India has a long tradition of building loved brands. Kantar BrandZ data shows that India's top75 brands have grown 6% faster than the broader market over the past decade.
But while brand-building activities continue to drive growth, they are facing increasing pressure from short-term demands. According to WARC’s Twin Pace Effectiveness Gap report, four in 10 APAC marketers measure effectiveness during the active campaign period only. This measurement reflects the short-termism mindset.
A new strategic guide from WARC believes that this focus on short-term pressures is in part due to the evolution of digital. Digital is now the infrastructure through which much of India’s marketing activity is executed, optimised, and measured. As a result, performance-led ecosystems like search, social, and ecommerce are now central to planning with existing budgets being reallocated toward channels that offer measurable outcomes.
But by focusing on measurable outcomes, marketing decisions risk being shaped by what is easiest to measure rather than what drives the most long-term value, such as brand equity, mental availability and sustained business effects.
“As measurement becomes more immediate and visible, there is a growing risk that effectiveness is judged by short-term signals rather than long-term value. In this environment, the challenge is not choosing between brand and performance, but making both work together,” said Biprorshee Das, India Editor, WARC.
In this vein, WARC recently released The Pace Principle: India at two speeds, a new report that explores how marketers can drive effective growth in India by balancing brand building and performance in a digitally evolving market. It draws on evidence from WARC’s Pace Principle study to examine how brands can operate at twin paces to build long-term value while delivering short-term results.
Evidence from WARC’s Pace Principle and The Multiplier Effect show that a 50:50 brand and performance split drives the best growth outcomes globally, and this applies in India, despite its tougher operating environment where brand switching is easier than ever.
In a separate study, the Twin Pace Effectiveness Gap report , WARC found that shows 35% of brands and 42% of APAC agencies cite the lack of a unifying brand platform as a key barrier to consistency.
In India’s culturally fragmented landscape, brand platforms act as the anchor. They enable brands to participate in local behaviours and values while maintaining a coherent, scalable narrative.
