India digital marketing - Research, tips and news for marketers

Facebook fatigue is setting in across some of its biggest markets, with users across North America, Europe, Japan and Australia leaving the social network despite the reported growth in overall active users, according to new data.

29/04/2013  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Australia Brazil Canada digital companies Digital Intelligence digital marketing digital trends Facebook global India internet use Japan social media and social networking Socialbakers Spain time spent online Twitter UK USA

Nestlé has launched a new video campaign in India featuring dancing babies- seeding the ad on YouTube ahead of its first TV broadcast and getting 1.5m views in the process. See why it’s our viral video of the week below…

30/01/2013  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: digital companies Digital Intelligence digital marketing India nestle video viral marketing YouTube

During 2012, there were 2.4 billion web users and 1.3bn smartphones, recording 2.7bn Facebook likes and 175m tweets per day, according to new data.

21/01/2013  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: blogging browser demographics digital companies Digital Intelligence digital marketing digital trends domain email global Google Google Plus images internet use LinkedIn mobile internet mobile marketing social media and social networking time spent online Twitter user generated content video YouTube

As more people connect to the Internet in India, time spent social networking is exploding on sites like Facebook and Orkut. It's one of the primary motivations for going online. In both rural and urban areas, social networking is a key driver of use. The most popular site in India is now Facebook, which has seen its market share grow by almost 50% from 2010 and 2011. This article looks at five key social networks in India.

20/12/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Asia Asia Pacific Bharatstudent digital companies Digital Intelligence digital marketing digital trends Facebook India LinkedIn Orkut social media and social networking Twitter

Apple has launched its iTunes Store in India, Russia, Turkey, South Africa and 52 additional countries, as the firm looks to expand the reach of its download store. Apple device owners will have access to legal music and video content on the digital store. Customers can choose from over 20 million songs available to purchase and download on the iTunes Store, claims an official release.

04/12/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Apple digital companies Digital Intelligence digital marketing film India iPhone, iPod and iTunes media music paid content Russia Turkey

India’s social media regulation has come under scrutiny this week, after two girls were arrested for posting a Facebook comment criticising a shutdown of the city after the death of a local political leader.

22/11/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: digital companies Digital Intelligence digital trends Facebook government India regulation social media and social networking

Facebook is offering mobile users the Indian rupee equivalent of nearly US$1 in free talk time to sign up to the social networking service, in a bid to increase its subscribers in the country. This offer is only for new sign ups and is not available to existing users. However, users can refer others to join Facebook and will receive Rs 50 if they join.

22/10/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Asia digital companies Digital Intelligence digital marketing Facebook India mobile and tablets mobile marketing social media and social networking

This chart shows the total number of unique online video viewers and the percentage of that countries web population that they represent. Vietnam and Hong Kong have the highest percentage of their web population engaging with online video with 89.8% and 88.7% respectively. India and Indonesia showed the lowest total percentage of web populations interacting with online video.

24/09/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Asia Asia Pacific digital data Digital Intelligence digital trends Hong Kong India Indonesia Japan video Vietnam

Social networking is the leading category in India with over a 25% share of total time spent online. Social networking exceeds the entertainment category by 15%. Social networking also has three times the engagement levels of email, which is the forth most popular destination in the country.

20/09/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Asia digital data Digital Intelligence digital trends ecommerce email games India social media and social networking

Google sites draw the highest volume of the Indian online population with almost 58 million hits for June 2012, however, Facebook leads the group in engagement levels. Facebook users spent an average of 224.9 minutes of their online time on the site, exceeding the time spent on Google sites by over an hour. Microsoft sites ranked fourth in terms of volume of visits, but showed poor engagement levels with users spending an average of less than 20 minutes on the sites.

20/09/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Asia digital data Digital Intelligence digital trends Facebook Google India Microsoft social media and social networking time spent online

Google has updated its mapping service in India, with two new features to boost navigation and traffic updates. The service now includes ‘turn-by-turn’ voice navigation through Google Maps Navigation (Beta). Google maps also now features live traffic information for major roads in select cities - Bengaluru, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad.

