GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, has announces the elevation of Ashwin Padmanabhan as Chief Operating Officer for South Asia. He will continue to be based out of Gurugram and report to Prasanth Kumar, CEO – GroupM South Asia.
Padmanabhan will now oversee a streamlined structure that brings together GroupM’s extensive and diversified key practices. This includes Influencer Marketing, Content, OOH offering and Nexus. Investments, Trading, Partnerships, Motion and Entertainment will continue to be part of his portfolio. Ashwin’s strategic vision will play a pivotal role in seamlessly integrating GroupM’s diversified services, to develop and deliver a best-in-class solution that unlocks value for clients and GroupM.
Said Prasanth Kumar, CEO – GroupM South Asia: “Ashwin’s deep understanding of client requirements and industry ecosystems and his proven track record ensures a seamless alliance across respective domains. He will continue to drive synergies across multiple practices emphasizing simplicity and consolidation to consistently deliver outstanding client work.”
Goafest 2024, the annual industry festival organised by The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club (TAC), kicked off with a performance by Bollywood playback singer Sukhwinder Singh. This was followed with members of the organising committee lighting the ceremonial lamp. Prasanth Kumar, President of AAAI and CEO of South Asia at GroupM, then addressed the attendees, marking the festival’s 17th edition. This year’s event also celebrated the third year of collaboration between The Abby Awards and One Show. Under the theme ‘The Age of Adaptability,’ delegates were welcomed to Goafest 2024 with a champagne launch, setting a celebratory and spirited tone for the proceedings. This is Goafest, and even if it’s being held in Mumbai, tea, coffee, soft drinks and beer were available through the day. No questions and monies asked.
In the first session titled Adapt To Thrive Not Just Survive, Harit Nagpal, Managing Director and CEO of Tata Play, stressed on the criticality of adaptability as a means to thrive. Delivering the keynote, Nagpal underlined the inevitability of disruption in our lives and the importance of resilience in the face of it. “Disruption can be caused by anything or anyone, but it becomes our responsibility to survive and thrive,” he said. After Nagpal, a keynote titled, Navigating The Age Of Adaptability: Leading with Vision, Flexibility, and Purpose, was delivered by Sanjiv Mehta, former CEO of Hindustan Unilever and Executive Chairman of L Catterton India. “Learning happens when you have the humility to say, ‘I don’t know?’” – by admitting so, organisations and corporations open themselves to new knowledge and understanding, fostering a growth mindset that enables them to learn and develop from others’ expertise and experiences, not just myopically thinking of profit generation ,” he said.
Later there was a session titled From Setbacks to Comebacks: The Power of Persistence presented by acclaimed writer and film director, Tahira Kashyap captivated the audience with her inspiring journey, moderated by Atika Farooqui, Celebrity Host & Actor. Kashyap shared personal anecdotes and professional experiences, illustrating how resilience and determination have been instrumental in her success. “Women go through multiple hardware upgrades; every day is so different for women, every hour is so different than the previous one,” she mentions, also candidly referring to the books she has written on womanhood and motherhood.”
And then there was a session titled Lessons of Adaptability: Embracing Failure to Touch Success, featuring Indian actress Medha Shankr and actor Vikrant Massey, moderated by the multifaceted Actor, Producer & Entrepreneur, Neha Dhupia. Medha and Vikrant, the cast of the acclaimed film 12th Fail, illuminated the audience with their insights on embracing failure as a stepping stone towards triumph.
Here’s what the Goafest 2024 leadership team said in a statement:
Prasanth Kumar
Prasanth Kumar, President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and CEO of GroupM, South Asia: “The composition of the clients has been very interesting this year with a notable presence of tech specialists. It’s encouraging to see such diversity. It’s truly heartening to witness the growing number of partners, which not only strengthens and welcomes many newcomers into the Goafest fold. While we anticipated challenges, the dedication and support of all involved have exceeded our expectations, and for that, we’re immensely grateful. We’re excited to welcome many new faces and investors to Goafest 2024; we’re also looking forward to numerous tech sessions and integrations that will enrich the experience. Our goal is to institutionalise Goafest, constantly striving to improve. By completing 60% of the work early and refining timing, we’re making practical strides toward our vision for the next year.”
Rana Barua
Rana Barua, President of The Advertising Club and Group CEO of Havas India, South East and North Asia: “Through countless journeys together, we’ve always been driven by passion, not profit. This year, our commitment to not miss out has been unanimous. The whole team rallied together, united by our love for this industry, to make Goafest 2024 happen within our tight timeframe.”
