Digital Media Landscape in India- A Strategic Calibration for C-Suite Leaders

The digital media ecosystem in India is a paradox of immense potential and glaring complexities. On one hand, the internet user base in India is set to surpass 900 million by 2025 , on the other, the nuances of media planning and execution often remain a mere numbers game—reduced to debates around reach and frequency. But is that enough?

For C-suite leaders navigating this landscape, the challenge lies not just in participating in this vast marketplace but in truly understanding the dynamics that make digital media unique in India. In this article, I make an attempt to observe critical (hopefully) dimensions of India’s digital media landscape and pose questions that seem to demand deeper scrutiny from industry stakeholders including myself.

Beyond Reach and Frequency: Reframing Media Planning

Media planning in India has historically been driven by reach and frequency metrics. The goal is simple — maximise exposure at an optimal cost. But this traditional framework, rooted in legacy practices, often falls short of addressing key challenges in the digital-first world.

The Fallacy of Over-Indexing Reach

While reach ensures that a brand’s message penetrates broad demographics, it doesn’t guarantee relevance or resonance. India’s digital audiences are incredibly diverse—not just linguistically or culturally but in terms of behavioural nuances. A cookie-cutter approach that equates reach with impact often misses the opportunity to build deeper engagement.

For example, urban Tier 1 consumers’ behaviour differs vastly from that of aspirational audiences in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, where access to digital infrastructure is rapidly growing. Merely targeting a large number of users without addressing their contextual needs could mean pouring resources into an engagement vacuum.

Old School vs. Modern Media: Where the Gap Lies

Traditional media has long been about one-way communication, with minimal room for audience interaction. Print, television, and radio dominated the marketing playbook, leveraging fixed schedules and mass appeal. However, modern digital media demands a paradigm shift toward two-way conversations, personalised experiences, and agile adaptation.

The Role of Data-Driven Insights

Unlike traditional channels, digital platforms provide granular data on audience behaviour, enabling real-time optimization. Yet, Indian businesses often struggle to fully capitalise on these insights. Despite investments in programmatic advertising and customer data platforms, many marketing teams fail to integrate data-driven strategies into their decision-making processes effectively.

Critical Question to Ponder: Are Indian enterprises truly leveraging the depth of consumer data available to craft hyper-personalized campaigns, or are they defaulting to broad-brush tactics?

Is Content Strategy Keeping Pace?

A defining characteristic of digital media in India is its content-rich environment. Video consumption, fuelled by platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and OTT channels, has skyrocketed. However, the quality of brand storytelling often falls into predictable patterns. Talking about embracing localised narratives, India’s linguistic and cultural diversity demands a localised approach to content creation. Successful campaigns in the Indian digital landscape are those that resonate at micro-levels. For example, Amazon’s regional language ads for Prime Day catered directly to regional audiences, driving both brand affinity and sales. Yet, only a handful of companies (considering universe) seem to be truly investing in regional strategies. For many, the localisation agenda is still an afterthought, resulting in campaigns that fail to move beyond metro markets. Critical Question to Ponder: Are we as industry leaders creating content that addresses the aspirations of India’s multilingual audiences, or are we limiting ourselves to the English-speaking digital elite?

Media Planning Needs New KPIs

Traditional KPIs like Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM) and Gross Rating Points (GRP) are still widely used, even in digital media planning. While these metrics serve as benchmarks, they fail to capture the full spectrum of digital media’s potential, such as:

1. Engagement Quality: Are users interacting with the content or passively consuming it?
2. Brand Affinity: Are campaigns building emotional connections that drive long-term loyalty?
3. Conversion Paths: Are the clicks leading to meaningful actions like purchases or subscriptions?

For instance, a high CTR may appear impressive, but if the post-click experience isn’t optimised, the entire funnel collapses. Modern KPIs should focus on outcomes that align with business objectives rather than vanity metrics.

