Media & entertainment

Advertising in India
 209

Indian advertising reached INR1.1 trillion

Digital surpassed traditional advertising for the first time this year, and will drive growth in the sector moving
forward. Several factors, including the growth of 5G, rising per capita income of Indians and the growing SME
advertiser base, are driving digital ad spends. That said, traditional print, radio and cinema advertising trends also
indicate healthy growth in the coming times.

Segment 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024E

Television 320 251 313 318 297 308
Print 206 122 151 170 178 188
Radio 31 14 16 21 23 24
Cinema 8 2 1 5 8 9
OOH 39 16 20 37 42 47
Total traditional media 604 404 500 550 547 575
Digital 279 282 383 499 576 662
Online gaming 6 7 8 11 13 14
Total new media 285 289 391 510 588 676
Total advertising 889 694 892 1,060 1,135 1,252

INR billion (gross of taxes) | EY estimates

► Indian advertising grew 7% in 2023

► New media accounted for 52% of total advertising,
overtaking traditional media advertising (48%) for the
first time
► We estimate advertising to grow a further 10% in 2024

The growth was skewed towards digital media

Absolute ad growth 2023 ► New media generated 105% of total ad growth, while
5 2 traditional media (excluding television) added another 23%
5
8
77 75 ► Television advertising reduced the growth by 28% as sports
advertising on TV fell compared with 2022, and HSM
-21
markets saw lower yield categories increase their share of
ad volumes and a ban
on certain categories like crypto, gaming amidst betting,
and D2C brands

Digital Print OOH Radio Online Television Total

and gaming growth
cinema

Growth Fall Total

INR in billion (gross of taxes) | EY estimates
 Media & entertainment

Indian advertising will grow at 9% Digital to comprise 57% of total

till 2026 advertising by 2026
Indian advertising Traditional vs. digital advertising mix
100%
1,486
1,252 48% 46% 43%
1,135

50%

52% 54% 57%

0%
2023 2024E 2026E 2023 2024E 2026E
INR billion (gross of taxes) | EY estimates
Digital + online gaming Traditional
► Advertising is expected to grow 10% in 2024 to reach EY estimates
INR1.25 trillion
► Digital media comprised 31% of total ad spends in
► Till 2026, advertising is expected to grow at a healthy
2019, which increased to 52% in 2023
9% CAGR, with digital media growing at 14% and
traditional media growing at 5% ► Digital advertising is expected to reach 57% by 2026

► Key factors which will drive growth include: ► Digital ad numbers we have considered include the SME
and long-tail digital advertising spends of INR208 billion
• Increase in India’s per capita income from
in 2023, who spend on search, social and e-commerce
US$2,500 in 2022 to around US$3,000 by 2025,
platforms; their contribution to total advertising is
and reduction of income inequalities due to direct
expected to reach INR304 billion by 2026
subsidy transfers, employment guarantee schemes,
investment in infrastructure
• Rural growth and growing middle class will also be
key factors
• The growing SME advertiser base will increasingly
spend on advertising in pursuit of India’s US$5
trillion GDP ambition
► Segmental growth will be driven by:
• Digital: Growth in 5G will drive time spent,
increased smartphone penetration, growth in
active CTV homes, rich consumer data to enable
segmentation, attribution accuracy
• TV: Efficient CPRP, premium properties, long-
duration fiction content and growth in free TV base
• Print: Access to educated and richer audiences,
events revenues, elections
• OOH: Digital OOH screen growth, transit media,
premium billboards, better measurement system
• Radio: Mandating radio receivers in mobile phones,
non-FCT revenues, SME advertising
• Cinema: A steady slate of theatrical releases and
consolidation in the multiplex ecosystem
 211

EY Marketer survey 2024

EY conducted a survey of over 120 marketers across 20 sectors in Dec 2023/ Jan 2024. This section focuses on insights from
their responses

Respondent profile

Media & entertainment 12%

10% Technology

BFSI 14%

7% Consumer durables/ electronics

5% Retail

4% Automobiles, truck and buses, EVs

FMCG 17%
4% Healthcare and pharma

3% E-commerce
2% Telecom
Others 22%

Market sentiment

I. Two in three marketers were positive about II. 79% of marketers expected to increase
consumer spending their ad spends in the next two years
Marketers' outlook on consumer spending How do you expect your total ad spends
to grow over the next two years?

