MAM
Economic slowdown: Smart marketers will not make cuts in advertising
MUMBAI: As India battles, probably, the worst of its economic crisis since independence, a lot of industries are battling to keep their businesses going but it seems like the advertising industry is immune from the ill-effects. The marketing industry and the advertisers are seeing the slowdown as a need to advertise more and get more consumers.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on the subject of economic slowdown, Liberty Shoes marketing head Barun Prabhakar said that while the financial crisis is real, it is not going to hamper their business or marketing prospects. “Some 10-20 years back, Indians used to earn first and then burned it. But in today’s time people are spending first and then thinking about earning the money back. So, the challenge for the brands is to stay visible even in tough times, as there is a lot of competition out there, especially from smaller businesses. The marketing becomes very competitive and you have to evolve your strategies and budgets accordingly.”
Pidilite Industries Ltd CEO Fevicol division Nitin Chaudhary shared similar thoughts as he quipped that smart marketers will not do short-term cuts in marketing budgets.
He said, “For brands in our category, there is no direct link between media spends and demands. We advertise to build the brand and keep it salient. I think, in tough times, it is all the more important to make sure that your brand is visible and that’s why the smart marketers will not do any short term cuts. In fact, when the times are tough, they invest in the brands accordingly.”
Auto industry has taken a serious hit because of the economic slowdown but it also seems positive about the future and denies any chance of revising their marketing spends to lesser amounts.
TVS Srichakra Ltd executive vice president sales and marketing Madhavan P noted, “Though the industry has been impacted by slow vehicle production in the past few quarters, we expect the domestic tyre demand to grow by 6-8 per cent in the next few years. We are totally confident about the growth of two-wheeler tyre segment, both motorcycles, and scooters. The industry is expected to grow not only in urban and semi-urban areas but also considerable growth will be witnessed in the rural areas in the coming quarters. We are totally confident about the growth of two-wheeler tyre segment, both motorcycles, and scooters.”
Isobar South Asia group MD Shamsuddin Jasani, however, differed a little in his perspective as he communicated his fears of marketing spends getting slaughtered with a dip in sales. He said that in such cases, advertising takes the first hit.
But he was positive about the growth of the digital medium. “Advertisers consider reviewing their spends when the times are tough and that gives us a good opportunity to come forward as consultants and help them modify their business so they can have a bigger impact.” He also added that broadcasters who don’t have a sound digital strategy will take a hit in terms of ad revenues as the lines between digital and TV are blurring.
Prasad Shejale, co-founder and CEO of Logicserve Digital also noted that digital medium is going to strive despite an economic slowdown and many advertisers might take chunks away from traditional spends to invest online.
He said, "Digital is a way of life and brands will like to be where consumers are at various stages of the buying lifecycle. Thus, the digital industry will see a sustained rise in short as well as long term. In the current scenario, I am not seeing a slump in digital ad spend. Since digital channels are more measurable and efficient, I foresee more number of brands driving budgets from traditional media to digital, and this trend will continue to rise."
"Brands are certainly cautious while allocating advertising budget but digital continues to be the preferred medium," he added.
Prabhakar had also hinted a similar trend as he mentioned that dropping ad revenues on TV channels can't be attributed to economic slowdown but a change in the viewers' choice of medium.
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.
