India's digital advertising grew by 15.5% in 2016, says CII-KPMG report

Digital advertising spend remains low at 12.7 per cent in 2016 but it is one of the fastest growing mediums at an expected CAGR of 33.5 per cent (2015-2020) to cross Rs 255 billion in 2020

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | February 1, 2017

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and KPMG in India unveiled a report titled 'Digital – The new normal of marketing', at the CII National Marketing Summit. The report brings out information on Indian digitisation and the shift from traditional to digital marketing.

The report estimates that India is one of the fastest growing advertising markets globally with an estimated growth of 15.5 per cent in 2016, driven by a large consumer base and a growing e-commerce industry. Although the share of digital advertising spend remains low at 12.7 per cent in 2016, it is one of the fastest growing mediums at an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.5 per cent (2015-2020) to cross Rs 255 billion in 2020.

Of the total digital advertisement spends, 'search and display' commands the largest share in a relatively maturing segment.

Thomas Varghese, Chairman, CII National Committee on Marketing and CEO-Textile Business, Aditya Birla Group, said, “The post-demonetisation days have clearly showed how the country is set to leapfrog a few stages to embrace the power of digital. Mobile is being rapidly adopted and marketers have an incredible opportunity to enhance the game of digital communication and deliver great customer experiences at each point of the journey.”

As per the report, connected devices, smarter devices and 'hyper relevant rich content' will drive consumption for the consumer. Marketers will be well served if they are able to ride the data wave and use technology to build in analytical models. The digital marketer will be responsible to deliver a distinctive consumer experience using various channels – thus making the role of a key contributor to the overall omni-channel experience. The report also gives insights into nascent technologies like emotions analytics and predictive marketing.

Rachna Nath, Partner and Head, Digital Consulting, KPMG, India, said, “There have been silent and not so silent changes around us that are changing the way marketing will be done. With the internet becoming all pervasive, it has become so integral to our lives that it has literally disappeared. Singularity, connected systems, cognitive and artificial intelligence will create a world where the marketer will be marketing not only to humans but the 'self-thinking' machines.”

Aditya Rath, Partner and Lead for Digital Customer, KPMG, India, said, “Digital marketing is more about big data and technology innovation rather than conventional marketing. Digital marketer today will have to look at the consumer as a living sensor which creates data. Insights on consumer behaviour will drive the next big innovation on the campaign. Success will depend upon how the digital marketer is able to drive differentiated strategies for each digital channel and eventually converging on consumer experience.”

Some of the key findings and suggestions of the report are:

Video is the new data format. The digital consumer's attention span has now come down to eight seconds, down from 12 seconds in 2007. Marketers are expected to direct their content strategists to curate short videos that create a greater impact on the consumer's mind while holding their attention till the end. Live streaming videos are interactive, immersive and cost-effective.

Mobile will continue to deliver big gains for those who get it right as new-generation customers check their smart devices every 9.6 minutes or 159 times a day. Almost 220 million users are accessing digital services through their smartphones.

Omni-channel experiences and touch points are essential in the digitally charged marketplace. Customer experience is paramount. Organisations will have to focus on delivering a world-class experience across all channels, be it digital or physical. Healthcare, automotive, insurance, retail and manufacturing companies are experimenting on various Internet of things use cases to enhance the consumer experience. Internet of things is a technology which enables everyday objects to collect and exchange date.

Wearables provide a new dimension from a data perspective. Through the galvanic skin sensors and gyroscopes that are in-built in these devices, marketers can continuously monitor the customer's physiological and behavioural data.

Native ads are being used increasingly to combat mobile and desktop ad blocking. They blend in and appear as content that would normally deliver value and relevance to the consumer and do not hinder user experience of the website even while monetising.

Programmatic advertising is the future of digital advertising, and will soon command a big share of the pie with traditional advertisers recognising the benefits. Programmatic content will no longer just dominate digital display advertising, but will shortly see the mass adoption of programmatic television advertising.

Content, even in the digital world, is king. Unlike television distribution, online video offers a more engaging format, but till today it is mainly used as an extension of a television campaign.

Click here to view KPMG and CII Joint Marketing Report - Digital - The new normal of Marketing

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