With the opening up of the economy, the world has become a global marketplace. Competition is not confined to national boundaries and new geographies necessitate that the advertising industry must keep pace with the developments and practices of its international counterparts. The internationalization of the Indian advertising industry, which had been initiated in the 1990s, has since picked up momentum and agencies constantly need to reinvent themselves to stay relevant and service the diverse new needs of their demanding clients.The advertising industry is in the midst of a digital revolution that is transforming and reshaping the industry. The key drivers shaping this transition are increased media fragmentation, increased competition for attention and emerging consumer expectations. The trend over the past decade in the Indian advertising industry has been healthy, despite the challenges of an uncertain environmental change.
India Inc. has been on a roll, ever since the reforms process had been flagged off in 1991 by the then finance minister and now the current Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. Successive good monsoons, high agricultural output, stable industrial relations climate, a more than comfortable foreign exchange reserve position have all led to a `feel good' factor, never felt before. The economy which was trundling with a 3-3.5% `Hindu rate of growth' has suddenly accelerated to a 7-8% growth rate. Suddenly, India is a happening country. The world is awakening to a new Indian resurgence, never seen before. The Goldman Sach's BRIC report mentions that India is slated to be the third largest economy, after China and the US by 2050. With an upswing on all these macro factors, it is hardly surprising that the advertising industry would be left behind.The Indian advertising industry which was Rs. 3,500 cr in 1994, is hovering around Rs. 11, 000 cr today. Despite the ups and downs of business, the advertising industry has shown a remarkable resilience in the face of a constantly changing environment-a sign of the robustness of this industry which had hitherto been always vulnerable to the cyclical swings of the economy. |
