India ranks 9th in the top 10 advertising markets globally. Indian advertising is expected to grow by 7% in 2025 and is expected to reach Rs 1,64,137 crores, adding an incremental Rs 10,730 crores. Digital share of that ad revenue is expected to be 60%, majorly driving the growth, revealed the latest This Year Next Year (TYNY) 2025 report by GroupM.
Following digital, TV is expected to take a 26% share of the ad revenue, while print and OOH are expected to take 10% and 2% of the shares of the total ad revenue, respectively. Radio and Cinema are expected to have the least shares, with 1.2% and 0.6% respectively.
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, and digital now will be accounting for over 60% of ad spend. With a shift to personalised 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."
The report further revealed that global advertising is expected to grow by 7.7%, with the digital share of ad revenue estimated to reach 82% in 2025. TV and outdoor would follow with 11% and 3% share, respectively, while print and radio would have 2% share each. Cinema is expected to have the least share of about 0.2%.
In 2024, India recorded an ad revenue growth of 8.8% reaching Rs 1,53,407 crores, while globally the ad revenue growth was recorded at 9.5% reaching USD 1037 billion.
Parveen Sheik, Head of Business Intelligence, GroupM, highlighted that globally, luxury — not just in jewellery, but also in retail in terms of experiential travel, experiential dining is poised to grow, while Electric Vehicles within the auto sector is also expected to grow at a faster pace.
In India, key sectors like SME, realty, education, BFSI, and tech/telco, etc are contributing to 60% of total advertising and 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, the report added.
Parveen also added, "This year's Union Budget has focused and addressed for the MSME and Tourism sectors, if these sectors revive, it means it augurs well for the entire economy. CPI Inflation is hovering around 5%, if food inflation is under control, then there will be more disposable income in consumers’ hands, and then we'll see a consumption uptick."
Priti Murthy, President, GroupM Nexus, further highlighted that 35-37% of digital AdEx for last year and this year has been contributed by MSMEs. She said while the funding might not be there, but for MSMEs have to sustain their own businesses and their own spending, which is on digital platforms like Google, Meta etc is a part of that AdEx. So a large chunk of it might be in-house, while others might be with boutique setups. But 1/3rd of Digital AdEx is MSME so we can’t ignore that chunk at all.”
Rise of Data Clean Rooms
The report further revealed that 2025 will see a significant surge in the adoption of data clean rooms as marketers seek privacy-compliant solutions for leveraging valuable customer data and enhancing their consumer interactions. India's data privacy landscape is evolving rapidly with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, making data clean rooms essential. Data clean rooms provide a secure environment for collaborating on data analysis without directly sharing sensitive information.
"Today it has become a norm for marketers to migrate quickly and go to data clean rooms to get more insights, more understanding and more day to day connect with the consumer. From enriched audience data and targeting to advanced analytics opportunities, we see DCR transforming Marketing," Priti said.
Priti also highlighted how the dynamics of how content is written is being changed, how content is shifting from SEO to GEO. "Earlier, the way brand content was written was suited to the needs of how search was defined, search algorithms were defined. Today, with AI algorithms coming in, we have to redefine how our brand content is written because AI algorithms pick up snippets, pick up summaries, pick up top headlines. So, how do I rewrite my content to allow for that. Today, I'll have to change to more authoritative content with more data, more trustworthy facts. So, this semantics of SEO is going to change to GEO," she added.
AI Influencers to revolutionise content creation
The growing demand for influencers has given rise to a new breed of content creators - the AI powered influencers. For marketers, this means redefining content creation. AI-powered influencers are revolutionising brand storytelling by offering consistency, creativity, and limitless scalability. Always on and brand-safe, they maintain a singular voice while enabling seamless localisation to reach diverse audiences. Their flexibility allows marketers to refine content endlessly, ensuring maximum impact and engagement. Marketers are, however, raising the bar, demanding real results over vanity metrics. Reach, likes, and shares no longer cut it—it’s about driving real actions: clicks, sign-ups, purchases, and downloads, the report highlighted.
Adding more on the new concept, Ashwin Padmanabhan, Chief Operating Officer, GroupM, said, "AI-influencers have two contexts — one, influencers who are AI themselves, and second, human influencers who have the intelligence of AI helping them. From a marketing perspective, one of the challenges we face is — how do we scale, how do we partner with more influencers, and how do we leverage the equity of the influencer? And this is where AI will make a big difference, whether it is an AI agent or a human influencer powered by AI."
Vinit Karnik, Head of Sports, eSports, and Live Entertainment - GroupM South Asia, said, "AI powered influencers are going to be the next step of marketing, they are going to revolutionise brand storytelling. There will be AI-driven content creators, which will be of two types — one is content creators who will be AI-driven and there could also be a scenario where brands could create their own content creators, which could be on AI, like an AI persona. Nothing stops me as an advertiser to create my own AI persona on the back of which I create content. In branded content we see brands creating bespoke storytelling. You will not even know that the influencer you are following is AI or real. It's that seamless."
Highlighting the advantages of AI powered influencers, he said, "It’s not about the difference. It's about why would an AI powered influencer do well? You are an influencer, you are busy. AI powered influencers are always on, 24x7, you can use them. They are also brand safe because they are not humans. And they will speak exactly what I want them to speak. And I can also create content at scale. I can create multiple pieces in the shortest period of time."
Retail Media & Omnichannel Integration
India already has the 3rd largest e-commerce shopper base in the world and is expected to cross the US by 2030. The online digital commerce size is expected to touch 167,000 crores by 2028 which is estimated to be 9-11% of overall retail GMV. Shifting consumer preferences, cross channel influenced consumer journeys powered by increased affordability of credit, fluidity in payments and connectivity is driving this substantial growth.
Brand ad spends are shifting towards e-commerce. The share of retail media on overall digital media is expected to rise exponentially. Last year it was at 22% of digital advertising already.
Atique Kazi, President – Data, Performance, and Digital Products, GroupM India, said, "The convergence of brand and retail media is rapidly shaping a unified ‘One Commerce’ ecosystem. Marketers are quickly pivoting to connected commerce outlook bridging multi-channel commerce approach and how media investments in one channel influences or cannibalises the other. As quick commerce promises instant delivery and purchase gratification, it has also pushed the marketers and agencies to be quicker, agile, nimble and war-footed."
While the leaders spoke on these emerging trends in A&M, the industry will also see mixed reality, immersive tech, and smartphones fuel India's experiential content surge, Gen AI will be at the helm, there will be retail media and omnichannel integration — forging the future of India's ecommerce expansion and more.
