AI tech to accelerate digital media industry: dentsu e4m report

The Dentsu e4m Digital Advertising Report 2024, an annual benchmark in reporting of the industry, notes that Indian digital advertising saw a hugely successful year in 2023, given that it outpaced other segments, including traditional media heavyweight TV, for the first time, accounting for 44% of the entire Indian advertising industry, a number that is expected to further balloon up to 55% by the end of 2025.

According to Nawal Ahuja, Co-founder, exchange4media, “The competitive nature of the digital advertising space necessitates a proactive approach with a keen eye for market shifts.... Digital media spends have seen a remarkable surge in recent years, reflecting a massive shift in advertising strategies.”

And now with the advent of Artificial Intelligence technology, in particular Generative AI, the digital advertising and marketing industry has just the accelerant it needs to achieve that kind of growth.

Harsha Razdan, CEO, South Asia, Dentsu, points out, “The transformative power of AI goes beyond rewriting rules, it propels us into a new era. It enables us the seamless integration of sustainability and innovation, challenging us to create solutions that transcends profitability. Our goal is no longer purely financial; it's about navigating the path with responsibility and ethics, contributing meaningfully to a future where success aligns with societal wellbeing.”

It is for this reason the report delves heavily into the potential of Generative AI for consumers, brands, the companies that create them, and the agencies that help sell them, as well as its increasing presence in all our lives already. From enabling instant translations of multiple languages, especially useful for first time internet users (with close to 300 million more of them coming into the Indian digital marketplace by 2025), to allowing marketers to not only create and customize content, but do it at scale, the technology powerhouse that is India is poised to make the most of these capabilities.

And companies have already begun that task, whether it’s the hugely popular Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's recently rolled out Bard Chatbot, as well as its AI-powered Search Generative Experience or homegrown endeavors including Reliance-backed BharatGPT and Tata Elxsi, AI technology is present everywhere from boardrooms to billboards.

The report has inputs from industry stakeholders, from the creative and the business side, as well as ancillary segments like CTV, AR/VR, Programmatic, and more, all fields in which AI is set to become an inextricable part of.

As Dr Annurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief BW Businessworld and Founder, exchange4media, notes, the report “captures the essence of a modern media renaissance, where the convergence of technology and human creativity is at the epicenter... AI-powered solutions are not just reshaping business models but are also enhancing customer experiences across sectors.”