The comeback journey of the Advertisers

Satyajit Sen Gupta, Chief Corporate Sales and Marketing officer at DB Corp said  “The market is showing distinct signs of recovery. As expected, the pace of recovery is much faster in Tier 2, 3, and beyond markets as compared to the metros. The automobile category comprising 4 wheelers and 2 wheelers, which is our largest category, has been the first to recover and most vehicles are seeing robust sales. They were the first to resume advertising from May-end. Other categories like FMCG and Healthcare, Education, Durables, and Home Appliances started in June and are aggressive right now. Lifestyle, personal accessories, jewelry, etc. have also started advertising in July and are building volumes.”

Uttar Pradesh makes to the top of the list when it comes to the ad volumes with 17% , Maharashtra comes after that with 10% whereas states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu records their position as third and fourth .

According to Sivakumar Sundaram, Chairman, Executive Committee (CEC), Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd, “Multiple researches have shown that this is not the time for brands to stay silent.”

This gives a clear picture of the data released by TAM which showed that in the period between April-June there are in a total of 189 categories, 28,000+ advertisers and 31,300+ brands who have exclusively advertised on print.

Sundaram said, “Inventory movement is surely growing month on month. Today, if you see our newspapers, advertising vibrancy is back. The jackets are back and we have published several special features and supplements. The path to full recovery is all set. The growing thickness of the newspaper is a positive reflection on the economy and has a direct positive impact on the consumer mindset.”

In terms of categories, Sundaram has the same views as that of Sen Gupta. “It’s a direct function of categories that are being able to build or alter their business faster and those focused on-demand generations. Consumption categories like FMCG, mobile phones, and healthcare are back and the categories that cater to the needs of the New Normal i.e. Consumer Durables, Auto, and Real Estate are also growing. We are seeing early signs of the return of discretionary spending like jewelry. I must admit that all categories are active,” he said.

Publishers are looking forward towards the festive season for a good business

Reinforcing that business is coming back, Varghese Chandy, VP, Marketing, Advertising Sales, Malayala Manorama, said: “Relatively, month on month, post Covid, business has been picking up. However, it is not comparable to the pre-Covid days. Brands are active and if we look at Kerala specifically, Onam is also around and that tempts clients to be active.”

The south market has also seen new entrants in terms of advertiser category bringing in the much need cheer to the industry. “Cleaning/washing and hygiene brands, which were not that active in print have now become regular advertisers,” said Mathrubhumi Managing Director M V Shreyams Kumar.

What brand needs?

According to the information released by TAM , brands from 220 classes who went for sales promotion and in print discount promotion, snatched practically 32% of the share which is followed by 29% of multiple promotions

Sundaram believes advertisers are primarily looking for two things. “A credible environment where their brands can be showcased in the right context and a sense of positivity that augurs a return of consumer confidence and vibrancy in the economy,” he said.

Advertisers are now in need of a discount , so that they can make their comeback, information from sources reveal that there was at least 50-60% of discount in the first phase of lockdown, however with the situation returning back to normal, newspapers are not in a mood to give any more discounts to their ad clients. The scenario is such that most of the newspapers have come down with their discount percentage and some of them pondering to completely do away with any discounts as India steps in Unlock 2.0.

“In order to help advertisers reach their consumers to again pick up and regain sales volume, we did offer some schemes till July. However, with more and more advertisers regaining their sales, we are getting out of all schemes from August,” Sen Gupta pointed out.

For Sundaram, it is more of a ‘fresh start’ from April 2020. “Doubling rate is not a good word in COVID times, but in the context of the economy and revenue, we are seeing doubling of revenues and volumes month after month. July is no exception. Pricing in our case has always been determined by a robust pricing engine, which is AI and ML-based, and optimizes pricing for each advertiser based on several factors. We have always been in the value game and aim to consistently deliver value for our customers,” he said.

The situation is similar down south where discounts are being done away with. “Thankfully, the Kerala market is insulated from this discount pandemic. During the lockdown period, we accommodated our regular clients’ interests by offering rate markdown but now the tariff is back to previous operating levels. We were able to overcome this market turbulence since the state bounced back quickly from the lockdown due to strict observance of health protocols enforced by a proactive government. And now, mercifully, the Onam season is on. Though we might not experience a great festive spree in line with previous years, the season will definitely be upbeat,” said Kumar.

 Offerings from the newspapers.

The primary focus of most newspapers in the present times is to enhance reader interest and affinity. Covid has changed people’s expectations from a newspaper, making it the most dependable source of facts. “We are ensuring that we maintain a balance of utility and reading pleasure. In our category, reader affinity plays a critical role and we try to ensure that by reading the newspaper, our readers can navigate better through these times,” Sundaram said.

