Digital Agencies
Indian digital ad spends to touch Rs 7,044 crore: IAMAI-IMRB report
MUMBAI: Fuelled by the smartphone explosion and bandwidth growth to consume digital video content in the country, the digital advertising market in India is projected to reach Rs 7,044 crores by December 2016 growing at a CAGR of 35 percent as per the ‘Digital Advertising in India’ report, which is jointly published by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International. The digital advertising market was estimated at Rs 5,200 crores by the end of December 2015 according to earlier reports.
The report finds that digital advertising spend is about 12 per cent of the total advertising spends in the country. In terms of volume, e-Commerce palyers lead the digital ad spends with Rs 1,040 crores, followed by Telecom and BFSI. However, a comparison of these verticals in terms of share of spends on Traditional versus Digital show that BFSI organizations incurred the highest share on digital advertisement spends. 40 percent of their overall advertising spends was on Digital followed by e-Commerce, Telecom and Travel.
In 2014, search ads constituted 30 per cent of the overall ad spends followed by Display ads at 23 per cent and Social Media at 18 per cent. The report finds that Search continued to lead in 2015 with spends close to Rs 1,488 crores. Social Media spend was close to Rs 940 crores. Spend on video ads such as YouTube also showed huge gains in 2015 and accounted for 17 percent of the overall ad spends in the digital space. This has been driven by higher Internet speeds available to the consumers coupled with an increase in mobile advertisements. As these trends continue, video advertisement is expected to gain further in 2016.
It isn’t just IAMAI that has high hopes on the rapidly growing digital advertising spends in the Indian market. It must be noted that the earlier released FICCI KPMG report pegged Digital Advertising at Rs 8,110 crores by the end of 2016 growing at a CAGR of 33.5 per cent, the highest growing medium of all. The report also suggested that the evident shift would be towards mobile and video advertising backed by the opening up of bandwidth in the country by 2020. The report estimated that by 2020 digital advertising will touch Rs 255.2 billion (Rs 25,520 crore) and contribute 25.7 percent of the total advertising revenue.
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.
