Indian Consumers Showing Greater Appetite for Personalized Ads

The majority of consumers in India (78%) report a preference for personalized ads

41% of Indian consumers have canceled a subscription because of the ads experience

Hyderabad, June 27, 2024 – Moloco, a leader in operational machine learning (ML) and performance advertising, together with leading independent research company YouGov, today announced the findings of the Consumer Perceptions of Ads on Streamers Survey 2024. More than 1,000 consumers in India were surveyed for their perspective on advertising on streaming media platforms. More than 1,000 consumers in the US were also included in the same survey. Overall, the results signal a tipping point in consumer consumption habits as they shift from traditional TV to streaming platforms.

“It’s important to get the ads experience right because consumers will cancel a subscription based on the ads experience. This research is a wake-up call for many streaming media platforms to transform their approach to building an ad business,” said Dave Simon, General Manager, Growth Initiatives, Moloco. “Consumers have a strong appetite for relevant, personalized ads that enhance the viewing experience. These ads are influencing their behavior and decision-making process. These combined trends signal the need for a more personalized approach to advertising on streamers, driven by leveraging advanced machine learning at scale.”

“Indian consumers do not mind watching that extra ad which can lower or entirely remove subscription fee to watch content - this insight got validated when this survey showed that two-thirds of Indian consumers chose lower fees in exchange for watching ads. What’s even more interesting is that approx. 80% of customers prefer personalized ads, which significantly influence their decision-making process.” Said, Siddharth Jhawar, General Manager, Moloco India.

Consumer behavior is changing as more people move away from traditional TV to use streaming media platforms, particularly on mobile devices.

60% of Indian consumers report that a mobile phone is the device most commonly used for personal streaming, compared with 26% for Smart TV, 11% for laptops/PCs, and 3% for tablets.

34% of Indian consumers report that they are cutting the cord with traditional TV services; an additional 27% are considering it but have yet to do so.

66% of Indian consumers would choose lower fees in exchange for watching ads.

Consumers report clear preferences for ad formats that enhance the viewing experience.

44% of Indian consumers believe that ads that are interesting and relevant enhance the viewing experience.

Pre- and post-roll ads are ranked most acceptable compared with mid-roll and banner or display ads.

Banner or display ads and mid-roll ads are perceived as the most intrusive or disruptive.

Consumers care about the ads experience. They report that personalized ads are more compelling and more likely to result in a favorable response, such as a purchase.

41% of Indian consumers have canceled a subscription specifically because of the ads experience.

The majority of consumers in India prefer personalized ads, with 78% indicating a preference. Of the 78% total, 48% prefer personalized ads based on viewing habits alone and 30% prefer personalized ads based on viewing habits and personal data.

Ads on streaming platforms are influential in the decision-making process for product or service purchases with 83% reporting some level of influence.

“The ads experience is clearly important, especially with consumers not just adjusting to ads on streaming media platforms but embracing ads,” said Vanessa Khoo, Senior Research Manager, YouGov. “In addition, this research showed that consumers find ads compelling and influential in their overall decision-making process for product purchases. This study also showed that personalized ads can actually enhance the overall viewing experience.”

This survey was conducted online in India by YouGov focused on consumers who watch video content at least once a month, including streaming content. 1,005 respondents participated in the 10-minute online survey from January 19, 2024 - February 5, 2024.

Moloco’s mission is to empower businesses of all sizes to grow through operational machine learning. With Moloco’s machine learning platform for growth and performance, every app publisher, commerce marketplace, and streaming business can now unlock the value of their unique, first-party data. Moloco Ads enables performance marketers to scale user acquisition for mobile apps through our advanced machine learning models. Moloco Commerce Media is an enterprise software solution that enables retailers and marketplaces to build their own ad business with a flexible solution that delivers relevance, results, and automation for scaled and streamlined ad operations. Moloco Streaming Monetization enables streaming media companies to revolutionize their monetization strategy by building an outcomes-based ad business that delivers relevancy for users and results for advertisers. Moloco was founded in 2013 by a team of machine learning engineers and has offices throughout the US, the UK, Germany, Korea, China, India, Japan, and Singapore.