Indian ad spending to grow 8.4% in 2018; television to aid rise

NEWDELHI: Advertisement spending in India is expected to grow by 8.4% in 2018, led by growth in television ads, Publicis Groupe-run media agency Zenith forecasted.

Advertising expenditure in India is expected to reach ₹58,422 crore next year, the agency said. The estimated growth rate for 2018 is about three percentage points lower than the 11.2% forecast for 2017 when ad spending was set to touch ₹54,344 crore.

The media agency on Monday released its Advertising Expenditure Forecast report, stating 2017 will close at ₹53,918 crore, registering a slightly slower pace of growth on account of demonetisation introduced in November 2016. Internet ads will account for 11.6% of the spending this year.

India is one of the few large markets where all traditional media platforms will grow, the report said. Television advertising is expected to grow 9%, radio 10%, and print, cinema and outdoor at 5% each. Calling India a leading digital market, the report said internet advertising will grow at 20.4% in 2018 and internet will account for 15.4% of total ad spends in the country by 2020.

“With the dust settling down on demonetisation and goods and services tax (GST), we expect a measured recovery on ad spends.

› Growing internet penetration accelerated by operators such as Reliance Jio will significantly enhance digital ad spends in India TANMAY MOHANTY, group CEO, Zenith India

Consumer confidence is on the rise. In 2018, mobile handsets, fast-moving consumer goods, automobiles, banking, financial services and insurance, travel and tourism and political ads will drive up the pace of ad spends,” said Tanmay Mohanty, group chief executive, Zenith India.

According to the report, India occupies the fourth spot in the top 10 contributors to global ad spend growth between 2017 and 2020 along with other markets such as the US, China, Indonesia, the UK and Japan. It also figures in ‘Rising Markets’ along with China, Indonesia, Brazil and Russia, which are expected to contribute 33% of new ad spend over the next three years.

The report predicts that global ad expenditure will grow at 4.1% to hit $578 billion by the end of 2018. The forecast is down by 0.1 percentage point from the forecast published in September .