MAM
Tata Consultancy Services is India’s ‘Most Valuable Brand’: Kantar BrandZ report
Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services ($45.5 billion) is the new number one ‘most valuable Indian brand,’ claiming the top spot from HDFC Bank (number two, $ 32.7billlion) which had held the position since the first ranking was unveiled in 2014, as per the latest Kantar BrandZ report on ‘Top 75 Most Valuable Indian Brands.’ TCS’s brand value has been accelerated by global demand for automation and digital transformation following the pandemic.
India’s strongest brands have bounced back from the pandemic to increase their brand value by a massive 35 per cent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) since 2020, when Covid -19 hit the country, according to the report.
India’s top 75 brands are worth a combined $393 billion, equivalent to 11 per cent of India’s national GDP. Moreover, the growth rate of the ‘Kantar BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable Indian Brands’ outpaces the rate of growth being posted in other major markets around the world.
‘The Top 10 Most Valuable Indian Brands’ together contribute just over half of the ranking’s total value. There has been significant movement at the top, in addition to the two most valuable brands switching positions. There are two new entrants – Infosys ($29.2 billion) which has rocketed up to the third spot from the 12th position, and ICICI Bank ($11 billion) which has climbed two places to number nine. State Bank of India ($13.6 billion) has also risen four places to sixth position.
There are brands from 23 different categories in the 2022 Indian Top 75. There are a total of 14 newcomers, from 11 categories – including online gaming, education, apparel and real estate, reflecting the diversity and dynamism of the Indian economy.
Technology and banking brands account for over half of the total value. Six B2B tech brands and 11 consumer tech brands contribute 35 per cent to the total value of the ranking, reflecting the rise of tech India. Overall, B2B brands (tech and payments) are on average almost three times as valuable as B2C brands, reflecting the fact that many of the B2B brands play on the global stage while B2C are more focused on the domestic market. Six banking brands deliver 19 per cent of the total value. Also notable for their performance are insurance brands, which have performed well as the pandemic increased consumers’ focus on the protection of life and health and telecom providers, led by Airtel (Number four; $17.4 billion) and Jio (Number ten; $10.7 billion), which took full advantage of growth opportunities as everything moved online, from education to work to parties.
Key newcomers to the ranking include Vodafone Idea (VI) (No.15; $6.5 billion); formed from a merger between VI, Byju’s (No.19: $5.5 billion), the educational technology brand that has become India’s most valuable education brand and Adani Gas (No.21; $4.5 billion).
Kantar – South Asia’s insights division executive managing director Deepender Rana says, “India’s leading brands have grown at an exceptional rate, despite global economic headwinds, putting the disruption from COVID-19 behind them. Indeed, they have both driven and benefited from the transformation in consumer and business behaviour as a result of Covid-19, especially where it relates to the use of technology. The challenge now is to sustain momentum as inflation bites worldwide and consumers and businesses adjust to the new normal. Brand owners will need to work harder to identify and build on what makes them worth paying for and ensure ROI on their marketing expenditure to avoid a margin squeeze.”
The pillars of brand building in India
Kantar BrandZ has identified four fundamentals responsible for powering brand growth: function, convenience, experience and exposure. India differs from other markets around the world, however, in that a brand’s sustainability credentials and purpose matter more.
Overall, 65 per cent of Indians feel anxious about climate change, and 64 per cent believe businesses must play their part. The highest-ranking brands in the Top 75 are clear on purpose and have a relevant sustainability agenda. These include the services platform Zomato (No.30; $3.1 billion), which offsets the carbon footprint of its deliveries and packaging. Swiggy (No.20; $4.8 billion) elevates the quality of life of consumers with the speedy delivery of meals, groceries and healthy items, as does Flipkart (No.12; $8.9 billion), while also helping smaller local brands to connect with consumers via its platform.
