Advertising expenditure in India is forecast to grow 10.7% in 2020 to an estimated Rs. 91,641 crores (c.US$13bn), according to a new report from GroupM, the media investment arm of WPP.

That is more than double the global adspend growth rate (5.1%) that GroupM forecasts for this year and means India is expected to continue to be the fastest-growing major ad market in the world.

India is also on course to be the eighth-largest ad market in the world this year, just behind France and Brazil, and ahead of Canada and Australia. In addition, GroupM says India will continue to be the third-highest contributor to incremental adspend, placing the country behind only the UK and US.

Turning to specific media spend, GroupM’s annual “This Year, Next Year” report predicts that TV (+7%) will continue to be the largest channel worth Rs. 38,081 crores, or 42% of total Indian adspend.

Digital (+26%) is forecast to reach 30% of adspend in 2020 with growth coming from what GroupM calls the 3Vs (video, voice, vernacular-Indic) as well as advertising on e-commerce. Overall, digital adspend is expected to be worth Rs. 27,803 crores this year.

“There are multiple advancements happening in technology which is transforming digital advertising and other mediums,” said Tushar Vyas, president of growth and transformation at GroupM South Asia.

“India being a diverse country, digital will keep growing, especially with the rise of content platforms and its availability in multiple languages powered by the growth of 3Vs,” he added.

And despite the fast rise of digital, print is forecast to be the third-largest medium, holding steady at Rs. 18,140 crores – a very slight fall from the Rs. 18,164 crores recorded in 2019. “Print will continue to remain relevant to advertisers wanting to build credible brands,” noted Sidharth Parashar, president of investments and pricing at GroupM.

Elsewhere, adspend allocated to radio is forecast to grow 6% to Rs. 2,986 crores, while cinema and out-of-home will grow 15% and 6% respectively to a combined total of Rs. 4,632 crores.

WARC Data, in partnership with Pitch Madison, forecasts e-commerce adspend to grow the quickest in 2020. The expected 19.0% year-on-year growth is followed closely by the travel and tourism sector (18.3%).

Sourced from GroupM; additional content by WARC staff