Building a successful brand requires one major component. Either a great product or strong marketing. A great product itself makes the noise and builds the brand for itself. In other cases, marketing is something that builds the hype and brand for a bad product. When you try to mix both meanings, aggressive marketing for a great product, it creates an enormous impact and establishes itself.
Now, if we see the marketing spending of startups, there is a drastic change over the period. Not just the startups, but even small to large companies are changing the way they used to advertise their products. To understand the present scenario in depth, let’s dive into the Bain Report, which was released a few days back.
According to the report, the global advertising market is worth about $1 trillion in 2024 and has been growing faster than global GDP, rising from 0.6% to 0.85% of GDP over the past decade. And by 2029, it is expected to reach 1% of global GDP, driven by steady growth in the US (from 1.4% to 1.6% of GDP) and rapid growth in India, where ad spends are projected to rise 10–15% each year, outpacing the country’s GDP growth of 6–7%. In India, ad spend is currently around 0.4% of GDP and is expected to reach 0.5% by 2029. This follows the path of other large economies.
For example, China increased from 0.5% to 0.8% between 2015 and 2020, and Japan from 0.7% to 1% between 2019 and 2024. Globally, digital advertising is growing nearly 10 percentage points faster than the overall ad market. One of the major reasons for the growth of digital advertising is because of the change in consumer behavior. There are some changes in the stats that resulted in the rise of digital spending.
One of the strong factors is the rising internet penetration. About 68% of the global population were internet users in 2024, up from 53% in 2019. In India, the share stood at 58% in 2024. Then comes the app usage. Today, globally, many people are using some common apps, which is resulting in the advertisement numbers and amounts being spent. Over the past few years, consumer attention has shifted dramatically from television to the internet. Streaming platforms, social media, gaming, and short-form video have captured people’s daily routines. This means the internet has become the primary space where brands can engage with audiences.
Out of the overall digital ad spend of $690B, mobile contributes to the major portion of about $470B, desktop contributes $145B, and last, CTV contributes $75B. Digital advertising today is spread across several key segments, each catering to where consumers spend their time. Display advertising is worth around $125 billion and growing at 6–8% annually and covers banners, pop-ups, and placements across websites and apps.
The gaming segment, valued at about $70 billion with 6–8% annual growth, represents ads shown inside mobile and console games. These include in-game banners, branded integrations, or reward-based ads that appear during gameplay. Video advertising is the fastest-growing category, sized at $150 billion and expanding at 14–16% annually. These ads appear on streaming platforms like YouTube, Disney+ Hotstar, and Netflix, as well as short-form video platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
Outside of gaming, non-gaming apps such as social media, e-commerce, fintech, and lifestyle platforms account for a massive $205 billion market, growing at 12–14% annually. Ads on Instagram stories, Flipkart, Amazon, or even payment apps like PhonePe are examples of this segment’s reach in daily digital life. Finally, search advertising, worth around $145 billion and growing at 10–12% annually, targets users directly through platforms like Google, Bing, and Amazon search results. By tapping into consumer intent, this format remains one of the most effective for driving conversions.
So, now what’s the benefit of understanding these numbers? What startups, brands, and influencers should understand from this? While there are many ways to promote the ads, it is clearly visible that video ads are rising. But why are they rising? Because they are working, and that’s why there is a massive rise in the influencer marketing budgets, especially in India.
Video ads can actually help you to explain your product and help to target the right customers. Because of the rise of advertising platforms, companies like InMobi, AdonMo, news apps, social media platforms, and even shopping platforms are growing at a faster pace. Even if you are building any company, tapping into performance marketing, video ads, and search ads is still the easiest way to acquire traffic and then increase your conversion rates.
These are some of the key insights that Bain’s report presented about this industry.
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