In a fireside chat at the first edition of the Auto Marketing Summit, the GroupM CEO shared his key learnings from working with auto companies like Maruti and his outlook for AdEx for the year ahead
During a fireside chat with Nawal Ahuja, Co-Founder, exchange4media, at the first edition of the Auto Marketing Summit held in New Delhi, Kumar highlighted how the industry experienced exponential growth in the years 2021 and 2022, fuelled by digital acceleration and significant contributions from startup tech firms, which at times accounted for 35-40% of ad spends.
However, he said that as startup investments slowed, sustaining high growth in 2023 and 2024 became a challenge.
Sharing his outlook for this year’s ad ex, Kumar said that while India is outpacing global benchmarks across individual media formats, the overall growth appears lower due to media distribution—globally, 80% of ad spend is on digital, whereas in India, it stands at 60%, keeping traditional media relevant in the market.
“Looking back, 2020 saw a major dip due to the pandemic, followed by exponential growth in 2021 and 2022 across various sectors—organised businesses, top categories, subcategories, and SMBs. Digital acceleration played a key role, evolving from branding to performance marketing, commerce, and influencer-driven strategies. A major factor in that growth was the heavy contribution from startup tech firms, at times accounting for 35-40% of ad spend. However, as that startup investment slowed, sustaining high growth in 2023 and 2024 became a challenge.
“Additionally, industry-wide factors like supply chain disruptions (e.g., in auto), shifting event calendars (IPL timing, World Cups), and changing media spend patterns influenced overall ad growth. While digital continues to expand, TV and print have had their own unique recovery paths. Looking ahead, we project 7% growth for India in 2025, driven largely by SMBs.
Taking the conversation forward, Ahuja spoke about how auto is a high-involvement category with a broad price spectrum, and Maruti, one of the country's largest producers, is a prime example.
“Unlike FMCG and consumer durables with quarterly cycles, auto brands operate on multi-year planning cycles. Given GroupM’s experience with Maruti, what challenges did you face in setting up the infrastructure to work with a client like this?” he asked Kumar.
To this, Kumar said that it is a privilege to work with Maruti and that his agency is excited to strengthen that relationship.
“Likewise, we collaborate with multiple other players across different categories. While challenges are similar across industries, the auto sector is highly sophisticated and evolved. It took the plunge into digital transformation much earlier and on a larger scale than many other categories, embracing data-led marketing in a significant way,” he said.
Kumar elaborated that as the industry continuously evolves, consumer learning, personalisation, platform diversity, and market insights are becoming increasingly critical.
“In 2024, the auto sector probably saw a 9% growth, with two-wheelers accounting for nearly two-thirds of total sales, followed by four-wheelers (primarily passenger vehicles) and three-wheelers. Selling 1.8 to 2 lakh units per month is no easy task, as challenges go beyond demand and supply to include economic factors. The used car market also plays a crucial role in category expansion,” he said.
He said that convenience now extends beyond technology and entertainment to aspects like parking, making the landscape even more complex.
“Understanding evolving consumer needs and market dynamics presents an exciting challenge. Our team and our clients' teams work as one, striving to achieve the best outcomes in this dynamic and ever-evolving industry,” he said.
Talking about any key learnings from working with auto companies like Maruti that could be relevant to the FMCG sector, Kumar said there is cross-learning across categories.
“The balance between performance and branding in the auto industry highlights the importance of both for growth. At the same time, the industry relies on product features, making consumer awareness and test drives fundamentally important. Today, the influence of marketing is becoming more critical across categories,” he said, adding that expert-driven insights help consumers engage more deeply, though they don't replace test drives.
He added that reach is essential for any category, but engagement and capturing attention across media formats are equally crucial, especially in auto.
“Every touchpoint—whether transactional or experiential—serves as a media opportunity. In fact, the vehicle itself can act as a media touchpoint. This interplay between branding and performance is vital not just for auto but for all categories today,” he said.
During the conversation, Ahuja highlighted how the auto industry is a high-involvement category, where consumers invest significant time in research. With the rise of content marketing and influencer impact, brands now face challenges such as misinformation and fragmented information.
“How do you navigate this information minefield when working with a company like Maruti, which has dozens of models? How do you approach content curation to shape the digital narrative effectively?” he asked.
Responding to this, Kumar acknowledged that this trend extends beyond the auto sector.
"There’s an abundance of data available, but how we utilise it is what truly matters," he said.
He emphasised the growing importance of data clean rooms and AI-driven tools, which are increasingly shaping marketing strategies by offering deeper consumer insights and optimising ad investments.
Kumar also pointed out the need for agility in content creation across various formats—long-form, short-form, and even emails. "The speed at which content is adapted across multiple formats is critical," he noted, adding that omni-channel marketing, powered by technology and data-driven tools, is becoming more vital than ever, especially in the auto sector.
"The key is to design content strategically for different mediums while ensuring relevance and quick adaptability," Kumar added. He stressed that continuous consumer learning and real-time application of insights are essential to staying ahead in this evolving digital landscape.
When asked about impactful work with Maruti, Kumar highlighted the team's extensive efforts in personalisation and omnichannel marketing.
"Obviously, the team has contributed in multiple ways. A lot of personalisation and extensive work in omnichannel marketing have been key focus areas. It’s quite a busy calendar, given Maruti's diverse portfolio.
“This journey also requires significant prioritisation across Maruti's various subcategories. Tapping into and driving growth for each subcategory is a unique challenge. Currently, our focus is on creating differentiation and uncovering new growth opportunities. It has been quite an exciting journey,” he said.
Talking about how GroupM is evolving to expand its role beyond advertising and contribute across the entire marketing funnel, Kumar said that his organisation has been strengthening the entire profile bench and not just media partners—multiple different versatile category partners.
He said it was becoming more and more critical because it just helps in enriching the profiles in a better form to target them better, adding that the use of AI has been a very significant change when it comes to WPP, and “we have been working on it for a couple of years. We have a lot of cases which are proof of that and how it's been helping.”
“I think a large part of this partnership program is very critical, where it's not just media, but there's technology, there is transaction, there is payment, there's travel, and so on,” he said, adding that all of this becomes critical to enrich in the first part data (FPD) aspect from any category.
Discussing how the advertising expenditure landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, with digital now accounting for almost 65% of the overall market and poised for further growth, Kumar said the shift towards digital is an opportunity rather than a threat.
He said, a decade ago, one could distinctly separate digital from traditional media, but today, everything is intertwined with digital. Whether it's print, radio, or television, each medium has a digital extension.
“Digital’s evolution into various formats—video, audio, commerce, quick commerce, social, and search—presents valuable insights for other media formats on how they can innovate,” he said.
Kumar highlighted that the past two years have seen most of the incremental Adex growth coming from digital platforms, adding that for traditional media to remain competitive and claim a larger share of this growth, it must embrace technological advancements.
"Television still holds significant value, but it requires technological solutions to stay relevant. The same applies to other media formats. If we can implement these changes effectively, the overall Adex growth could accelerate beyond its current trajectory. However, if these innovations don’t materialize, growth may remain in the single-digit range,” he explained.
Lastly, talking about the role of IPL in adex growth, Kumar said that the tournament remains a crucial and highly valuable platform for various categories.
“IPL continues to be one of the critical and very useful platforms for multiple categories. There is no doubt about that. I am no astrologer here, but when I look at multiple categories, there is obviously good thinking, good preparation on how to use that platform.
“I feel it will be a good productive year to see more and more brands coming in, testing it out. I'm hoping that the matches get more exciting this time. Therefore, it continues to grow. That's something for us to wait and watch. The team coming together, I think it's a great opportunity,” he said.
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