10/09/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: digital companies Digital Intelligence digital marketing Google Google Maps India local Maps mobile and tablets smartphones Transport Travel

Samsung may be the latest multinational to break digital marketing regulations by trying to manipulate blogger reviews in social media marketing through secret payments to bloggers. Positive ratings and reviews have a big impact on sales, but many brands are forgetting both regulations and common sense.

04/09/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: blogging digital companies Digital Intelligence digital marketing Germany India media mobile and tablets mobile internet Nokia regulation Samsung social media and social networking user generated content

South African media giant Naspers is said to be investing $150 million (Rs 834 crores) in online retailer Flipkart, a deal which would secure the company’s finances for the next three years. Nasper and Iconiq Capital are the new investors in Flipkart, with the former pumping in US$90 million, and the money will be used on expanding supply chain capacity and growing its talent pool.

29/08/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Amazon digital companies Digital Intelligence ecommerce India retail South Africa

Google Sites, Facebook and Yahoo! Sites lead as top sestinations in India, while social media is booming, according to new research. The study, from comScore, looked at the top online sites and activities in India from its comScore MMX service. The report found that Google Sites ranked as the top destination in June 2012 reaching nearly 95 percent of the online population, while social networking reigned as the top online activity accounting for 25.2 percent of all online minutes.

24/08/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Asia digital companies Digital Intelligence digital marketing digital trends Facebook Google India internet use social media and social networking time spent online Yahoo

Facebook has launched its App Center in 8 countries, as the social network looks to boost its much scrutinised mobile business. The social network has rolled out the service in United States, Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom. In the coming weeks, the company is launching the App Center to users in Brazil, France, Germany, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, and Turkey.

11/07/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: applications (apps) Australia Brazil Canada digital companies Digital Intelligence digital marketing Facebook France games India Ireland mobile internet mobile marketing Russia social media and social networking South Africa Spain Taiwan Turkey UK USA

Social Networking is one of the top activities for smartphone users in India, fuelled by the simultaneous growth of social media and smartphone adoption in the country. Social networking apps offer seamless integration with other phone functions enabling instant photo sharing, updates, and website links and more.

18/06/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Android digital companies Digital Intelligence digital marketing digital trends Google India mobile and tablets smartphones

Hacking group Anonymous India has struck a leading ISP in the country to protest a ban on Torrent sites. Last week, several BitTorrent sites along with other stranger choices like Vimeo were blocked in Indiaby at least one ISP. Now, others are joining, though the original block has been lifted in some cases. There's also no country wide block as sites may work on one ISP in one region but won't work in another.

31/05/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: digital companies Digital Intelligence digital trends hacker India internet service providers (ISPs) piracy

This video from Nielsen highlights the fast changing Indian consumer and their changing needs from the marketplace.

27/05/2012  |  Related stories: Asia Pacific Digital Intelligence ecommerce India video

If you’re working on a global brand, remember that the beautiful site their New York agency has created might be designed for high-bandwidth markets. Always look at the load times to ensure your consumers see your message quickly. Ditch the flash and the heavy images: it’s better to be there, than be pretty but never get loaded!

27/05/2012  |  Related stories: Asia Pacific Design Digital Intelligence digital trends India marketing mobile and tablets mobile marketing mobile phones

If you’re working on a global brand, remember that the beautiful site their New York agency has created might be designed for high-bandwidth markets. Always look at the load times to ensure your consumers see your message quickly. Ditch the flash and the heavy images: it’s better to be there, than be pretty but never get loaded!

27/05/2012  |  Related stories: Design Digital Intelligence India marketing mobile and tablets mobile marketing mobile phones

Search, social networking and email are the top three key categories fro online communities in India, with social networking and email being significantly more popular categories in India than the rest of the world.

27/05/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Asia Pacific Digital Intelligence digital trends India

While ownership of Internet-connected PCs might still be relatively low across the country – and reserved mainly for the more affluent city-dweller – mobile phone ownership is more wide spread and growing rapidly. The mobile device offers a great way for marketers to bridge the gap between the physical and digital world and you don’t have to rely on the latest, most sophisticated smartphones to engage your audience. Why not think about the options that can be offered by shortcodes text back response, SMS, Interactive Voice Response and automated outbound dialling?