Jaideep Gandhi
Jaideep Gandhi, Chairperson of the Goafest Organising Committee: “We aim to keep this festival relevant, as we’ve successfully done in the past two years, especially in the post-pandemic era. Each year, we strive to introduce new elements, constantly raising the bar.”
Dheeraj Sinha
Dheeraj Sinha, Group CEO – India and South Asia, FCB and Co-chair Awards Governing Council, Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show: “We’re thrilled to see a fantastic response from returning agencies, with VML, and McCann Worldgroup India, amongst others, making a comeback, along with many others. It’s a near-complete reunion, with only a handful of agencies not joining us this year!”
Day One ended with Publisher and Media Abby being presented.
It almost didn’t happen, but the bravehearts in the Indian advertising, media and marketing ecosystem decided that it’s got to happen. The Advertising Agencies Association of India and The Advertising Club, which jointly organises Goafest, announced the 17th edition of the annual Goafest and 55th edition of Abby for May 29 to 31. In Mumbai, instead of Goa. Overlooking Powai Lake instead of the Arabian Sea. The venue: Westin Powai, what was called Renaissance earlier and host to Ficci Frames for eons.
Prasanth KumarJaideep GandhiMohit Joshi
From the organising leadership of Goafest, Prasanth Kumar, President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India and CEO of GroupM South Asia, Jaideep Gandhi, Chairperson of the Goafest Organising Committee and Mohit Joshi, CEO Havas Media Network India and Goafest 2024’s Co-chair spoke with MxMIndia early on Thursday.
It may be noted that the detailed agenda hasn’t been unveiled yet, but that’s understandable. All the Goafest folks have busy day jobs, and everyone is trying their damnedest to make it a runaway success. And this we know from reasonably close quarters. Even the naysayers are helping. In fact, Prasanth Kumar or PK, as he’s known to the world, is delighted that Goafest 2024 will see each and every association in the M&E ecosystem chipping in. This includes the newspaperwallahs, the broadcasters, the digital folks… everyone.
Gandhi joined him in adding: “Visionaries like Sundar Swamy, Arvind Sharma, Colvyn Harris, Ambi Parameswaran, Nagesh Alai, Nakul Chopra, Ashish Bhasin, Sam Balsara and Shashi Sinha have been key pillars of shaping and scaling Goafest to this magnitude over the last 16 years. Each one of them made unique contributions that made the festival larger, and relevant each year.”
Hmmm. So here’s what our conversation generated.
On Goafest in Mumbai:
The organising leadership had a logistical issue of doing Goafest in Goa. PK: “We didn’t want to take a break, especially in the context of the way the industry is evolving. We felt it’s important for the industry to get together.
Hence, Age of Adaptability is the theme, and, said PK, “in the true spirit of adaptability, we are doing the event in Mumbai”.
On delegates not staying over like in Goa affecting the spirit:
The fact is that if you want to be in the fest, you’ll be there. This is regardless of it being in Mumbai or Goa. We have taken a lot of time and effort to make the three days very interesting. We are going to offer a lot of opportunities for people to network. This Goafiest is not only about Goa or Mumbai… it is the largest event for the entire industry
On registrations:
PK: Good registrations, excellent response.”
Gandhi: Last year’s registration count was upwards of 1600
PK: This year, given the conversations we are having, we could get close to 2000. We are going to see a lot of clients, media publishers, owners, media agencies… We had an early bird entry fee which had a cut of 20% instead of the usual 10%
On Absence of clients/marketers at Goafests in the past, and this year:
Lot of speakers are from client organisations, So we hope to see them at least for a day
On the Agenda:
Joshi: We have over 20 sessions with panel discussions and keynotes. There are close to 50 speakers, and each of them sticking to the theme of adaptability. Industry experts and leaders. We are really excited about the agenda and are sure that people will learn from it.
PK: We are also going to have a large number of masterclasses – From D&AD, some of our own sessions
Meanwhile, the Goafest committee has been able to attract a string of sponsors, and some of them are still being signed up, according to the information received. There is at least one more international tie-up that is being inked, but details of that have still not been unveiled.
The 17th edition of Goafest, the biggest advertising festival in South Asia, will be held from May 29 to 31, 20024 at the Grand Hyatt, Bambolim, Goa. Co-hosted by The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club, Goafest 2024, the fest will showcase knowledge sessions, masterclasses, networking opportunities, partying, and of course the Abby Awards.
