MAM
India’s ad-revenue to rebound over 2020-25 with 13 % CAGR : MPA
New Delhi: After a 27 per cent plunge in 2020, ad revenue in India is forecast to rebound strongly over 2020-25 with a CAGR of 13 per cent, said a new report released by Media Partners Asia (MPA) on Monday.
According to the report- Asia Pacific Advertising Trends 2021, digital advertising is expected to benefit from India’s expanding digital economy across online gaming, ed-tech, food and delivery platforms, outgrowing television to become the largest advertising segment by 2024.
Overall, APAC advertising expenditure is forecast to grow at 5.4 per cent CAGR to reach $245 billion by 2025, powered by growth across key markets such as China, India, Japan, and Korea, says the report.
Digital ad-revenue most resilient
According to the report, digital ad revenue remained most resilient through the pandemic, with consumers across APAC spending more time online and brands accelerating digitization efforts. The medium is projected to contribute 67 per cent of APAC ad revenue in 2025, eating into TV’s share (18 per cent), it said.
The role of e-commerce in advertising surged in 2020, with e-commerce contributing an estimated 39 per cent of China’s ad revenues, while growing significantly, albeit from a small base, in India, Indonesia, Japan and Korea. Search and social advertising benefited as well. As per MPA’s projections, digital advertising’s share of net advertising spend is likely to grow from 59 per cent in 2020 to 67 per cent in 2025.
TV ad-spend to rebound in 2021 growing 4.6 per cent Y/Y
Television advertising faced further pressure in 2020 as advertisers accelerated their transition to digital, declining 15 per cent Y/Y to $43.3 billion.
While the dips in TV ad spend are expected to be permanent in mature markets such as Australia and Japan, the medium remains important in key markets like India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand where it retains its position as the largest ad segment as of end-2020. Overall, TV advertising is expected to rebound in 2021, growing 4.6 per cent Y/Y, before secular decline sets in again in 2023, according to the report.
MPA projects total Asia Pacific TV advertising spend to grow at a CAGR of 0.7 per cent over 2020-2025 to reach $44.8 billion in 2025.
Online video advertising to grow $ 33.3 billion in 2025
TV broadcasters are growing online video ad market share through catch up and dedicated AVOD streaming services, particularly in connected TV markets such as Australia, Japan and Korea. MPA estimates online video advertising, led by YouTube, contributed 16 per cent to APAC digital ad revenue in 2020. With various local and regional AVOD and freemium platforms, including broadcaster-led platforms driving growth, online video advertising is forecast to grow to $33.3 billion in 2025, representing 20 per cent of the APAC digital ad pie while topping 40 per cent in emerging markets such as India & Indonesia.
Ad-spend to exceed $ 200 billion by end-2021 in Asia-Pacific
According to the report, net advertising expenditure in Asia Pacific, calculated after discounts, declined 4.3 per cent Y/Y in 2020 as Covid-19 ravaged the countries across the globe. Pandemic-induced macroeconomic uncertainty softened advertiser demand in the first half of 2020.
However, as economies rebound, recovery is underway with ad spend forecast to exceed $200 billion by end 2021, topping pre-pandemic levels for the region. China was the single largest contributor to advertising expenditure, with 55 per cent share of APAC ad spend. The growth was largely led by digital advertising, which accounted for 70 per cent of China’s total ad spend, anchored to short video, live streaming, social, and e-commerce platforms. Ad markets in Korea and Vietnam will also return to pre-pandemic net ad spend levels by end-2021.
Most other countries including India will follow in 2022, bolstered by the growth of digital advertising; TV advertising will return to pre-pandemic levels in India, Thailand and Vietnam, it said.
KOREA: Ad spend fell one per cent in 2020, with a 9 per cent decline in TV advertising and bolstered by 12 per cent growth in digital advertising, led by mobile, display and search ads. The Korean advertising market is forecast to grow at 6 per cent CAGR over 2020-25. TV has bounced back strongly in Q1 2021 and digital advertising, including video, continues to maintain double digit growth levels.
JAPAN AND AUSTRALIA: Ad spend is projected to grow by 2 per cent over 2020-25, led by digital. TV remains scalable in both markets. Video’s share of digital advertising is growing in both markets with global tech majors dominant though broadcasters are growing rapidly from low base through dedicated streaming platforms.
SOUTHEAST ASIA (INDONESIA, PHILIPPINES, THAILAND AND VIETNAM): Ad markets are recovering rapidly with TV & online benefiting. Indonesia remains Southeast Asia’s largest advertising market and is projected to grow at 4 per cent CAGR over 2020-25, powered by digital (including video) and free TV.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
