HUL ups ad budget by Rs 679 cr in Q2
CFO Ritesh Tiwari attributed the increase in ad spends to competition from small and regional brands who have been growing significantly ahead of large players like HUL
Indian FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever has increased its advertising budget by Rs 679 crore in Q2 of FY2024, said a news report quoting the organisation's Chief Financial Officer Ritesh Tiwari. The upping of the ad budget is reportedly to counter competition, according to Tiwari.
The company has been facing competition from small and regional brands that have made a comeback after taking a step back during peak inflation and from D2C brands that mainly sell online.
Tiwari noted that smaller players have been growing significantly ahead of large players. He also noted that there's a sharp increase in the media intensity and that aggregate media deployement in HUL's category by over 20% versus the same period last year.
HUL invested Rs 1,720 crore on advertising and promotional expenses in the September quarter, which is a 65% year-on-year jump. This is one of the highest sequential spike in ad spends over the last at least 18 quarters for the country's biggest advertiser.
HUL's ad spend is on the rise over the last quarters, said Tiwari. From 7.2% to 8%, 8.8%, 9.9% and 11.4% in the September quarter, the company is inching close to its pre-inflation levels.
He emphasised that the number will stay firm, given the competitive intensity.