26/05/2012  |  Related stories: Asia Pacific demographics Digital Intelligence India mobile marketing mobile phones smartphones

Women use online instant messaging applications three times as much as men, and are more active social networkers. However, men install more apps than women with 16 apps added per month compared to just 11 by women.

26/05/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Asia Pacific demographics Digital Intelligence digital trends India mobile marketing

Women spend 3 hours more on calls every month when compared to men and 4 times longer on instant messaging applications.

26/05/2012  |  Related stories: Asia Pacific Digital Intelligence digital trends India mobile and tablets mobile marketing smartphones

Men spend 50% more time browsing the web on their smartphone than women.

26/05/2012  |  Related stories: Asia Pacific demographics Digital Intelligence digital trends India mobile and tablets mobile marketing smartphones

As more and more people connect to the Internet in India, time spent social networking is exploding (on sites like Facebook and Orkut). It's one of the primary motivations for going online. As they do, marketers have the opportunity to reach and engage an interconnected audience and build brand reputation through the spread of positive word of mouth. But in order to be successful in social marketing you need to listen first, then plan before entering into the conversation. Once you are engaged in a dialogue, manage the responses carefully so you can maximise the benefits of brand advocates and minimise the risk of negative PR.

25/05/2012  |  Related stories: Digital Intelligence india social media social media and social networking user generated content

This video from Nielsen offers key data on social media's growth in India, and its impact on marketing strategies.

25/05/2012  |  Related stories: India social media social media and social networking

This video from Nielsen offers key data on social media's growth in India, and its impact on marketing strategies.

25/05/2012  |  Related stories: Digital Intelligence India social media social media and social networking

The Indian online advertising market, including classifieds, will grow by a huge 54% in the next 12 months, according to new data. The research, from the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB, found that as of March 2012, the industry was worth Rs 2,851 crores in annual revenue.

24/05/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: adspend advertising classifieds Digital Intelligence digital marketing digital trends India mobile marketing

60% of all Indian internet users visited an online ecommerce site in November 2011, with the number of online shoppers increasing 18% in the past year. Coupon or deal sites have gained maximun traction with a jump of 629% compared to last year.

24/05/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Digital Intelligence ecommerce India

This research highlights Amazon's popularity with the Indian online community. Amazon sites have nearly twice as many unique visitors as Apple.com.

24/05/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Amazon digital trends ecommerce India

India is the third biggest country in terms of internet users in the world, with a highly social and mobile audience. This snapshot takes a closer look at India’s digital consumer, and the key trends driving the country towards a digital future. It's estimated as many as 121 million Indians are logged onto the internet. It is a sizeable number, but still a relatively small proportion of the country's 1.2 billion population.

This video from Nielsen demonstrates how digital is going to change the way Indian consumers are connecting and engaging with each other, and what it means for marketers.

23/05/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: broadband digital companies Digital Intelligence digital marketing digital trends India internet use mobile and tablets mobile internet mobile marketing social media and social networking time spent online

The use of the mobile Web is set to overtake fixed-line Internet in India by the end of the year, as the country’s mobile revolution continues at full speed, according to new data. Statistics from statcounter indicate that India’s mobile Web usage is just under 50% as of the second quarter of 2012. Meanwhile, wired access is steeply falling.

22/05/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Digital Intelligence digital trends India internet use mobile and tablets mobile marketing smartphones time spent online

India is forecast to overtake the US as the world`s largest Facebook market by number of users as early as 2015, according to a new report from Gartner. The report attributed the growth to a rapidly increasing internet penetration in India, combined with high rates of growth in mobile connections.

18/05/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Brazil digital companies Digital Intelligence digital trends Facebook India internet use social media and social networking time spent online USA user generated content

In India, women spend the same amount of time on their smartphones as compared to men. However, there are sharp contrasts in how they use their phones, according to new research. The study, from Nielsen Informate Mobile Insights notes that men spend 50 percent more time browsing the web on their smartphones than women. Conversely, Women spend 3 hours more on calls every month as compared to men, and 4 times the amount of time men spend on Instant Messaging (Chat) applications.

11/05/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Digital Intelligence digital trends IM India internet use mobile and tablets mobile marketing smartphones time spent online

Asia (excluding Japan) and BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have overtaken Europe and western markets on television viewing and video consumption via Internet or mobiles, according to a new report looking at online video use in Asia. The findings, from Nielsen’s global media consumption index also shows that globally, 14% of advertising expenditure goes towards digital.

