Anupriya Acharya – Of Media, Entertainment and Consumers
Investment Outlook ,
Published
Feb 18, 2020
5 min read

Outline
Some of the trends India will see in the
next few years will position India
emerging as the global content capital
and will contribute to the shared
economy worldwide. The internet will
only continue to grow and new
technologies will revolutionalise and
pave the path for the manufacturing of
new products.
With over 900 channels, 17,000 newspapers and 570
million internet users, India undoubtedly is one of the
most fast-paced, extensive, dynamic and vibrant
media and entertainment markets in the world.
The sheer scale, velocity and complexity of this
market is quite unmatched. In India, all media
continues to grow. This is quite unlike other global
markets where media outlets are witnessing dramatic
declines in print revenues and even with the
introduction of paywalls, are registering negative
impact in website traffic. The Ernst & Young- FICCI
report on the media and entertainment sector states
that the industry is set to cross INR 2.35 trillion ($33.6
billion) by 2021, at a CAGR of 11.6 percent.
And even with this scale, we remain a vastly
under-advertised country as compared to many other
economies, leaving much headroom for growth. The
Indian ad market contributes to about 0.3 percent of India’s GDP, compared to 0.6 percent to China and
0.7 percent for the world as a whole.
Digitalisation is a catalyst, spurring rapid shifts in
other media including print, television, radio and
film, ushering in innovation and experimentation.
Fast-forward to the next five years and India is
projected to emerge as a global economic
powerhouse given its significant long-term growth
potential and the demographic dividend.
The media, entertainment and marketing
communications ecosystem already plays a
significant role in the economy of the country and
contributes INR 1,39,000 crores annually, while
employing millions. With the advent of
digitalisation, this industry marches to a different
beat, witnessing great transformation, innovation
and job creation.
As consumers leave their behavioural footprint
across a myriad of platforms, devices, and
technologies, it is a golden opportunity to really
know the consumer. The human behind the click.
The multitude of data points allows for deep-level
insights, precision-targeting, and microsegmentation
as never before.
The next five years will underline clear and marked
shifts for marketing communications, media and
entertainment, and the end-consumer. India will
fortify its place further as a creative powerhouse.
These are some of the top trends that are likely to
emerge:
- India to emerge as the GlobalContent Capital
India will inevitably emerge as the most
important media market and an exporter of
diverse, rich and engaging content. It already
produces the highest number of movies in the
world- to the tune of 1500-2000 films per year,
and surpassing the US Indian content is fast
transcending beyond the diaspora audience
in the overseas markets. With the surge in vernacular content, Indian content creators
have the scope to repurpose and customise
local content for international audiences.
Global streaming platforms are also investing
heavily in Indian content which is then relayed
to viewers around the world. Netflix in
particular, views India as a major content
export hub.
- Rise of the shared economy
Millennials prefer experiences over ownership
and the digitalised world aids that well. The
shared or P2P economy is already growing in
many areas from transportation to co-working
spaces to live-in experiences – best illustrated
by companies such as Uber, Ola, Airbnb,
Furlenco, WeWork, and Zoomcar. In this
model, users share their resources, which may
be physical assets or services, with each other
for the short or long term. The accent is no
longer on ownership but on the management
of shared resources. A number of start-ups
such as Rentmojo, GrabOnRent, Revv, Vogo,
CoHo, CoWork are already part of India’s early
sharing economy and this trend is only set to
accelerate further, through the power and
scale of digital and social media.

- The Internet of Everything
The Internet will embrace everyday objects,
resulting in a smart, interconnected system of
sensors, data and internet-enabled devices
that manage the lives of consumers. The IoT
market in India is estimated to reach $15
billion by the end of 2020, accounting for 5
percent of the global market. Currently, it
grows around 28 percent year-on-year.
Through connected devices, there will be new
opportunities for collecting vast amounts of
data, yielding and powering up new
consumer insights. Via hyper-personalised
profiles, brands can personalise goods and
services and offers tailored services to the
mobile consumers’ exact requirements. This
will also help media and entertainment firms
pre-empt consumer preferences and tailor
customised content.
- High Street makes way for I-Street
New technologies will revolutionise the way
products are manufactured, marketed,
distributed and sold. Smart recommendation
and personalisation tools will fuel the rise of
commerce by providing consumers with new
utility and convenience. High Street will
transform into the I-Street where digital
technology converges with physical stores to
provide personalised experiences.
- Ethical consumerism and citizen brands
As digitalisation also promotes transparency,
over the next few years, there will be a marked
shift to ‘Collectively Responsible
Consumerism’. Increasingly, there is much
lower tolerance for political incorrectness in
and outside the business. Consumers will tend
to hold corporations and media firms to a
higher account. People, businesses, and
governments will work together to protect
health, well-being, and the environment.
Companies on their part will need to clearly
articulate purpose and to place the ‘why’ in
their communication and advertising efforts.
Purpose-driven brands in the current day see
a 3X return on investment and 63 percent of
consumers globally prefer to purchase
products from a brand that stands for a
mission or purpose.
In summation, the Indian media, marketing and
entertainment business will continue to witness
growth and some big shifts in the times to come.
The Industrial Revolution 4.0, which is underway,
will give businesses and governments new
opportunities to succeed and higher transparency
will empower consumers on choices to make.

About Anupriya Acharya
Anupriya Acharya is the Chief
Executive Officer at Publicis
Groupe, South Asia and an
eminent media and advertising
professional with 25 years of
experience in India and
Singapore. She joined Publicis
Groupe in 2013 as Group CEO of
ZenithOptimedia and then went
on to lead Publicis Media India
from 2016. Prior to Publicis,
Anupriya has held senior
leadership positions with WPP in
India and Aegis Media Singapore.
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