Brands up C-TV spends by 20-30% YoY during festive season

As brands explore different mediums to reach their consumers this festive season, they are increasingly allocating their media spends on Connected TV (CTV). A GroupM research predicted earlier this year that CTVs will reach over 45 million households by the end of 2024. Brands are betting big on the medium to reach this growing audience.

During the festive season, advertisers use several channels or platforms to reach and engage their target audiences. Ad spend is naturally shifting from linear TV to CTV as its audience grows. It is a preferred medium to connect with cord cutters and those who watch light TV or catch-up TV. Brands are also leveraging the biggest screen in the household to reach affluent and premium audiences. 

Harish Iyer, EVP, media and investment, Interactive Avenues, says CTV spending has increased by around 22% over the last year. “With enhanced household-level targeting information, CTV has become essential in most media plans,” he says.

CTV spending has significantly gone up compared to the first half of the year, even without cricket, as per Rajiv Rajagopal, head, advanced TV, media solutions, GroupM India. Concurrently, new inventories are opening. Amazon MX Player combines MXPlayer and Amazon miniTV subscribers; Jio TV+ is being launched across Android TV’s and Firesticks; and LG, a prominent smart TV player, is scaling up and unlocking new premium CTV audiences. 

Rajagopal says brands see CTV as the most effective way to enhance specific geographic markets in line with their business objectives and run longer commercial edits for better viewability and messaging. “With over 23% penetration in TV households, CTV is proving to be highly efficient in building reach,” he says.

For example, Flipkart’s ad spend has been flowing towards CTV with its expanding share and growing user base. Compared to a year ago, its CTV investment has increased by more than 40-50%.

Akash Jain, head of media, Flipkart, says unlike traditional one-way advertising, CTV allows for interactive, two-way engagement, which captures attention more effectively and boosts brand recall. 

“The beauty of CTV is that unlike traditional linear TV, it's a truly digital medium. By leveraging the control and interactive power of digital, CTV helps land brand messaging more powerfully, ultimately driving business outcomes,” he adds.

CTV also allows for advanced targeting—allowing brands to segment audiences and deliver tailored messages. Additionally, CTV enables interactive creatives, like adding CTAs or QR codes to boost engagement and brand recall. 

“During the festive season, we're present across most leading platforms, not limiting ourselves to a single channel. Our focus is on reaching our audience where they actually are. For example, CTV becomes essential, if we’re targeting Gen Z. We also prioritise a programmatic approach to maximise reach and efficiency; this helps us control and optimise ad delivery across platforms, ensuring incremental reach without oversaturating the same users across multiple channels,” he adds.

Varun Mohan, head of growth and revenue for India and SAARC at MiQ, reveals that most advertisers raised their CTV media spends in 2024 compared to the previous year. “This is because of major sports events, entertainment content, elections, and brands wanting to target affluent audiences with the premiumisation trend in India,” he says.

He adds that festive ad engagement increases as people search for offers, and digital ad costs rise by 20-30% as brands compete for premium ad space across channels. 

Spending on CTV this festive season spans a wide range of categories, including CPG, jewellery, retail, paint, appliances, travel and tourism, and QSRs. Auto, fintech, media & entertainment, and commerce are leading advertisers on the platform.

“Each sector leverages CTV's visual experience, features, and reach capabilities to engage audiences and drive sales,” Rajagopal says.

Mohan says regional differences affect advertising on the medium. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu have the most festive jewellery sales. Retailers in these states promote new designs and deals on CTV. Electronic brands in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra are increasing their CTV spending to promote new product features and attract home cooks and party planners. Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan use CTV to reach potential buyers when automotive brands introduce new models or offer special financing deals during festive seasons. Eastern India promotes personal electronics and festive offers.

boAt has allocated 4.2% of its festive budget on CTV. The medium is crucial to boAt's presence on Jio, particularly for its Nirvana range. Vedansh Kumar, head of brand marketing, boAt, believes it gives the brand a luxury feel and helps reach its target audience. 

Godrej Appliances' holiday digital media plan includes CTV. About 35% of its digital video spending goes to Connected TV, depending on campaign goals. Swati Rathi, head of marketing, Godrej Appliances, says CTV's reach and ad alternatives have expanded, and so has the budget. 

“CTV helps reach the premium audience set, with high viewability along with data insights that analogue TV still lacks,” she says.

Even ITC's Sunfeast relies on CTV for most media initiatives. It helps ITC Foods reach cord-cutters, according to chief operating officer-biscuits & cakes business Ali Harris Shere. He thinks a regular CTV presence is crucial for premium brands like Dark Fantasy to optimise reach, making it an integral element of the brand’s media mix.

What needs to change to encourage more spends on CTV?

Rajagopal says while it's one of the fastest-growing mediums globally, including in India, it requires further evolution in certain areas. “CTV must enhance its targeting capabilities to address  the diverse nature of a country like India, where we witness cultural, linguistic, and behavioural  differences every 100 km+,” he says.

Iyer says some brands are shifting from brand awareness campaigns to performance-based activations on CTV, which needs to change. “A robust brand measurement model is essential to justify these investments,” he says.

Mohan says that marketers, media agencies and advertisers need to be better informed about why CTV deserves a place in a brands’ media mix and how it helps in combining data, innovation and creativity to engage audiences.

boAt’s Kumar feels that to increase its investment in CTV, it would need to see enhancements that support middle-funnel optimisations in addition to the current focus on top-funnel awareness building.

Rathi believes more ad options and more immersive experiences will induce brands to spend more on CTV.