India is now one of the world’s largest and most diverse digital economies, with over 850 million internet users —and growing. But this growth isn’t homogenous. It’s split between two distinct digital Indias:
- The urban, English-speaking users in metros and Tier 1 cities
- And Bharat—the mobile-first, vernacular-speaking population across Tier 2, Tier 3 towns and rural regions.
Bharat is not just growing in numbers—it’s evolving in digital behavior. This audience is embracing digital payments, short-form content, app usage, and eCommerce at scale. For advertisers, Bharat is no longer an optional audience—it’s central to growth strategy.
Yet, the infrastructure to reach these users hasn’t kept pace. Most programmatic platforms and DSPs operating in India are still optimized for Tier 1 and Western markets. They fail to capture the nuances that define Bharat: language diversity, low-spec devices, variable data access, and highly localized media habits.
To effectively reach Bharat users, advertisers need more than conventional tools. They need a DSP purpose-built for India’s next billion.
What Do Typical DSPs Offer?
DSPs have streamlined digital media buying by automating how advertisers bid for and place ads. Standard DSP features include:
- Audience targeting (based on age, interests, behavior)
- Real-time bidding (RTB) for automated ad buying
- Cross-device reach across apps and web
- Analytics and attribution integration
- Compatibility with third-party exchanges, MMPs, and verification tools
While these features work well in metros and developed markets, they often fall short when applied to Bharat’s unique user landscape.
What a DSP Built for Bharat Should Deliver
To unlock the full potential of India’s next billion users, marketers need to work with a new generation of future-ready programmatic platforms. Here's what that looks like:
1. Tier-2 & Tier-3 Centric Audience Intelligence
Marketers need segmentation that goes beyond age or gender. Bharat audiences require ML-driven cohorts, built using contextual and probabilistic signals. A Bharat-ready DSP should support:
- Interest-based user clustering
- Lookalike modeling based on high-intent metro users
- Predicted install behavior for emerging towns
2. Language-First Targeting With Vernacular Creatives
Most DSPs are built around English-first user experiences — from targeting parameters to creative tools. Bharat speaks 20+ languages, and the inability to deliver language-personalized campaigns drastically reduces relevance.
A DSP targeted for Bharat users enables language-first audience segments (e.g., Hindi-speaking women in Tier 3 towns), offers auto-localization of ad creatives into regional languages. With DCO capabilities, real-time personalization across cities can support quick serving of creatives to improve engagement.
3. Device-Aware, Data-Light Creatives
Many users access the internet on entry-level smartphones with limited RAM and lower data speeds. A Bharat-optimized DSP should:
- Auto-adjust creatives based on device specs
- Prioritize lightweight formats like static banners or short videos
- Optimize delivery for smooth playback on older Android devices
4. Accurate Geo-Targeting
In Bharat, every kilometer can mean a different language, app usage habit, or digital comfort level. For large-scale app advertisers, targeting a broad “state” or “region” is not enough. For app advertisers targeting users across India’s varied geographies, broad regional targeting isn't enough. A DSP built for Bharat should offer granular geo-targeting down to the pincode level, with the ability to cluster cohorts within the same district. Geo-fencing capabilities for verticals like qCommerce, hyperlocal delivery, EdTech, HealthTech, regional OTTs, is crucial to unlock tapping into audiences that would convert.
5. Access to Focused App Inventory to Reach Relevant Users
Bharat’s users don’t spend time on desktop or traditional web. Their journey is app-first, and their favorite apps are often non-premium, regional, or hyperlocal, which many global DSPs don't access through standard exchanges.
A DSP that can access Bharat’s app universe can unlock engagement others can't. This means integrating with vernacular content apps, daily use utility apps, and emerging social platforms. Publisher partnerships and supply channels also play a key role where the DSP is integrated with local publishers and aggregators overlooked by large ad exchanges.
The Road Ahead: Winning With the Right Programmatic Partner
India’s digital growth is no longer metro-centric. Bharat’s users are now digital power users—installing apps, streaming videos, adopting FinTech, and playing mobile games—all in local languages, on budget devices, and on their own terms.
To win in Bharat, marketers must do more than scale campaigns. They must re-engineer how they reach, engage, and convert users across diverse geographies, devices, and content preferences.
A DSP truly built for Bharat will not just expand reach—but deliver real outcomes across the next billion.
