India’s marketing landscape is in the midst of a transformation. Digital advertising is booming. In FY2024–25, digital media spending jumped 29 percent to ₹40,800 crore, overtaking television for the first time. By some estimates, India’s digital ad market will reach ₹59,200 crore by 2025. In this environment, companies are plowing money into marketing technology. Over 60 percent of brands now use MarTech tools extensively and a staggering 95 percent plan to increase their tech budgets. In fact, 65 percent of marketers already devote more than 16 percent of their marketing spend to technology-driven programs. Whether in retail, FMCG, e-commerce or fintech, business leaders see new marketing tech as a necessity, even if some warn it must still prove its value.
Emerging technologies are reshaping how brands connect with customers. Most notably, artificial intelligence is moving from hype to reality. Worldwide, 77 percent of marketing chiefs said in early 2024 that they planned to invest in generative AI, and by mid-year half of them had already done so, reporting 4 to 6 percent gains in results. India is even more aggressive. One major survey found 66 percent of Indian brands already using generative AI today (compared to 44 percent in Australia) and another 26 percent experimenting with it. Seven in ten Indian marketers say embedding AI in customer experience is an immediate priority, and 81 percent of consumers in India expect brands to offer AI-driven features by year-end.
Big-name companies are already applying AI to marketing. For example, Hindustan Unilever’s new “Sangam” platform uses AI to automate media planning and buying. As HUL’s media head Tejas Apte explains, Sangam cut the company’s planning cycle from 25 days down to 5. This has driven a dramatic budget shift: TV’s share fell from 60 percent of HUL’s ad spend to 39 percent, while digital — video, social and OTT — now accounts for 45 percent. The AI tools also power influencer and creative campaigns. HUL reports that its AI-enabled influencer picks contributed to a 2.5 times jump in digital ROI over two years. In similar fashion, India’s biggest brands are exploring AI-fueled copywriting, chatbots and personalization engines. As Udit Agarwal, VP and global marketing head at SaaS firm Exotel, puts it, “Our future MarTech strategy focuses on harnessing AI and machine learning for hyper-personalization, investing in agile and scalable platforms, and prioritizing data privacy and security to build trust with customers.”
Data and personalization are at the heart of most 2025 MarTech bets. “Consumers are demanding personalized offers and communications that speak to them as individuals,” notes Girish Kalra, CMO at Tata AIA Life Insurance. In other words, the days of one-size-fits-all ads are ending. Meticulous micro-segmentation and even one-to-one marketing are the new goal. “Ten years ago, the consumer thought, ‘I need to buy a shoe.’ Now the thought is, ‘I need to buy a jogging shoe that handles flat soles and can be worn as office casual,’” observes Priyanka Agrawal, co-founder of Martech consultancy Punt Partners. Brands are responding by digging into customer data. With third-party cookies fading away, many are building first-party data platforms and customer data hubs to unify profiles across web, app and store. Retailers like Flipkart have even built their own analytics platforms. Its new IRIS system promises brand partners “actionable insights” on shopper behavior, backed by Flipkart’s trove of sales data.
E-commerce and retail firms lead the data charge. Flipkart’s Sandeep Karwa, VP for Flipkart Ads, says IRIS will help brands “make strategic decisions backed by rich data” and unlock new growth. Amazon India similarly invests in recommendation engines. Its backend uses AI-based personalization tools and live shopping experiences. On the fintech side, major players are also all-in. Paytm’s CEO recently announced an AI-led payments platform, signaling that its full stack of apps and services will lean heavily on machine learning. India’s fintech market itself is projected to be worth 2.1 trillion dollars by 2030, and experts say winning market share will hinge on tech-driven engagement.
Beyond AI, brands are prioritizing omnichannel and programmatic tools. Programmatic ad buying now claims 42 percent of India’s digital media spend. In practice this means more investment in automated ad platforms and real-time bidding engines. Omnichannel campaign orchestration, which links online ads, mobile push notifications, in-store alerts and other customer touchpoints, is another focus. For example, many retailers tie social, email, SMS and kiosk systems together so a customer sees the same offers whether they are on WhatsApp or walking past a mall display. Short-form video is a high-growth channel. Data shows roughly 90 percent of consumers say video influences their purchases, so brands are ramping up Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and TikTok-style ads. In FMCG and retail, companies like HUL, Tata, Marico and Future Group run in-house studios and influencer platforms to produce snackable content. Meanwhile, vernacular and voice technology is taking off. AI-driven chatbots and voice assistants in Hindi and other regional languages are helping marketers reach India’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 customers.
Each industry is finding its own MarTech sweet spot. In financial services, insurers and banks use data platforms to target specific customer segments. Tata AIA’s Kalra says the company uses analytics to pitch the right life cover or health plan to the right person, replacing mass messaging with a personal tone. In retail, companies run hundreds of A/B tests on their apps and websites, investing in tools that personalize the shopping journey. Online grocers like BigBasket, owned by Tata, experiment with AI to predict a customer’s next basket. Digital wallets and payment apps push tailored cash-back offers. Even auto brands and telecoms are spending. Gurugram-based Maruti Suzuki recently announced plans to use CRM and AI tools to deliver personalized service reminders to customers.
The results can be striking, but it is not all smooth sailing. Many marketing executives caution that tech alone will not fix bad strategy. “Most MarTech implementations require cross-functional team involvement and buy-in,” says Praanesh Bhuvaneswar, CEO of influencer platform Qoruz. Deepika Bansal, head of CRM at eyewear retailer Lenskart, echoes that point. Implementing a new platform often bumps into compatibility issues, data silos, budget limits and talent shortages. In practice, she notes, companies have one tool for email, another for SMS and yet another for user data, making integration and measurement a headache. As a result, some brands approach MarTech adoption cautiously, piloting solutions and keeping human marketers in the loop.
The consensus among experts is clear. The future lies at the intersection of technology and creativity. “Marketing is a combination of art and science,” says Tara Kapur, Duolingo’s India lead. While AI can crunch numbers and automate mundane tasks, marketing leaders insist that human insight is still needed to craft the right message and emotional appeal. When used wisely, the new MarTech tools can bring scale and speed without losing that human touch. “This trend is forcing consumer brands to invest in technology that helps marketers become more agile,” notes Ashwin S., SVP of marketing at MoEngage.
Heading into 2025, Indian brands across sectors are placing big bets on MarTech. The most impactful investments will likely be in AI-driven personalization, data integration platforms like CDPs and customer analytics, and omnichannel automation. Examples abound, from HUL’s Sangam to Flipkart’s IRIS to Paytm’s AI ambitions, showing that marketing budgets are flocking toward high-tech solutions. But experts warn to balance boldness with diligence. The best marketers will be those who use data to sharpen storytelling, not replace it. As one industry leader puts it, the holy grail is a personalized approach at an individual level, combining machine efficiency with human creativity. In short, 2025 will reward brands that can harness AI and data and still remember that behind every click or transaction is a person to be engaged, not just a profile to be scored
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