MUMBAI: Digital remains a relatively small part of in the Indian advertising ecosystem but it is one of the fastest growing, according to a new report, which forecasts it will increase at a CAGR of 33.5% between 2015 and 2020.

Digital accounted for 12.7% of all adspend in 2016, with most of that going to search and display. The study from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and KPMG India, Digital – The New Normal of Marketing, projected that digital would total Rs 255bn by 2020, Forbes India reported.

"The post-demonetisation days have clearly showed how the country is set to leapfrog a few stages to embrace the power of digital," said Thomas Varghese, Chairman, CII National Committee on Marketing and CEO-Textile Business, Aditya Birla Group.

"Mobile is being rapidly adopted and marketers have an incredible opportunity to enhance the game of digital communication and deliver great customer experiences at each point of the journey," he added.

Connected devices, smarter devices and 'hyper relevant rich content' will drive consumption for the consumer, the report said, with marketers having to interpret reams of data.

Changing media consumption habits will further challenge marketers to respond in new ways: native ads, for example, are increasingly being used to combat ad blocking.

And shorter attention spans are likely to see marketers directing content strategists to curate short videos that create a greater impact while also holding attention to the end.

The study also considers the implications of the technological developments that are in the pipeline.

"Singularity, connected systems, Cognitive and AI will create a world where the marketer will be marketing not only to humans but [also] the 'self-thinking' machines," said Rachna Nath, Partner and Head, Digital Consulting, KPMG India.

Data sourced from Forbes India; additional content by Warc staff