69% 55%
65% 54%

24%
24% 21% 21%
20% 18%

11% 9%

0% 1% 3% 2%
1% 1%
I feel positive It will stay Consumption Not sure/ Increase Increase No Reduce Reduce
about the the same will decline prefer not by over by under significant by under by over
economy, spending to say 10% 10% change 10% 10%
will grow
2022 2023
2022 2023
EY Marketer Survey 2024 I % of total respondents EY Marketer Survey 2023 & 2024 I % of total respondents
 Media & entertainment

Media mix III. Marketers continued to remain bullish on

events spends
I. 97% of marketers expected to increase How do you see your events and activations
spends changing over the next two years?
their spends on digital; 41% on traditional
18% 16% 9%
How do you see your ad spends 20%
changing over the next two years?

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Will increase by over 10% 63%

52% 57%
47%

Will increase by under 10%

2020 2021 2022 2023
Will increase Will stay the same Will reduce
No significant change EY Marketer Survey 2021 to 2024 I % of total respondents

Reduce by under 10%

Consumer data and martech

Reduce by over 10%

Traditional media spends Digital media spends

EY Marketer Survey 2024 I % of total respondents
II. Digital marketing continued to be an area
of substantial investment for marketers
Of your total ad spend, what is likely to be your share
of digital advertising in 2023?
95%
Respondents had taken some precautions regarding the
placement of ads in unsafe environments/ platforms
I. Dynamic creatives, hyperlocal content and
digital ad fraud were the biggest capability
gaps for marketers

44% How equipped are your agencies to manage

41% new ecosystem challenges?
Dynamic creative
optimization

29% Hyperlocal content

26%
Digital ad fraud

Martech implementation
16% 15%
13% 14% Content production
at scale
The connected consumer
3%
0%
Influencer marketing
30%+ 20%-30% 10%-20% Up to 10% Nil
Incremental reach
across media
2022 2023
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
EY Marketer Survey 2023 & 2024 I % of total respondents

EY Marketer Survey 2024 I % of total respondents who chose below

average or needs improvement
 213

II. More than two-thirds of survey CMO priorities for 2024

respondents continued to struggle with
consumer data I. Respondents prioritized building 1P data
and media mix remodeling for 2024
% of
State of consumer data
respondents CMO priorities for 2024
The available consumer data is incomplete 38%
with gaps, which makes data-driven
Building Zero & 1P data 24%
decision making difficult
The available consumer data is complete 36% Media mix re-modeling 24%
and deep, but my organization is not
always able to leverage the data for Direct to consumer 22%
sophisticated data-driven decisions
Effective content 16%
The available consumer data is complete 17%
and deep, and my organization is always Purpose-led 11%
communication
able to leverage the data for sophisticated
data-driven decisions Supply chain bufferring 4%

EY Marketer Survey 2024

5% 10%who 15%
EY Marketer Survey 2024 I % of total respondents 20% 1 or
chose priority 25%
2
for the above areas

III. 62% of respondents believed there was a

need to improve their company’s martech II. ROI measurement and ad inflation are the
capabilities top challenges for 2024

State of martech in the company % of Marketers biggest challenges in 2024

respondents
Organization has clear gaps in basic 30% ROI measurement 27%
marketing technology capabilities
CPRP increase/
Organization has either developed or 32% 25%
ad inflation
is currently sourcing basic martech
Ad fraud 14%
capabilities, but there is scope for
improvement Integrating AI/
10%
Organization has developed or sourced 28% Gen AI initiatives
adequate martech capabilities Cookie-less marketing 9%
Organization has developed or sourced 9%
Building a relevant
industry leading (ahead of peers) martech martech stack 7%
capabilities
Brand safety 4%
EY Marketer Survey 2024
Managing data
3%
and privacy
In-housing
1%
media buying

