Ad spend to increase 12.6% to Rs 48,977 cr this year:GroupM

Advertising spend in the country is likely to grow by 12.6 per cent to Rs 48,977 crore, leading media agency GroupM said said today.
The expenditure on advertising had increased by 12.5 per cent in 2014.
"With a new Government coming to power, the negative sentiment has lifted, but there is still some bit of caution amongst advertisers. We continue to operate in the same zone as last year at an overall level," GroupM's Chief Executive for South Asia C V L Srinivas said in a statement
Digital, television and cinema are expected to be the high-growth media channels, he said, adding that there is more confidence among the local businesses to invest in brand building.

The FMCG segment, which is considered as the mainstay for ad spends and accounted for a third of the spends in 2014, will be spending more on digital, he said.
In 2014, the growth came primarily from the national and state elections, while e-commerce and telecom also contributed high.

"E-commerce is expected to lead the charge in 2015 in terms of ad spend growth although from a relatively smaller base than more established categories. There is increased competition in this sector and no dearth of funding," it said.
FMCG, auto and telecom are expected to do better than the previous year, while entry of foreign retailers operating in the single brand format will push up spends on retail front.

The shift in RBI's monetary stance, which has brought cheer in the stock markets, may result in more share sales or IPOs which result in more advertising, it said.
After the spending by parties in elections during 2014, GroupM expects the central government to increase spending in 2015 to showcase its various initiatives.
In 2014, the cinema segment grew 25 per cent, it said, adding that the category is estimated to grow at least at 20 per cent in 2015.
The upcoming digital segment, which has been growing at 35 per cent over the past two years, is likely to grow by 37 per cent growth in 2015, it said.

Television is likely to grow at 16 per cent during the year, with the ICC Cricket World Cup in February and March being the biggest event to watch out for, it said.
In the print medium, there was a 5.2 per cent growth in 2014, with magazines showing a decline on digital delivery mechanisms.