Sen Gupta, on the market feedback, said: “All our efforts are towards helping advertisers get back their consumers. Integrated plans, performance-oriented advertising are being offered to many advertisers. The good part is that the results are evident. Market feedback is that print advertising is directly driving sales unlike TV and digital advertising. As more categories get back on track, our market-based solutions approach will be driving growth.”

While advertisers are coming back to print, experts have their doubts on whether the business this season will match up to that of last year. The struggle might have eased out for the sector but not over said media agencies. “During the lockdown, print suffered the most, to be precise newspapers were almost dying due to absolutely ‘no sale’ in the market. While their e-paper was still grabbing the viewers’ attention, but their overall revenue saw a huge dip. With things gradually moving, it feels that the festive season may help in seeing a slight uphill in the print industry. But yet we cannot predict that the business during July 2020 would match to what it was in July 2019, as the COVID-19 impacts on this industry have been worse/unimaginable in the last few months,” said Jai Lala, COO, at Publicis Group-owned media agency Zenith.

“To put an eye on, even the Auto industry is now slowly and progressively coming back. But I believe that the Airline, Luxury and Retail to name a few, would definitely take longer to make a comeback because of the obvious current situations,” he added

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Through BOC the guidelines state that all Ministries or Departments of the Government of India, Public Sector Undertakings, Autonomous Bodies and Societies, Central Universities, Educational Institutions of Government of India shall route their display advertisements. However, they may issue classified reports directly to the BOC impaneled publications at BOC rates and may publish their recruitment advertisements directly in the Employment News at BOC rates. It further states that there shall be a Panel Advisory Committee (PAC) for considering applications of publications for empanelment for receiving government advertisements.

The guidelines state-certain eligibility criteria for a publication some are: the publication must have been uninterruptedly and regularly under publication for a period of not less than 36 months. For some categories, the compulsory uninterrupted and regular publication period of 36 months may be relaxed to 6 months.

The guidelines also state: In order to incentivize newspapers which get their circulation verified by ABC/RNI and those who have better professional standing and to bring transparency and accountability in the release of advertisements, BOC shall follow a marking system based on objective criteria and release advertisements to the medium and big category newspapers on the basis of marks obtained by each newspaper

The meetings of which shall be held twice a year and these applications will be considered by the Panel Advisory Committee (PAC). The publication also needs to maintain a reasonable standard.

The rate structure for advertisements against advertisements released by BOC will be worked out as per recommendations of the Rate Structure Committee. The rates will be related to the certified circulation of a publication. The rates for advertisements will be 1.5 times the normal BOC rates by Maharatna and Navratna Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). The rates will be valid for 3 years from the date of revision.

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“The above norms are indicative and should be adhered to in the overall media strategy of the Ministries/Departments to ensure maximum coverage at optimum cost”, The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said. The Government however has left the scope of deviation for government ministries but, with regard to that, the ministries need to present a detailed justification for the same. The policy has been put to the word by the I&B Ministry which states that 15% of the newspaper advertising space can be given to smaller newspapers while35 percent of it can go to medium dailies and the rest 50 percent is kept aside for bigger newspapers. This step as the ministry says will ensure “balance”

Types of publications

The policy also defines, the small, medium, and big publications. As per the policy concerned, Publications which have a circulation of up to 25,000 copies per publishing day are considered “small” whereas publications with a circulation between 25,001 and 75,000 copies per publishing day are considered as “medium”, and finally publications with a circulation of above 75,000 copies per publishing day are considered “big”. The government’s initiative is a step towards the upliftment of underrated regional languages and create a situation of fair play for languages like Bodo, Dogri, and Garhwali, among others.

Publications made must be carried on regularly without any interruption for a period of not less than 3 years for it to become eligible for empanelment and that may eventually be reduced to a period of six months for underrepresented regional languages like Bodo, Dogri, Garhwali, Kashmiri, Khasi, Konkani and Maithili, among the others. As per the information revealed from the sources it was said that Government took this measure to drive peoples attention towards these regional languages and help them to acquire their desired level of recognition and a chance of fair play, for this regional and tribal language publication in a world, where competition is very high. Publications having their origin from border areas like Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including others will also get the benefit as per the policy.

More Power to BOC.

The result from the policy has also an effect on the Bureau of Outreach and Communication (BOC), which was set up on 8^th December  2017. The policy has made the agency very powerful by integrating various other departments.

“The BOC would maintain a list of approved publications for release of advertisements by impaneling acceptable publications. The BOC would impanel only such publications which are found suitable for issuing advertisements of the Government of India,” the ministry asserted.

The policy is also clear on the point that “government advertisements are not intended to be financial assistance to the publications”.

BOC works as a primary organization for paid outreach campaigns that are done on behalf of client Ministries or Departments and organizations of the Government of India through print media, electronic media, outdoor media, social media, websites, etc.

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