India outpaces US and Europe in brand spending plans for live events and sponsorships: Nielsen

India is emerging as one of the most bullish markets globally for experiential marketing, sports sponsorships and creator-led campaigns, with brands increasingly looking to leverage live events, cultural moments and digital communities to engage consumers, according to Nielsen’s 2026 Global Annual Marketing Report.

The report reveals that 94% of Indian marketers expect to increase spending on sponsorships and event media over the next 12–24 months. This is significantly higher than the corresponding figures for the US (75%) and Italy (67%), positioning India at the forefront of the global shift towards live experiences and event-led brand engagement.

Based on a survey of 200 Indian marketers, the findings highlight three key priorities shaping the country's marketing landscape: increased investments in live experiences and sponsorships, growing confidence in creator-led content, and the use of sports as a platform to reach new audiences.

Live events and sponsorships become strategic priorities

The growing appetite for event-led marketing is among the strongest findings of the report. Nearly all Indian marketers surveyed expect to increase their investments in sponsorships and event media, suggesting that live events are moving beyond supplementary brand-building activities to become an integral part of marketing strategies.

Sporting competitions, entertainment properties and cultural events offer brands opportunities to engage consumers through shared experiences while combining on-ground activations with digital amplification.

India's position is particularly notable against other surveyed markets. While 75% of US marketers and 67% of Italian marketers expect to increase sponsorship and event spending, the proportion rises to 94% in India.

For brands, the opportunity lies in building sustained associations with properties and communities rather than limiting investments to individual campaigns. Sports leagues, tournaments, music festivals and entertainment events provide recurring opportunities to connect with audiences across multiple platforms.

Creator marketing gains traction

Creator-led marketing is another area where India stands out. As many as 81% of Indian marketers rate influencer and creator content as very or extremely effective, compared with 54% of their counterparts in the US. The 27-percentage-point gap is the widest difference between the two markets across the media channels evaluated in this part of the study.

The findings suggest that Indian marketers have developed considerable confidence in creators as a means of engaging consumers, building brand consideration and communicating with targeted audiences.

Creator partnerships are increasingly being viewed as a distinct component of the marketing mix rather than an experimental extension of social media advertising.

This growing confidence could encourage brands to integrate creator partnerships into broader media strategies, including campaigns linked to sports, entertainment and live events. Creators can extend the reach of physical events through digital content, while brands can use their communities to sustain engagement beyond the duration of an event or sponsorship.

Sports sponsorships offer access to new audiences

Sports continue to occupy an important position in India's marketing ecosystem. According to Nielsen, 61% of Indian marketers view sports sponsorships as a testing ground for reaching new audiences and entering new markets. This compares with 54% in the US and 32% in Germany.

The findings reinforce the growing strategic relevance of sports as more than a traditional brand-awareness platform. Sports properties provide access to defined fan communities and opportunities to build associations through shared interests and experiences.

Sponsorships also allow brands to engage consumers across multiple formats, from live match-day activations and broadcast integrations to social media campaigns and creator collaborations.

India's position suggests that marketers increasingly recognise sports as a platform for audience discovery and expansion, allowing brands to reach consumers beyond their existing customer bases.

Marketing measurement remains a challenge

Despite the optimism around marketing investments and channel effectiveness, Nielsen identifies measurement as an important area requiring improvement in India.

Only 42% of Indian marketers say they measure return on investment (ROI) holistically across traditional and digital media. This is the lowest proportion among the markets highlighted in the report. The corresponding figure is 48% in the US, while Italy leads at 53%.

The findings reveal a disconnect between growing enthusiasm for newer marketing channels and the industry's ability to assess their overall business contribution.

As brands increase spending on sponsorships, influencer partnerships and event media, measuring the impact of these investments alongside conventional advertising becomes increasingly important. Fragmented measurement can make it difficult to compare channel effectiveness, understand business outcomes and allocate budgets efficiently.

Nielsen identifies cross-media measurement as an important opportunity, particularly as brands seek to connect sponsorship, creator and event investments more directly with business outcomes.

AI and data-led marketing present opportunities

The report also examines the growing role of artificial intelligence in marketing, although its AI adoption findings primarily highlight the US and Germany rather than India.

In the US, 75% of marketers use AI for measurement and analytics, making it the most common application, followed by creative development (70%) and media planning (67%).

The findings point towards an increasing role for AI in processing data, evaluating campaign performance and supporting marketing decisions. However, the report also highlights the importance of human oversight, with 34% of US marketers saying they fully trust AI recommendations and act on them independently.

Integrated strategies will shape the next phase

Taken together, Nielsen's findings indicate that Indian marketers are increasingly prioritising platforms that combine audience engagement, community participation and brand experiences.

The strong preference for increasing event and sponsorship investments, alongside the high perceived effectiveness of creator content and sports marketing, points towards a more integrated approach to brand communication.

Rather than treating sponsorships, influencer campaigns and digital advertising as separate activities, brands have an opportunity to build connected strategies in which live experiences generate content, creators amplify engagement and digital platforms extend the reach of physical events.

However, demonstrating measurable returns will remain critical as these investments grow. With 94% of marketers planning to increase event and sponsorship spending and 81% expressing confidence in creator-led content, India appears particularly bullish about experience-driven marketing.

The next challenge for the industry will be translating this confidence into measurable business outcomes and establishing a unified framework for evaluating marketing effectiveness across platforms.