A slow start to 2023 for the ad industry

While the year may have begun on a muted note for advertisers, the industry hopes that the IPL season infuses some momentum into the spends

e4m by Naziya Alvi Rahman
Published: Jan 31, 2023 8:31 AM  | 4 min read
slow start

With the festive season coming to an end and brands cutting their ad budgets, it’s not exactly the perfect beginning to a new year that media agencies had hoped for. Going by the industry veterans, there is a drop of up to 10-12% in the business in January. Experts say the real heat of a possible recession has started to show now as the festive season has officially come to an end.

“Factors like war, recession and drying up of funds have been on for quite some time but thanks to the festive season and, prior to that, events like T-20 World Cup and IPL we did not feel the heat so much. But now some brands have just completely withheld their spends and things look quite bleak for us in this quarter,” said a senior agency executive.

Most believe the tough times are going to last till the end of the first quarter. “We are pinning some hopes on IPL to bring back momentum into the spends but overall, even the event may get impacted due to the slowdown,” said another media planner.

Increase in cost of raw material

January 2023, when compared to the same month last year, has been significantly down. “Post Covid outbreak, January 2022 showed significant growth. That was the time all agencies made big predictions for the ad industry. No one had thought of a possible war hitting the world soon leading to an increase in raw material prices. Also, China is still struggling with Covid led pandemic which further has increased the cost of raw materials. All these factors have led to cautious behaviour forcing the industry to cut on ad budgets,” said another senior executive.

Experts believe both the FMCG and consumer durable sector is likely to get affected if the situation in China continues to worsen. “The companies are watching how the situation pans out in China once their festival season is over in early February. If the rise in infections persists leading to another lockdown or shutdown of factories, it is likely to impact raw material cost required for making televisions, smartphones, and summer appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators in the April-June quarter,” shared another expert.

More trouble for agencies with start-up clients

The drop is believed to be almost to the tune of 18-20%, for agencies that handle start-up clients. They have believed to cut their ad budgets almost to nil. “They were one of the bigger spenders until last year. Now that they are struggling to show a decent top line, they are cutting significantly on advertising budgets.”  

As per a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) there is a 52% decline in funding in CY22. 

“There is a market pullback by VC funds that are picky about their investments. Hence there is a drop in ad budgets,” said a marketer.
 
Recession fears

Recession fears have had a significant impact on the Indian media industry. “As companies and businesses face financial difficulties, they have reduced their advertising budgets, which is a major source of revenue for media companies. This has resulted in a decrease in overall ad spend on traditional media such as television, print and radio, as well as a shift towards more cost-effective forms of advertising, such as digital media,” shared a media planner.

Experts feared that in addition to the reduction in ad revenue, the recession may also lead to a decrease in consumer spending on media products and services, further exacerbating the financial challenges faced by the industry

“This is a challenging year for us ahead. Indian media companies may have to adapt to the new economic reality by finding ways to reduce costs, diversifying their revenue streams, and focusing on digital platforms. They may also have to be more creative and innovative in order to attract and retain customers,” added another media expert.

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Bajaj’s campaign for new air cooler is about not giving up on dreams

The film is conceptualised by McCann Worldgroup India

By exchange4media Staff | Mar 30, 2023 3:52 PM   |   2 min read

bajaj

Consumer appliances brand Bajaj has unveiled its latest air coolers equipped with the 'DuraMarine Pump' through a pan-India multimedia campaign.

The brand released an ad film for the latest air coolers that target Indian consumers vying for a pleasant summer experience. Conceptualised by McCann Worldgroup India, the ad campaign depicts the undying zeal for not giving up on dreams. The creative agency has linked the robustness of these air coolers with the youth of today who can endure, be resilient and consistently perform to the best of their abilities to achieve their dreams. The campaign aims to drive a larger message of how the latest range of air coolers signifies durability and promises the required strength to wither any challenges.

At the launch, Ravindra Singh Negi, Chief Operating Officer, Consumer Product Business, Bajaj Electricals Limited, said, "Today, consumers prefer products that offer aesthetic appeal, comfort, and durability supported by newer advancements in technology. In the air coolers category, our intention behind this launch is to bring a solution, 'BUILT FOR LIFE', and comfort end consumers as temperatures soar. Our brand film effectively communicates the air coolers' aesthetic features and functional benefits while raising awareness of our cutting-edge products. We are confident that the brand film resonates with the youth of today who live their dream and work hard towards their passion". 