25/04/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: adspend advertising Asia Pacific Brazil China Digital Intelligence digital trends Europe India marketing Middle East and Africa Russia USA

Maruti Suzuki Ritz has become the most popular brand in India by clocking a record fan base of over 1 million (1,018,000+ members) on popular social networking site Facebook. Maruti Suzuki Ritz made its debut on Social media in August 2010.

13/03/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: advertising automotive brands digital companies Digital Intelligence digital trends Facebook India marketing social media and social networking

The vast majority of consumers in China and India trust brands that are responsible or sociable, according to new research. The study, from Havas Media, also indicates that only 20% of brands have a notable positive impact on consumer’s sense of wellbeing and quality of life. Of those polled, 95% and 85% said they trust companies with a responsible or social profile more than those without in China and India respectively.

21/02/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: blogging brands China CRM Digital Intelligence digital trends India marketing social media and social networking

Low-cost Android handsets will reach a penetration rate of 80% of total smartphones in Africa, India, and China by 2015, accoriding to new research from In-Stat. The low-cost Android smartphone segment is comprised primarily of smartphones released with Android 2.2 or 2.3, since these versions are a good blend of features with modest memory and processor usage.

20/02/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Africa Android China digital companies Digital Intelligence digital trends Google India mobile and tablets smartphones

Madhouse, China’s leading Mobile Marketing Company has launched in India, in partnership with global ad giant WPP. Madhouse offers brands mobile solutions across the spectrum of paid, owned and earned media on smart phones and tablets.

17/02/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: advertising China digital companies Digital Intelligence India mobile and tablets mobile marketing smartphones WPP WPP Group

Microsoft's online store in India was taken down this week after it was allegedly hacked by a Chinese group calling itself Evil Shadow Team. The site www.microsoftstore.co.in was offline with a message saying that the company was working to restore access. The security breach occurred Sunday night. The company declined to comment on the matter, the Times of India daily reported.

14/02/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: China digital companies Digital Intelligence hacker India Microsoft Privacy security

Google and Facebook have removed content from some Indian domain websites this week, following a court directive warning them of a crackdown “like China” if they did not take steps to protect religious sensibilities. The two internet giants are among 21 companies asked to develop a feature to block objectionable material after a private petitioner took them to court over images deemed offensive to Hindus, Muslims and Christians.

07/02/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: blogging censorship digital companies Digital Intelligence digital trends Facebook Google India social media and social networking Twitter YouTube

Amazon has launched an ecommerce site in India, marking the entry of one of the world's largest online retailers into the $550 billion retail market. The website, called Junglee.com, will offer more than 12 million products and more than 14,000 Indian and global brands, Amazon said in a statement. India has more than 100 million internet users and online shopping has been growing rapidly.

03/02/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Amazon digital companies Digital Intelligence ecommerce Flipkart India retail

The majority of marketers in India are in favour of a code of conduct to tackle to growing issue of email spam, according to new research. Octane.in, an email service provider and creator of India’s first on-demand multi-channel marketing campaigns platform, has commissioned their second annual research report to help guide India marketers as they look to boost their return on investment in 2012 by linking their email marketing efforts to social media.

27/01/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Digital Intelligence digital marketing digital trends email India marketing Privacy regulation

India and China have the most active social media users, while web users in the US, Europe and Japan are less likely to post information on social networks, according to a new report. The global survey by Forrester Research, found that three out of four Chinese and Indian web users write blog posts or upload pictures and music. The online survey collected from 95,000 Internet users in 18 countries.

09/01/2012  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: advertising behavioural targeting China demographics digital companies Digital Intelligence digital trends Europe Facebook India internet use Japan marketing social media and social networking time spent online UK USA

India has demanded that Internet sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Google to screen and remove offensive content about religious figures and political leaders as soon as they learn about it. The government has asked the sites to remove material that might "offend Indian sensibilities", sparking a barrage of criticism from internet users in the the world’s largest democracy.