EY marketer Survey 2024 | % of total respondents who chose severity 1 or 2

for the above options
 Media & entertainment

EY martech maturity model for 2024

Based on our research and understanding of clients, we have categorized all marketing functions based on the data availability,
tech capabilities, governance protocols and skills available. Evaluate yourself and identify the next phase for your function’s
growth using the martech cartwheel below.

Data leaders Data committed Data enthusiasts Data beginners

Conversion lift studies

Awareness
(Consideration & intent)
Ad personalization

UX personalization
Basic ad
metrics
Full UX Customer acquisition
personalization

Brand lift
studies
Custom audience (awareness)

rs
sume Integrated reach

d con
rstan
de Sentiment analysis
Un
Audience
cohorts

Trigger-based
targeting
Recency, frequency,
monetary cohorts
(RFM)
gy

Brand preference
te
tra
os
oli
rtf
po
&
ry

Brand management
go
te
Ca

Definitions:
Full brand metrics
Data beginners: Not yet started/ just about starting the optimization
journey of using consumer data for marketing and large
gaps exist in data availability and ROI measurement, as they
are yet to invest in data capabilities and skills and define
processes around governance and access. No 1P data exists
Data enthusiasts: High use of data for marketing activities,
but with gaps in governance and ownership, and lack
of access to resources, as they are yet to invest in data
capabilities and skills to improve governance and processes.
Ownership exists of some 1P data of its customers
 215

Data beginners Data enthusiasts Data committed Data leaders

Engagement KPIs
Limited ROAS view Predictive modeling Multi-touch attribution
Basic web/app analytics
Enhanced ROAS
SEO Listening insights
Single view of customer

Limited
Marketing plan
implementation • View of UX friction
Marketing plan • Customer insights Comprehensive ROAS
Online optimization • Attribution studies
reputation
management
AI/ML
Ad fraud SMS

An
aly
CRM e-mail marketing tics

Retargeting
O2O2O
targeting

Conversion rate optimization

Full funnel
optimization
Ma
rk
et
ing
Customer relationship

pla
nn
ing

Data committed: Started the journey of using

Customer
consumer data for marketing, but gaps exist
lifetime value
including in ROI measurement, but have invested
in required capabilities and skills and have defined
processes around governance and access. Owns
large 1P data of its customers
Data leaders: High use of data, well defined ROI
measurement, access to required capabilities and
skills and defined processes around governance
and access. Owns 1P data of almost all customers,
across multiple touchpoints
 Media & entertainment

Generative AI capabilities reshaping the

marketing landscape
Powered by WPP
If there is one thing which has ruled conversations in recent months among marketers across the globe, it is AI. From
content generation and customization, to data analytics and creating new customer experiences, Generative AI has a
wide range of implications for the marketing landscape and will play an important role in the future.

Generative AI is expected to play a I. Content generation: elevating creativity

significant role in 2024 ► Generative AI is transforming the creative process
by generating diverse content formats, including text
How do you view the implications copy, images, and videos. This capability extends
of Generative AI on marketing? beyond conventional marketing mediums, impacting
everything from ads and blogs to social creatives and
60% 1:1 communication. Integrating Generative AI with
CRM/ CDP systems allows marketers to tailor content
to individual preferences, moving away from generic
pieces to personalized narratives. This shift not only
24% enhances consumer engagement but also presents an
11% opportunity for marketers to streamline the content
6%
creation process, significantly reducing associated
Unsure Limited High Existential costs.
EY Marketer Survey 2024 I % of total respondents
II. Content variation at scale
► Marketers understand that Generative AI will play a
► One of the key Generative AI capabilities that marketers
significant role in how marketing evolves in the near
need to embrace is content variation at scale. This
future, with 66% of respondents of EY’s Marketer
means rapidly generating diverse content using text
Survey expressing confidence in its potential to
or visual prompts while ensuring brand safety. It also
significantly impact the field.
involves providing enhanced control, restrictions,
and editing options to align with the envisioned story.
Several use cases are being Additionally, marketers need to adapt content for
different social media platforms, taking into account
developed by marketers factors like aspect ratio and stylization. Harnessing such
What facts of marketing would Gen AI impact? tools, marketers are able to create numerous content
iterations, allowing for dynamic personalized campaigns
33%
at scale. Marketers should prioritize integrating these
technologies into their workflows, recognizing the
24% 23% potential to enhance creativity and responsiveness in a
18% fast-paced digital landscape.

