MAM
Digital ads share low; CII-KPMG hopes for 33.5pc CAGR
MUMBAI: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and KPMG in India unveiled today a report titled ‘Digital – The New Normal of Marketing’, at CII National Marketing Summit, which brings out valuable information on Indian digitization and the shift from traditional to digital marketing.
The report estimates that, India is one of the fastest growing advertising markets globally with an estimated growth of 15.5 per cent in 2016, driven by a large consumer base and a burgeoning e-commerce industry. Although the share of digital advertising spend remains low at 12.7 per cent in 2016, it is one of the fastest growing mediums at an expected CAGR of 33.5 per cent (2015-2020) to cross INR 255 billion in 2020.
Of the total digital advertisement spends, ‘search and display’ commands the largest share even though it is a relatively maturing segment.
“The post-demonetisation days have clearly showed how the country is set to leapfrog a few stages to embrace the power of digital. Mobile is being rapidly adopted and marketers have an incredible opportunity to enhance the game of digital communication and deliver great customer experiences at each point of the journey,” said CII National Committee on marketing chairman and Aditya Birla Group CEO – textile business Thomas Varghese.
As per the report, connected devices, smarter devices and ‘hyper relevant rich content’ will drive consumption for the consumer. Marketers will be well served if they are able to ride the data wave and use technology to build in analytical models. The Digital marketer will be responsible to deliver a distinctive consumer experience using various channels – thus making the role a key contributor to the overall omni channel experience. The report also gives insights into nascent technologies like emotions analytics and predictive marketing.
‘There have been silent and not so silent changes around us that are changing the way marketing will be done. With the internet becoming all pervasive, it has become so integral to our lives that it has literally disappeared. Singularity, connected systems, Cognitive and AI will create a world where the marketer will be marketing not only to humans but the ‘self-thinking’ machines,’ says KPMG India partner and head – digital consulting Rachna Nath.
“Digital marketing is more about big data and technology innovation rather than conventional marketing. Digital marketer today will have to look at the consumer as a living sensor which creates data. Insights on consumer behavior will drive the next big innovation on the campaign. Success will depend upon how the digital marketer is able to drive differentiated strategies for each digital channel and eventually converging on consumer experience” says Aditya Rath, Partner and Lead for Digital Customer.
Other key findings and suggestions presented in the report are:
Video is new data format
The digital consumer’s attention span has now come down to 8 seconds, down from 12 seconds in 2007. Marketers are expected to direct their content strategists to curate short videos that create a greater impact on the consumer’s mind while holding their attention till the end. Live streaming videos are interactive, immersive and cost-effective.
Omni-channel experiences and touch points are essential in the digitally charged marketplace Healthcare, automotive, insurance, retail and manufacturing companies are experimenting on various IoT use cases to enhance the consumer experience.
Wearables provide a new dimension from a data perspective Through the galvanic skin sensors and gyroscopes that are in-built in these devices, marketers can continuously monitor the customer’s physiological and behavioural data.
Authenticity, relevance, and value are increasingly important parameters for content creation and distribution Customers trust user-generated content and give more weightage to peer recommendations and reviews than to professionally curated content.
Native ads are being used increasingly to combat mobile and desktop ad blocking They blend in and appear as content that would normally and deliver value and relevance to the consumer and do not hinder user experience of the website even while monetizing.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