08/12/2011  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: digital companies Digital Intelligence digital trends Facebook Google government India Privacy regulation security Twitter YouTube

The song 'Kolaveri Di' from Indian actor Dhanush's upcoming movie 3 has become one of the internet viral sensations of the year. The Tanglish song (a mix of Tamil and English) with nonsensical lyrics came out just two weeks ago, and has already notched up over 8 million views on YouTube since its launch. By comparison, last year’s hugely successful ‘Old Spice’ YouTube ads got over 35 million views over an extended campaign.

29/11/2011  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: digital companies Digital Intelligence film India media music video viral marketing YouTube

Akash, the low cost Indian tablet is set for a commercial launch, following its Government-subsidised launch in October. Though the base version was made for students, a commercial variant will also be made available by end of November. The Aakash will have a shelf name UbiSlate 7.

17/11/2011  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Android digital companies Digital Intelligence digital trends India mobile and tablets

Mobile use in India is booming, as it becomes the second largest mobile market in the world. Indian mobile phone operators added a net 7.34 million mobile subscribers in August, or a 0.86% growth over the previous month, taking the total connections in the world's second-biggest mobile phone market to 865.71 million.

02/11/2011  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: China digital companies Digital Intelligence digital trends India mobile and tablets

India has launched what it says is the world's cheapest touch-screen tablet computer, priced at just 3,000 rupees (approx £40). Aimed at the country's student population, the subsidised Aakash (meaning sky) supports web browsing and video conferencing, has a three-hour battery life and two USB ports. However, questions remain over how it will perform.

07/10/2011  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: digital companies Digital Intelligence digital trends education India iPad mobile and tablets smartphones

Social media is booming in India, with Facebook and Yahoo leading the way, according to new data. The study, from Burson – Marsteller, indicates that Facebook and Yahoo are the top two sites in India with nearly 52% reach. The findings indicate that social media is the online destination of choice in India, ahead of news and sports sites.

03/10/2011  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Asia Pacific blogging digital companies Digital Intelligence digital trends Facebook India Orkut social media and social networking sport Yahoo YouTube

Google expects India's Internet users to triple by 2014 as telecom carriers invest in high-speed wireless infrastructure and smartphones become cheaper, according to a news report. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Google's country head in India, Rajan Anandan, said that the company forecasts India will reach at least 300 million Internet users by 2014, up from about 100 million now.

21/09/2011  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: broadband digital companies Digital Intelligence digital trends Google India internet use time spent online

Mobile ad network InMobi has raised $200m from Japanese telco.Softbank Corp. The investment represents one of the largest in the mobile Internet space till date. Founded in 2007, India-based InMobi helps advertisers and developers serve up mobile ads, a fast-growing industry that has been fueled by the rise of consumer cellphones and multimedia-rich smartphones like Apple’s iPhone.

16/09/2011  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: advertising Android digital companies Digital Intelligence India iPhone, iPod and iTunes mobile and tablets mobile marketing smartphones

Google is turning to TV advertising as it seeks to drive up awareness and usage of its products in India. The search giant is adapting an idea already used in several other countries, and utilising the tagline "The Web is What You Make of It", specifically for Indian consumers. India constitutes a particularly attractive market for the company, given the size of its population, alongside rising internet penetration and digital literacy levels.

12/07/2011  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: digital companies Digital Intelligence Google India internet media broadcasting, TV and radio search

Social Media has now become part of everyday life for a majority of online Indians., with two-thirds of the countiy’s web users accessing social media daily, according to new research. According to a study on social media usage by The Nielsen Company conducted in collaboration with AbsolutData, nearly 30 million Indians who are online are members of social networking sites and about two-thirds of them spend time on these social networking sites daily.

03/06/2011  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: Digital Intelligence digital trends email India mobile and tablets Nielsen Online smartphones social media and social networking

Facebook became the most popular social network in India for the first time in July with 20.9 million visitors, up 179 percent versus year ago, according to new data. More than 33 million Internet users age 15 and older in India visited social networking sites in July, representing 84 percent of the total Internet audience.

India now ranks as the seventh largest market worldwide for social networking, after the U.S., China, Germany, Russian Federation, Brazil and the U.K. The total Indian social networking audience grew 43 percent in the past year, more than tripling the rate of growth of the total Internet audience in India.

01/09/2010  |  Full story...  |  Related stories: digital companies Digital Intelligence Facebook India social media and social networking