III. Insight extraction: tailoring personalized

experiences at scale
2%
► Personalization has long been a buzzword in marketing,
Content
personalisation

Customer
experience

Driving
innovation

Media plan
optimisation

Not sure of the

use case/ others

but Generative AI takes it to a whole new level.

EY Marketer Survey 2024 I % of total respondents
► In the ever-evolving landscape of marketing, we explore
the top five Generative AI capabilities that will reshape
marketing, providing not just efficiency but an entirely
new dimension to creativity and personalization.
Marketers can craft highly personalized and enterprise
compliant creatives that resonate with each individual
consumer, while also tailoring content to their brand
guidelines or styles. By leveraging data from CRM/ CDP,
Generative AI understands the nuances of what appeals
to a particular individual, making marketing messages
more relevant and impactful. As this capability becomes
mainstream, marketers must invest in refining their
data strategies to ensure the seamless integration
of personalization into their campaigns, while
incorporating consent practices into their data strategy.
 217

IV. Environments for virtual production: shaping Generative AI is a paradigm shift

event-based and immersive, interactive 3D
► In
► conclusion, Generative AI is not just a technological
experiences
advancement; it is a paradigm shift that demands a
► The fusion of Generative AI with immersive technologies is proactive approach from marketers. Embracing these
reshaping the future of marketing. Environments for virtual top capabilities will not only enhance efficiency and
production allow marketers to create event-based and reduce costs, but will also redefine the very essence
immersive, interactive 3D brand experiences, blurring the of marketing. While Generative AI is not able to make
lines between the virtual and physical worlds. From virtual business decisions (yet), the onus is on companies to
showrooms to interactive campaigns, this capability offers upskill and train their employees to apply these tools
unprecedented opportunities for consumer engagement. effectively. AI must be a tool, not a human replacement.
Marketers should explore how virtual production can
► The convergence of AI with immersive technologies
amplify their brand narratives, creating memorable
marks a pivotal moment in the industry’s evolution,
experiences that go beyond traditional advertising.
opening doors to a future where creativity knows
no bounds and consumer experiences are more
V. Large action models: multi-modal libraries
personalized than ever.
► In the realm of Generative AI, large action models (LAM)
► Marketers who successfully navigate this transformative
take center stage. These models, leveraging multi-modal
journey await a future in which marketing is not just
libraries, provide marketers with the ability to process
about messaging, but about creating personalized,
diverse forms of data beyond text. Training these models
immersive, and authentic experiences.
with a rich dataset becomes crucial, ensuring they
can understand and generate content across various
formats. For example, a brand could harness LAM to
allow consumers to upload images/ UGC that are then
transformed into branded artwork, or to help it implement
dynamic OOH billboards that change imagery based on the
surrounding environment.
► Marketers should prioritize the development and
integration of large action models to harness the full
potential of Generative AI in their campaigns, while striking
a balance in leveraging this technology responsibly. They
must be aware of the potential biases and misinformation
in datasets and understand the impact of training large
computational models on the environment.