Ashish Chakravarty, Executive Director & Head of Creative, shared the core thought behind the brand's TVC, "The film showcases the unmatched determination and grit that consumers put in to achieve their goals. Music plays a critical role in setting the pace of the film. It allows us to accelerate the film to its crescendo gradually. Showing a passage of time and intensity. The to-and-for nature of the track allows us to seamlessly shift between product and protagonist, building a relationship between the two. BAJAJ is proud to partner in their journey to success, offering a durable and efficient product that complements their hard work."

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TVS Eurogrip Tyres rides on MS Dhoni’s sense of humour in IPL 2023 campaign

Campaign focusses on the tyre brand’s product features and relates it to MSD’s on-field escapades

By exchange4media Staff | Mar 30, 2023 3:12 PM   |   2 min read

eurogrip

TVS Eurogrip, a 2 & 3-wheeler tyre brand, has launched a comprehensive brand campaign with a series of ad films, bringing out the humorous best of M S Dhoni.

Leveraging the brand’s second year of partnership with IPL team CSK, the brand films have MS Dhoni sharing gripping stories from the field with his CSK teammates Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Deepak Chahar and others.  The films laced with humour, match Dhoni’s cricketing skills to specific unique attributes of TVS Eurogrip tyres.

Sharing details about the campaign, P Madhavan, EVP, Sales and Marketing, TVS Srichakra Ltd said, “As the IPL extravaganza returns to all cities across India after a gap of three years, we are excited to rollout a fresh brand campaign to mark our second year of association with Chennai Super Kings as Principal Sponsor. The nuances of our product features have been brought out well in the new films. TVS Eurogrip is all about high performance and the best tyre technology that gives riders superior confidence on the roads.  Similarly, CSK is one of the most consistent and performing teams in the IPL arena. We are sure our continued association would lead to winning strides for both partners.”

The latest campaign is in line with the company’s ambition of building a youthful, vibrant brand that resonates with millennial and Gen Z Indian riders and aims to strengthen TVS Eurogrip’s positioning as “The Bike Tyre Specialist”. The ads focus on the high-speed stability, superior wet grip and anti-skid properties of the tyres and will be aired starting 31st March 2023, in sync with the start of the tournament. There is a complete surround programme planned for the on-air campaign across social media, traditional media like print and outdoor as well as on-ground activations.

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Rohit Sharma turns politician for Ceat’s new campaign

The film also features Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill

By exchange4media Staff | Mar 30, 2023 3:04 PM   |   3 min read

CEAT

Tyre manufacturer CEAT Ltd has launched its new TVC for its four-wheeler SUV tyre range. The TVC features Rohit Sharma, captain of the Indian Men’s Cricket team, and two exciting young players, Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill - with all three of them featuring in somewhat different roles in the new advert.  With the forthcoming cricket season, the three cricketers are all set to spread the message and highlight the importance of having good SUV tyres that can handle speed as well as offer a superior grip.

The new TVC conceptualised by Ogilvy, features an SUV with Rohit Sharma as a busy politician riding in the back seat and sharing nuggets of political wisdom. A bespectacled Shubman Gill, as a typically harried-looking politician’s secretary busy on his cell phone, is quickly alerted to his master’s latest pontification by the chauffeur, played by Shreyas Iyer in the video. As the secretary frantically searches for a pen to record the advice, just at that instant, around a sharp bend, a group of protestors suddenly appear in the middle of the road. The driver has to brake hard and swerve fast to prevent an accident. Once done, he is quick to repeat their master’s advice - the importance of ‘speed and grip’ in the context of both driving as also in politics. This analogy echoes the same attributes as exemplified by CEAT Tyres - and is demonstrated by Shreyas Iyer in adroitly avoiding an accident because of the superior grip of CEAT’s new SUV tyres at high speed. “You should definitely write it down”, reiterates Rohit Sharma to Shubman Gill to reinforce the message. The gospel for success in politics and that of safety on the roads is the same, as the TVC playfully tries to show.

The campaign once again leads back to CEAT’s purpose of ‘Making Mobility Safer & Smarter. Everyday’.

Speaking on the campaign, Lakshmi Narayanan B, Chief Marketing Officer - CEAT Limited said, "It’s the cricket season and CEAT is thrilled to get 3 of India’s top cricketers - Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill in  ‘never seen before’ avatars. CEAT’s wide range of SUV tyres have a unique capability to provide both speed and control while delivering on its promise of safety and comfort. Our range of offerings, which include SportDrive SUV, CrossDrive SUV and SecuraDrive SUV address a wide range of on-road and off-road requirements.”