The fest was held from May 24 to 26 last year, and while one thought it would be horribly hot, we thought it was pretty bearable.
Prasanth Kumar
Said Prasanth Kumar, President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India and CEO of GroupM, South Asia: “Goafest has firmly established itself as the pinnacle of creative celebrations in South Asia, uniting the foremost talents in the creative and marketing realms. Our goal is to offer our industry peers an immersive experience over three days filled with learning, meaningful engagement, interactivity, and curiosity.”
Rana Barua
Added Rana Barua, President of The Advertising Club and Group CEO of Havas India, South East, and North Asia: “Every year, The Abby One Show Awards at Goafest stand as a testament to the biggest and most prestigious awards in the Indian advertising industry, celebrating innovative and groundbreaking ideas. Once again, I invite the brilliant minds of Indian advertising to join the celebrations and embark on an exciting journey at Goafest 2024, where creativity takes the spotlight.”
Jaideep Gandhi
Said Jaideep Gandhi, Chairperson of Goafest 2024: “Persistently, Goafest has progressed and pioneered, solidifying its status as the foremost advertising festival in India. From insightful knowledge-sharing sessions to featuring distinguished speakers, we are confident in welcoming global guests who will significantly contribute to the industry, particularly benefitting younger professionals. I would also like to mention that Mr Mohit Joshi, CEO of Havas Media has very kindly agreed to join me as Co-Chair and contribute immensely to take this event to greater heights.”
Prasanth Kumar, CEO – South Asia of Group M, was re-elected President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for the year 2023-24 at the Annual General Meeting of AAAI held on December 1.
Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Worldwide India was unanimously elected Vice-President of the Association.
Other elected members of the Board are (in alphabetical order):
Sam Balsara (Madison Communications Pvt Ltd)
Tanya Goyal (Everest Brand Solutions Pvt Ltd)
Vishandas Hardasani (Matrix Publicities and Media India Pvt Ltd)
Mohit Joshi (Havas Media India Pvt Ltd)
Kunal Lalani (Crayons Advertising Ltd)
Chandramouli Muthu (Maitri Advertising Works Pvt Ltd)
Anupriya Acharya, Chief Executive Publicis Group South Asia will be the ex-officio member of the AAAI Board for 2023-24 as AAAI’s immediate past president.
On this occasion, Kumar said: “I am deeply grateful to the members of the AAAI for re-electing me as President, a role I accept with great honour and responsibility. Our collective vision is to strengthen an inclusive environment, actively engaging with all stakeholders to shape a dynamic and future-ready organization. Our commitment is steadfast in strengthening unwavering support for every member, recognizing that while we have achieved few milestones together, there is still a considerable journey ahead. This prospect excites us; it fuels our motivation. When we collaborate and exert our combined efforts, we not only enhance each year for everyone involved but also solidify our resolve to be architects of change within our industry. We stand dedicated to not just witnessing but actively creating a transformative era, steering our organization towards new horizons of innovation and impact.”
On his appointment as Vice President, Barua added: “I am passionate about policymaking that leads to impactful and positive changes to the advertising industry, that benefit all the stakeholders, including, media, consumers, and advertising agencies. I believe in the potential of advertising to foster economic development and enhance meaningful social changes. I look forward to collaborating with the AAAI members to bring these shared goals to life.”
GroupM along with MMA today has launched a marketers’ guide titled ‘Transform to Thrive’.
Notes the report: “In order to strategise on how organisations should “Transform to Thrive”, in an uncertain world, it is first important to delve into the drivers of uncertainty. With the objective of crafting a carefully researched and relevant report, MMA conducted a survey among senior marketing professionals across industries. The findings are what determined the roadmap for various elements of this report. 61% of marketers felt that macro environment factors like Covid, Ukraine war, inflation etc. have been the highest contributors to volatility in business, followed in innovations in technology and a shift in consumer trends and preferences,” adding: “Amidst these uncertain times, marketers also need to expand their focus on protecting their advertising spends from the rising threat of sophisticated fraud. A critical component in achieving this is ensuring safe inventory to engage the “right audience” with advertising campaigns. Brands must adopt a customer-centric advertising approach, prioritising the protection and acknowledgement of their consumers’ interests.”
Said Prasanth Kumar, CEO – GroupM South Asia”: A marketer’s dashboard is spruced with business numbers, social numbers, service/outages, and innovation, all tied to delivering a superlative experience. This holistic approach ensures that marketing strategies are aligned with business goals, social engagement, service reliability, and innovation, all contributing to an exceptional customer experience. We embrace these trends and strive to provide innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers”, .
