The current state of online advertising in India is under scrutiny in a recent report, aiming to provide strategic guidance for brands looking to excel in a highly competitive market. The report released by The Trade Desk titled ‘Elevating your Digital Marketing Strategy with AI’, curated by top advertising leaders in India, emphasises the importance of placing consumers at the core of advertising strategies.
One significant shift highlighted in the report is the evolution from manual insertion order (IO) methods, where ad prices are negotiated directly with media owners, towards programmatic advertising. This transformation, initiated in the early 2010s, combines data and automation to make data-informed decisions, leading to more efficient ad delivery. This approach contrasts with the traditional lumping together of diverse audiences, as programmatic advertising tailors ad impressions more accurately to individual user preferences.
The report notes a growing trend among advertisers in India towards audience-led programmatic advertising on the open internet, moving away from the convenience of walled gardens like search and social media. This modern approach expands access to a broader range of online inventory and streamlines large-scale campaigns, catering to the preferences of the 600 million consumers actively engaging with the open internet in India.
Key statistics highlighted in the report include:
- 52% of consumer time is spent on the open internet, which encompasses various online media properties like gaming, news, blogs, music, and OTT/CTV platforms.
- Advertisers on OTT/CTV are perceived as 33% more premium compared to video ads on walled gardens.
- Consumers are 17% more likely to purchase products advertised on news/websites compared to ads on social media.
The report also forecasts significant growth in global programmatic ad spend, projected to reach $919 billion by 2027, with 84% of this spend transacted programmatically. India’s programmatic ad spend share has grown by 72% in the past five years and is expected to encompass 44% of all digital ad spend in the country by the end of 2024.
Advertising leaders express excitement about the integration of new media types such as CTV, digital out-of-home, and retail media into the programmatic landscape. They anticipate enhanced programmatic options for advertisers, including premium inventory like live sports and digital billboards.
Quality data emerges as a cornerstone of modern programmatic advertising, with advertisers leveraging first-party data and top-quality data marketplaces to enhance audience targeting and boost media ROI.
The integration of AI into ad tech is highlighted as a catalyst for programmatic innovation, offering precision targeting, real-time campaign optimisation, and strategic media decisions.