MAM
Digital & TV steer ad industry’s recovery to pre-pandemic levels in 2021: dentsu
MUMBAI: India has emerged as one of the top five markets with high year-on-year growth rate in advertising spends, said dentsu in its latest Global Ad Spend Forecast June 2021. After suffering a steep 12.9 per cent decline in 2020, the ad spend is expected to bounce back with 10.8 per cent growth in 2021, according to the report.
The forecast suggests the overall ad spend will reach $ nine billion this year, and expand further by 12.4 per cent in 2022. The growth will largely be led by Television and Digital, as Print, Cinema, OOH and Radio are expected to take a longer time to recover.
According to the data, Television continues to remain the most popular and resilient media in India, retaining a 40.9 per cent share in ad spend despite the pandemic. The medium also showed a 7.7 per cent spike in growth, as compared to the 2020 spend. Digital’s share of spend has grown rapidly, from 20.0 per cent in 2019 to 29.4 per cent in 2021, and is expected to reach 32.7 per cent by the end of 2022
India in top 5 mkts-denstu
The bi-annual report based on data from 59 markets, anticipates a full recovery for the global ad market in 2021, with spends exceeding pre-pandemic levels sooner than was previously forecast.
While 2020 remains the weakest performing year since the global financial crisis, the decline in growth during 2020 has improved since the January 2021 forecast from -8.8 per cent to -7.2 per cent. The pandemic-induced decline in global advertising spend during 2020 has also proved less severe than anticipated, it states. The overall ad market outlook for 2021 shows recovery with 10.4 per cent growth and a spend of $634 billion, which represents an improvement of 4.6 percentage points over January 2021 prediction.
Ad-spend in APAC
Overall, the ad spend in APAC is expected to grow by eight per cent, with Australia and India showing higher growth rates in 2021 compared to other countries. In APAC, the 6.2 per cent rise in digital spend last year is likely to grow by 12.8 per cent in 2021 to reach $124.5 billion, representing a 54 per cent share of total ad spend.
Regional live events such Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics Games will remain significant drivers of growth in Linear TV ad spend in APAC (3.9 per cent increase in 2021 to reach $59.2 billion). The report also indicates a shift towards CTV (Connected TV) and OTT (Over The Top). With audiences moving more towards digital media consumption, Linear TV spend will remain below pre-pandemic levels until beyond 2021.
With gradual lifting of restrictions on social activities, OOH will bounce back post impact of the pandemic, rising 7.5 per cent in 2021 in the region. Cinema has a slightly longer recovery, with a further decline in 2021 (-5.0 per cent) but expected to bounce back in 2022. Radio will also see growth (4.3 per cent) in 2021.
While most channels will return to growth in 2021 (Cinema in 2022), Print is seeing a slight decline in 2021 (–2.7 per cent) and expected to continue declining in 2022, as it evolves towards new modes of digital delivery.
Meanwhile, government spending remained a key growth area, supporting the Covid vaccine rollout and other related initiatives. In APAC’s key markets, the travel and transport sectors, will still be affected by the uncertainty of the past year and see a muted increase in demand (4.9 per cent), while Media & Entertainment is forecast to see growth (9.7 per cent).
dentsu International APAC CEO Ashish Bhasin said, “It is promising to see a return to growth in the APAC region with two of our markets in the top five contributors of ad spend growth; China and Japan. While China continues to see strong levels of growth driven by Digital and OOH, Japan’s growth will be buoyed by events like the 2020 Olympic & Paralympic Games, and the House of Representative elections and the advertising spend associated with it, particularly in TV.
By market, the top five contributors to the $ 59.7 billion of growth in incremental ad spend during 2021 will be the US, China, UK, Japan and Australia. The US share of ad spend remains significantly above all other markets in 2021. The highest growth rates in 2021 are forecast to come from spend in India, Canada, the US, Australia and the UK.
Media APAC CEO & Media Singapore MD Prerna Mehrotra said, “We are optimistic that the region will bounce back to positive growth in ad spend, with some channels likely boosted higher than pre-pandemic levels. The main drivers behind the growth is economic recovery, with the APAC GDP set to increase by 7.3 per cent, and a stronger-than-ever push to digital marketing.”
Brands
Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen to step down after 18 years in role
Board begins CEO search as Narayen prepares to move to chair role
SAN JOSE: After nearly two decades at the helm, Adobe’s long-serving chief executive Shantanu Narayen is preparing to pass the baton.
The company announced that Narayen will transition from his role as chief executive officer once a successor is appointed, ending an 18-year run that reshaped Adobe from a boxed software seller into a global cloud and AI powerhouse. He will remain chair of the board following the leadership transition.
Adobe’s board has formed a special committee to oversee the succession process, led by lead independent director Frank Calderoni. The committee will evaluate both internal and external candidates.
“Shantanu’s leadership has been instrumental in Adobe’s transformation and in positioning the company for the AI-driven era,” Calderoni said in a statement. “As we begin the next phase of succession planning, our focus is on identifying the right leader for the company’s next chapter while ensuring a smooth transition.”
In a note to employees, Narayen described the moment not as a farewell but as a pause for reflection after a long journey with the company.
“I love Adobe and the privilege of leading it has been the greatest honour of my career,” he wrote, adding that he will continue to work closely with the board over the coming months to ensure a seamless leadership change.
Tributes from the technology industry quickly followed the announcement. Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella congratulated Narayen on what he described as a “legendary run” at Adobe.
“Congrats Shantanu, on a legendary run at Adobe! You’ve built one of the most important software companies in the world, and expanded what’s possible for creators, entrepreneurs, and brands everywhere,” Nadella wrote on LinkedIn.
“What has always stood out to me is the empathy you’ve brought to the creative process and the example you’ve set as a leader. Grateful for your friendship, mentorship, and for all you’ve done for Adobe and for our industry.”
Narayen’s career at Adobe spans nearly three decades. He joined the company in 1998 as vice president and rose steadily through the ranks before becoming chief executive officer in December 2007.
During that time, he orchestrated one of the most significant reinventions in the software industry. In 2013, Adobe made the bold decision to abandon traditional boxed software sales and move its flagship creative tools such as Photoshop to a subscription-based Creative Cloud model. The shift initially rattled investors but ultimately transformed Adobe into a predictable recurring revenue business and a case study in digital reinvention.
Narayen also pushed Adobe beyond creative tools into the world of marketing technology and data-driven customer experience, spearheading acquisitions such as Omniture and Marketo. Those moves helped build Adobe’s digital experience division and broaden its reach far beyond designers and photographers.
The numbers tell the story of that transformation. When Narayen took over in 2007, Adobe generated roughly $3 billion in annual revenue. Today the company reports more than $25 billion. Over the same period, its workforce expanded from around 3,000 employees to more than 30,000.
In recent years, Narayen has steered Adobe into the generative AI era with the launch of Adobe Firefly, aiming to keep the company ahead in a rapidly evolving creative technology landscape.
Born in Hyderabad in 1963, Narayen studied electronics and communication engineering at Osmania University before moving to the United States for a master’s degree in computer science from Bowling Green State University. He later earned an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Widely regarded as one of Silicon Valley’s most steady and effective leaders, Narayen has earned multiple honours during his career, including India’s Padma Shri in 2019.
For Adobe, the upcoming leadership change marks the end of a defining chapter. For Narayen, however, the story is far from finished. As he told employees, the company’s next era of creativity, powered by AI and new digital workflows, is only just beginning.
