Expect sharper attention on privacy & data policy standardisation in 2021: Tanmay Mohanty

In 2021, policy and infrastructure change is expected to create a runway for India’s burgeoning digital transformation in the post-COVID-19 era. The digital advertising industry in 2020 remained unshaken by economic tailwinds and continued to see growth, albeit in single digits. An e-marketer report indicated that global digital AdEx would touch $389.29 billion in 2021. Out of that, mobile ad spends’ share would be $290 billion, according to State of Mobile 2021 report by App Annie.

In an interaction with Adgully, Tanmay Mohanty, CEO, Zenith India and Head of Global Partnerships for Publicis Media India, explains some of the growth trends. Tanmay Mohanty is a speaker at Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) India Digital Summit held on 19th and 20th January. Watch him and other speakers address key digital initiatives that will cover policies, business, investment, advertising, digital commerce, start-ups ecosystem, emerging tech, eSports and other digital trends.

With the shift to digital commerce, what is the growth trend in e-commerce advertising? 

Lately, we see tremendous growth in e-commerce spend. The evolution drives on three major shifts – Pantry Behaviour, Nesting and Digital Shopping (safety). The progression hits 200% plus, given that the large CPG players are going D2C as well. The development is also backed-by large demand-driven consumer needs, bringing stability in the economy with pent up demand and exponential rise in e-commerce in rural markets. 

With brands optimising their marketing spends across multiple channels, are marketers looking for an integrated solution for digital? 

Currently, India is in a very different stage of digital maturity. Post COVID-19, the client not only focuses on marketing and digital transformation, but also towards the upscale of the entire business. Large clients are now in the process of finding the right partner (agency) who could help them alter across the funnel. It is observed that the interpreted pitch will become more common. That is one of the reasons why we moved to a ‘Publicis One’ model, which allows us to help clients drive growth in a platform world. 

What are the policy changes that you would like to see from the upcoming Budget regarding the digital ecosystem in India? 

The ecosystem needs rethinking by stakeholders, especially the Government. Given the way how the Government focuses on Digital India, financial system changes like the digital wallet or the emphasis on the global digital platforms adhering to the Indian media guidelines have already made an impact. The attention on privacy and data policy standardisation will be one of the major changes that we expect this year.

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