Rohit Joseph, Senior Creative Director, Ogilvy adds “In general, creatives are a little vary of sportsmen, when it comes to performing in front of camera. Scripts are watered down, roles are pruned, lines shortened or a ‘propah’ actor is built in for heavy lifting. But this time around, with CEAT’s conviction, the team got the confidence to go beyond the norm. We had three star players, acting out of their skin (and such a commendable job), in a duration strait-jacket of 20 seconds, segueing into tyre story, effortlessly. We are quite thrilled with the result, and awaiting all the brand love this one will garner in coming days.”

 

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ABP News & Ozone Locks turn on election fever with ‘Ab Chalegi Finger Key’ campaign

The ‘Ab Chalegi Finger Key’ campaign brought out a brilliant connection between a digital lock and electronic voting machine amid elections

By exchange4media Staff | Mar 31, 2023 8:52 AM   |   3 min read

abp news

ABP Network in association with Ozone Locks rolled out a special show named ‘Ab chalegi finger key’ which was a great hit amidst the last assembly elections held in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. The show, which was in line with the Ozone Locks’ new offerings of locks and safes with fingerprint lock system, also inspired people to vote responsibly during election. ABP News along with Ozone Locks brought out a brilliant connection between the digital lock and electronic voting machine, thus giving a push to its already popular campaign highlighting that a ‘finger’ has the power to secure not just the locks and safes but also the future of the government. The aim of the special show ‘Ab chalegi finger key’ was to highlight two messages- to let people know that a finger has the power to open a lock, particularly a digital one that Ozone Locks offer, hence fingerprint lock system becomes important and second, a finger can secure the future of the country by clicking on the party symbol as per the voter’s choice.

ABP News created a set of creative episodes and an intriguing anthem to highlight the offerings of Ozone Locks during a special show named ‘Ab Chalegi Finger Key’ which was aired from Monday to Friday. During the show, ABP News teams went to different states where elections were scheduled and heard the choices of the voters. ABP News left no stone unturned in their efforts and was successful in sending out a message that the ultimate weapon is a common man’s finger. To drive engagement, the news channel inspired people to use the power of their finger by casting their votes, click a selfie after casting the vote and share by tagging ABP’s official social media handles & using hashtag #AbChalegiFingerKey. Also, a special integration was aired in the evening debate show ‘Hunkaar’ where ABP News Senior Anchor ‘Rubika Liyaquat’ urged people to go out and make a difference with their vote by saying ‘Ab Chalegi Finger Key’.

Abhishek Agarwal, President- Strategy at Ozone Group, said, “We conceptualized a campaign with ABP News around ‘Ab chalegi finger key’, which was around our fingerprint locks and safes in correlation with the state elections. So, the concept was to build content around voter empowerment and how we can push people to go out and vote. So, ABP News created a set of really creative episodes along with an anthem for this particular campaign and we went into the different parts of the different states that are going into the elections and heard the choices that the voters were making and the beliefs that they had, directly from them. It was a wonderful experience working with the team, they went out of their way, the turnaround time was very quick, and we look forward to working with them.”

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My11Circle's campaign set to make the IPL season ‘thriller’

The title sponsors of Lucknow Super Giants has unveiled multiple campaigns and initiatives to engage fans and players

By exchange4media Staff | Mar 30, 2023 1:26 PM   |   2 min read

My11Circle

Games24x7 is bringing a new mystery to this IPL season with an exciting new campaign for its fantasy sports platform, My11Circle. The leading fantasy cricket platform and official title sponsor of IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) has unveiled an exciting lineup of fan engagement campaigns for the upcoming cricket season.

With campaigns like ‘Bade Se Bada’, ‘Locker Room Stories’, and ‘Out of the Park’, My11Circle aims to provide fans with a unique and entertaining experience throughout the season.

Commenting on the campaign, Saroj Panigrahi, Senior Vice-President, My11Circle, said, “At My11Circle, we have always kept the user at the centre. Our campaigns are based on the insights which we draw from our users and that’s the reason they resonate extremely well with our audience. We are positive that the new campaigns will strike a chord with our players and elevate their engagement on the platform.”

The campaign features a series of films with My11Circle’s brand ambassadors Sourav Ganguly, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Shubman Gill donning the roles of larger-than-life figures that symbolize My11Circle offering for this season and promises a visual treat. In a unique twist, while the campaign announces the second prize worth INR 1 crore, it leaves fans guessing on what will be the first prize.

