MAM
MPA forecasts India to lead APAC in ad spend growth
MUMBAI: Ad growth in India–a contender for Asia’s most dynamic market–was weighed down in 2017 by the lingering effects of demonetisation as well as a new goods and services tax, which disrupted advertiser supply chains, inhibiting marketing activity in the process, according to a Media Partners Asia (MPA) report. Net ad spend consequently grew by 6.9 per cent in 2017 to total $9.0 billion, ending three successive years of double-digit growth. Nonetheless, India should re-emerge as APAC’s fastest-growing ad market over the next five years. MPA analysts forecast a 10.9 per cent CAGR in net ad spend in India from 2017 to total $15 billion by 2022.
Advertising revenue across Asia Pacific insreased by 6.1 per cent in 2017 to hit $173 billion and is on course to grow by a further 6.2 per cent in 2018 to move close to $184 billion this year, the report stated.
Published today, Asia Pacific Advertising Trends 2018 forecasts net ad spend after commissions and discounts across 14 major markets in the region. The region’s advertising outlook remains positive with MPA analysts forecasting ad gains in almost all markets in 2018 and ad growth across the board over 2017-22. The MPA expects net ad spend in APAC to total $226 billion by 2022, having grown by a 5.5 per cent CAGR from 2017.
“Market momentum for Asia Pacific as a whole should hold steady over 2018 and 2019, but we expect a slight deceleration from 2020 as online advertising, increasingly the main engine of growth across the region, settles into a gentler trajectory in some large ad markets,” remarked Vivek Couto, executive director, Media Partners Asia. “Much of digital’s growth will be driven by China, which should retain more than 60 per cent of online advertising in Asia Pacific over our forecast period.”
Couto added: “Traditional TV advertising is now in or on the verge of decline in most countries, having peaked at $54 billion across the region in 2017. That said, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand are notable exceptions, underscoring the ongoing importance of mass-market broadcast as a platform for reach and awareness in these growth economies. Overall, TV advertising should contract very slightly from 2017 to 2022, at a -0.1 per cent CAGR. Print advertising, however, is on the retreat almost everywhere, although both newspaper and magazine advertising will continue to grow at a modest single-digit pace in India. Out-of-home, meanwhile, remains on an upward trajectory in most markets, benefiting from ongoing urbanisation as well as digital upgrades.”
While the overall rate of advertising growth for APAC is slowing, a mixed picture emerges on the ground. Ad spending over 2017-22 should pick up speed compared with 2012-17 in Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. At the same time, cornerstone markets such as India, Indonesia and Japan should be able to sustain the pace they have set over the past five years.
The pattern of ad growth across Asia Pacific is becoming increasingly determined by online media, which will soak up the vast majority of new ad dollars in the region for the foreseeable future. MPA estimates that internet advertising in APAC grew by 18.1 per cent in 2017 to nudge past $76 billion, with a projected 14.4 per cent growth in 2018 taking the total to $87 billion this year.
Online video advertising meanwhile is entering into a red-hot growth phase, powered by the rising prominence of high-speed broadband. The MPA forecasts that by 2022, online video platforms will contribute at least 10 per cent of all advertising in nine markets: Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam, compared with just one market (Taiwan) in 2017.
Also read:
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Digital ad spend pegged at Rs 13000 crore in 2018
MPA: India & China power APAC ad rev, ads in largest medium TV still robus
AD Agencies
WPP appoints Hephzibah Pathak CEO of WPP Creative India
Ogilvy India chair takes charge of unified creative model in key market
NEW DELHI: WPP has appointed Hephzibah Pathak as chief executive officer of WPP Creative India, putting a local leader at the helm of its newly created creative operating model in one of its most important growth markets.
The move brings clarity to how WPP’s global restructuring will play out in India, weeks after the group unveiled WPP Creative as part of its Elevate28 strategy. The unit sits alongside WPP Media, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions, and is designed to simplify what the company previously described as an overly complex structure.
Pathak, who continues as executive chairperson of Ogilvy India, will represent all agencies under the WPP Creative umbrella in India. Her role centres on driving integration across brands, expanding capabilities and ensuring clients can tap into the network’s full talent pool without friction.
WPP said Pathak will work closely with agency brand CEOs to “enhance integration, expand capabilities, and ensure seamless client access”, while maintaining the distinct identities of its agencies.
The portfolio under WPP Creative includes leading networks such as VML, Landor, AKQA and Grey, along with Burson and its affiliated firms. Leaders across these agencies will now report into Pathak, even as each brand continues to operate independently within a unified system.
The appointment also formalises a dual-track strategy in India, preserving agency identities while accelerating collaboration. Pathak is expected to work closely with media leadership to align creative and media capabilities, reflecting growing client demand for integrated, multi-market solutions.
WPP Creative global CEO Jon Cook has described the unit as “not an agency” but an operating system that helps creative, design and PR brands work together more effectively. The group has been clear that it is not merging or phasing out legacy agency brands, instead aiming to reduce complexity on the client side.
Pathak brings nearly three decades of experience within the network, having joined in 1997 and held roles ranging from Mumbai office head to chief client officer. She made history in 2024 as the first woman to lead Ogilvy India in its 95-year presence in the country.
Her expanded mandate positions India at the centre of WPP’s Asia-Pacific strategy, with a focus on strengthening brand presence, deepening client relationships and unlocking growth in a fast-evolving market.
The appointment signals WPP’s intent to move beyond the traditional holding company model towards a more integrated, AI-enabled structure. With Pathak now steering WPP Creative India, the group appears set to test whether simpler structures can indeed deliver sharper creative outcomes.
