With the gradual reopening of the economy post lockdown, advertisers from FMCG, e-commerce, automobiles and online education sectors are back on TV channels, recording higher ad volumes, according to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) CEO Sunil Lulla.

The advertisement volumes, which had fallen sharply during the lockdown, are up again as the companies have returned after the unlock process started and supply lines were restored. In January, the advertiser count was 3,244, which had gone down to 2,031 during the lockdown and has now recovered to 2,674 in August.

The inventory of top 10 advertisers including leading FMCG companies as HUL and RB has increased by 34% in the unlock period compared to pre-COVID-19 levels.

Top companies are HUL, RB, Colgate, P&G, ITC, Godrej, Cadbury, Wipro and social media platforms Facebook and Amazon. While for the next 40 companies, it has been up 57% in the unlock period in comparison to the pre-COVID-19 times.

"Ad volumes are back but the pricing may not be up in the same ratio," said Lulla.

The ad rates, on an average, have gone down by 25-30%, except for the Indian Premier League (IPL). Industry experts say there’s ad volume growth month on month but going to the pre-COVID levels in value terms is a long road ahead. However, the upcoming IPL and festive season have created more positivity in the market.

According to data by different agencies, the ad volume has grown significantly in the first 10 days of September. India’s total adex for the current calendar year is likely to be between Rs 56,000 and Rs 58,000 crore (US$679.6m – US$788.3m).

Rana Barua, CEO, Havas Group India told BestMediaInfo that the current increase in activities is correlated to most brands coming out of the lockdown phase, driving much-needed consumption, pushing sales and ensuring a greater urgency of moving products off the shelves.

“We all know there has been a massive slump and setback because of the stringent lockdown and it was known we will have a much-needed push in overall marketing spends. The only caveat I keep repeating is that we need to continue this positive trend somehow,” he added.

According to Ashish Bhasin, CEO APAC and Chairman India at Dentsu Aegis Network, a full recovery can take anywhere between 18 months and 24 months. “India is a complex country; there can’t be a straight answer for everything. In the short term, it will improve month on month, but we won’t have a V-shaped recovery. We will end the year at -15% and it has put us behind by 18-24 months,” he said.  

Sourced from ETBrandEquity, BestMediaInfo