GroupM’s Maps and Priti Murthy about prominent advertising, media & marketing trends of 2024

GroupM India’s This Year Next Year (TYNY) report 2024 highlights that the overall ad revenue in India is expected to grow at 10.2% and reach INR 1,55,386 crore in 2024, with an incremental INR 14,423 crores compared to 2023.

Globally, digital media is estimated to reach 79% while the Indian ad share is predicted to be 13%, contributing to 57% of the total ad spends. 

The spending for other mediums appears to be experiencing slower growth. Channels like Cinema are expected to grow by 15%, Radio by 4%, Outdoor by 12.5%, Print by 5% and TV by 7% over 2023.

High growth drivers anticipated this year are auto, election, construction, realty and SME, as they are set to boom by 13% from 51.5% in 2023. On the other hand, the moderate growth drivers include FMCG and a few other sectors, growing at 9% in terms of ad spends.

So, how will the sectors expecting to observe a muted growth fare this year?

Speaking to Social Samosa, Parthasarathy Mandayam (Maps), Chief Strategy Officer, GroupM South Asia mentions, “One of the areas is e-gaming, driven by factors like profitability and regulation. Education is also experiencing churn. Slow growth in these sectors has strong underlying reasons.”

He further continues that sectors like Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Telco, and Tech are rebounding, with steady growth expected, but not at explosive levels. 

“It's a combination of factors and to a certain extent, it's also from our side. We need to be more agile to address the different tasks which are emerging so the shape of how they are spending money is changing, with a shift towards performance. Every single CPG major you have seen has said that they want to invest behind penetration.”

Maps points out that while different factors are contributing to muted growth for each of those sectors, all of them are growing.

Consolidating the philosophy of marketing

During the press briefing, Priti Murthy, President –GroupM Nexus said that in 2024, brands will shift their focus to consumer experience through performance marketing, integrating brand activities and emotions.

She noted that departments within agencies and organisations will need to integrate and work together to provide a full-funnel marketing strategy.

Elaborating on the same, Murthy says, “A marketing campaign is no longer just about TV commercials; it extends to YouTube, OTT platforms, programmatic, and meta campaigns. But simultaneously, sales and customer KPIs are linking up to the brand narrative, using the right content and messaging to drive the brand and sales together.”

She continues that departments aren’t going to consolidate specialised skills citing an example of her team, wherein they have an e-commerce planner who excels at Amazon or SWI planning. 

She suggests that a similar specialisation is happening on the client side, but the full family narrative is not about the consolidation of people; it's about the consolidation of the philosophy of marketing.

As consumer journeys are becoming longer, and purchase decisions are becoming more complex, the elements of each are changing by category. Hence, measurement interventions and linking of the marketing narrative is crucial. 

“Trade marketing, modern marketing, retail trade, all have to talk to each other with the overall marketing functions also, where the consumer experience will improve. Otherwise, consumers see not the brand, but the product; it's a category sell, not a brand sell.”

Consolidating media agencies

Not just marketing functions, but media agencies are also evolving with developments in consumer trends and technology. In the media context, Maps specifies a few important aspects. 

“One is the need for deep specialization, both at the platform and audience levels. The second part is breaking down silos, whether in planning or measurement, to look horizontally across platforms and understand the larger objectives.”

In the case of GroupM, he mentions that they are investing more in understanding consumer journeys and vertical expertise, creating themes that can span the entire funnel. 

“This transformation is supported by tools that help in media planning, allowing us to tailor strategies based on brand objectives and market characteristics,” Maps comments.

The report underlines a few evolving trends that are set to impact the larger marketing and media landscape including:

• The increasing influence of gen-alpha on marketing strategies wherein engagement is powered by technology, voice and video-based interactive communication. 

• 21% of television homes which makes up 45 million to be addressable in 2024. Advertisers can tap into addressable TV since viewers spend an average of nine minutes on content discovery.

• Sports to focus on immersive experience journeys as they go phygital.

• E-commerce drives deeper into organisations with a 5% growth expected in 2024.

• Rise of omni-channel commerce with an intersection between tech and brick-and-mortar to drive shopping journeys.

• Rapid developments in AI will transform media, messaging, and measurement.

• The importance of niche consumer segments will power the growth of micro-marketing.

• Brand marketing becomes more accountable for performance.

• Diverse data is required due to a multi-search ecosystem. 

• With consent becoming critical, zero-party data will empower various areas of marketing.

India's advertising sector is poised for significant growth, led by digital media's dominance and evolving consumer trends. While agility and performance-driven strategies for sectors with muted growth are important, the convergence of marketing functions and media specialization will make for a holistic approach, emphasizing consumer journey understanding and data-driven insights.