On the back of data privacy concerns and Google's decision to create a cookie-less world, the high growth rates in digital advertising observed in the last few years are "a thing of the past", according to the Pitch Madison Advertising Report 2024.
In 2023, the digital ad spending growth rate moderated to 15 per cent at Rs 39,714 crore from 35 per cent in 2022 at Rs 34,405 crore. In 2021, the segment had witnessed a 50 per cent growth to Rs 25,438 crore from Rs 16,974 crore earlier.
The report said that the growth rate for digital ad spending is likely to stay low at around 17 per cent in 2024.
It highlighted that apart from concerns related to data privacy and Google's change of rules, a slowdown has been witnessed in the spending by edtech startups. "Real Money Gaming has crippled because of the government's 28 per cent GST imposition, while Cryptocurrencies are not considered legitimate," it added.
Among all verticals, the highest growth was witnessed in ads on videos, e-commerce platforms and searches.
Despite the moderation, however, the share of digital in all ad expenditure is likely to rise to 42 per cent in 2024 from 40 per cent in 2023.
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On the other hand, the report added that 2024 might be the first year after a gap of 13 years when the print advertisem*nt market share will hold steady for over 2 years. It said that in 2024, print advertisem*nt spending is likely to grow at 7 per cent and surpass the pre-Covid level of Rs 20,000 crore.
"Print will get a big boost with the upcoming Parliamentary elections in April/May as print is a favourite of politicians and political parties and space for political campaigns is sold at a substantial premium over rates charged to brand," it said.
In 2024, the market share of print ads is likely to stay at 19 per cent. For the last 19 years, 13 years, it has marginally declined, year on year.
The report added that TV ads, which have the second highest market share after digital, will continue to witness single-digit growth at 8 per cent. In 2022 and 2023, the segment grew by 9 and 7 per cent, respectively.
"We expect TV to add another Rs 2,700 crore and grow by 8 per cent in 2024 to reach a total of Rs 35,575 crore," it said. With this, its market share will fall by 1 per cent to 32 per cent. In 2020, it was 42 per cent, the highest among all channels.
