Content Marketing Summit Asia, in association with Times Network, conducted India's largest CMO study on state of content marketing with over 380 CMOs from various organizations

1. EYE ON CONTENT
India's largest CMO Study on Content Marketing
In association with Times Network

2. ABOUT
Content Marketing Summit Asia, as the name suggests, is a premier event where some of
the greatest minds, savvy brands, renowned publishers, innovative technology enablers
and leading practitioners from across the world come together to explore the exciting
world of Content Marketing. While the discipline itself isn’t anything new, the rapid
expansion of digital media and the growing clout of social media have altered Content
Marketing in unexpected ways. This metamorphosis presents exciting new opportunities
for brands, publishers, agency partners, tech enablers and independent creators alike.
CMS Asia is the largest conference on this subject in the entire APAC region which has
been running successfully year-on-year for the last 4 years. Over 1,200 delegates have
attended the event so far and over 150 speakers from across the globe have shared their
perspective on the subject.

3. FOREWORD
As brand “consumers” are increasingly converting to “seekers”, brands are slowly but
surely gravitating from broadcasting messages to playing a more meaningful role in the
lives of denizens through Content Marketing.
Content Marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant
and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience, with the
objective of driving profitable customer action.
While Content Marketing is already over a $50 billion industry in the United States, it’s still
in its infancy in India. While there are multiple statistics available (which are more global
than local), when it comes to Asian countries, there is a strong need for a local perspective.
This is even more relevant when the market is as huge as India and brands cannot rely
upon global data to make local decisions.
In order to better understand the Indian Marketers’ perspective on Content Marketing,
Times Influence collaborated with Content Marketing Summit Asia to conduct the “Eye on
Content” study to help give an overview of how CMOs in India are using Content Marketing
to meet their marketing & business objectives.
The “Eye on Content” study has been conducted with over 350 CMOs of the country,
serving as a directional tool for brands trying to stay relevant with the new consumer
dynamics.
Hemant Arora
Sr. Vice President, Times Network
& Business Head, Times Influence
EYE ON CONTENT REPORT 2017

4. SUMMARY
ANALYSIS

5. Have you done any Content Marketing in
the last year?
Q1.
In comparison to 2015
The percentage of brands using Content Marketing in the last 12 months has
tremendously increased as compared to the last study where 73% of CMOs had not done
any Content Marketing.

6. Which platforms have you used for Content
Marketing in the last 1 year?
Q2.
Interestingly, brands have used platforms beyond digital which is a healthy sign for the
entire ecosystem. While Content Marketing continues to be more synonymous with digital,
brands have started to leverage platforms like Television, followed by PR and Print.

7. What percentage of marketing budgets do
you allocate for Content Marketing?
Q3.
In comparison to 2015
There are only 32% brands with a 0-10% marketing budget on Content Marketing as
against 73% in the last study. A clear signal that brands are moving budgets to content.

8. What is your key reason for not doing any
Content Marketing?
Q4.
In comparison to 2015
The number of CMOs unaware about Content Marketing has come down by 50%. Only
16% do not understand it completely as against 32% in the last study.

9. How much of your Content Marketing budget
is spent on Content Creation & Curation?
Q5.
In comparison to 2015
As per the last study, 74% of the CMOs were spending 50% & more budget on Creation &
Curation which has come down drastically to 12%. Another signal that marketers are
understanding the value of Content Management & Content Distribution.

10. How much of your Content Marketing budget
is spent on Content Distribution?
Q6.
In comparison to 2015
Only 20% of the CMOs are spending less than 10% of their content marketing budgets on
distribution this year as compared to 72% in the last study which is a huge leap towards
distribution budgets.

11. Are you aware of any Automated Content
Creation & Content Distribution tools available?
Q7.
In comparison to 2015
Awareness of Automation Tools for Content Marketing continues to be low and there is
scope for evangelization of this space.

12. Who creates content for your marketing
requirements?
Q8.
In comparison to 2015
Brands have started using services of content specialists rather than relying on their
current creative & digital agencies. In the last study, only 4% of brands had a content
agency whereas today, 24% of brands have outsourced their content creation to specialist
agencies and partners.

13. How much budget will you allocate towards
Content Marketing in 2017?
Q9.
No surprises here. Good news for the entire Content Marketing ecosystem - almost all
CMOs plan to invest in content this year.

14. Which of the following platforms is taking up
most of your Content Marketing budgets?
Q10.
This year’s results show that brands have started experimenting with multi format content
which was limited to digital content in the last study.

15. SUMMARY
The study clearly outlines the growth of the Content Marketing Ecosystem in India across
all aspects of the discipline.
Marketers are understanding the importance of Content Marketing in engaging with their
customers. Marketers are allocating dedicated budgets for creation, management &
distribution of content.
Most of the CMOs who have participated in this study will be investing in content in the
next 1 year.
The study has also revealed that digital platforms are not the only platforms brands are
investing in, from a content marketing perspective. Although digital has emerged as the
largest channel for Content Marketing, TV followed by Print & PR are gaining relevance in
the delivery of content to existing & potential customers.
Another rising trend is the usage of services of specialist content agencies/partners
highlighting the need for expertise.
The study has also shown greater understanding of Content Marketing tools as compared
to the last study which is paving the way for automation of some functions in Content
Marketing. Brands are more aware of such tools now and are trying to scale up their
efforts with the help of these tools.
While the entire content marketing ecosystem continues to grow, there is still scope and
need for education and evangelisation of this space. Overall, the outlook is very positive
and the study reinforces that Content Marketing is an idea whose time has come.
RP Singh
Producer & Chairperson,
Content Marketing Summit Asia

16. SUMMARY
info@contentmarketingsummit.org