New Delhi, May 20 : India’s Marketing & Advertising sector is witnessing a significant transformation in fresher hiring patterns, with demand increasingly shifting toward analytics-led, AI-enabled, and digital operations-focused roles, according to TeamLease EdTech’s Career Outlook Report for HY1 (January-June) 2026.
The report reveals that fresher hiring intent in the Marketing & Advertising sector rose sharply to 62% in HY1 2026, compared with 11% in HY1 2025, marking one of the strongest year-on-year increases across sectors. The sector has witnessed a significant rise in fresher hiring demand over the last two years, increasing from 6% in HY1 2024 to 11% in HY1 2025, and further to 62% in HY1 2026.
The findings indicate growing demand for digitally skilled talent as brands continue to scale investments in digital advertising, social commerce, creator-led marketing ecosystems, and performance-driven campaign strategies.
The report highlights a clear evolution in the type of roles driving hiring demand. Traditional brand-led and creative execution-focused hiring is increasingly giving way to data-oriented and technology-enabled functions. Emerging high-demand fresher roles identified in the report include Digital Campaign Analyst, AI Marketing Associate, Ads Operations Executive, and Market Research Assistant.
Commenting on the findings, Shantanu Rooj said,
“What stands out in the current hiring cycle is that marketing is increasingly being treated as a measurable business function rather than only a creative one. Entry-level hiring today is being shaped by campaign analytics, marketing automation, ad operations, and AI-assisted execution. Employers are looking for candidates who can work across platforms, interpret performance data, and contribute to revenue-focused digital strategies from day one. This is also increasing the relevance of work-linked and industry-aligned learning models that help freshers build practical, job-ready skills for evolving digital marketing roles.”
Among cities, Pune recorded the highest hiring demand for Ads Operations Executives at 51%, reflecting the growing importance of campaign operations and ad-tech ecosystems within marketing organisations. Hyderabad led hiring demand for Digital Campaign Analysts at 47%, indicating increasing employer focus on campaign measurement, analytics, and performance optimisation. Meanwhile, cities such as Bengaluru and Mumbai continued to remain key hubs for digital marketing and performance-driven hiring, supported by strong demand across advertising, technology, and consumer-focused sectors.
The report further points to the growing integration of AI and automation within entry-level marketing functions. Marketing Automation featured among the top domain skills in demand in HY1 2026, while “Digital Marketing with GenAI Advanced Program” emerged among the top employability-boosting certifications recommended for freshers entering the sector.
The shift toward performance-driven marketing had already begun to emerge in HY1 2025, when Performance Marketing was identified among the leading domain skills in demand. The report also noted projections of India’s digital advertising market reaching INR 1.12 lakh crore by 2025, further accelerating demand for digitally skilled marketing talent.
The report summarizes that India’s fresher marketing hiring ecosystem is evolving rapidly beyond conventional digital marketing roles, with employers increasingly prioritising candidates equipped for analytics-driven hiring, AI-assisted campaign management, performance marketing, social commerce, and digital operations functions. TeamLease Edtech Career Outlook Report HY1, January-June 2026, is based on 1,051 employer responses collected between November 2025 and January 2026 across industries and cities in India. The study examines hiring intent among fresher candidates, in-demand job roles, required skills, and emerging hiring models. It provides actionable insights for first-time jobseekers navigating the January-June 2026 employment market.