Structural, not promotional.
The focus is structural: what agencies actually charge for, and where ad budgets actually move.
The reports are free for anyone in Indian marketing to read and cite.
Insights · Industry Reports
Data-driven analysis of the digital marketing profession.
Sourced analysis of how Indian agencies price work and where ad money is moving.
Why these reports exist
Substantive analysis, not trend marketing.
aFactor's industry reports look at the money behind Indian marketing: what agencies charge for, and where ad budgets go. These are not trend reports assembled for clicks or designed to generate engagement.
Each report is built from published third-party data. Every figure is attributed and dated, and single-source claims are flagged.
Explore the Role Framework →
Latest report
Current featured release.
Every figure is attributed and dated. Vendor claims and single-source studies are flagged where they appear, and each report states how its own argument could be wrong.
The Future of Search
Will AI replace search engines, or change them from within? About 95 per cent of ChatGPT users also used Google in May 2026, so people are adding AI before they abandon search. The pressure falls on the click: in Pew's browsing data, clicks on a traditional result fell from 15 per cent of visits to 8 per cent when an AI summary appeared. The report sets out who captures the value, what regulators in the UK and India have actually done, and scenarios for 2028 and 2031.
Report archive
Published reports.
Everything currently released from aFactor’s industry analysis program. Each report addresses a distinct dimension of how the profession and the market around it are changing.
The Future of Search
Evidence, expert views and scenarios on whether AI assistants replace search engines or change them from within: adoption, the changing click, who captures the value, and regulation in the UK and India.
Growth Without Margin
What the Indian digital agency actually sold - a percentage of media spend, a monthly deliverable count, a per-word rate - and why all three price an input rather than a result. Assesses the five adaptations visible in the market and finds only one with convincing evidence behind it.
The Symbiosis of Screen and Stream
Digital did not mainly take television’s budget; it manufactured a new class of advertiser. The analysis traces the expenditure series from 2007, states plainly that television’s absolute growth has now stopped, and rebuilds the case for broadcast on what it does rather than on how fast it grows.
Report categories
Four dimensions of the profession's evolution.
aFactor's industry analysis is organised into four categories, each addressing a distinct dimension of the profession's evolution. Together, they provide a comprehensive, data-informed view.
01
Skills gap analysis
Quantitative assessments of the gap between what the industry requires and what the education system produces.
Quantitative
02
Role evolution
Tracking how digital marketing roles are structurally changing - in scope, competency requirements, and organisational positioning. Analyses job specification trends, hiring pattern shifts, and organisational restructuring.
Structural
03
Salary & demand
Data-driven analysis of compensation trends, hiring demand, and the economic value of specific competencies.
Economic
04
Technology impact
Examining how technological change - particularly AI, automation, and platform evolution - is reshaping the competency requirements of marketing professionals. Focuses on capability shifts rather than tool adoption.
Capability shift
Methodology
Data sources and validation.
The credibility of any industry report depends on the rigour of its methodology and the quality of its data. Every number in a report links back to a named, dated source so you can check it yourself.
01
Data sources
Published industry data: ad expenditure series, agency financials and third-party research, each cited at the figure it supports.
Survey
Job market
Interviews
Program data
02
Validation
Internal review before publication. Weak or single-source evidence is flagged, and each report says how its argument could be wrong.
Triangulation
Reproducible
03
Distribution
Reports are made available without charge to professionals, employers, and educators. Each report is published in full as a free PDF on this site.
Open
Free
For the research methodology that underpins aFactor's analytical frameworks, see the original research papers. For analysis and commentary on report findings, see the published articles and opinion pieces.
Read the latest report.
Read the latest industry report, or see the Role Framework.
Read the latest report →