Xaxis & e4m to release report to uncover state of programmatic advertising in India

Xaxis, GroupM’s Outcome Media specialists, have published a report with exchange4media to showcase the developing needs of advertisers in a post-pandemic world. This report delves into the evolving programmatic advertising space as the Indian economy recovers from the pandemic. 

As digitisation continues to define consumer habits in India, programmatic spending has skyrocketed, particularly among FMCG and e-commerce sectors. New channels involving new technologies are driving new types of advertising that are contributing to programmatic growth in India.

Commenting on the report, Prasanth Kumar, CEO, South Asia, GroupM says, “When it comes to advertising and media, India has made its mark as a rapidly growing and evolving market. At GroupM, driving best practices and innovation is our highest priority and the report underpins some key trends, intelligence and insights that we believe will help drive better advertising across the industry.” 

On the launch of ‘The new age of programmatic advertising, India report 2022’, Anurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, exchange4media, said, “As the leading source of authoritative and essential coverage of the advertising and marketing industries, we have been on the forefront of tracking and reporting trends on programmatic, incorporating insights and research that come from interacting with various stakeholders in the ecosystem. We are happy to partner Xaxis, the GroupM agency, on this report, which will work as a comprehensive source for knowledge on how programmatic works in India’s multilingual and multicultural socio-economic environment.” 

Three key trends from the report

Creativity Goes Programmatic

The 'Holy Grail' of marketing is customisation through efficient data usage. As marketers enhance their data capabilities, engaging creatives and hyper-personalised experiences at scale will define successful future advertising. Knowing how to prioritise privacy and user experience is one of the most prominent challenges marketers face. Data can provide a competitive advantage for many companies, but only when combined with strategic and creative thinking.

The Future Is Cookieless 

The end of browser support for third-party cookies, which for many is the process of audience tracking and personalization, is approaching. The "post-cookie" era will necessitate significant changes to marketing strategies. 

Despite the farewell to cookies, data-driven advertising is far from dead. Marketers will still have access to various types of audience data, such as identification graphs, consented third-party data, household-level data, second-party data, contextual data, cohorts, and of course, first-party data.

“The increasingly cookieless landscape emphasises the need for marketers to adapt their toolkit and strategies to focus on enhancing first-party and zero-party data capabilities, along with their understanding of using this data to optimise performance,” says Atique Kazi, President, Data, Performance and Digital Products, GroupM.

As privacy continues to shape the narrative around programmatic advertising, and as further regulations come to bear, businesses should be prioritising data privacy as a primary business objective by emphasizing transparency, consent, and data quality.

E-commerce continues to soar

E-commerce is another significant trend growing globally, but with a particularly swift growth trajectory in India. India’s e-commerce sales are predicted to grow by 27% in 2021, more than any other country, and representing $66.67 billion in sales according to eMarketer. 

Marketers and e-tailers have recognised and adapted trends to reach a wider audience with e-commerce advertising, seamlessly combining with merchandising and other forms of digital advertising to provide a rich consumer experience. 

Omnichannel marketing is growing

Omnichannel approaches to programmatic advertising have also seen growth recently. Location, gaming, and interactive videos are three key aspects Xaxis are incorporating to drive sales and reach a wider audience. The omnichannel experience is defined as promoting, selling, and serving customers across all channels to create a seamless and integrated customer experience regardless of how or where they contact you. This seamlessness is increasingly relevant to the way customers perceive and respond to brand messaging.

Sharing the vision that e4m has for programmatic, Nawal Ahuja, Co-founder and Promoter, exchange4media, said, “Programmatic is not just advertising any longer, it’s getting closer to the core of mainstream marketing function. We, in the coming months, will enhance our coverage of programmatic to keep the marketers updated about the latest on the subject so they can embed the trending opportunities into their plans. Besides traditional programmatic channels like online display, video and audio we shall also be covering emerging channels like CTV and DOOH (digital out-of-home).”