'Dussehra gave fillip to brands, boosting performances and expanding popularity'

With Dussehra kick-starting the festive October month this year, Karnataka’s News 18 Kannada saw a strong boost in ad spend revenue and ad volume growth this year. As Mysore Dussehra attracts a large number of audiences this year, high consumer engagement has prompted brands to rev up their spending to attract customers.

Speaking of specials for the season, Vijay Sanil, CEO, Languages cluster at Network18 Media & Investments Limited, said “Dussehra is the start of festivity, and to top that, we have ensured a thrilling line-up of programming that will cater to a wide range of audiences across all age groups, be it those who want to stay indoors or enjoy outside. We are seeing brands use a bouquet of solutions to reach their consumers. Be it brand solutions, non – FCT opportunities, or content integrations. We have also ensured that we have engaging activations on-ground like food melas, programs reflecting the unique Mysore Dasara and programs that reflect the cosmopolitan Bangalore during the Navratri festival. News18 Kannada is well poised to cater to such viewer requirements and tastes.”

As noticed this year, the fervour is extremely high as the festivals are being celebrated on a large scale after two whole years of the pandemic. Dussehra, a huge celebration across India in different forms, is a big celebration in Karnataka’s Mysore, where crowds from different corners of the country and the world come to witness the 10-day-long festivities.

Sanil points out that ad spending this year has been extremely positive this Dussehra. “The festive season of 2022 is significant on numerous levels. Brands and advertising are optimistic and ready to leverage the season, which comes after two years of COVID outbreak lockdown and the ensuing economic slump. Dussehra was a fillip to brands boosting their performances and expanding in popularity. With the subsiding impacts of the pandemic, we entered the festive season with solid growth rates and believe that the trend will continue, given Diwali is just two weeks after Dussehra. In fact, brands and experts anticipate growing consumer spending during the festive period. We are looking at a healthy double-digit growth this season.”

“We noticed a strong consumer demand due to an increase in market confidence. After two years of subdued revelry, consumers are looking forward to ringing in the festive season by stepping out of their homes and celebrations seem to be reaching pre-pandemic levels. On the home front, the TV audience has got habituated to engaging & diverse content and saw a host of curated content and specially created programming line-ups, and the advertisers are also reaching their consumers through the same. So, I’m confident that revenue and ad volume growth will be similar to that of the preceding year. The market should safely grow in double-digit this season.” he added.

Sanil concluded by saying “I believe that the consumer sentiment is reverting to pre-COVID levels, with healthy optimism. We are seeing a generally positive sentiment with people ushering in the festivities with vigour and a celebratory mood.”