Key Findings:
· Washing Machine Advertising in Print peaks in the 3rd Quarter each year
· More than half the advertising is Sales Promotional in nature. 40% of the advertising in this category in the first Half of 2004 was linked through Contest Promotions
· The Average Ad Size in this category shows a fall of 43% from 2000 to H1 2004

We continue with our analysis on Advertising in the Washing Machines category in Print. A few days back, we had seen the Year-Wise advertising spends in this category over the past few years and the Top Advertisers for the first halves of 2003 and 2004. So, is the advertising in this category seasonal in nature i.e. are there any particular months where advertising is particularly high? Take a look at the below graph.

The graph shows that Washing Machine advertising in Print is definitely seasonal. One can see a peak during the Third Quarter each year and understandably so, because that’s the monsoon and the festive season in India.

Now let’s look at the Sales Promotions in this category.

The above chart shows that in 2003, close to 60% of the advertising in the Washing Machines category on Print was Sales Promotional in nature. This number increases to 67% in H1 2004. Amongst the Sales Promotions, one finds that while Price-Promotional offers (discounts offered on purchase of Washing Machines) dominated in 2003 with a 20% share in advertising, Contest Promotions (Lucky Draws/Scratch Cards etc.) have ruled the roost so far in H1 2004, with a 41% share in advertising.

Finally, it would be interesting to see the Average Advertisement Size in this category.

One can see a clear and steady decline in the Average Ad Size in the Washing Machines category on Print. The graph shows that the Average Ad Size has gone down from being close to 120 cc in 2000 to 68 cc in H1 2004 i.e., a drop of nearly 43%.

We shall be coming out with similar such analysis in the next few weeks. Keep watching this space for more…………

(Analysis from AdEx India- A Division of TAM Media Research)