Added Moneka Khurana, Country Head & Board Member, MMA Global – India: “MMR’23 is a must-read for every marketer looking to thrive in the face of unprecedented change. It provides a roadmap for building a future-proof marketing organisation, one that is agile, consumer-centric, and data-driven, and leverages relevant tools and technologies to power it. At the MMA, we believe that the future belongs to those who embrace 2023 as the year with change being front and centre and are willing to challenge the status quo. This report brings perspectives from 25+ experts from across the ecosystem offering the needed understanding. Grab the MMR – Modern Marketing Reckoner to start your Transform to Thrive journey ”
Said Amit Jain, MMA India Board Chair; Chairman- L’Oréal India:“The Modern Marketing Reckoner 2023 offers a rich perspective on future-proofing marketing and being agile in the current times. It also drives perspectives on the power of AI, data, tech, and new media to accelerate business growth. We at MMA strongly believe that digital maturity must be measured in the context of key growth drivers to measure success and progress year on year. As the Chairperson of MMA India and L’Oreal India, I am excited to see the influence and shift in mindset this report will have on the marketing community.”
The landscape of customisation has extended beyond media, with innovative strategies such as QR scans on products to build “always on” engagement, exclusive product bundles for omnichannel, and leveraging the strength of online marketplaces for key occasions. Marketers are urged to embrace dynamic marketing strategies that cater to individual customer preferences and preferences for communication channels.
Furthermore, building flexible distribution networks that can quickly adapt to changing customer preferences is crucial. Organisations must pace up technological innovation to foster omnichannel growth and digitise supply chains, enabling real-time inventory management and delivery.
As Goafest gets set for its 16th edition in late May 2023, the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club have announce the Governing Council and Committee Members for Goafest 2023.
Following is the Governing Council for Goafest 2023:
• Prasanth Kumar, President, Advertising Agencies Association of India and CEO, South Asia, GroupM
• Partha Sinha, President, Times of India Group and President of The Advertising Club
• Jaideep Gandhi, Chairman, Goafest 2023; Founder, Another Idea
• Mohit Joshi, Co-chair, Goafest 2023; CEO, Havas Media
• Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India & Chairman, The ABBYs Award Governing Council
• Ajay Kakar, Managing Committee Member, The Advertising Club & Co-chair, The ABBYs Award Governing Council
• Anupriya Acharya, CEO South Asia, Publicis Groupe
• Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison
• Rohit Ohri, Group Chairman & CEO, FCB Group India
• Shashi Sinha, CEO-India, IPG Mediabrands
• Ajay Chandwani, Managing Committee Member, The Advertising Club
• Malcolm Raphael, Senior Vice-President, The Times of India Group
The sub-committee members for Goafest 2023 from Advertising Agencies Association of India are:
• Content Committee Chairman: Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO, Media & OOH, Madison Communications
• Delegates Committee Chairman: Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison
• Creative Committee Chairman: Rohit Ohri, Group Chairman & CEO, FCB Group India
Creative Committee Joint Chairman: Anusha Shetty, Chairman & Group CEO, Grey Worldwide India
• Client Associations Chairman: Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Media Brands
• Client Associations Joint Chairman: Prasanth Kumar, CEO South Asia, Group M
• Advertising Associations Committee Chairman: Srinivasan K Swamy, Chairman & Managing Director, R K Swamy
Said Prasanth Kumar: “We are blessed to have great leadership working together to make Goafest ’23 a remarkable event. This year sees greater support and collaboration across the industry coming together. As always, Goafest is a passion centre and while we discuss greater opportunities across the industry and celebrate our great work am sure will push the boundaries as a collective team and achieve greater progress.”
On opening up delegate registrations for Goafest 2023, Sam Balsara added: “Goafest has earned its position as a destination that celebrates creative excellence in most disciplines in Communication in South Asia. We look forward to welcoming teams from across India, South Asia and indeed the globe to come and participate in Goafest as we exchange thoughts and discuss the future of communication and increasing its role and accountability to the marketer, further making way for growth of the Industry.”
Partha Sinha
Added Partha Sinha: “With each edition of Goafest, India’s position in the global creative industry is only strengthened. Given the format and scale of Goafest, the festival has firmly positioned itself as the most sought-after creative festival in South Asia. With day-long sessions and masterclasses led by the brightest minds in the industry to evenings that honour and celebrate work that has set new benchmarks and trends, Goafest is the only festival of its kind in India and Asia that drives value, encourages creative excellence and discusses pertinent topics, aiding our industry’s growth. We look forward to hosting our industry colleagues and partners once again at Goafest.”
