Online ad market at Rs 2,940 cr by 2014: Report

Total online advertisement market grew by 29% y-o-y, Mobile and social media pie increasing

The online advertising market in India is projected to reach Rs 2,938 crore by March 2014, according to the findings of Digital Advertising in India report, by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International.

The online advertising market in India, comprising search, display, mobile, social media, email and video advertising, which was valued at Rs 1,750 crore in March, 2012 has grown by 29% over the previous year to reach Rs 2,260 crore by March, 2013.

As in 2012, search and display advertising continued to form a large portion of the overall pie in FY 2012-2013. However, their percentage share has declined somewhat owing to the rise in the mobile, social media and video advertising.

Even though traditional media like television and newspapers still remain the preferred media for seeking information and entertainment and hog more than 80% of the advertising market in India, the Internet has been steadily increasing its share of the advertising pie. Spends on digital media have steadily increased from just over 1% of total Indian advertising spend in the year 2005 to nearly 7% in 2012.

The report finds that by March 2013, search advertising constituted about 38% of the total online advertising spend, translating to about Rs 850 crore while display advertising form a sizeable 29% (Rs 662 crore).

Advertisements on mobile phones and tablets have grown from a 7% share in FY 2011-2012 to 10% of the Indian online ad market in FY 2012-2013, totaling to spends of around Rs 230 crore. Social media, email and video advertising constitute 13% (Rs 300 crore), 3% (Rs 68 crore) and 7% (Rs150 crore) of the online advertising market, respectively.

The BFSI, travel and auto sectors continue to be the top 3 spenders in online advertising. Increased spending by ecommerce players has been one of the highlights of the online advertising industry in FY 2011-12. Their share of spends is estimated to decline in 2012-13.