How do you envision executing your marketing

strategy in the context of Generative AI?
36%

28% 28% Niraj Ruparel

Emerging Tech Lead- WPP & Groupm, India

7%
Develop in-house
Partner with external
technology providers

Explore strategic
alliances

capabilities

Acquisitions

EY Marketer Survey 2024 I % of total respondents

 Media & entertainment

Digital ad fraud and wastage

Compiled by mFilterIt
The digital advertising ecosystem underwent major shifts
in 2023. Privacy and security remained top concerns for
marketers and losses from ad frauds continue to keep them
up at night. Brand safety is another core issue risking brand
and reputational damage. Marketers need to look beyond
traditional measures to overcome these core challenges and
create positive brand experiences for consumers.

Ad fraud remained high

► In 2023, Adalytics1 reported issues on different
placements across various networks, including walled
gardens
► Partner-led inventory had higher brand safety issues and
invalid traffic compared to self-owned platform traffic
► Programmatic platforms ended up having the highest
levels of invalid traffic due to the opaque nature of
procurement and bidding
► An ANA2 report indicated a 35% plus wastage on
programmatic ads, which was validated by our data set
as well

Average invalid traffic percentage across platforms

Platforms Europe US India MENA

Search platforms 9% 10% 9% 11%

Partner networks 18% 20% 20% 22%

Walled gardens
Social media direct 10% 8% 10% 9%

Video platforms 15% 17% 16% 17%

Affiliate networks
33% 33% 41% 33%
aggregating traffic
Open networks
Programmatic
27% 28% 27% 32%
platforms
Source: mFilterIt first party analysis of 226 campaigns run in 2023

► According to the report, most of these impressions ► In 2023, Juniper Research reported that ad fraud caused
came from Made for Advertising (MFA) websites which a loss of US$84 billion in global ad spend. This figure is
had significantly poor traffic projected to increase to US$172 billion by 2028

New threats emerged

I. Frequency cap violations ► Our analysis of a campaign on an Indian OTT player
showed that 46% of the impressions were violating
► Frequency capping is important in CPM campaigns to
frequency cap limits, i.e., close to half of the consumers
control the number of times an ad is shown to a user.
saw the campaign much more than the desired
However, there have been instances where ads are
frequency
shown to a single user repeatedly, which goes against
the goal of building brand awareness. Instead of leaving ► In our experience, we have noted that the longer a
a positive impression, users may become saturated and campaign runs, the more such violations occur. As per
annoyed by seeing the same ad frequently our findings, we have seen frequency cap violations
increase from 38% to 54% during the latter part of a
► 10% to 30%3 of frequency cap violations have been
campaign
identified across mobile-based publishers (e.g., OTTs,
news apps, calling apps)

1
https://adalytics.io/blog/search-partners-transparency & https://adalytics.io/blog/invalid-google-video-partner-trueview-ads
2
https://www.ana.net/miccontent/show/id/rr-2023-12-ana-programmatic-media-supply-chain-transparency-study
3
mFilterIt’s analysis of over 50 Campaigns from mobile-based publishers
 219

II. Brand safety issues

► With the rapidly evolving digital ecosystem, there has
been a rise in the non-transparency of ad placements.
When an ad is placed alongside unsafe content, the
brand could face reputational damage and loss of
consumer trust
► About 7 out of 10 brands and agencies said they or
their clients had been exposed to brand safety risks at
least once, with 10% of respondents reporting “regular”
exposure4. An example of this was seen in the recent
Ukraine-Russia crisis, where ads of major American
companies were seen on Russian ad inventory
► Our experience in India indicates that more than 70% of
clients faced some level of brand safety issues
► More brands are now opting for localized and regional
handling of brand safety instead of a global approach.
Additionally, brands are focusing on placement-level
analysis instead of platform-level analysis, which may
not be as accurate
► Advertisers must move beyond traditional brand safety
checks that are limited to pure metatags-based keyword
searches at a pre-bid level. Similarly, on most platforms,
traditional brand safety checks are sometimes on the
overall platform level, and not at the content level

New Brand Safety Crisis – Gum Gum report

4
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