Number of active Internet users to cross 900 million by 2025: report

Not-for-profit marketing trade body MMA India, along with GroupM, has unveiled its annual report, titled 'Modern Marketing Reckoner 2022: Building Winning Marketing Organisations'. The report is a ready reckoner for marketers and is inspired by the MMA Global report, which reveals that the difference in sales growth performance for firms with low and high marketing capability fit, is three times.

It further states that a one per cent improvement in marketing capability fit for firms is associated with a 2.5 per cent increase in sales growth, and recommends a structured methodology and framework that enable organisations to match capability fit to drive growth and performance.

The report mentions ways to improve capability fit, and shares key insights and expertise on building marketing organisations.

It offers a playbook for the modern marketer across various pillars spanning brand, consumer, data, technology and organisational culture.

Commenting on the unveiling of the report, Moneka Khurana, country head and board member, MMA India, said, “The huge societal and behavioural changes over the last two years, have forced marketers to learn how to put in place the technology, people, processes needed to better understand consumer needs, and provide more authentic and immersive as well as relatable customer experiences. It has also accelerated the need for marketers to keep up to date with the emerging trends in marketing and find effective ways to leverage them.”

“MMA is working towards shaping the future of modern marketing by enlightening, empowering and enabling marketers with valuable insights and tools. The report - a tool kit to build winning marketing organisations - is yet another key step in this direction.”

Prasanth Kumar, CEO, GroupM South Asia, and MMA India co-chair, added, “The last two years have seen tectonic shifts in consumer behaviour, technology and data. At GroupM, we aim to be at the forefront of these changes and help our clients navigate them. The report is an initiative in that direction. This year’s report offers very helpful insights from industry and GroupM experts on how to build winning marketing organisations.”

“The report showcases the modern marketing capability map, which is a combination of customer value and organisational value, and is a comprehensive guide that focuses on discovering growth, engaging with consumers, and making future-centric and scalable organisation changes. I am certain that this playbook is going to play a vital role for marketers in the journey of building winning marketing organisations.”

Key highlights of the report:

- It is based on more than 50 expert POVs from across multiple domains, as well as GroupM leaders

- It covers multiple areas, spanning content, communication, technology, data, etc.

- 69 per cent of consumers prefer using chat interfaces, as they deliver real-time answers and personalisation. 82 per cent claim that instant responses to their questions play a significant role in the buying process when contacting brands

- There will be more than 40 million connected TVs (CTVs) in Indian households by 2025. SVOD offerings such as Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar and Amazon are hugely popular, and together with YouTube and Facebook, accounted for 85 per cent of the $1.4 billion in revenue made by online video in 2020

- India is witnessing a positive response, with creators’ reach being two times over brand reach, and creator conversion rate nearly three times that of brands

- 312 million Indian consumers are expected to make a purchase online in 2022 (source: eMarketer, June 2021). This is a steep jump from 208 million online buyers in 2019 (CAGR of 15 per cent). India e-com penetration is only 28.4 per cent of the population, and remains significantly behind most of the developed and developing markets

- India is also a significant contributor to ad fraud in the world. A report by Techarc says that the country accounts for one in 10 digital ad frauds globally

- 4G dominated Indian subscriptions account for 68 per cent of all subscriptions. This is expected to change significantly by 2027, where 5G is estimated to reach 39 per cent of subscriptions, but 4G will remain the dominant technology

- As per ICUBE 2020 report, the number of active Internet users is projected to reach over 900 million by 2025

- Smartphone users reached 503 million in 2021. Smartphone telecom subscriptions are expected to reach 810 million in 2021, from 760 million in 2020

- 71 per cent of Indian organisations use a blend of first-party (1P) and third-party (3P) data for marketing

- 74 per cent of consumers believe that buying sustainable products shows others who they are and what they believe in

- 77 per cent are prepared to invest time and money to support companies that do good

To access the full report, click here:

https://www.mmaglobal.com/documents/modern-marketing-reckoner-2022