GroupM forecasts 7% growth for Indian Advertising market in 2025, down from 8.8% in 2024

GroupM, the media investment group under WPP, launched the latest This Year Next Year (TYNY) advertising forecast with updates for February 2025. Indian advertising to grow by 7% in 2025 to reach ₹ 1,64,137cr adding an incremental ₹10,730cr.

Key trends for 25’ include:

• Reimagining Marketing: AI Agents Revolutionize Campaigns and Customer Interactions in 2025
• Transforming Engagement: Mixed Reality, Immersive Tech, and Smartphones Fuel India's Experiential Content Surge
• The Rise of Data Clean Rooms: Shaping India's Privacy-Centric Marketing Frontier
• Retail Media and Omnichannel Integration: Forging the Future of India's Ecommerce Expansion
• Quick Commerce: Accelerating India's Ecommerce Landscape
• Generative AI at the Helm: Revolutionizing Traditional Search and SEO Strategies
• Revolutionizing Brand Storytelling: The Ascendancy of AI Influencers and Action-Oriented Campaigns
• Chief Prompt Officers: India's Content Marketers Drive Global Transformation as AI Pioneers
• India's Big Screen Leap: CTV’s Growth Sparks Hyper-Personalization and Programmatic Advertising
• Integrated Measurement Frameworks: Data Privacy, Fragmentation and AI drive the change

Prasanth Kumar, CEO, GroupM South Asia said, "India is at the forefront of a marketing revolution driven by AI and data privacy. As global ad spend surpasses $1 trillion, India emerges as a top 4 growth market, with digital now accounting for over 60% of ad spend. With a shift to personalized engagement, commerce-driven marketing, and responsible innovation, mixed reality and immersive tech fuel experiential content. While TV is vital, we also see AI agents transform customer interactions, we also witness brand-audience connections getting redefined with the surge of emerging formats like programmatic CTV and AI-driven retail media. All of this is positioning India for unprecedented innovation and impact in the modern marketing era."

Ashwin Padmanabhan, Chief Operating Officer, GroupM said, "India’s advertising ecosystem is being reshaped by digital dominance and shifting consumer behaviours, Digital and TV together account for 86% of total ad spend, with streaming TV now making up 12.6% of total TV ad revenue—signalling a critical shift for brands to optimize across high- growth platforms. Key sectors like SME, realty, education, BFSI, and tech/telco contributing to 60% of total advertising are set to grow at around 10%, further accelerating market expansion. Additionally, rising investments from EVs, fintech, and gaming are fuelling the market’s momentum.’

Parveen Sheik, Head of Business Intelligence, GroupM said, "With India’s GDP projected to grow by 6.5% in 2025, its advertising market remains strong, ranking 9th globally. Digital adspends is now close to 1 lac crore, driven by AI, commerce, retail, media, and hyper-personalization marketing. As the economy grows, brands must embrace agility, data intelligence, and sustainable strategies to maximize impact in this dynamic landscape."