Union budget 2024: Ad industry experts share their expectations

With Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman preparing the Union budget for 2024, all sectors are hopeful for beneficial outcomes, including the advertising and marketing industry. 

This year, marketers have varied expectations, from tax breaks for digital innovation and boosts for artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) technologies to initiatives promoting talent development in programmatic advertising and influencer marketing. The industry is also seeking support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), both financially and infrastructurally, with the overarching hope that the Union budget will include policies to support and drive growth in the advertising and marketing sector while stimulating overall economic development.

Campaign talks to industry experts about their pre-budget expectations, and where they hope to see an allocation of funds.

Ravikant Banka
Founder and managing director
Eggfirst Advertising

The Indian advertising market is poised to reach $14 billion by 2024, which presents vast opportunities. To drive this expansion, advertising agencies should focus on budget allocations towards digital technologies like AI and data analytics, as this enhances campaign precision and delivers personalised experiences—maximising ROI. I also think government initiatives to increase capital expenditure are crucial. By strategically investing in infrastructure, healthcare, and education, the government can boost liquidity and stimulate consumer spending. This increased spending then translates to higher advertising expenditure as businesses seek to capture consumer interest.

Supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups is also vital. The budget should focus on providing easier access to credit, tax incentives, and infrastructure support. As these sectors ramp up their advertising spending, a robust support system will ensure their sustainable growth and contribution to the market. Finally, addressing inflation's impact on consumer purchasing power is essential. The government can introduce tax cuts, subsidies on essentials, and direct cash transfers to increase disposable income. More disposable income means higher consumer spending, benefiting the advertising industry.

Partha Sinha
President and vice chairman,
Times of India and ASCI

As a consumption-driven economy, our GDP relies heavily on consumer spending. My expectation for this year’s Union budget is a focus on growth, with decisions that support and enhance spending power. The government must take steps to put more money into people's hands, which in turn will boost the sectors driving our economy. Meeting these expectations would immensely benefit the advertising and marketing industry, as increased consumer activity necessitates marketing, advertisement efforts, brand building, and promotions. I hope the government recognises the critical role of consumer spending and includes measures in the budget that will act as a catalyst for the advertising and marketing sector.

Abhinav Jain
Co-founder and CEO
Almonds AI

Government initiatives to develop advanced technologies like AI, AR, VR, and mixed reality can be game-changers for advertisers. By investing in these technologies, the government can foster innovation, attract tech talent, and encourage experimentation. Subsidies, tax incentives, and research and development investments could lead to the development of cutting-edge advertising platforms and tools, providing marketers new ways to engage with consumers. AR and VR could revolutionise product demonstrations, allowing customers to virtually "try before they buy." AI can offer deeper consumer insights and predictive analytics, enhancing personalisation and making ads more relevant and less intrusive. These advancements could make advertising more interactive, immersive, and effective.

The impact of such technological advancements could be profound, leading to more engaging ad experiences, better targeting, and enhanced consumer engagement through personalised and interactive content. These technologies can also streamline processes, making campaign management more efficient and data-driven.

Richa Jaggi
Co-founder and chief marketing officer
Awshad

The government can boost liquidity and stimulate consumer spending by increasing capital expenditure on both digital and physical infrastructure. This includes enhancing digital literacy, expanding high-speed internet access, and developing robust transportation networks. Additionally, providing financial support and tax incentives to SMEs, particularly those run by women, implementing e-government services, and encouraging foreign direct investment are crucial steps for furthering India's economic growth. These measures will drive economic expansion and increase disposable income, which in turn will fuel the advertising industry.

The budget has the potential to aid the industry through digital literacy and awareness campaigns, promoting digital skilling and talent development initiatives, and offering tax benefits and subsidies for digital education, considering digital marketing as a core part of the country’s GDP. The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, heightened awareness of health and wellness, and the adoption of emerging technologies like augmented and virtual reality are also key drivers of the industry's transformation, creating a dynamic and innovative landscape for advertisers.

Hariom Seth
Founder
Tagglabs

The government must promote new technology experiences such as AI, AR, VR and mixed reality. Entrepreneurs can build apps, websites and experiences that not only solve ground-level problems, but also act as a platform for various advertisers to create more engaging and memorable brand engagements. Policymakers, however, should also support these entrepreneurs with data security/privacy and promotion of their platforms. If a platform provides engaging and fundamentally useful experiences to the public, these platforms automatically build trust with the users becoming a more effective mode of brand promotion for advertisers. Advertisers cannot just play 2D content on these platforms but experiment with interactive/gamified, 3D assets and environments.

Promoting new technologies will inspire the people to solve real-world problems by experimenting with them. However, it does concerns about data privacy, biases, job displacement and other ethical issues. AI-driven solutions might increase efficiency but they collect vast amounts of data which will indeed create data security concerns. Also, biases might seep into AI algorithms leveraged by these platforms. Ethical concerns regarding inappropriate product placement might also crop up in platforms utilising AR and VR.

Prashant Srivastava
Head of international marketing
AET Displays

To increase capital expenditure and strategically allocate resources across various sectors, the government can focus on several initiatives that boost liquidity and stimulate consumer spending, ultimately leading to higher advertising expenditures. Investing in infrastructure projects such as transportation, energy, and digital connectivity can drive economic growth and job creation. Providing targeted financial support to industries like hospitality, retail, and manufacturing can also stabilise these sectors and restore consumer confidence. Enhancing access to affordable credit for MSMEs through government-backed loans and subsidies ensures business continuity and expansion. Implementing tax cuts or rebates for consumers can increase disposable income, encouraging higher spending.

Each year, the budget endeavours to provide robust support tailored to the unique needs of MSMEs and the booming startup sector, which are increasingly prioritising their advertising investments. Anticipated measures include enhanced access to affordable credit through government-backed loans and subsidies, enabling these businesses to maintain liquidity and invest in growth initiatives. Tax incentives and rebates specifically tailored for MSMEs and startups can reduce financial burdens, allowing more funds to be allocated towards advertising and marketing efforts.