AD Agencies
India’s top 100 advertisers set to chase Rs 1.15 lakh crore in 2026
New Delhi: India’s biggest advertisers are gearing up for a spending spree. Fresh Adex estimates show marketing spends crossing Rs 1.15 lakh crore in 2026, with digital accounting for more than half of total outlays and the top 100 brands tightening their grip on the market.
Data tracking ad spends across 2024 and projected growth through 2025 suggests rising concentration at the top. Around 35 per cent of total adex is expected to come from just the top 50 marketers, underscoring the growing clout of a handful of deep-pocketed brands.
India crossed the Rs 1,00,000 crore advertising milestone in 2025, posting over 10 per cent year-on-year growth, making it the fastest-growing major ad market globally. The pace shows little sign of easing.
At the summit, FMCG remains unshakeable. Unilever continues to lead the pack, with Procter & Gamble, Reckitt, Mondelēz International, Godrej Consumer Products, ITC, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, L’Oréal, Amul, Nestlé and Colgate-Palmolive showing no appetite for budget cuts.
Reliance Industries is expected to overtake India’s second-largest advertiser, closing in on Unilever at the top of the table. Autos are the next big battleground, with at least 25 new car and two-wheeler launches pushing Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Honda and Hero MotoCorp to step up spending.
Digital-first brands are now firmly entrenched among the heavyweights. Amazon, Google and Flipkart sit alongside quick commerce players Swiggy, Zomato and Zepto, reflecting a decisive shift in where the money follows attention.
Fintech is emerging as the fastest-growing category. Groww, NPCI and Angel One are scaling spends rapidly, filling the vacuum left by gaming firms, which saw the sharpest pullback in 2025.
India’s home-grown stalwarts—LIC, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement and Havells—continue to deploy capital steadily, while pan masala advertisers remain reliably aggressive, indifferent to cycles or sentiment.
Behind the numbers lies a structural shift. Television budgets are steadily moving towards connected TV, OTT platforms, digital video and OOH screens as advertisers chase sharper targeting and measurable returns.
The conclusion is blunt: the chase for India’s top 100 advertisers will be brutal in 2026—but the real opportunity may lie just beyond them. In a slowing global economy, India’s ad engine is still accelerating.
AD Agencies
Tribes and Omnicom Media win Gold for HSBC Living Hexagon at ET Awards
Kinetic OOH installation turns HSBC’s iconic logo into a living landmark
MUMBAI: Tribes Communication and Omnicom Media have secured a Gold win at the ET Design & Creativity Awards for their innovative out-of-home installation, The Living Hexagon, created for HSBC.
Awarded in the Most Creative Traditional OOH category, the project reimagines one of the world’s most recognisable banking symbols into a dynamic, ever-evolving structure. Designed for HSBC’s International Financial Services Centre presence, the installation was conceived to do more than simply grab attention. It aimed to seamlessly blend into the fast-growing ecosystem of GIFT City.
At the heart of the idea is HSBC’s iconic hexagon, typically associated with precision and consistency. Tribes transformed this static identity into a kinetic structure that responds to natural elements such as wind and light, creating a sense of continuous motion. The result is a visual experience that shifts throughout the day, echoing themes of adaptability and momentum.
Constructed using modular triangular units arranged along a precise geometric axis, the installation moves in synchrony, giving the illusion of a fluid, living form. While the structure evolves with its surroundings, it retains the unmistakable identity of the HSBC brand, striking a balance between innovation and familiarity.
Strategically placed at a key entry point into GIFT City, the installation functions as both a landmark and a statement. It reflects the pace and dynamism of global finance while embedding the brand into the city’s architectural narrative.
With this win, Tribes Communication and Omnicom Media underline the growing role of experiential and design-led thinking in traditional media, proving that even the most established brand assets can find new life when reimagined with creativity and context.