The theme Goafest this year is: ‘The Future of Creativity is Here’. With advancements in technology, including machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing, the boundaries of creativity are being pushed further than ever before. There is a rise in innovative tools and technologies that enable new forms of creativity; for example, virtual and augmented reality (VR & AR) technologies are already opening up new avenues for artistic expression, allowing creators to build immersive, interactive experiences that blur the line between the physical and digital worlds.
Rohit Ohri
Unveiling the theme, Rohit Ohri said: “Generative AI is pushing the boundaries of what is possible and opening new doors to creativity and innovation. This technology will allow our industry to explore newer ideas at a much faster pace and is likely to play a significant role in shaping the future of creativity. Inspired by this game-changing development, we have used Generative AI in the design process of our three-day festival. With sessions and masterclasses that deep-dive into the creative technology landscape, we are sure to re-envision how we collaborate with machines to bring transformative ideas to life.”
Changemaking technologies and the changemakers behind them are reshaping the world while creating a positive real-world impact on communities, societies, and countries. While some may worry that AI will replace human creativity, it is certain that it will instead be used to enhance and augment human creativity, leading to even more groundbreaking and innovative creations.
GroupM ESP launched the 10th edition of the Sporting Nation Report 2023 on sports sponsorship in India on Wednesday. The Indian sports industry witnessed a significant growth curve in 2022, with spends crossing over INR 14,000 crore.
Sporting Nation 2023 highlights the growth of sports sponsorship in India, with spends on-ground, team, and franchise rising by INR 3021 Cr, a 105% growth from 2021, making the total sponsorship spends INR 5907 Cr. The overall increase in spends was due to the rise in the number of IPL matches, the addition of two new IPL teams, the ICC T20 World Cup, Asia Cup, FIFA World Cup, and the return of emerging sports events and tournaments like PKL, marquee marathons, Maharashtra Open, and Commonwealth Games 2022. Indian women athletes and women cricketers saw a phenomenal rise, with the Indian women’s cricketers making a name for themselves on the international stage.
The report highlights key aspects of how brands are expected to approach spending on sporting events differently with the rise of OTT, and the sports industry is one of the better-performing sectors in the economy with a 14% CAGR. Two big international racing events, Formula E & Moto GP, are to be held in India for the first time in 2023. The renewal of IPL Sponsorships post the 2023 season, BCCI Home Series Title ad Central Sponsorship along with team India sponsorship, BCCI Home Series Media Rights, and the inaugural season of WPL in March 2023 will be the tipping point for Indian cricket. Overall, the rise of Indian cricket, the performance of Indian athletes and the number of emerging sports leagues have all contributed to India becoming a sporting nation in the last ten years.
The report reveals that cricket continues to dominate the Indian sports sponsorship landscape, contributing to 85% of the sponsorship spends, while emerging sports like football, kabaddi and marathon have seen a massive upsurge in the sponsorship spends, contributing to the remaining 15%.
The growth of cricket sponsorship can be attributed to several reasons, including the Indian cricket team playing almost the double number of matches, as compared to 2021. The Indian Premier League (IPL) contributed the major revenue by adding two new franchises – Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, and a full house of central sponsorship.
Said Prasanth Kumar, CEO – GroupM South Asia: “The Indian sports ecosystem is experiencing a revolutionary transformation, with athletes becoming influential role models for the youth and sports sponsorships gathering immense momentum. In this scenario, brands hold tremendous potential to tap into the passion and loyalty of Indian sports fans. Despite facing unprecedented pandemic challenges, the exceptional performance of the sports industry in 2022 reflects its resilience and unwavering commitment. As we move forward, technology will play an increasingly pivotal role in content management and fan engagement, while opening new and exciting opportunities in sports. Live sports will continue to be highly coveted as monetizable properties, making it a promising sector for investment.”
Commenting on the report’s findings, Vinit Karnik, Head – Sports, Esports and Entertainment, GroupM South Asia, said: “The Sporting Nation report illuminates the explosive growth of sports sponsorship in India, a testament to the nation’s fervent passion for sports and the industry’s enormous potential for brands. With the rise of new sports and leagues alongside the unparalleled popularity of cricket, brands have unprecedented opportunities to connect with fans through sports. The report also highlights the burgeoning trend of sports celebrity endorsement, with cricketing stars blazing the trail. Brands can leverage these insights to tap into the power of sports sponsorship and accomplish their marketing goals with unmatched effectiveness.”
