The Rise of Mobile Advertising and Apps in India

India’s advertising landscape has undergone a seismic shift – and the smartphone is at the centre of it. According to the ET Brand Equity-Ipsos State of Digital Marketing in India 2025-26 report, mobile platforms now account for 78% of total digital ad spending in India, reaffirming the smartphone as the primary screen for commerce, content, and consumer engagement. For brands, this isn’t just a trend to monitor – it’s a strategic imperative to act on.

Why mobile advertising dominates in India 🔗

India’s mobile-first reality didn’t happen overnight. Affordable smartphones and cheap mobile data transformed connectivity for hundreds of millions of people – many of whom experienced the internet for the first time on a phone, not a desktop. That foundational experience shapes everything about how Indian consumers browse, shop, and interact with brands today.

The India mobile advertising market reached USD 7.60 billion in 2024 and is projected to climb to USD 18.02 billion by 2033, growing at a compound annual rate of 10.20%. This growth is fuelled by increasing smartphone penetration, affordable internet access, the rise of OTT platforms, mobile gaming, and social media consumption – all of which create high-value environments for advertisers to reach engaged users.

India’s total advertising spend in FY2025 reached ₹1,11,000 crore, with digital advertising commanding 44% of the market at ₹49,000 crore – having already overtaken television. Digital ad spends are projected to grow a further 15% to ₹56,400 crore in FY2026. Within this, FMCG and e-commerce together contribute 68% of total digital spending, making them the most active mobile advertisers in the country.

The surge of mobile advertising: what’s driving it 🔗

Several structural forces have converged to make mobile the dominant advertising medium in India. India added approximately 56 million new internet users in FY2024-25 alone, with the total internet user base approaching 900 million. This expanded digital footprint has opened up previously unreachable audiences in tier-II, tier-III cities, and rural areas – audiences that are now very much within a brand’s reach.

Beyond raw numbers, the nature of mobile usage in India is intensely personal. According to Bain & Company, consumers globally – and especially in India – are spending more time on mobile devices, which now attract about 70% of digital ad spend, with in-app spending forming the majority of that figure. For brands, this represents an opportunity to connect with users precisely where they spend most of their time.

Key drivers at a glance 🔗

Smartphone penetration: India has one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing smartphone user bases, with projections pointing toward nearly 1 billion mobile users by 2025. Affordable data: India consistently ranks among the countries with the cheapest mobile data rates globally, directly enabling mass digital participation. OTT and gaming growth: India’s OTT market now encompasses more than 500 million active users, and mobile gaming has emerged as a massive content category – both generating premium advertising inventory. Programmatic advertising: Programmatic advertising contributed approximately ₹20,686 crore to digital ad spending in India in 2024, enabling brands to automate bidding and targeting in real time, improving both efficiency and reach.

Tips for effective mobile advertising in India 🔗

Running a mobile ad campaign in India is not the same as simply shrinking a desktop ad to fit a smaller screen. The mobile context demands a different creative and strategic approach entirely. Here are the principles that consistently underpin successful mobile campaigns in India.

Keep content simple and visual 🔗

Mobile users scroll quickly and have limited attention spans on their devices. Ads that communicate a single, clear message – supported by strong visuals rather than dense text – consistently outperform cluttered creatives. This is particularly true in a multilingual market like India, where regional language content has become increasingly important. AI-based translation tools are now being used to create customized content for non-English-speaking consumers, helping brands connect with audiences in languages they are most comfortable in.

Use clear calls to action 🔗

Every effective mobile ad should tell the user exactly what to do next – whether that’s “Order Now,” “Claim Offer,” or “Install App.” The action should be immediate and require minimal steps. Mobile users won’t hunt for what to do; if the path forward isn’t obvious, they’ll simply scroll past.

Optimize for different devices and screen sizes 🔗

India’s smartphone market is extremely diverse, from entry-level handsets in smaller cities to premium devices in metros. A well-optimized mobile ad must load quickly on slower connections and display correctly across a wide range of screen sizes. According to Bain & Company, best-in-class marketers are now tailoring content and creative specifically for mobile rather than repurposing material from TV or traditional platforms – and that shift in approach makes a measurable difference in campaign performance.

Use location-based targeting 🔗

One of the most powerful capabilities of mobile advertising is precise geolocation. Brands can target users based on their current location, neighbourhood, or even the specific type of area they’re in. Location-based targeting has become one of the most popular strategies in India’s mobile advertising market, helping brands deliver hyper-relevant messages – for example, a restaurant chain promoting a lunch offer to users within a 2 km radius during midday hours. New adtech entrants like Logi5 and Callpay have built their entire business models around precisely this kind of location intelligence and hyperlocal targeting.

In-app advertising: engaging users within apps 🔗

While mobile web advertising has its place, in-app advertising has emerged as the dominant force in India’s mobile ecosystem. According to Statista, India’s in-app advertising market was projected to reach USD 2.68 billion in 2024, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.34% through to 2029. The logic is straightforward: Indians spend the majority of their mobile time inside apps – food delivery, gaming, social media, streaming – not browsing the web. In-app advertising puts brand messages directly in front of users who are already engaged.

In-app advertising refers to displaying paid advertisements within a mobile application, allowing app owners to monetize their digital real estate while giving advertisers access to a relevant and engaged audience. The format comes with distinct advantages: users are already interacting with an app they’ve chosen to open, apps collect rich behavioural data enabling precise targeting, and the app environment gives advertisers more control over placement and context.

