70% of Indian consumers report ad fatigue; India ranks 3rd globally: The Trade Desk
India now ranks third globally in ad fatigue, trailing only the United States and Australia, surpassing the global average of 68 percent.
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70 percent of Indian consumers are tired of seeing the same ads repeatedly on a single channel, reveals a study titled “The Untapped Opportunity of Omnichannel” by The Trade Desk. The findings underscore the urgent need for brands to adopt omnichannel strategies to combat the escalating ad fatigue in India.
According to the report, India now ranks third globally in ad fatigue, trailing only the United States and Australia, surpassing the global average of 68 percent. With users in India spending about nine hours a day across an average of 5.4 media channels including OTT/CTV, streaming music, news and websites, gaming and more, fragmentation has become a key hurdle for modern marketers.
“While media fragmentation poses a real challenge, our research shows that brands that embrace it through an omnichannel approach can better manage frequency across channels, publishers, and platforms,” said Tejinder Gill, Managing Director, The Trade Desk. “By placing the audience at the center and aligning with how they actually consume media, omnichannel campaigns not only improve the ad experience but also drive stronger brand outcomes.”
As per the study, omnichannel and multichannel advertising strategies use multiple channels, the distinction lies in execution. Multichannel campaigns often operate in silos with separate strategies across different platforms. In contrast, omnichannel campaigns unify three or more digital channels (such as mobile, display, native, video, audio, DOOH, or OTT/CTV) into a connected experience that optimizes message sequencing and frequency based on how users consume media.
The omnichannel approaches significantly outperform disconnected media strategies, reducing ad fatigue by 2.2 times and boosting persuasive impact by 1.5 times. The impact of strategic alignment across channels on the open internet is further validated by findings showing a 77 percent uplift in return on investment when five channels are integrated .
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The report also highlights the strengths of each channel:
• CTV/OTT: With 73 percent of Indian viewers discovering new brands while streaming, significantly above the global average of 51 percent, CTV/OTT stands out as a leading channel for brand discovery. Two-thirds (66 percent) of consumers trust the ads they see on these channels, with a similar share (69 percent) recalling the brands featured.
• Streaming Audio: It is quickly emerging as a high-impact channel for both brand discovery (71 percent) and recall (66 percent), rapidly closing the gap with CTV/OTT. The rising popularity of podcasts, especially among Gen Z and Millennials, further expands the advertising potential for brands.
• Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH): Nearly half (47 percent) of Indian consumers notice DOOH formats such as billboards and posters on a daily basis. This makes DOOH a vital complement to digital campaigns, driving mass awareness at scale.
• Gaming: Over 80 percent of Millennials and Gen Zers play games weekly, higher than the country average of 74 percent. Most gamers are receptive to ads in exchange for in-game rewards, with Millennials being most receptive. As part of an omnichannel mix, gaming offers immersive, value-driven ad experiences that foster deeper brand engagement.
• Display & Online Video: Display advertising excels at mid-funnel reinforcement, particularly among Millennials, 71 percent of whom recall display ads. Online video, by contrast, thrives in laid-back, passive moments like casual browsing and proves especially effective with Gen Z, with 72 percent recalling brands seen in this format.
