With advancements in technology and the accessibility of the Internet the current Indian market is in favour of online advertising, which is expected to grow by 32%, each year for the next 5 years. Spends on digital media have experienced a steady increase from just over 1% of the total Indian advertising spends in 2005 to nearly 7% in 2012. This illustrates that Internet based advertising is slowly moving towards a bigger share of the advertising market. The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International have released a report which states that the online advertising market is projected to reach Rs 29380 million, (USD 522 million), by March 2014.

Having said that, the television and entertainment industries in India have grown tremendously in the past few years and still remain the preferred channel for information and entertainment. They represent more than 80% of the advertising market in India and will continue to rule for at least the next half decade. Viewers in India prefer to watch television and this serves as a great medium for maintaining a connection with the target audience in both rural and urban settings. However, before television reached the various strata of Indian society, newspapers were the most popular and preferred medium for advertising but will now remain the second biggest influencer in advertising after television.

In India, you don’t ask “How many people own a mobile phone?” - almost everybody owns one! With the colossal increase of mobile phones in India, access to Internet and increased need for customer engagement, the mobile advertising industry is growing tremendously.  It has witnessed a growth from 7% share in FY 2011-2012 to 10% of the Indian online advertising market share in FY 2012-2013; total spends of around Rs 2300million ,( USD 40 million). Video advertising, Social media, email, constitute 7% Rs1500 million , (USD 27 million), 13%, Rs 300 million, (USD 53 million) and 3%, Rs 68 million, (USD 12 million) of the online advertising market respectively. Search engine result advertisements are currently working the best, followed by interactive and banner advertisements. In March 2013, search advertising constituted about 38% of total online advertising spend, translating to about  Rs 8500 million, (USD 151 million), while display advertising was a sizeable 29%, about Rs 6620 million, (USD 117 million).

As far as scope is concerned, the Global advertising industry produces a turnover close to USD 450 billion annually, out of which the Indian advertising industry contributes below 1.5%, next to China and Russia. Indian advertising spends 0.34% of Indian Gross Domestic Product and 0.7% of World Advertising Market. The last two decades have witnessed some outstanding work by the Indian advertising industry, which has also been showcased at Cannes. There is a huge potential for the Indian advertising industry to grow in the coming years, and it is expected to be the world’s 3rd largest advertising market by 2016.