Kantar’s insights division managing director Soumya Mohanty says: “Purposeful and sustainable brands are rewarded. Indian consumers look further than the brand attributes that affect them personally – they want brands to improve people’s lives and have a positive impact on wider society. They vote with their wallets, choosing brands they see as ‘doing the right thing.’ Indian brands should have a clear view of their purpose, connect strongly with it by embedding it in their culture, talk about it in creative and powerful ways, and deliver on it – without fail.”
Salience – the ability of brands to spring quickly to mind when a consumer has a need – is also vitally important. India’s Top 10 brands are far more salient than their counterparts in most other countries. However, for growth to be supercharged, brands must have a strong meaning. They should have functional meaning – doing a good job of fulfilling a need – but also a layer of emotional meaning. The Kantar BrandZ India Top 75 far exceeds other Indian brands on all of these vital predictors of success.
Other key highlights from the analysis include:
57 of the brands in 2022 Top 75 have been in the ranking since 2018, while 19 have moved up the league table.
The share prices of companies behind strong brands are protected in a ‘bear’ market and recover more quickly. Between August 2014 and June 2022, the sensex India Index gained 63.8 per cent, while a portfolio of the most valuable Indian brands rose 81.8 per cent.
There are 11 consumer tech brands in the Top 75, reflecting the increasingly digital way Indian consumers live, which is 11 per cent of the total brand value. The four most valuable brands in this category are Flipkart (No. 12; $8.9 billion), Byju’s (No. 19; $5.5 billion), Swiggy (No. 20; $4.8 billion) and Nykaa (No. 25; $3.7billion).
Kantar BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable Indian Brands 2022
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MAM
India’s financial sector spent less on TV ads in 2025 but flooded the internet
Banks, insurers and lenders cut tv ads as digital jumps, LIC and Muthoot lead tv and Axis Bank tops online
MUMBAI: India’s banking, financial services and insurance sector, one of the most prolific advertisers in the country, delivered a split verdict on media in 2025. It spent less on television, held its nerve in print, turned up the volume on radio and deluged the internet with a ferocity that left every other medium looking pedestrian. The picture that emerges from TAM AdEx’s cross-media report for the BFSI sector is of an industry in transition, still wedded to the news bulletin but increasingly seduced by the algorithm.
Television: a retreat with caveats
TV ad volumes for the BFSI sector fell 16 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024, a sharp reversal after two years of consistent growth that had pushed volumes 16 per cent above 2021 levels by 2023 and a further 7 per cent higher by 2024. Within 2025 itself, the drop was concentrated in the middle of the year: the second and third quarters saw ad volumes slide 35 per cent each against the first quarter, with a partial recovery of 13 per cent in the fourth.
The retreat did not reshuffle the deck. Life insurance retained first place among TV categories with 19 per cent of ad volumes, mortgage loans held second with 16 per cent, and the top ten categories together accounted for 82 per cent of all BFSI television advertising. The dominance of news channels was equally pronounced: news claimed 68 per cent of ad volumes, general entertainment channels a distant 14 per cent and movies 12 per cent. Together, news and GEC captured 82 per cent of the sector’s television spend. News bulletins alone took 48 per cent of programme-genre volumes, with feature films second at 12 per cent. Prime time, between 6pm and 11pm, drew 34 per cent of ad volumes, followed by afternoon at 22 per cent and morning at 20 per cent. A full 82 per cent of all ads ran between 20 and 40 seconds.
Life Insurance Corporation of India was the sector’s biggest TV spender with 11 per cent of ad volumes. Muthoot Financial Enterprises came second with 9 per cent, followed by National Payments Corporation of India at 6 per cent, Tata AIG General Insurance at 5 per cent and State Bank of India at 5 per cent. The top ten advertisers together accounted for 51 per cent of total TV volumes. Three names were new to the top ten in 2025: Tata AIG General Insurance, IIFL Finance and Tata Capital. At brand level, Muthoot Finance Loan Against Gold led with 9 per cent share, Tata AIG Health Insurance entered the top ten for the first time, and the top ten brands together contributed 35 per cent of ad volumes.
