCs.
Agency Reporter – NEXad is redefining CTV advertising by introducing interactivity. Could you share how this approach is resonating with both audiences and advertisers?
Karan Khanna – Interactivity is one part of what we offer, and it’s working. But the bigger story is creative transformation even when a brand doesn’t opt for interactivity, we work closely to reimagine their base video—sharpening the narrative, improving pacing, and designing for attention on a big screen.
Creative excellence doesn’t have to be loud – it has to be thoughtful. And brands are starting to see the difference that makes, whether they want engagement or just deeper impact.
Agency Reporter – How do you see this format influencing full-funnel engagement—from awareness to action—within a single, high-impact screen experience?
Karan Khanna – We’re still in the early stages when it comes to driving direct action through CTV. Users aren’t yet conditioned to scan a QR code on a TV screen the way they tap on a mobile ad—it’s a habit that’s still building.
But where CTV really shines today is in its ability to create impact that lasts. It gives brands the kind of immersive, full-attention storytelling environment that few other mediums can. If done right, a great CTV creative can leave a strong brand impression—and that plays out later when a user organically searches for the brand or visits the site.
In fact, we’ve seen significant lifts in brand recall and consideration with CTV-first creatives, even without a direct CTA. And integrations like BLS and engagement heatmaps help us prove that. So while the “action” part is evolving, the top and mid-funnel impact is already very real- and that’s where the long-term value lies.
Agency Reporter – What are some creative strategies you’ve seen work particularly well in making CTV campaigns memorable?
Karan Khanna – Simple tweaks often make the biggest difference. We’ve custom designed brand assets to better fit big-screen behavior—like adding product carousels or creating a feature led screen showcasing 3D and 360 degree product views — and seen 6–7X higher engagement. It’s not always about doing more, but doing it smarter.
Agency Reporter – How does NEXad empower brands with actionable intelligence to elevate decision-making?
Karan Khanna – We offer more than impressions—we show what people engaged on, scanned, paused, resumed or skipped. Our data helps brands understand why something worked, not just if it did. In one campaign, changing a CTA mid-way to the specific PDP got us 1.6x uplift in purchase intent.
Agency Reporter – How is NEXad making it easier for brands to embrace programmatic CTV?
Karan Khanna – We work with all major DSPs, direct FAST and OEMs, also, the tech is built as plug-and-play. This can be a used as managed service product where our teams bring in the first hand expertise from creative to media tech and can also be used by agencies to enhance and further scale their existing programmatic CTV buys for brands across portfolio…no added tech complexity.
Agency Reporter – What excites you most about the future of CTV in India?
Karan Khanna – What excites me is how CTV is finally carving out its own identity. It’s not just “TV meets digital” it’s a canvas for rich, immersive storytelling. And from a creative standpoint, we’re just getting started. There’s so much room to elevate basic video ads into high-attention experiences – whether that’s through better visual structure, regional customisation, sharper storytelling, or simply designing with the big screen in mind.At the core of it all will be creativity that feels native to the living room – something that makes people pause, watch, and remember.
Disclaimer: Information mentioned here has not been verified or endorsed by Agency Reporter and is in accordance with the press release shared by the company or their appointed representatives