Budget 2026–27: Key takeaways that will shape India’s ads and marketing playbook

New Delhi: The Union Budget 2026–27 did not offer ad-specific incentives, but it has delivered a clear message to India’s advertising and marketing fraternity: the next decade’s winners will be built on systems, talent, and production depth, not short-term concessions.

Industry leaders said the Budget strengthens the operating foundations that now determine marketing performance: digital infrastructure, AI-led skilling, MSME capital and the Orange Economy push for AVGC and design.

They said that marketing will move faster towards digital-first planning, always-on content engines, and technology-led optimisation, while India’s creator and production pipeline expands.

No ad sops, but the Budget is funding the “operating system” of modern marketing

The Budget 2026 did not try to juice advertising through tax breaks or sector-specific concessions. Instead, it invests in the enabling layer: infrastructure, skilling, and creative capacity. That matters because marketing outcomes now depend on speed, talent depth, and production capability, more than rate cards.

Anand Bhadkamkar, Group CFO, LS Digital, called it “inclusive growth by building future-ready economic capabilities,” adding that “sustained investment in research, skilling, and digital infrastructure provides a strong foundation for long-term value creation.”

The real shift is content supply chain becoming mission-critical, not just platform mix

The biggest change is not where brands are spending. It is how campaigns are being built. Budget 2026–27 is strengthening the ecosystem that enables production reliability at scale: localisation, versioning, VFX, post-production, and faster turnaround cycles.

For national advertisers, this “content supply chain” is now the difference between a campaign that travels and one that collapses across languages, regions, and cultural contexts.

Shrenik Gandhi, Co-founder and CEO, White Rivers Media, said the shift is already embedded in planning behaviour. “Budget 2026 reinforces a shift the industry has already embraced. Digital-first platforms are now shaping how brands plan, spend, and measure impact. The move from linear TV to OTT and mobile has redefined annual media planning, with performance, agility, and scale taking priority.”

He added that the strategic edge is moving to production capability. “VFX, localisation, and post-production are no longer support functions. They are central to reaching audiences across India’s linguistic and cultural diversity,” Gandhi said.

In a fragmented attention economy, brands that rely on episodic campaign spikes lose efficiency. The operating model shifts toward content engines, continuous testing, and long-term partnerships for production and distribution. That is where agency retainers, IP, and platform-first storytelling become more valuable than single flights.

Gandhi linked it to the market size: “The Rs 2.5 trillion media and entertainment market now demands always-on content engines, backed by long-term content infrastructure partnerships, rather than short-term, campaign-led bursts.”

Orange Economy, AVGC get policy legitimacy, strengthening creator economy’s pipeline

This is not just a culture line item. It is a workforce and production pipeline decision. When AVGC labs and design institutions scale, the industry gets more creators, animators, editors, designers, and production talent. That directly expands India’s ability to produce high-volume, high-quality content for brands and platforms.

Chetan Asher, Founder and CEO, Tonic Worldwide, called it a visibility shift: “Probably for the first time, creative industries get a seat at the budget table,” citing “AVGC labs across 15,500 schools and colleges” and a new National Institute of Design.

Tanya Swetta, Co-Founder and CEO, id8 Media Solutions, framed it as a growth identity move: “The emphasis on AVGC, AI-led skilling, and technology-driven services signals a strong push towards building a future-ready talent ecosystem.”

AI moves from “innovation theatre” to a delivery requirement across marketing functions

This Budget strengthens the supply side of AI talent and applied labs. For advertising, that means AI will increasingly sit inside real workflows: consumer intelligence, planning, optimisation, creative testing, and automation. The winners will be those who operationalise AI without breaking trust.

Dinakar Menon, Managing Partner and Business Head, BigTrunk Communications, said the message is immediate: “Artificial intelligence is no longer a future tool but a present-day growth engine.” He highlighted the importance of AI labs in Tier 2 and Tier 3 institutions, saying it “expands the talent and innovation base beyond metros.”

Vivek Bhargava, Co-Founder, Consumer.ai, added the needed correction to the hype cycle: “It nudges the conversation away from AI hype and toward real-world impact.” He said the value is in “understanding behaviour, improving decision-making, and designing systems that are more inclusive by default.”

