Spurt in internet usage to Drive Digital Marketing in India

MUMBAI: Delivering the keynote address at the 15th Marketing Conclave organized by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), Manish Maheshwari, Managing Director, India Operations at Twitter India said there are 1.1 billion expected smartphone users in India by 2024, Internet users in rural India are growing at the rate of 35% and Indians at large are expected to consume 18GB data per day by 2024. He further added, “This evolution in the way people consume information and connect with one another has also inspired brands to take steps in a new direction. It has encouraged these advertisers to evolve beyond one-sided communication and move towards designing participation.”

The theme of the flagship event was ‘Age of MadTech’ and the discussions were centered around ‘Future of Marketing.’ The conference was attended by high-profile industry stalwarts who shared insights on the technology trends in advertising and marketing.

Speakers at the conference were of the view that digital was the way forward for brands to achieve the highest RoI, and also to build trust and enagage with the consumers. The speakers opined that this being the age of millennials, digital would play a critical role to capture and engage with that generation. This would also pose exciting challenges for brands to capture their imagination.

It is pertinent to note that the digital marketing landscape in India is growing phenomenally and expected to grow manifold in future. According to a DAN Report, as of 2018, the Indian digital advertising market was pegged at Rs 61,878 crore and is estimated to grow with a CAGR of 10.62% till 2021 to reach a market size of Rs 85,250 crore.  The conclave thus provided an excellent platform for attending delegates to network and engage with industry peers who discussed the latest trends of ‘martech’ and debated on ways to continue the growth momentum through innovative approach.

Commenting on the success of the 15th Marketing Conclave, Gaurav Chopra, Vice President, IAMAI said, “The conference is a great platform for aspiring marketers from various industries to discover the Age of MADTech. Experts from the marketing and advertising fraternity shared wonderful stories of how many brands have transformed/evolved with time using the right mix of marketing, advertising and technology. IAMAI strives to work with industry to push the envelope further for the betterment of the industry.”

The conclave was attended by high-profile industry stalwarts including Manish Maheshwari, Managing Director, Twitter India; Vivek Bhargava, CEO, DAN Performance Group; Anita Nayyar – CEO, India and South-East Asia, Havas Media Group; Prasanjeet Dutta Baruah – Business Head, Technology, Automotive, Facebook; Robert Hain, Senior Product Manager, IBM;Charles Ross, Asia Editorial Director, The Economist Intelligence Unit; Deepali Naair, Director Marketing India and South Asia, IBM and Sunder Madakshira, Head – Marketing, Adobe who shared their expert views on the changing marketing dynamics. The conclave acted as strong learning platform for delegates to understand the various new-age marketing trends and methods.

Some of the top brands who attended the conclave are Alt Balaji, Amazon,  Asian Paints,  Axis Bank, BookMyShow, Cipla, Dream 11, Eros Now, Godrej, GroupM, HDFC Bank, Hotstar, ICICI Bank, JioSavaan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Marico, Nykaa, Pantaloons, Radio City, Red Chillies Entertainment, McDonald’s, SBI, Sony Liv, Star Entertainment, Tata Sky, Times Network, Vodafone Idea Limited, Yashraj Films, Yes Bank, Yatra.com and Zee5.

The audience - content creators, marketing and advertisement professionals, publishers, startups and digital marketers at the conference got the opportunity to experience and understand new-age marketing methods. Some of the highlights of the conclave were around discussions on trending topics (such as AI in Marketing, Importance of UI/UX in Digital Marketing, Data Driven Marketing, Marketing Automation), insightful keynotes, Debates and chats which was well-received by them.