According to the Sporting Nation Report, the sports celebrity endorsement market in India has seen significant growth, with a 20% increase with total value of INR 729 Crore. Out of the 505 brand endorsement deals, 85% of the total brand endorsement value has come from cricketers. The top athletes in sports celebrity brand endorsement include Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Neeraj Chopra, and PV Sindhu. Cricketers’ endorsement has grown by 18%, with Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Rohit Sharma endorsing over 30 brands each, and adding new brands in 2022. Other cricketers such as Hardik Pandya, Jaspreet Bumrah, KL Rahul, and Surya Kumar Yadav are also scoring big in the endorsement space. Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu continue to be leading the non-cricketing athletes leading the endorsement deals.
The report also notes that apart from cricket leagues, the successful hosting of several other tournaments like Indian Super League, Pro Kabaddi, the Commonwealth Games, Prime Volleyball League, and Ultimate KhoKho, along with the return of marathons and the Women’s Indian Open Golf tournament also helped in building a diverse sports content portfolio in the country bringing in more eyeballs and creating multiple opportunities.
The images you see here give us the weather on May 24, 2023 in Goa and also what it has been in the past. Thirty-odd degrees is nothing. What we see in Mumbai and Delhi is worse. But look at the humidity: 74%. Numbers may not give a good indicator of things, but the fact is that Goa in May can be horribly hot. Or let’s be positive and say: fantastically hot. Except if there is an early onset of the rains, which is also not unlikely (note to Ramu kaka: please remind us to carry chhaata).
All of it builds the excitement around the region’s biggest (and hottest) advertising festival: Goafest. Co-hosted by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Advertising Club, Goafest 2023 is scheduled to take place on May 24, 25 and 26 in Goa. At the Grand Hyatt in Bambolim. Also scheduled is the 54th edition of the Abby awards. In addition to the awards, there will be presentations and sessions by leading industry experts, plus 10 knowledge-sharing masterclasses.
Announcing Goafest 2023, Prasanth Kumar, CEO, South Asia GroupM and President, Advertising Agencies Association of India: “Goafest has cemented its position as the most admirable creative festival in South Asia that truly brings together the best of creative and marketing professionals. Our goal is to offer our industry colleagues three power-packed days of learning, engagement, interactivity and curiosity. We are confident that this year’s edition will be the biggest and best yet, leaving each attendee with valuable learnings and benefiting the industry as a whole.”
Added Jaideep Gandhi, Chairperson Goafest 2023: “Year after year, Goafest has evolved and innovated, making it the most relevant advertising festival in India. From knowledge-sharing sessions to exclusive speakers, we are certain of having guests from across the globe that will benefit the industry, especially younger professionals, this year as well. For the first time, various committees involving senior industry leaders have been formed thus making the event all-inclusive and broad-based for the entire advertising industry. We look forward to curating a festival that drives participation and empowers the fraternity thus positioning India as a sharper contender in the global advertising landscape.”
Said Partha Sinha, President, The Times of India group and President of The Advertising Club: “We believe it is imperative that we celebrate the industry and Goafest enables us to do exactly this. The festival empowers the industry to push creative boundaries and think beyond existing possibilities. We look forward to another year of firsts at Goafest 2023 and encourage India’s creative economy to participate actively.”
So, are we headed to Goa? Of course, we are. As always.
It is time to celebrate as the TYNY (This Year Next Year) 2023 report released by GroupM last week declared that the total value of Indian AdEx in 2022 has crossed the 100K crore mark touching INR 1,09,636 crore and in 2023 is estimated to grow at a healthy rate of 15.5% over 2022 towards another milestone of 150K crore (predicted as INR 146450 crore in 2023). Digital AdEx with an estimated 30% growth rate is expected to power the overall growth. India continues to be the fastest growing advertising market and as per the TYNY report has moved up from 9th position to the 8th position among the Top 10 countries with a share of 2% of the global adspend.
As per the tradition set up over the last few years, the PMAR (Pitch Madison Advertising Report) 2023 was also released last week with a prediction that Indian AdEx will cross 100k crore mark in 2023 (predicted as INR 104230 crore) with a growth rate of 16% over 2022. Digital AdEX with an estimated 25% growth rate provide momentum to the growth.