Tier 2 and Tier 3 capability-building expands the next advertiser base

When financing and infrastructure deepen beyond metros, it typically expands the pool of growth-stage advertisers. That changes agency growth: more regional brands, more local language work, more performance-led customer acquisition, and more B2B services demand.

Senthil Kumar Hariram, MD and Founder, FTA Global, said the intent matters even if some expected more: “While there could have been more targeted measures for smaller service-led companies, the intent to simplify compliance, expand MSME financing, and invest in Tier-2 and Tier-3 infrastructure is a positive step.”

Ambika Sharma, Founder and Chief Strategist, Pulp Strategy, framed the MSME move as ambition capital, not relief. The Rs 10,000 crore Champion SME Fund is “not support for survival; it is support for competitiveness.”

OOH and transit media get a demand-side tailwind, not a pricing tailwind

The Budget’s emphasis on services and tourism can create more public-facing activity, which usually strengthens OOH planning visibility. The second lever is a better storytelling capacity from the Orange Economy push, which can improve how physical media integrates with digital journeys.

Vikas Nowal, CEO at Interspace Communications, said services, tourism and the orange economy are “key demand drivers for outdoor and transit-led media,” adding that the creator labs rollout can enable “richer and more immersive storytelling across physical and digital touchpoints.”

AdTech gets a policy cue to invest, but the real unlock is trust and governance

AI-native buying, privacy-first data frameworks, and performance infrastructure are the next capability race. But scale will depend on governance clarity and institutional trust, not just tech. This is where serious AdTech players will differentiate from tool vendors.

Ishank Joshi, MD and CEO, Mobavenue AI Tech, said the Budget is “a decisive inflection point” and a “strong policy signal to invest” in “intelligent media buying, privacy-first data frameworks, and AI-native platforms.” He also set the condition: “Sustained digital growth will hinge… on robust governance, regulatory clarity, and institutional trust.”

The agency value proposition shifts from selling campaigns to building operating models

The Budget’s through-line is capability and systems. That forces agencies to evolve from one-off execution to building repeatable engines: creator ecosystems, content IP, full-funnel measurement, and long-term partnerships.

Yasin Hamidani, Director, Media Care Brand Solutions, said it pushes the industry “away from short-term visibility metrics toward long-term capability building,” encouraging “owned platforms, content IP, creator ecosystems, and full-funnel strategies that compound value over time.”

Infrastructure, compliance clarity, and digital talent together create a stronger runway

Beyond marketing-specific themes, the Budget’s larger economic posture is being read as an enabling environment for data-led advertising: higher capex, creator pipeline investments, regulatory coherence, and tech manufacturing incentives that strengthen the broader digital stack.

Bhavesh Talreja, Founder and CEO, Globale Media, said, “Today’s Union Budget 2026 lays out a compelling vision for India’s next phase of growth, anchored in innovation, inclusivity and economic resilience. With capital expenditure increased to a record Rs 12.2 lakh crore, the government has reaffirmed its commitment to long-term infrastructure and digital ecosystem development, a foundation that will benefit not just core sectors but the broader technology and media landscape as well.”

Talreja added, “We are particularly encouraged by the continued emphasis on future-ready technology and digital talent development. Initiatives like AVGC creator labs in 15,000 schools and 500 colleges will nurture the next generation of digital creators and storytellers, strengthening India’s position in the global digital economy.”

He also pointed to compliance and manufacturing signals that intersect with digital media and marketing supply chains. “Bringing IT services under a unified category with simplified classification and a 15.5% safe harbour margin signals greater clarity and ease of compliance for technology and innovation-driven firms. Coupled with incentives for semiconductor manufacturing and electronics production, this budget sets a positive tone for sectors that intersect with data, AI, and digital media innovation,” Talreja said.

“For the advertising, marketing, and adtech community, these policy signals are significant. A clear focus on digital talent ecosystems, infrastructure build-out, and regulatory coherence creates the right environment for data-led, performance-oriented growth. We expect enhanced opportunities for collaboration, investment, and innovation as brands and agencies align with India’s broader economic trajectory,” he added.