The campaign has been created by The Script Room. Commenting on the association, Ayyappan Raj, Co-Founder, The Script Room live said, “It was great working with the My11Circle team in creating another exciting IPL campaign. The collaboration resulted in an interesting concept - promote the second prize, thereby creating intrigue and excitement towards the first prize. We’ve built upon our very successful campaign “The Giants” and taken it a step further with the idea of “bade se bada” for a creative visualization.”

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Whistling Woods International’s campaign speaks of breaking stereotypes

#IWasTold features successful alumnae over the past 16 years

By exchange4media Staff | Mar 30, 2023 12:55 PM   |   2 min read

Whistling

Whistling Woods International (WWI) has endeavoured a social initiative by launching a new 360-degree women-centric campaign. The campaign #IWasTold, features successful alumnae over the past 16 years, which aims to break the stereotypes regarding women due to cultural conditioning. Breaking biases around women's career choices is the fundamental thought of the campaign.

“Whistling Woods has always encouraged equal opportunities for men and women. The #The IWasTold campaign recognises the various challenges women have to face in the journey of achieving their dreams. Women’s Day, this year, has reconciled with our annual event, Alumni Engagement Month, where we celebrate our alumni and their achievements, hence we felt it’s the best time to celebrate our alumnae, who we are ever so proud of,” said Meghna Ghai Puri, President, Whistling Woods International. 

Sharing her thoughts about the IWD2023 campaign, Riddhi Bhogi, Head - Marketing & Brand Communication, WWI said, "At Whistling Woods International, we have always encouraged our female students, staff and faculty to break the glass ceiling and pursue their passion. With the #IWasTold campaign, we would like to encourage women, at large, to break away from the gender-based biases and prejudices that have been part of our everyday life, both in terms of personal and professional aspects, over the years. The campaign seeks to raise awareness and enable women to achieve her dreams and fulfill her aspirations."

The campaign is garnering a huge response on social media, where students are sharing stories of what they were told not to do or pursue. Few posts such as “#IwasTold that Women Are Meant To Build Homes Not Brands”, “#IwasTold that Passion For Sports Is Better Left As A Spectator”, “#IwasTold that only fair skinned women get cast in films” are spreading an awareness about the struggles women face in their everyday lives. This campaign is in a pursuit to celebrate women who are powerful, independent, limitless, and willing to define and live life by their own rules. The campaign has also been featured in the Highlighted section of Ads of the World.

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Varun Dhawan revists 'Judwaa' role for Navratna Active Deo Talc ad

The commercial has been conceptualised by What’s Your Problem, a Wondrlab company

By exchange4media Staff | Mar 30, 2023 10:27 AM   |   2 min read

Varun Dhawan

Navratna Active Deo Talc brings back Varun to play a double role in its new commercial. Brought to life by the popular film director, Vasan Bala, the film is a fun take on the Bollywood trope of a brothers’ reunion. 

Conceptualised by What’s Your Problem, a Wondrlab company, the campaign showcases the benefits of Navratna Active Deo Talc in the summer season. With the double role of Arun and Varun, two long-lost brothers running towards each other, the film beautifully depicts what happens when one of the brothers doesn’t use the product, sweating profusely and trying unsuccessfully to keep himself cool. 

V Kaushik Vedula, AVP-Marketing, Emami Limited, said, “We wanted to leverage Varun’s signature fun style of acting. And what better way to do it than with such a filmy script. Bichede Bhaiyon ka mela main milan, but with a twist. So far, the audience reception has been extremely positive and of course, even the internal teams are very pleased with it. I think we have proved this film a worthy sequel to Judwaa 2.” 

Amit Akali, CCO & Co-founder, WYP Wondrlab India, and Gauri Gokarn, the Content Director, said, “Navratna Talc has had a legacy of creating iconic ads, including with Shah Rukh and Varun as well. So, it was a challenge making it different and yet keeping the essence of it intact. Given that Varun also starred in Judwaa 2, we found the perfect opportunity to recreate the filmy reunion. We even roped in Vasan Bala who did a fantastic job of making this a proper Bollywood act. And obviously, Varun’s spontaneity added a lot of fun to the film as well. This simply goes to show that people still love the good old Bollywood masala, there’s no need to always do something different, sometimes all it takes is a bit of fun.” 

The campaign has gone live on all media channels and is making quite an impact on social media, digital and outdoor media platforms.

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