Both the TYNY and PMAR have been predicting in the same line over last few years with the gap between their estimates of the size of Indian AD Industry becoming wider year on year. By 2023 the size of the gap in the two estimates will be 40% of the total Indian ADEX size estimated by PMAR and by 2025 the size of the gap may become 50% of the Indian ADEX estimated by PMAR!! Globally is quite common to have difference in the estimates of the AD Industry size / AdEX estimated by different organisations, but if the difference becomes huge then it causes serious concern.
Six years back, I wrote here an article comparing the estimates of TYNY 2017 and PMA 2017 https://www.mxmindia.com/2017/02/what-is-the-real-size-of-indian-ad-industry/. In that year, the estimates for Digital AdEx by the two agencies were almost the same, INR 7000+ crore in 2016 and INR 9000+ crore in 2017. However, the TV AdEx estimated by TYNY was considerably higher than the TV AdEx estimated by PMAO and hence the total Ad Industry expenditure estimated by TYNY was around INR 6000 crores higher than the that of PMAO.
It is interesting to note that over the last six years, Digital AdEx has increased at a much higher rate in the TYNY reports than in the PMAR reports. In 2022, the Digital AdEx INR 68,642 crore reported by TYNY was double the estimate INR 34,405 crore shown by PMAR. AS per the TYNY report, Digital ADEX now has more than 50% share of the total AdEx, while in the PMAR report total traditional media is still enjoying around 60% share of the total AdEx as shown in the table below.
The various industry websites including www.mxmindia.com and financial/ business publications have already reported on the findings of the two reports. Digital did not suffer during the three waves of Covid-19, among the traditional media TV was the first to recover its pre pandemic revenue, outdoor recovered in 2022, print, radio and cinema are expected to recover in 2023. On the whole. 2022 was a good year for Indian Advertising and the immediate future looks bright.
In spite of the widening rift between the TYNY and PMAR estimates, their leaders agree on the future directions. Prasanth Kumar, South Asia CEO, GroupM has said “As technology redefines interactions between consumers, brands and businesses the ad industry must navigate thru this changing environment.” Sam Balsara, Chairman and Managing Director, Madison World has advised the advertisers “to take advantage of the evolved digital infrastructure for distribution and advertising to prepare for the future growth and to invest in building their own D2C channels.” Only if the two agencies could stop the widening rift between the two reports, we would be in a happier situation.
Indrani Sen is a veteran industryperson and educator. This is a new season of her Monday column on MxMIndia. Her views here are personal.
Prasanth Kumar, CEO – South Asia of GroupM, was elected President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for the year 2022-23. Rana Barua, Group CEO of Havas Group India, was unanimously elected Vice President of the Association.
Other elected members of the Board in alphabetical order are:
:: Vishandas Hardasani: Matrix Publicities and Media India Pvt Ltd
:: Kunal Lalani: Crayons Advertising Pvt Ltd
:: Rohan Mehta: Kinnect Pvt Ltd
:: Chandramouli Muthu: Maitri Advertising Works Pvt Ltd, Kochi
Immediate Past President, Anupriya Acharya will be ex-officio member of the AAAI Board for 2022-23.
On this occasion, Kumar said: “I’m extremely honoured to be elected President of this prestigious association. Advertising is, in my opinion, a dynamic and idea-driven industry. Collaboration with industry organizations will allow us to shape the industry in a progressive way that benefits everybody. I look forward to building synergies with like-minded people and organisations and I believe that we will be able to achieve our goals if we work together. As always, I expect lots of support from my peers and colleagues within AAAI as well as from the broader ecosystem as well.”
PK, as he is popularly called, is a GroupM veteran with over 25 years of experience having worked across the industry. He has worked at Pepsi, The Hindu, The Media Edge and McCann Erickson before joining GroupM. He has also been Vice President of AAAI from 2020-22.
Added outgoing President Anupriya Acharya: “It has been a privilege to hold the office of President and take on the responsibilities that come with it for the last two years. We transitioned AAAI from a Society to a Section 8 Company, returned with our key events as the nation moved out of covid restrictions, relaunched the iconic Goafest and Abbys in partnership with The One Show, refreshed the AAAI logo in step with the times. But most importantly, we furthered our agenda on inclusion as we partnered with UN Women backed Unstereotype Alliance and brought more digital agencies into the fold and continued strong partnerships with other industry bodies. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow Board members for giving their energy, expertise, and time when most needed. I would also like to congratulate Prasanth Kumar on his election as President. He has been a key member of the Indian media and advertising industry for a long time. I’m sure he will take the Association from strength to strength.”
