India's ad industry recovers, but it's a mixed picture

India’s traditional media sectors are showing signs of recovery, but new filings from Facebook and Google highlight the inroads the tech giants have been making into the advertising industry – and it’s a trend unlikely to be reversed.

What’s happening

• Print ad volume was up 93% quarter-on-quarter in the July-September period, according to India’s ad analysis powerhouse AdEx India, and 37% up on the same period a year ago. 
• The OOH (out-of-home) industry reports a renewal of outdoor campaigns as the number of vaccinations grow and traffic returns to the roads during the festival season.
• October saw the highest TV advertising volumes in 2021, with regional language channels performing especially well, IndianTelevision.com notes.
• The combined gross advertising revenue of Facebook India and Google India rose 29% for the fiscal year to March 2021; experts tell Exchange4Media that most of this growth has come at the expense of print, radio and outdoor.

Why it matters

Those same experts point to the scale and reach of the duopoly, the detailed level of consumer information they gather – via search, mail, social media, instant messages, video – and the constant evolution of new products for advertisers.

Sourced from IndianTelevision.com, Exchange4Media