MUMBAI: The Indian advertising industry is expected to see recovery in 2021 with ad investments estimated to reach Rs 80,123 crore (Rs 801.230 billion), which is a 23.2% growth over 2020 and 3.35% growth over 2019 ad expenditure of Rs 82,9040 crore (Rs 829.040 billion). These are the findings of the 2021 edition of the GroupM futures report ‘This Year, Next Year’ (TYNY).
Recovering somewhat from the 21.5% decline in ad spends caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the report sees India as currently being the second fastest growing market among the top 10 countries, as well as the sixth largest contributor to incremental ad spends in 2021 globally. While India was ranked ninth in the global ad spend rank in 2019, it dropped to 10 in 2020 and is likely to regain its ninth rank this year. Meanwhile, global ad spend is expected to register a growth of 10%.
According to the report, of the Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) of incremental ad spend in India during 2021, the share of digital would be at 40%. The non- (TV and digital) share of overall India ad spend in 2021 is to be at 20% while the digital share of overall India ad spend in 2021 is to be at 35%. With FMCG and e-commerce laying the foundation, auto, telecom, retail, durables to be growth drivers of India ad spend in 2021, the report added. Digital was the only medium to witness a gain of $ 27 billion globally in 2020 and will continue to skyrocket due to the increase in digital dependency and changing consumer patterns.
Television is projected to grow at 18% to touch ad spends of Rs 35,914 crore. In 2020, the medium declined by 14% to Rs 30,436 crore. Digital is expected to grow at 28% to reach Rs 27,700 crore. Compared to 2019, the medium had degrown by just 2% at Rs 21,726 crore in 2020.
2020 was a bloodbath for print, radio, outdoor, audio, and cinema. Print, which was the third-largest AdEx medium, had de-grown by a staggering 43% to Rs 10,350 crore. It is expected to recover some of the lost ad shares in 2021 with a projected growth of 23% resulting in ad spends of Rs 12,731 crore.
After a 72% drop in 2020, outdoor is expected to grow at 69% to touch Rs 1,570 crore in 2021. Audio advertising is slated to increase by 17% at Rs 1687 crore. It had seen a 49% decline in 2020 at Rs 1,436 crore. Cinema advertising is expected to rebound in 2021 with a 197% growth on a lower base of Rs 175 crore. The total ad spends on cinema is expected to touch Rs 520 crore.
“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,” Prasanth Kumar, chief executive officer – GroupM South Asia, said. “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,” he added further.
As per Tushar Vyas, president – growth and transformation, GroupM South Asia, 2021 will see 90% incremental ad spends on digital globally. “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,” Vyas stated.
Sidharth Parashar, president – Investments and Pricing, GroupM India, added: “Along with digital, television saw a spike in consumption during the lockdown. With acceptance on the subscription bandwagon increasing, OTT will continue to witness a constructive growth and is likely to develop with more players attracting users by investing in content. Print and Radio expected to be backed by local advertisers and certain categories with marketeers leveraging the brand solutions that these media offer. We expect OOH and cinema to see double-digit growth after a difficult year. Given the uncertainty and cautiously spending consumer, brands are realising the importance of being present wherever consumers are. Hence along with continued relevance of television and other mass media, we will witness advertisers leveraging relevant platforms to reach out to its audience.”
Key trends
The trends presented were around consumer behaviour, sports, gaming & e-sports, growth of OTT, connected commerce, the ecosystem of fragmented social media, digital transformation, innovations in audio, etc.
Vyas pointed out that 2021 would “once-in-for-all” smash the adage that Indians don’t pay for content and drive up the subscription game for Sports and other forms of quality original content. It’s creating a direct 2 consumer opportunity.
Vyas stated that many OTT players have achieved their subscription targets 12-18 months ahead of time. “This is not limited to live sports and premium video content – there’s the start of a similar trend in news, audio content, and premium domain-specific content in small ways.”
2021, he said, is also going to be an interesting year for sports as 2020’s loss, in terms of sports events, is 2021’s gain. Global sporting events like Euro 2020 and Tokyo 2020 are due to happen this year and add to this, local favourites like IPL 2021 (within 6 months of its previous edition) and ICC T20 (which would be hosted in India).
Speaking about the trends in gaming and e-sports, Wavemaker India chief content officer Karthik Nagarajan said that gaming will become not just about time spent but also a cultural destination. The nature of this entertainment is not a lean back but a more immersive one. Music concerts and other experiences will also be activated on e-sports platforms.
“A handful of businesses can talk positively about 2020 and COVID-19. One such benefactor is gaming and esports. In peak lockdown during April 2020, there was an 11% increase in users per week and has seen a rise in the number of gamers where 66% of new gamers are females and 56% of new gamers are above the age of 45. Now gaming as an industry has evolved in multiple ways too. Most companies in this industry are looking to create platforms that will be central to an individual’s life where activities, like shopping, socializing, events (especially esports) can all be done in virtual and interactive ways.”
Nagarajan also revealed that esports live-stream viewership during the lockdown grew by 61% and 66% in weeks 1 and 2, respectively. These are great signs, considering that despite the majority of the on-ground esports events getting pushed in 2020, the gaming fans have held their own. With 2020 contributing immensely to gaming habit formation; for 2021 to be the year of esports, organisers need to focus on building career opportunities starting with an improved prize money pool.
