While overall adspend is likely to fall by ten per cent in India over the next year, marketing expenditure on digital media will rise 44 per cent. In particular, fast moving consumer goods brands in the region will boost their online adspending by 353 per cent.

So says a study, conducted by JuxtConsult in the first quarter of 2009, of 500 top advertisers – who control two-thirds of all adspend there. The report, WebChutney Digital Media Outlook 2009, shows that even though television still claims the lion’s share of adspend – 51 per cent – engaging with India’s 47 million Internet users is becoming much more of a priority for advertisers – 82 per cent of whom currently spend only five per cent online. Viral ads are now on the radar for progressive digital media strategists, but the mobile medium especially is likely to grab a much larger digital adspend share in 2010 – the report predicts it will grow from two to nine per cent.

Sidharth Rao, CEO, WebChutney, said: “A frenzy of new media and emerging communications channels have led to a more connected and in-control consumer, who drives powerful conversations, becomes a brand evangelist and gererates buzz for the marketer. This does not equate to brands losing control over their marketing strategies, but provides new challenging opportunities to reach out to the user through better, more meaningful consumer experiences online.

“It is a critical time for brands to keep pace with the dynamic nature of the digital medium and choose their adspends wisely.”