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Video brands’ India ad spends to rise 19% by 2022: Zenith Report
KOLKATA: There is no denying that the advertising market has been in the doldrums for most of the year, owing to the Covid2019 pandemic. However, video entertainment ad spends are projected to shrink just 0.2 per cent in 2020 across ten key markets, according to the recent Zenith Business Intelligence – Video Entertainment report.
Video entertainment advertising will far outperform the ad market as a whole, which will drop by 8.7 per cent across these same markets. Moreover, India and Spain will be top of the table when it comes to ad-ex growth through 2022.
The report concluded that the resilience of video entertainment ad spend in the face of a global pandemic and subsequent recession is the result of increased demand from consumers, increased supply of content, and intense competition among video brands for viewers.
Faced with spending much more time at home, consumers have turned to video content to keep themselves informed and entertained. In France, for example, TV viewing time was 30 per cent higher year-on-year in April and was still 11 per cent higher in August.
Investment in advertising by online video brands has far outpaced traditional television recently. In the US, online video brands increased their ad budgets by 142 per cent in 2019, while television brands increased their spending by 15 per cent.
In the UK, ad spend by online video platforms increased by 79 per cent, while ad spend by traditional television grew 34 per cent. In both markets, television broadcasters and pay-TV platforms pushed up spending temporarily in response to their new competition, but this will prove unsustainable in the face of ongoing decline in their revenues, both Covid2019-related and structural.
In contrast, online video platforms have continued to raise their budgets to exploit the current window of opportunity to build a loyal customer base. Each platform is spending heavily to ensure that they are top of mind while consumers consider which ones to commit to for the long term.
“Consumers are now faced with a vast and confusing array of programmes and films vying for their attention,” Zenith global managing director Christian Lee said . “Video brands need to cut through this complexity and give consumers entertainment that matches their personal preferences with minimum fuss. Brands that provide compelling experiences and act as more than just repositories of content will be best positioned for growth in the long term.”
Here are a few highlights from the report:
Lockdown has made digital even more vital to video brands
Video entertainment brands spend more on digital advertising, out-of-home and cinema than the average brand. Their reliance on out-of-home and cinema has posed a particular challenge this year, as they have been forced to compensate for lost audiences from empty cities and closed cinemas. This means even more digital spending, which is forecast to rise from 53 per cent of total video entertainment spend in 2019 to 57 per cent in 2020.
Video entertainment ad spend to exceed 2019 peak by 1.2 per cent in 2022
While video entertainment is expected to substantially outperform the market in 2020, Zenith forecasts it to underperform over the next two years, with no growth in 2021 and 1.3 per cent growth in 2022. Online video platforms will have less capacity to raise budgets after spending heavily in 2020, and traditional TV broadcasters will be weighed down by shrinking revenues from TV advertising and pay-TV subscriptions. Nevertheless, Zenith expects video entertainment ad spend to be 1.2 per cent higher in 2022 than it was in 2019, while overall advertising will still be 0.6 per cent below its 2019 peak.
Spain and India to lead growth in video entertainment ad spend
The stable headline figures for growth hide considerable variation between the 10 markets. In 2022, video entertainment brands are forecast to spend 27 per cent more than in 2019 in Spain, and 19 per cent more in India. Meanwhile, spending is expected to decline by 5 per cent in the US and 7 per cent in Australia over the same period.
Spain and India both have fast-growing appetites for video-on-demand, especially on smartphones in India. India’s television ad market also enjoys rapid long-term growth – unlike in most Western countries – and should bounce back quickly in 2021.
The US is the only market where video entertainment ad spend is expected to continue to decline after 2020, as rising online revenues fail to compensate for the ongoing declines in TV advertising and pay-TV subscriptions, reducing available ad budgets. The video industry is healthier in Australia, but here the ad market as a whole is retrenching after the sudden halt to Australia’s 29 years of unbroken economic growth, so video brands can maintain a share of voice without raising budgets.
MAM
Lego brings Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, Vinicius together
Campaign clocks 314 million views ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026 buzz.
MUMBAI: Four legends, one frame and not a single tackle in sight. Lego has pulled off a crossover few thought possible, uniting Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior in a single campaign ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 only this time, they’re building dreams brick by brick.
Titled “Everyone wants a piece”, the campaign features the quartet assembling a Lego version of the World Cup trophy, before placing miniature versions of themselves atop it, a playful nod to football’s ultimate prize. Shared widely across social media, the ad carries a pointed disclaimer: it is not AI-generated, a subtle but telling signal in an era where even reality is often questioned.
The numbers tell their own story. The campaign has already crossed 314 million views on Instagram across the players’ accounts, with fans hailing it as a rare, almost nostalgic moment particularly for the reunion of Messi and Ronaldo, whose last shared campaign ahead of the 2022 World Cup became one of the platform’s most-liked posts.
Beyond the film, Lego is extending the play with exclusive, player-themed sets tied to each of the four stars, part of a broader football-led programme designed to ride the global momentum building towards 2026. The idea, as echoed by the players themselves, leans into the parallels between football and play experimentation, creativity, failure, and triumph.
Messi described the sets as a way to bring on-pitch moments into an imaginative, hands-on world, while Ronaldo called the transformation into a Lego figure a rare honour, blending sport with storytelling. Vinícius, meanwhile, struck a more personal note, recalling childhood moments of building with Lego and framing creativity as a universal language that transcends borders.
The timing is no accident. With the 2026 World Cup set to run from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and featuring an expanded 48-team format, global anticipation is already building. Argentina, led by Messi, will enter as defending champions, adding another layer of intrigue.
For Lego, the campaign does more than celebrate football, it taps into its mythology. Because when icons become figurines and rivalries turn into play, the beautiful game finds a new kind of pitch. one built, quite literally, by hand.
