Advertising Industry Hopes For Recovery During Onam Festival

Onam is all set to start in Kerala, and it is not only good news for the Keralites but also for the industry. Industry experts have revealed that they are looking forwards to some improvements in the industry during this festive season after the pandemic hit the Nation. As per the Data released by TAM Adex, advertisement in 2019 steeply rose by 43% on TV when compared to 2018. Ads in Print media too showed an increment and it grew by 149% in comparison to 2018. Radio, in the same way, recorded a rise in the total ad volume and it grew by 43%  as compared to 2018. 

However there is a twist in the predictions made this year, and industry experts believe that situation won’t permit the ad volume to go higher than what it was in 2019 but it will definitely be better than the last few months when the industry had to face a steep decline in the ad revenue because of the ongoing nationwide lockdown. 

While speaking in an interview, MV Shreyams Kumar, Managing Director, Mathrubhumi, was quite optimistic about the upcoming festive season. “Onam holds a very symbolic significance with spirited celebrations and festivities for Malayalees worldwide. Consumers go shopping with a vengeance, and brands focus their marketing might on the state to capitalize on the frenzy,” he said.
“Several brands in Kerala earmark 25-40% of their annual budget for this traditional festive season. Retail, jewellery, FMCG, automobile, and consumer durable brands are expected to splurge in a big way during Onam. We are quite optimistic about the revival of the market during this festive period.”
Stating similar thoughts, Ashish Sehgal, Chief Growth Officer- ad revenue, ZEEL said, Onam is the start of the festive season across the country, and expectation is based primarily on how the business will pick up across the festive season. “In terms of ad rates/volume/ revenue, August looks much better than the last few months,” he added.

Onam is a very important festival celebrated in Kerala. Being one of the most important harvest festivals, it is expected that the market will get a boost owing to the fact that Malayalees will heavily spend during this festive season. 

According to PR Satheesh, Chief Operating Officer, MMTV, Onam this year seems good in terms of spending, but may not be as good as earlier years. “From a perspective of how good the advertising demand is going to be is still a bit early given the COVID times. Some of the brands are finalized and some are in the process. We should not compare this Onam with the last Onam rather we should compare it with the last four months. From that perspective, it is a lot better.”
Speaking on the ad rates, he said, “If there is any discounting happening in the last few months, it has gone away. We are not expecting a significant premium for August but any minor challenges that we may have faced in April, May, and June would go away in August for sure.”

TAM report says that during Onam the top 10 categories had an ad volume of 35% in the year 2019, with categories like Retail Outlets-Jewellers came on the top list. Top 10 advertisers made more than 60% share in the ad volume while  Hindustan Unilever leads the list with a 10%  share. Print Media like consumer durables/home appliances records its name in the top list during Onam along with five other categories from the retail sector. Besides this, the top list of advertisers on the radio is Samsung India Electronics which marks its presence during Onam in 2018.

Managing Partner of Mediacom  H. Vishwanath while commenting on the situation said that Keralites are not in the mood to spend a good sum owing to the triple lockdown in the state along with the monsoon rains. The local market has got the same story to tell and it too is not flooded with customers. Jewellery shops are running dry because of the ongoing pandemic and the rise in the prices of Gold “Having said that, national advertisers are likely to spend in the market. However, Onam this year, in terms of spending, is going to be average from broadcasters or publishers perspective.”
Adding to this Karan Taurani, Vice President of Elara Capital said, “The economic activity has begun in Kerala very sharply, and in terms of advertising it is going to be much better than the other states. The Onam may not be as good as last year, but the industry can expect low single-digit growth at least on TV particularly only for those 10-12 days.”