Not just heat, AdEx too rising this summer

As brands witness the first seemingly normal summer after two years of the Covid19 scare, the marketing industry is expecting its revenues to cross the pre-pandemic levels during the quarter. Reportedly, the summers of 2019, headlined by the IPL, general elections, and cricket world cup, had witnessed brands spending an estimated Rs 10,000-11,000 crores between April and May.

Jolene Fernandes Solanki, COO, Madison Media Ultra, says, “Q1 currently seems to be on a positive growth with Covid slowing down. Brands are trying to make the most of the relaxation in the pandemic norms. With these relaxations, consumers are currently in the happy mode, hence increasing socialising, travel, dining, shopping etc. Summer festivals are being celebrated in the best possible way. This is creating demand amongst many industries that have suffered the most in the last two years - travel, entertainment, airlines, restaurants, fashion, events, retail and more. Ad spends this summer is on a positive growth across all categories and expected to be more or less at par with pre-Covid levels.”

However, Solanki is skeptical that this growth in AdEx might slow down a little in the near future as an implication of the Ukraine-Russia war and its impact on the overall economic growth.

From FMCG to electronics, to tech; all categories spend high

As the markets have opened up and the consumer sentiment seems to be high, brands across categories are going to spend big this summer. Right from the summer-centric products like ACs, refrigerators, cold drinks, etc to new-age startups in the education and finance space, brands across categories will be fighting for audience's attention.

Havas Media Group India President & Chief Client Officer Uday Mohan shares, “This is the first clear summer that brands have witnessed since the pandemic. Brands, especially the ones that thrive during summer months across sectors such as ACs, refrigerators, home appliances, and soft drinks, will definitely try to maximise sales. Although the cases in the last week or so have risen slightly, there hasn’t been any severe implication, and shouldn’t reduce or impact the enthusiasm levels. The early peak summer should also give brands further sales impetus.

Amplifi, dentsu India Group Trading Director Sujata Dwibedy adds, “FMCG categories, which were anyway active, have been in full swing along with the beverages and summer brands. The auto category is back with a bang. The e-commerce category has many new entrants who have been advertising, in addition to the regular ones. Adding to the emerging categories, fintech, edutech and pharma tech have also been extremely visible in the media. The OTT platform has been buzzing and most importantly, OOH has revived. Cinema is also seeing a recovery with some success already. Overall, it is a positive momentum this summer.”

Solanki further notes that with petrol prices touching the roof, a boost in the category of electric vehicles is also expected.

Mudramax VP Account Management Thulasi Krishnan mentions, “This summer FMCG, quick commerce, fintech, edutech are likely to spend very aggressively. The figures are likely to touch 2019 FY Q1 at the current rate of advertising. Apart from IPL, OTT platforms introduce new impactful content like Bigg Boss on Disney Hotstar and Indian Idol Telugu on Aha. Associations on these shows sell like hot cakes encouraging OTT platforms to produce more of this content.”

IPL and reality shows driving the revenue

While there are not many big-ticket events scheduled for this summer apart from the Indian Premier League, reality shows on television will be attracting a lot of attention from advertisers, the industry highlights.

Dwibedy elaborates, “Not all channels take a punt during the IPL as it is known that there is a dip in viewership across all non-IPL channels. However, there are some key shows like Super Star Singer on Sony, Ishmart Jodi on Star Plus, Dance Deewane Kids on Colors, and Dance India Dance Lil Masters on Zee that will get the desired eyeballs. The prime-time shows have been doing well across general entertainment channels, in Hindi-speaking markets as well as the regionals.”

Solanki agrees, “Reality shows like Dance India Dance, Super Singer and regional versions of the established shows like Indian Idol, Big Boss, Many on-ground events like Sunburn will also gain attention.”

Digital to continue its growth spree

Krishnan highlights that advertisers have realised the power of digital because of the pandemic and therefore the sector’s growth will be impressive this summer too. “Advertisers have realized the power of digital thanks to the pandemic and given the growing penetration of digital, AdEx registered an unimaginable growth of 35% over 2020, rising to approximately Rs 75,000 crore, Rs 20,000 crore higher than 2020. The digital medium had a phenomenal growth of almost 50% in 2021.  We estimate digital to grow bigger in 2022 and might even equal TV spending to become the joint largest medium in Indian AdEx by the end of 2022. The dramatic growth is expected primarily through OTTs, short video apps, ecommerce, performance marketing and connected TV.”