Digital Agencies
Despite 30% y-o-y growth, Indian digital ad industry lagging behind global market
MUMBAI: Even though the digital advertising industry is showing impressive growth, touching a year-on-year rise of around 30 per cent, there is scope for it to boom when compared to the global market. “If we look at expenditure made on digital advertisements in India, the average is still 4 dollars per view, while in countries like the US and China it is quite higher. China’s ad spends per view are at $88 per view. Even sub-Sahara African regions, which have a different GDP than ours, are spending much more than us,” said Interactive Avenues (a Reprise network company), IPGMediabrands COO Shantanu Sirohi at Future of Video-India conference in Mumbai, recently.
He was the part of a panel discussing if digital ad spends are shifting back to TV. Joining him on the dais were Dentsu Aegis Network CEO, greater south and chairman, CEO, India Ashish Bhasin, and Zee Media managing director Ashok Venkatramani.
The panel unanimously declined any possibility of such a shift and maintained that digital is showing tremendous growth and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. They also said that advertisement on television is also growing, though at a slower pace.
However, the panel highlighted some of the constraints that might hamper this glorious growth rate of the digital advertising industry in the future. Venkatramani said that the industry has come to realise that one can’t build a brand using just the digital platform. He quoted, “Digital serves a purpose, which is of performance marketing. It creates impact and also high marketability as you know what your input is and what your output is. The spends on digital also give very quick results. But what one can’t do using digital is build the brand in a classical sense.”
Further highlighting the constraints that can hamper digital’s growth, from an advertising perspective, Ashish Bhasin added, “From an advertising perspective, digital can land into trouble in two areas. One is this whole [issue related to] reliability, credibility and fake news, wherever one’s ad is appearing. That is starting to scare off the people a little bit. And the second thing is the lack of a measurement system. This should be the most measured medium but as an industry, we haven’t come to a consensus on a common currency like BARC or IRS.”
Sirohi concluded by saying that when it comes to keeping a tab on data, the digital medium has been ‘always over-measured’. He said, “You always have third-party applications that you can run to measure the data. The entire concept of fraudulent e-links or bots comes in when agencies or the clients are not doing what they are supposed to do. They must plan around the media and pass only the end-goal metric to the third party. Otherwise, there always are people who will figure out the way to make a little more money from the advertiser. But on the whole, the internet is not the problem.”
BENGALURU: For years, creative teams have learned to live with ambiguity. Vague comments, last-minute changes, feedback that arrives without context, clarity, or conviction. It became part of the job – something teams worked around rather than getting it solved.
But as we head into 2026, that tolerance is wearing thin.
Creative work today moves faster, scales wider, and involves more stakeholders than before. Teams are producing more content across more formats, often with distributed collaborators and tighter timelines. In this environment, guesswork is no longer a harmless inconvenience. It’s a cost – to time, to budgets, and to creative mindspace.
The real problem isn’t feedback, it’s how it’s given
Most creative professionals you see today will tell you they’re not against feedback. In fact, they rely on it. Good feedback sharpens ideas, strengthens execution, and pushes work forward. The problem is ‘unclear’ feedback. When someone says “this doesn’t feel right” without context, they aren’t just revising – they’re basically decoding. They’re guessing what the problem might be, trying different directions, and burning time in the process. Multiply that by a few stakeholders and a few rounds, and suddenly days disappear.
In 2026, when teams are expected to deliver faster without compromising quality, interpretation is a luxury most can’t afford.
Scale has changed rverything
Creative projects used to be smaller and simpler. A designer, a manager, maybe one client contact. Feedback loops were short, even if they weren’t perfect.
Today, the same project might involve internal marketing teams, agencies, freelancers, brand reviewers, and regional teams. Everyone has a say. Everyone leaves comments. And often, those comments don’t agree. More people reviewing work means alignment matters more than ever. Clear feedback isn’t just about being nice to creative teams, it’s about keeping projects moving when complexity increases.
Guesswork quietly wears teams down
One of the less talked-about impacts of unclear feedback is what it does to people.
When feedback is vague or contradictory, creatives second-guess their decisions. They hesitate. They overwork. They keep extra time buffers “just in case.” Over time, confidence drops. Ownership fades. Work becomes safer, not stronger. Creative energy gets spent on managing uncertainty instead of pushing ideas forward. And in an industry already grappling with burnout, unclear feedback adds unnecessary mental load.
Actionable feedback is a shared skill
Clear feedback doesn’t mean controlling creative decisions or dictating every detail. It means being specific enough that someone knows what to do next.
Actionable feedback answers three basic questions:
What exactly needs attention?
Why does it matter?
What outcome are we aiming for?
This applies whether you’re reviewing a video frame, a design layout, or a copy draft. The clearer the feedback, the fewer follow-ups it creates. In 2026, teams that treat feedback as a skill and not an afterthought, will move faster with less friction.
Tools shape behaviour (whether we admit it or not)
The way feedback is delivered is often dictated by the tools teams use. Comments buried in long email threads, messages split across chat apps, or notes detached from the actual work all contribute to confusion.
When feedback lives outside the work, context often gets lost. When it’s disconnected from versions and timelines, decisions get questioned. When it’s scattered, accountability disappears. More teams are starting to realise that feedback problems aren’t just communication issues, they’re workflow issues. How work moves between people matters just as much as the work itself.
From Opinions To Alignment
One of the biggest shifts happening in creative teams is a move away from purely opinion-driven feedback. Instead of “I like this” or “I don’t,” teams are asking better questions:
● Does this meet the brief?
● Does this solve the problem?
● Does this align with the goal?
This change reduces unnecessary back-and-forth and helps feedback feel less personal and more productive. It also makes decisions easier to explain and defend. As creative work becomes more strategic, feedback has to support that shift.
2026 Is About Fewer Loops, Not Faster Loops
There’s a misconception that speed means moving through feedback cycles faster. In reality, the most creative teams aren’t just accelerating loops, they’re reducing them. Clear, actionable feedback upfront leads to fewer revisions later. Clear approval stages prevent last-minute surprises. Clear decisions stop work from circling endlessly.
In 2026, efficiency won’t come from working harder or longer. It will come from designing workflows that respect creative time and attention.
Ending guesswork is a mindset change
Ultimately, ending creative guesswork isn’t just about better tools or processes. It’s about mindset. It’s about recognising that clarity is an act of respect – for the work, for the people doing it, for the time invested and for the mindspace used. It’s about moving from “figure it out” to “here’s what we’re aiming for.”
Creative teams that embrace this shift will find themselves not only delivering faster, but also enjoying the process more. And in an industry built on imagination, that might be the most valuable outcome of all.
