MAM
Ad volumes tune up as TV, radio and print steal the show in H1 2025
MUMBAI: Lights, camera, action, India’s advertising pie in 2025 is anything but half-baked. The first half of the year has seen TV, radio, and print rise with renewed swagger, even as digital took a cautious breather, according to a trends report by Excellent Publicity in partnership with TAM Adex and RCS India.
Television strutted confidently, clocking a 27 per cent surge in ad volumes and a 64 per cent jump in spends over 2023. Unsurprisingly, Star India ruled the charts, while Jio Hotstar topped brand visibility. Together, Sports and GECs claimed 84 per cent of ad time, proving that prime time still makes advertisers shine. Entertainment, e-commerce, and social media alone accounted for 25.6 per cent of volumes.
Radio kept its local beat alive, growing 10 per cent in revenues over 2023. Real estate and cars dominated the airwaves, with Maruti Suzuki India the top advertiser and Jeena Sikho the loudest brand. The real showstopper? Commercial vehicles, which roared with a 24x spike in ad spends, underscoring radio’s rural and tier-2 pull.
Print, once counted out, flipped back into relevance with 26 per cent growth YoY. Cars led the page with 8.9 per cent of spends, while Retail Departmental Stores made a debut in the top 10. Allen Career Institute continued to hold the spotlight, and two-wheelers raced ahead with a 31 per cent surge in spends, showing print’s enduring power in suburban and semi-urban India.
Digital, meanwhile, had a paradoxical season. Though overall spends dipped 8 per cent YoY, the platform saw its highest number of advertisers in three years. Online shopping led the charge with 11.2 per cent of total spends, Amazon India as the top advertiser and Amazon the most visible brand. Quirky shifts included washing powders and liquids exploding by 21x and perfumes/deodorants by 6x, while programmatic accounted for 88.3 per cent of spends, cementing automation’s dominance.
As Excellent Publicity co-founder Vaishal Dalal put it: “TV still captures attention, radio keeps it local, print earns back trust, and digital is sharper than ever. The winners are those who embrace each medium’s strengths while staying innovative.”
India’s ad world, it seems, is learning to juggle tradition with tech – and in 2025, every medium is fighting for its close-up.
MAM
Ad:tech honours 2026: Full list of winners announced
Expanded awards spotlight winners across 22 categories as industry doubles down on intelligent automation
NEW DELHI: Marketing’s tech elite took the spotlight as the ad:tech honours 2026 returned with a sharper focus on AI, data and immersive media, signalling how deeply technology now underpins brand strategy. Held at Yashobhoomi on March 17, the second edition drew industry leaders to celebrate innovation that is reshaping engagement and performance.
Presented with the International Advertising Association India chapter and new partner Huella, the awards expanded from 8 to 22 categories, tracking the rapid convergence of creativity, automation and analytics.
The winners’ list reads like a snapshot of marketing’s future. In affiliate and partner marketing, Lyxel & Flamingo – Boat and Paytm Ads – Giva took silver. Mobavenue Media Private Limited struck gold in AI-driven dynamic creative optimisation, alongside a silver for Laqshya Media Limited.
Creative AI collaboration saw Rediffusion Brand Solutions Private Limited win gold, with Saltinc Consulting Private Limited securing silver. Laqshya Media Limited continued its strong run, taking gold in AI conversation agents and adding multiple wins across categories, including silver in GenAI-led creative and both gold and silver in interactive DOOH campaigns for Tanishq and Tata Coffee.
Predictive AI honours went to Strong Metrics and Tyroo, both silver, while Orient Bell Limited picked up silver in immersive retail tech. In GenAI-led creative, Laqshya Media Limited, Salt – Kotak and Sumimoto each secured silver, reflecting the crowded race in generative creativity.
Publicis bagged silver in influencer management and gold in performance marketing, where it shared the stage with Arm Worldwide and The Trade Desk, both silver. Glad U Came Private Limited stood out with gold in influencer measurement and analytics.
Marketing automation saw CereOne Media Pvt. Ltd. and Globale Media win silver, while ADMOTT Private Limited claimed silver in OTT innovation.
Programmatic media categories highlighted the shift to advanced targeting and connected screens. Mobavenue Media Private Limited clinched gold in connected TV advertising, with Animmoov Digital Media Pvt Ltd – Asus and Lyxel and Flamingo taking silver. Cheggout Services Private Limited won silver in retail media advertising, while Paytm Ads – Versuni secured gold.
On social platforms, Vayner Media India took gold in community and UGC engagement, with Under 25 – Oppo winning silver. Segumento rounded off the list with silver in the innovation category.
Jaswant Singh, country managing director at ad:tech India, underscored the momentum, saying generative AI and data-driven decision-making are now central to marketing impact. Neena Dasgupta, IAA mancom member and chief executive and founder at The Salt Inc Consulting, added that the awards celebrate not just technology, but “the people, the creativity, and the relentless effort behind it.”
Backed by Comexposium Group, ad:tech New Delhi has long tracked digital disruption. Now, with the honours, it is rewarding those who are not just adapting to change but engineering it.
In an industry racing towards automation, the message from 2026 is unmistakable. The future of marketing will be written not just in ideas, but in algorithms.
