Digital Agencies
Marketers hopeful about consumer spending in 2021, advertising to regain normalcy by 2023
MUMBAI: As the entire world went into sleep mode in 2020 due to the Covid2019 pandemic, the marketing sector faced a drastic setback. According to a recent FICCI-EY report, 2020 was a watershed year for advertising spends, as the industry slowed down by 29 per cent, the highest one-year drop ever witnessed in the history of Indian advertising expenditure.
Traditional media faces setback, digital media stays intact
The Covid pandemic resulted in a drastic shift in the consumption pattern of customers, and being home-stuck with more time on their hands, many people started showing increased dependency on the internet before making any buying decisions. As a result, advertising in traditional media de-grew by 37 per cent in 2020. However, digital media remained flat, and was not badly affected by the new market trend.
Print media and radio, which were already on a downwards trajectory, continued to de-grow in 2020 as they lost some consumers due to reverse migration, cost-cutting, and changing habits. According to the FICCI-EY report, most of these lost consumers may eventually return as the market continues to grow, but some portion of the earlier consumer base will turn out to be a permanent loss.
Due to the decreased mobility of customers, OOH (out of home) and radio were also impacted. As people started maintaining strict social distancing measures, the experiential industry comprising events and cinemas too declined last year.
Marketers optimistic about 2021
Even though the industry faced an unprecedented setback in 2021, marketers believe that advertising will grow by 27 per cent in 2021, and it will regain its earlier level by 2023. 88 percent of marketers believe that consumer spends will increase in 2021, while 12 per cent claim that it will stay the same.
As consumer spends are expected to increase in 2021, marketers believe that ad spends will also witness a rise this year. According to the report, 66 per cent of marketers expect that their ad spends would increase in 2021. However, 10 per cent of the marketers suggest that ad spends will reduce by over 10 per cent in 2021.
There are several factors that play their crucial role in determining the increased ad spends, and it includes key sporting events that include the Indian Premier League, Asia Cup, ICC T20 World Cup, and Olympics. Apart from these big-ticket events, several upcoming launches in the automobile sector, elections, growth of OTT, and mobile gaming could also contribute to rising ad spends in 2021.
In the meantime, the Covid crisis has accelerated direct-to-customers (d2c) initiatives in 2020. Most marketers enabled e-commerce channels during the lockdown, and even began to spend money to promote the same. Marketers during the lockdown period also experimented with online events, apps, communities, and martech. 74 per cent of the marketers expect to spend over 20 per cent of their spends on digital media, a sharp rise from 45 per cent of marketers last year.
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.
