Advertising spend will grow 11.4% to Rs 69, 690 crore in 2019: Dentsu

• The growth in ad spend in 2019 can largely be attributed to the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls and the ongoing ICC World Cup
• Digital continues to be the fastest growing media platform in the country

Advertising spend in India is expected to rise 11.4% to touch ₹69, 690 crore in 2019, according to an estimate by Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN). This is higher than DAN’s January estimate of 10.6%, and the growth of 10.8% in 2018.

The growth in ad spend in 2019 can largely be attributed to key events such as the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections and the ongoing ICC World Cup.

Digital continues to be the fastest growing media platform in the country. Dentsu has forecast that advertising expenditure on the platform is expected to grow 32.7% in 2019 to ₹14,410 crore, accounting for 21% of total ad spend. Availability of cheaper smartphones and affordable data has been propelling the growth in the digital consumption. Mobile is the fastest growing digital platform with increasing consumption of video-on-mobile through platforms such as Instagram Stories, Tiktok, Snapchat, YouTube, and video-on-demand (VOD).

Despite the growth in the digital medium, television continues to be the dominant media platform in India contributing 39% to the total spend on ads. The medium is expected to grow 9.5% to ₹27,140 crore. However, the share of television advertisements in the overall advertising expenditure is expected to witness a decline from 39.6% to a projected 37.9% in 2020.

Digital, on the other hand, is expected to continue growing and could overtake newsprint by 2020.

“India is at the cusp of a major change. We are, as of today, seeing significant churn in the media consumption habits which is therefore driving change in the ad spends. With the expansion on online video via mobile devices, the role of television is changing and entertainment at one’s own pace is becoming the norm. This is driving media owners to relook at their product and distribution strategies," said Kartik Iyer, president, media brands and media investment arm Amplifi, at Dentsu Aegis Network India.

Dentsu has projected a slight decline in global advertising expenditure which will grow at 3.6% in 2019, following a 4.3% increase in 2018, taking the total investment to $609.9 billion. Globally, digital continues to power ad spend growth and is forecast to grow at 11.5% in 2019 to $249.7 billion, accounting for 41.8% of global advertising share. The agency said expenditure on mobile ads will grow at 24.9%, with nearly a third of global ad spend being delivered through mobile platforms by the end of 2020.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.