India ad spends to grow by 23% in 2021: GroupM TYNY Report

GroupM India, today announced their advertising expenditure (adex) forecasts for 2021. As per the GroupM futures report ‘This Year, Next Year’ (TYNY) 2021, India will see a major ad recovery in 2021 given the downfall of ad spends in 2020 due to the pandemic.

TYNY forecasts India’s advertising investment to reach an estimated Rs. 80,123 crores this year. This represents an estimated growth of 23.2%, for the calendar year 2021. India is the 2nd fastest growing market in the top 10 countries and will be the 6^th largest contributor to incremental ad spends in 2021 globally. While India was ranked 9^th in the global ad spend rank in 2019, it dropped to 10 in 2020 and is likely to regain its 9^th rank this year.

Commenting on the TYNY 2021 report, Prasanth Kumar, CEO - GroupM South Asia said, “2020 was an unprecedented year. The pandemic impacted across sectors and it, therefore, affected the media investments too. As we are aware, the year that went by had a mixture of lockdowns, many restricted market momentum and overall threw a challenge and impacted multi-industry economies. The ad industry too had its challenges and 2020 witnessed a steep drop in the overall media investments. However, we have witnessed a month-on-month upturn in the industry starting Q3 last year and we are quite optimistic about the revival that 2021 will see. With the gradual easement of the lockdown backed by seasonal spends and big-ticket events like IPL, we expect 2021 to continue to build on that momentum. While the global ad spends are estimated to see a rise of 10% in 2021, digital is expected to take 67% of ad spends. With the help of technology, marketers have adapted to pandemic-proof ways by constantly innovating, staying relevant and offering digitally charged solutions to brands.”

Tushar Vyas, President - Growth and Transformation, GroupM South Asia began the virtual press conference for the report launch by pointing out that during lockdown, browsing content on healthy cooking has gone up, self-preservation and wellness came to the fore. Consumers are becoming more conscious and embracing brands that showcase empathy and awareness. This presents opportunities for brands to connect with consumers.

In a statement in a press release - Vyas also said, “2021 will see 90% incremental ad spends on digital globally. The massive switch to digital reliance over the past 1 year has been a major driver for this shift. Brands have been forced to think big and different to transform their businesses, match the newer expectations and overcome the challenges faced. The post-pandemic era will continue to see this upsurge in digital demands. The crisis has brought about a sea change in mindset, adoption, and role of technology in doing business. Brands are seen renewing their business models and are constantly ideating to find better ways to connect with the consumer on a digital tangent.”