MMA along with GroupM has unveiled its Annual Report – Modern Marketing Reckoner 2022: Building Winning Marketing Organisations. It states that a 1% improvement in marketing capability fit for firms is associated with a 2.5% increase in sales growth recommending a structured methodology and framework that enable organisations to match capability fit to drive growth and performance.
The MMA India report showcases ways to improve capability fit and brings forth an ecosystem POV to share key insights and expertise on building winning marketing organisations. A must attend and a must download toolkit to build winning marketing organisations.
Commenting on the unveiling of the 2022 annual report, Moneka Khurana, Country Head and Board Member India, MMA India said: “The huge societal and behavioural changes in the last two years have forced marketers to learn how to put in place the technology, people, processes needed to better understand consumer needs and provide more authentic and immersive as well as relatable customer experiences. It has also accelerated the need for marketers to keep up to date with the emerging trends in marketing and find effective ways to leverage them. MMA is working towards shaping the future of modern marketing by enlightening, empowering, and enabling marketers with valuable insights and tools, and the Modern Marketing Reckoner – A tool kit to build winning marketing organizations is yet another key step in this direction”.
Added Prasanth Kumar, CEO, GroupM South Asia & MMA India Co-chair: “The last two years have seen tectonic shifts in consumer behaviour, technology, and data. At GroupM, we aim to be at the forefront of these changes and help our clients navigate them. The Modern Marketing Reckoner 2022 is an initiative in that direction. This year’s report offers very helpful insights from industry and GroupM experts on how to build winning marketing organisations. The report showcases the modern marketing capability map which is a combination of customer value and organisational value and is a comprehensive guide that focuses on discovering growth, engaging with consumers, and making future centric and scalable organisation changes. I am certain that this playbook is going to play a vital role for marketers in the journey of building winning marketing organisations.”
Key Highlights:
• More than 50 expert POVs from experts across multiple domains as well as from GroupM thought leaders
• 69% of consumers prefer using chat interfaces as they deliver real-time answers and personalisation. 82% of consumers claim that instant responses to their questions play a significant role in the buying process when contacting brands
• There will be more than 40 million Connected TVs (CTVs) in Indian households by 2025. SVOD offerings such as Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, and Amazon are hugely popular, together with YouTube, and Facebook accounts for 85% of the $1.4 bn in revenue made by online video in 2020
• India is witnessing a positive response with creators’ reach being 2X over brand reach, and creator conversion rate nearly 3X that of brands
• 312 million Indian consumers are expected to make a purchase online in 2022 (source: eMarketer, June 2021). This is a steep jump from 208 mn online buyers in 2019 (CAGR of ~15%). India e-com penetration is only 28.4% of the population and remains significantly behind most of the developed and developing markets
• India is also a significant contributor to ad fraud in the world. A report by Techarc says that India accounts for one in 10 digital ad frauds globally
• 4G dominated Indian subscriptions, accounting for 68% of all subscriptions. This is expected to change significantly by 2027, where 5G is estimated to reach 39% of subscriptions, but 4G will remain the dominant technology
• As per ICUBE 2020 report, the number of active internet users is projected to reach 900 million+ in 2025
• Smartphone users reached 503 million in 2021. Smartphone telecom subscriptions are expected to reach 810 million in 2021 from 760 million in 2020.
• 71% of Indian organizations use a blend of first-party (1P) and third-party (3P) data for marketing
• 74% of consumers believe that buying sustainable products shows others who I am and what they believe in
• 77% are prepared to invest time and money to support companies that do good.
On opening up delegate registrations for Goafest 2023, Sam Balsara added: “Goafest has earned its position as a destination that celebrates creative excellence in most disciplines in Communication in South Asia. We look forward to welcoming teams from across India, South Asia and indeed the globe to come and participate in Goafest as we exchange thoughts and discuss the future of communication and increasing its role and accountability to the marketer, further making way for growth of the Industry.”
It is time to celebrate as the TYNY (This Year Next Year) 2023 report released by GroupM last week declared that the total value of Indian AdEx in 2022 has crossed the 100K crore mark touching INR 1,09,636 crore and in 2023 is estimated to grow at a healthy rate of 15.5% over 2022 towards another milestone of 150K crore (predicted as INR 146450 crore in 2023). Digital AdEx with an estimated 30% growth rate is expected to power the overall growth. India continues to be the fastest growing advertising market and as per the TYNY report has moved up from 9th position to the 8th position among the Top 10 countries with a share of 2% of the global adspend.