Types of in-app ad formats 🔗

Banner ads are the most basic format – static or animated strips that appear at the top or bottom of the app screen. They offer constant visibility but tend to have lower engagement rates since users quickly learn to tune them out. Interstitial ads are full-screen ads that appear at natural transition points in an app – between game levels, after completing a task, or when switching screens. They command more attention but must be timed well to avoid frustrating the user. Rewarded video ads are one of the most effective formats for engagement: users voluntarily watch a video ad in exchange for an in-app reward (extra lives, premium content, discount coupons). Rewarded video consistently achieves completion rates of up to 75% – making it particularly effective in gaming, edtech, and utility apps. Native ads are designed to blend seamlessly into the app’s own content, matching its look and feel. Because they don’t look like conventional ads, they tend to generate higher engagement and less irritation from users.

Key platforms powering in-app advertising in India 🔗

Several platforms dominate the in-app advertising ecosystem in India. Google AdMob leads in reach, covering approximately 90% of mobile users in India and offering native, interstitial, banner, and rewarded ad formats across millions of apps. InMobi, headquartered in Bengaluru, is a globally significant mobile advertising platform known for hyper-local targeting, reaching over 1.5 billion unique devices globally and enabling regional campaigns using language and behaviour-based insights. Affle, another Indian platform, provides data-driven audience solutions through its Mobile Audience as a Service (MAAS) platform, trusted for high-quality app installs and fraud protection.

Real campaigns: how Indian brands are winning on mobile 🔗

Theory only goes so far – the real test of mobile advertising is in execution. Several Indian brands have demonstrated what thoughtful in-app campaigns look like in practice.

Swiggy: precision targeting and remarketing 🔗

Swiggy’s in-app advertising strategy demonstrates sophisticated use of mobile inventory. Working with InMobi and AppsFlyer, Swiggy ran a structured campaign across Indian cities that focused on three simultaneous goals: acquiring new users for Swiggy Instamart on iOS, remarketing to less active Instamart users on Android, and re-engaging dormant Swiggy Food users. By tapping into InMobi’s performance solutions and smart lock screen inventory, and using privacy-first attribution data through AppsFlyer, the campaign achieved measurable improvements in user acquisition and order conversion across multiple quarters.

Beyond performance campaigns, Swiggy’s own in-app advertising platform – Swiggy Ads – enables partner restaurants and FMCG brands to reach users through sponsored listings, homepage banners, gamification ads, and even map integration ads that appear on the live order-tracking screen. Sponsored restaurant listings, for instance, allow food outlets to appear prominently in search results and category pages, directly driving order volume at the moment of high purchase intent.

Coca-Cola on Swiggy: in-app promotional mechanics 🔗

A particularly clear example of brand-platform collaboration in action is Coca-Cola India’s promotional campaign run through the Swiggy app. The campaign incentivized users to add a Coca-Cola combo to their restaurant orders during specific weekend windows, with qualifying orders receiving discount vouchers credited to their Swiggy wallet. This kind of in-app promotional mechanic – embedding a brand into the ordering journey with a tangible reward – is a textbook example of how FMCG brands can use platform partnerships to drive both trial and repeat purchase among highly engaged, high-intent mobile users.

Amazon India: in-app commerce integration 🔗

Amazon India has integrated advertising deeply into its mobile shopping experience. Brands advertising on the Amazon India app benefit from access to users who are already in a buying mindset – browsing product categories, comparing prices, and searching for deals. Sponsored product listings and display ads appear seamlessly within search results and category pages, reaching consumers at the precise moment of purchase decision. Major e-commerce platforms like Amazon have deployed AI-powered recommendation engines that analyse user behaviour to deliver personalized advertising experiences, reportedly achieving significant improvements in conversion rates.

Challenges and what to watch 🔗

Despite its enormous opportunity, mobile advertising in India comes with real challenges. Ad fatigue is growing as users are exposed to increasing volumes of ads across multiple apps. The Ipsos report highlights ad fatigue, rising customer acquisition costs, and data privacy concerns as critical hurdles for digital advertisers. The shift toward a cookieless future means that advertisers who rely on third-party data will need to build first-party data strategies – collecting user information directly through owned platforms and app interactions.

Privacy regulation is also tightening globally, and India’s own Digital Personal Data Protection Act adds a layer of compliance consideration for brands running targeted mobile campaigns. Attribution is increasingly being handled without device identifiers, through frameworks like SKAdNetwork and Privacy Sandbox – tools that protect user privacy while still giving advertisers meaningful performance data. The brands that will win in this environment are those that design advertising as a valuable user experience rather than an interruption.

What do you think? As in-app advertising becomes more personalized and data-driven, where do you think the line should be drawn between targeted relevance and invasion of user privacy? And with rewarded video ads proving so effective, do you think users are genuinely engaging with brand messages – or simply tolerating ads to get their reward?

References

1. https://www.ipsos.com/en-in/state-digital-marketing-india-2025-26
2. https://www.imarcgroup.com/india-mobile-advertising-market
3. https://www.imarcgroup.com/advertising-industry-india
4. https://www.bain.com/insights/advertising-in-the-digital-age-in-india-and-around-the-world/
5. https://www.expertmarketresearch.com/reports/indian-advertising-market
6. https://www.6wresearch.com/industry-report/india-mobile-advertising-market
7. https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/advertising/in-app-advertising/india
8. https://www.businessofapps.com/guide/in-app-advertising/
9. https://www.themediaant.com/blog/top-10-in-app-advertising-platforms/
10. https://advertising.inmobi.com/case-study/swiggy-aces-user-acquisition-and-remarketing-with-inmobi-advertising-and-appsflyer
11. https://www.themediaant.com/blog/swiggy-advertising-types-targeting-and-facts/
12. https://blog.swiggy.com/terms-and-conditions/terms-conditions-coca-cola-campaign-2/