Print: the long climb continues
Print told a different story. Ad space for the BFSI sector has grown every year since 2021, rising 16 per cent in 2022, 30 per cent in 2023, 51 per cent in 2024 and 64 per cent in 2025, all measured against a 2021 baseline. Within 2025, ad space was flat in the second quarter but surged 46 per cent in the third and 33 per cent in the fourth compared with the first. Life insurance led print categories with 21 per cent of ad space, followed by mutual funds and banking services and products at 13 per cent each, and corporate financial institutes at 11 per cent. The top ten categories together took 82 per cent of print ad space. LIC led print advertisers with 6 per cent share, and the top ten together covered just 19 per cent of ad space, a reflection of how fragmented print spending remains. Three new entrants joined the top ten in 2025, with Billion Brains Garage Ventures the only exclusive presence not seen in 2024’s list. In the top ten brands, LIC dominated with a 2 per cent share, while Nippon India Mutual Fund rose to third position from fourth in 2024. English accounted for 62 per cent of print ad space, Hindi for 20 per cent. Business and finance publications took 59 per cent of the genre split. The south zone led regional spending with 33 per cent of print ad space, Bangalore topping that zone, while New Delhi and Mumbai were the leading cities nationally.
Radio: louder than ever
Radio ad volumes for the BFSI sector have climbed steadily, rising 12 per cent above 2021 levels in 2023, 36 per cent in 2024 and 45 per cent in 2025. The quarterly pattern within 2025 was volatile: a sharp drop of 43 per cent in the second quarter and 42 per cent in the third, followed by a near-full recovery in the fourth. Life insurance led radio categories with 22 per cent of volumes, banking services and products second at 14 per cent and corporate NBFCs third at 11 per cent. LIC of India held its position as the leading radio advertiser with 20 per cent of ad volumes; the top ten radio advertisers together covered 69 per cent. Muthoot Financial Enterprises led radio brands with 10 per cent share, five of the top ten brands belonged to LIC alone, and SBI Mutual Fund made a remarkable leap to fifth position from 272nd in 2024. Evening and morning time-bands together captured 84 per cent of radio ad volumes, with evenings at 44 per cent and mornings at 40 per cent. Maharashtra was the leading state for radio BFSI advertising with 18 per cent share; Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh together accounted for 43 per cent.
Digital: the five-times surge
If one number defines the 2025 BFSI advertising story, it is five. Digital ad impressions for the sector multiplied fivefold between 2021 and 2025, having already doubled in 2023 and doubled again in 2024 before the 2025 leap. Within the year, impressions dipped 19 per cent in the second quarter and 12 per cent in the third before recovering 8 per cent above the first quarter by the fourth. Banking services and products led digital categories with 27 per cent of impressions, life insurance and credit cards tied at 19 per cent each, and securities and sharebroking organisations fell from first place in 2024 to fourth in 2025. Axis Bank was the runaway leader among digital advertisers with 12 per cent of impressions, followed by ICICI Bank at 9 per cent, IDFC First Bank at 7 per cent and Kotak Mahindra Bank at 6 per cent. The top ten digital advertisers covered 59 per cent of impressions, and seven of them were new entrants compared with 2024, signalling rapid churn in the digital spending hierarchy. At brand level, Axis Bank led with 9 per cent, ICICI HPCL Super Saver Credit Card vaulted to third place from 921st in 2024, and six of the top ten digital brands were new to the list. Programmatic buying accounted for 91 per cent of all digital BFSI transactions; combined with ad networks, it captured 96 per cent.
The data from TAM AdEx paints the portrait of a sector that still believes in the power of the television news bulletin to sell insurance to the masses, but increasingly knows that the next generation of borrowers, investors and cardholders is scrolling, not watching. The race is now on to reach them before the algorithm serves up someone else’s loan offer first.
