Indian ad spends to grow at 10.7% in 2020: GroupM report

Television continues to be the biggest contributor to this number, with Rs 38,081-crore (up from Rs 35,458-crore in 2019) worth of investments. Digital is second at Rs 27,083-crore (up from Rs 22,057-crore), almost a third more than print which is at Rs 18,140-crore (down from Rs 18164 crore).

India will continue to be the third-highest contributor to the incremental ad spends, behind the UK and USA. China is at number four.

Digital is estimated to reach 30% of ad spend in 2020 with growth coming from 3Vs (video, voice, vernacular-Indic) and advertising on eCommerce.

Prasanth Kumar, CEO, GroupM South Asia, said, “We expect the global adex to grow by 5.1%. The Indian media landscape is constantly evolving, will continue to witness the fastest growth of 10.7% to reach Rs 91,641-crore. While we expect sustained and stable investment across media in India, Digital to garner 65% of incremental ad spends in 2020. In 2020, India faces challenges and uncertainties across sectors just like other markets. However, this also brings opportunities for brands to innovate because of which we see an evolving media stack. This will be propelled by greater use of technology and better content across media.”  

Tushar Vyas, president, growth and transformation, GroupM South Asia, said, “There are multiple advancements happening in technology which is transforming digital advertising and other mediums. India being a diverse country, digital will keep growing, especially with the rise of content platforms and its availability in multiple languages powered by the growth of 3Vs. From a predominantly ‘at home’, ‘urban’, ‘English print’ & ‘TV’ consuming market, the Indian media consumer evolved to include ‘on the move’, ‘rural’ & ‘regional’ counterparts, experimented with digital media in the early 2010s’, adopted social media in middle of the decade and started consuming digital videos voraciously after 2016.”    

Sidharth Parashar, president, investments and pricing, GroupM India, added, “The format of print storytelling is changing but the content is still the strongest. With print media organisations undergoing transformation across India, publication houses have invested heavily in promoting digital subscriptions and have started limiting access to digital versions of ePapers. We believe that this would pave the way for newer business models. Print will continue to remain relevant to advertisers wanting to build credible brands. Television will continue to grow at a steady pace. This year, the growth rate for TV is estimated to be 7% and radio is expected to grow at 6% while cinema and OOH will grow at 15% and 6% respectively in 2020.”

Ashwin Padmanabhan, president, partnerships and trading, GroupM India, said, “While there are challenges and uncertainties in the market, it is a world of abundant opportunities in the content eco-system. This gives us vibrant options to reach and engage with consumers. It necessitates us to be agile, invest in new-age talent and technology while keeping an eye on the future. The key is to be always prepared while we are shaping the media landscape.”    

(Courtesy Campaign India)