Unasked ( or maybe the usually avoided questions in India’s Digital Media Strategy) —

Amidst rapid digital adoption, there are fundamental questions we rarely ask:

• Are we truly measuring ROI, or are we fixated on short-term performance metrics?
  The digital ecosystem offers unprecedented accountability, but many marketers still chase clicks and views rather than actual business outcomes.
• Is there an over-reliance on paid media?
  While paid campaigns dominate budgets, the role of owned and earned media in creating lasting impact is often underestimated. Blogs, organic social, and community-driven initiatives have a role to play but often receive negligible attention in media plans.
• Are platforms influencing strategies too heavily?
  With the dominance of tech giants like Google and Meta, brands often follow platform-centric strategies rather than customer-centric ones. How can organisations regain control of their narrative in this duopoly?

Still Navigating —

To truly capitalise on India’s dynamic digital media landscape, we may need to approach media planning as a multi-layered discipline. Here’s how —

1. Rethink Audience Segmentation: Move beyond demographic segmentation to behavioural and psychographic insights. This will allow brands to deliver more personalised and impactful campaigns.
2. Invest in Long-Term Brand Building: Digital media offers immediacy, but sustainable brand equity requires a balanced mix of performance and brand marketing.
3. Challenge Platform Dependencies: Explore diverse ecosystems beyond the usual suspects. Emerging platforms which cater to regional audiences, present untapped opportunities.
4. Build Agile Teams: This is perhaps another deeply challenging part, to imbibe a culture where marketing teams are empowered to pivot quickly in response to new trends and insights.

Crisp Reflection

India’s digital media landscape is a microcosm of global trends amplified by unique cultural dynamics. For C-suite leaders, the task isn’t just to spend bigger on digital media but to think smarter. By addressing the nuts and bolts of digital planning—redefining KPIs, embracing localisation, and leveraging data-driven strategies—organisations can navigate this complex terrain with confidence.

The ultimate question remains: Are you ready to keep asking the real questions?

The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.

Dr. Ankoor Dasguupta

Dr. Ankoor Dasguupta, President’s Select Member of Leaders Excellence [MLE] at Harvard Square, is a prominent figure in the industry, serves as a mentor, advisor, and speaker at the Indian Institute of Film Training & Digital Marketing (IFTDM). Holding a significant role on the Advisory Board of the Marketing Department at ISBR Business School, Ankoor is also on the Advisory Board of Global Mathematics & Mathematics Olympiad Graded Assessment Test with Competition. Ankoor is also an empanelled Speaker at SpeakIn which also runs the Indian Speaker Bureau.

Extending beyond academia; Ankoor has been honoured with the "CIRCLE OF EXCELLENCE 2024" award by Passion Vista and recognized as the "MAN OF EXCELLENCE, 2024" by the prestigious Indian Achievers' Award. Additionally, he received the "LEADER 2.0 AWARD, 2023" from adgully and was named a "DIGITAL KAIZEN LEADER by DigiAdCon 2024”, Dr. Dasguupta's contributions to the field of marketing are widely acclaimed, marking him as an inspiring thought leader in his domain. Ankoor is also a member of IMA India’s CMO Forum.

Most recently Dr. Dasguupta has been selected and felicitated with the national level award -Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam Inspiration Award 2024 in the category Youth Icon of the Year.

Dr. Dasguupta is a key member of the esteemed International CMO Council and keeps delivering lectures at top Business Schools and also colleges at University of Delhi. As an industry expert, Ankoor has also been a member of the interview panel at MICA for their PGP Group Exercise & Personal Interview PI process for PGDM-C/PGDM selection for two consecutive years. Dr. Dasguupta is also on the Advisory Board of the Marketing Department at ISBR Business School, Bangalore. Recognized by DMA Asia as a marketing Ace, Dr. Dasguupta is a LinkedIn Top Voice, advocate of social impact, driven by kaizen, Ankoor believes in the power of Energy and Energize

Dr. Ankoor is practicing his PCC (Level 2) coaching from the gold standard International Coaching Federation [ICF]. He is a people's person and has worked across functions in senior leadership positions in marketing, advertising, media & communication with a pedigree of 24 years and ongoing exciting journey. Trained from Dale Carnegie in Mentoring to Develop Talent, Ankoor is a marketing practitioner, a coach, a knowledge manager, a team builder, a thought-leader, an avid writer with close to 100 published articles / interviews and is a Thought Leader. Dr.Ankoor wears the hat of a CMO as well. His leisure pursuits are reading, effective listening and percussion. Follow Dr. Ankoor Dasguupta on LinkedIn| https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankoordasguupta/