Caution! Brand rationalisation ahead
Saturday, October 11, 2008 04:02 IST
MUMBAI: The global credit crunch is sending Indian markets on a rollercoaster ride, and the resulting sentiment is making advertisers eye the panic button again and again. A sense of caution has come in, and all hopes are pinned on the next two quarters.
Advertisers in certain categories are tight-lipped about the downsizing happening on ad budgets. Sources at Bharat Petroleum have put their advertising and sponsorship initiatives on hold. Indian Oil Company said it has decided not to pursue brand building activities for the time being.
According to reports, Future Group has cut its marketing spend for the festive season by 25-30% this year.
If not increasing them, consumer durable and FMCG companies are looking at controlling costs and keeping their marketing budgets constant for the festive season.
Financial services — categories like insurance - say they are still bullish on growth, hence they haven’t revised ad spends.
Sujit Ganguli, head, marketing, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, said, “Our growth plans remain on track, without any changes in ad budgets. Insurance is seen as a good investment category.”
Senior admen however, hint that the financial services category could also see a revision in ad spending in the coming quarter.
Pratap Bose, COO, Mudra Group, said, “Although the global meltdown hasn’t really percolated down to affect the Indian consumer, the going looks tough. Everybody’s not exactly upbeat about the next two quarters.”
Targeted media buying is also happening. Some advertisers are buying certain media on an exclusive basis. Ashish Patil, general manager, MTV says advertisers are now seeing value in focussed channels. “The Levi’s Jeans TV campaign went on air only on our channel, because the company knew that’s the easiest and most cost effective way to reach its target group (TG).”
Virgin Mobile, another brand targeted at the youth, is also seeing buoyant figures.
“Telecom is doing exceptionally well. We’re spending our advertising monies on youth-based TV channels, online, radio,” said Prasad Narasimhan, chief marketing officer, Virgin Mobile.
Brand rationalisation seems to be on the cards, according to media planners. S Venkatesh, senior VP, Lintas Media Group, said, “There aren’t any budget cuts, but a lot of rationalisation is happening. Clients are being careful about which brand to advertise. So if any brand is performing well, they are promoting it even more.”
There are also clients like Asian Paints — a category which sees high sales in this festive season — which asked its advertising agency Contract to to make ads that would keep the sentiment of inflation in mind. Manish Bhatt and Raghu Bhat, senior VPs and executive creative directors at Contract, ideated on a campaign of a budget wedding.
“It was a conscious decision to address inflation. The communication had to show that Asian Paints tractor emulsion only looks expensive, but it is not,” said Bhatt.
(With inputs from Promit Mukherjee)
Source : DNA India
Saturday, October 11, 2008 04:02 IST
MUMBAI: The global credit crunch is sending Indian markets on a rollercoaster ride, and the resulting sentiment is making advertisers eye the panic button again and again. A sense of caution has come in, and all hopes are pinned on the next two quarters.
Advertisers in certain categories are tight-lipped about the downsizing happening on ad budgets. Sources at Bharat Petroleum have put their advertising and sponsorship initiatives on hold. Indian Oil Company said it has decided not to pursue brand building activities for the time being.
According to reports, Future Group has cut its marketing spend for the festive season by 25-30% this year.
If not increasing them, consumer durable and FMCG companies are looking at controlling costs and keeping their marketing budgets constant for the festive season.
Financial services — categories like insurance - say they are still bullish on growth, hence they haven’t revised ad spends.
Sujit Ganguli, head, marketing, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, said, “Our growth plans remain on track, without any changes in ad budgets. Insurance is seen as a good investment category.”
Senior admen however, hint that the financial services category could also see a revision in ad spending in the coming quarter.
Pratap Bose, COO, Mudra Group, said, “Although the global meltdown hasn’t really percolated down to affect the Indian consumer, the going looks tough. Everybody’s not exactly upbeat about the next two quarters.”
Targeted media buying is also happening. Some advertisers are buying certain media on an exclusive basis. Ashish Patil, general manager, MTV says advertisers are now seeing value in focussed channels. “The Levi’s Jeans TV campaign went on air only on our channel, because the company knew that’s the easiest and most cost effective way to reach its target group (TG).”
Virgin Mobile, another brand targeted at the youth, is also seeing buoyant figures.
“Telecom is doing exceptionally well. We’re spending our advertising monies on youth-based TV channels, online, radio,” said Prasad Narasimhan, chief marketing officer, Virgin Mobile.
Brand rationalisation seems to be on the cards, according to media planners. S Venkatesh, senior VP, Lintas Media Group, said, “There aren’t any budget cuts, but a lot of rationalisation is happening. Clients are being careful about which brand to advertise. So if any brand is performing well, they are promoting it even more.”
There are also clients like Asian Paints — a category which sees high sales in this festive season — which asked its advertising agency Contract to to make ads that would keep the sentiment of inflation in mind. Manish Bhatt and Raghu Bhat, senior VPs and executive creative directors at Contract, ideated on a campaign of a budget wedding.
“It was a conscious decision to address inflation. The communication had to show that Asian Paints tractor emulsion only looks expensive, but it is not,” said Bhatt.
(With inputs from Promit Mukherjee)
Source : DNA India