TV AdEx: Big shows & festive season to bring respite after sluggish summer?

Advertisers are looking to make the most of the upcoming festive season combined with the big-ticket shows and sporting events scheduled to be telecast on TV during the latter half of the year.

After going through a comparatively low phase in this summer season, especially during the recently concluded 16th Indian Premier League (IPL), brands are expected to go full swing at the time of festive season and airing of high impact shows like Bigg Boss, KBC etc and sporting events like Cricket World Cup, industry experts told exchange4media.

Experts believe that with these big properties coming up, brands will leverage from them and might make up for the low ad volumes earlier this year.

Speaking to e4m, Ashish Sehgal, Chief Growth Officer, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, said, “Festive season starts in August and will last till December. There is anticipation that advertising will pick up during that time. By September-October, new-age companies will also start coming up. Big-impact shows attract more viewers so advertisers like to ride on it.

“TV advertising is attracted majorly by big-ticket shows or reality shows like KBC, Bigg Boss, Indian Idol etc. With regionalisation of channels, many shows are being launched which are in high demand. So, advertisers are pulled towards them as well. Like these reality shows are also running across languages and have their own seasons,” he said.

Sharing a similar view, Amol Dighe, CEO, Investments and Business Development, Madison Media, said with big-impact shows, there will be a lot of action in the coming months.

“The second half will see the launch of marquee shows like KBC, Big Boss, Indian Idol, Khatron Ke Khiladi etc as usual, along with big-ticket event, the 50-over Cricket World Cup. So yes, there will be a lot of action in the second half. Brands will look to leverage these events /shows to build visibility and awareness,” he said.

Similarly, Sandeep Goyal, MD, Rediffusion, told e4m that the second half of the calendar is quite busy.

“The economy is generally buoyant. So, volumes should remain upbeat,” he said.

According to Sehgal, brand categories which get active during the festive season and big-ticket shows include real estate, auto industry, paint brands, BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance).

However, Dighe said that almost all categories can leverage TV content by associating with marquee shows and sporting events.

“The power of the idea will make the association impactful,” he said.

Giving a slightly contrasting opinion, Pawan Jailkhani, Founder Director, Brand Tale House and formerly Chief Revenue Officer with 9X Media, said the advertisers have been holding back their budgets globally and with several platforms available, TV may not get much share of advertisements.

“There is a sort of slowdown as advertisers have been holding back their budgets globally. Marketers in the new ecosystem not only plan TV, but seriously invest in various mediums of technology, MarTech and AdTech space in a big way. India is a strong market when it comes to tech advertising, but there is a word of caution on spending and I see growth coming back in the last two quarters.

“But there is definitely a huge realignment in terms of medium. Mobile advertising is the new norm and mass medium now, connected TV is the current buzzword, OTT space will get larger share, programmatic will gain a lot of share. Hence I see some stress in getting the same share of advertisers across impact properties on traditional medium,” he said.

According to Sehgal, the second half of the year could be better compared to the summer and IPL because advertising categories during the IPL period are different from the ones advertising during the festive season and the latter half of the year.

“Products are different in summers and winters. Like during IPL, cooling consumer products like refrigerators, cold drinks etc are advertised more. It is different during the latter half as the season changes and other brands come up. Advertisements are hence different,” he said.

As for Harikrishnan Pillai, CEO and Co-Founder, TheSmallBigIdea, “Marquee reality shows like Bigg Boss, Khatron Ke Khiladi (KKK), Sa Re Ga Ma Pa (SRGMP), and Shark Tank are anticipated to draw substantial viewership and offer excellent advertising opportunities. These shows have a dedicated fan base and provide brands with a platform to engage with a diverse audience across different demographics.”