COVID-19 impact | India ad spend to grow by 23% in 2021 after falling 21.5% in 2020

India ad spends are expectred to see a growth of 23.2 percent to reach an estimated Rs 80,123 crore this year.

The Indian advertising market last year was hit hard due to the COVID-19 pandemic-led lockdown as ad spends fell 21.5 percent, according to a recently released report by GroupM India, a marketing services conglomerate.

Last year, India fell a position in the global ad market from rank 9 in 2019 to rank 10 in 2020.

The segments that saw a sharp drop last year include cinema, outdoor, audio and print, seeing a drop of 83 percent, 73 percent, 49 percent, and 43 percent, respectively.

When it comes to television, the drop was 14 percent and least drop was seen by digital at two percent.

While 2020 was a tough year, the ad market started seeing a month-on-month upturn since third quarter last year.

This is why the report estimates that ad spends will see a growth of 23.2 percent to reach an estimated Rs 80,123 crore this year.

"With the gradual easing of the lockdown backed by seasonal spends and big-ticket events like the IPL (Indian Premier League), we expect 2021 to continue to build on that momentum," said Prasanth Kumar, CEO, GroupM South Asia.

In addition, digital share of overall India ad spend in 2021 is projected at 35 percent, which will see a 28 percent growth in terms of ad spends this year. Plus, it is expected that along with FMCG and e-commerce, auto, telecom, retail, and durables will be growth drivers of India ad spend in 2021.

Television, which is the biggest medium for advertisers, it will see an 18 percent growth to reach Rs 35,914 crore from Rs 30,436 crore in 2020.

India, which is the second fastest growing market in the top 10 countries globally and will be the sixth largest contributor to incremental ad spends in 2021, will get back to its 2019 position this year.

“Along with digital, television saw a spike in consumption during the lockdown. Print and radio are expected to be backed by local advertisers. We expect OOH and cinema to see double-digit growth after a difficult year,” said Sidharth Parashar, President-Investments and Pricing, GroupM India.