We are into the second quarter of 2004 and its time to look at the advertising expenditures for the first Quarter of the year. So, let's see the results for the Top Categories, Advertisers analyses done across the 450+ Newspapers and 200+ Magazines that AdEx India monitors. So, what does the Top Categories Rankings show up?

The table shows that the Corporate/Brand Image category tops advertising on both Newspapers and Magazines for the First Quarter of 2004. But, taking a close look at the two parts of the table, one can see a distinct difference in the categories on either side. There are only four common categories. Interestingly, three out of these four rank the same on both Newspapers and Magazines. These are Corporate/Brand Image (Rank 1), Cars/Jeeps (Rank 2) and Insurance (Rank 7). Travel & Tourism, which ranks Tenth on Newspapers jumps to the 6th position on Magazines. Two Wheelers rank second on Newspapers, while Publications/Books grabbing the same spot on Magazines makes for interesting reading. Educational Institutions and Liquor rank 4th on Newspapers and Magazines respectively. From the Telecom Sector, we find Cellular Phone Services ranking high (6th) on Newspaper Advertising while Cellular Phones on Magazines (5th Place).

Which were the Top Advertisers during this Period? Let's look at the table below for answers.

This table shows that the Top Advertisers too are pretty dissimilar in Newspapers and Magazines. It also suggests that, advertising on Newspapers in the First Quarter of 2004 was dominated by Government advertisements with the Government Of India and Ministry Of Disinvestment (there were a whole lot of Public Issues in Q1 2004) ranking 2nd and 10th respectively. Once again, there are four common advertisers amongst the Top 10 on Newspapers and Magazines. Maruti Udyog Tops the list on Newspapers and comes Second on Newspapers. Samsung India Electronics, ranks 6th on Newspapers while it climbs to the top Position on Magazines. Bajaj Auto, ranks 3rd and 9th on Newspapers and Magazines respectively.

Let's now move on to the Top Brands on Print Advertising for the first Quarter of 2004.

This table further highlights the dominance of Government ads on Print for this period, with as many as three Brands namely Irada Naye Bharat Ka, Bharat Uday and Pulse Polio featuring amongst the Top 10. The Indian National Congress (INC), with huge spends on Election Campaigns, adds to the Political flavor grabbing the 8th spot. The Two Corporate Campaigns for ONGC and Maruti Udyog are at the second and third place respectively on Newspaper Advertising. Bajaj Pulsar DTS-I, RIM Prepaid, LG Home Appliances and Thomas Cook Holidays complete the list featuring at the 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th places respectively. The Top Brands on Magazines are once again completely different from those in Magazines, with only two common Brands. Interestingly, Tamil Nadu Tourism has topped Magazine Advertising Spends so far this year. There is a strong presence of Automobile Advertisers on this side of the table, with Ford Endeavor, Maruti Udyog, Bajaj Pulsar DTS-I and TVS Centra VT-I featuring at the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 9th paces respectively.

We shall come out with similar analyses in the coming days. Keep Watching!