Advertising

According to the latest survey by Nielsen, advertising spend in India surged by 32 per cent, the highest in the Asia-Pacific region in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the corresponding quarter in 2009.

"Economic prospects are improving rapidly and consumers' spending intentions are turning into actual spending reality. This is a sign that marketers, manufacturers and retailers have been eagerly waiting for and is seen translating into advertising spends," said Piyush Mathur, President, Nielsen Company (India). On a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis in India, the main media advertisement spend grew 26 per cent in the first quarter of 2010 as against the same quarter in 2009. The newspaper segment emerged as the leading advertisement spend sector, which grew by30 per cent followed by television at 26 per cent and magazines by 7 per cent on a y-o-y basis.

Digital Media

With over 49 million Internet users, India’s online advertising market is expected to rise to Rs 1,100 crores (US$ 244.84 million) in 2010 registering a growth rate of almost 50 per cent, according to estimates provided by Google. "Keeping in view the rapid changes in technology, the trend obviously is moving towards the digital media. It is an alarm for advertisers to explore this wide platform and reach specific target audiences. A boom in Internet advertising is just waiting to happen as connectivity improves with the wider use of broadband," said Narasimha Jayakumar, Business Head, Google India.

• Microsoft India is spending around 40 per cent of its total marketing budget for gaming console Xbox on the digital media. "The density of Internet usage is highest in the 14-20 age group, which is also our target group. We have decided that digital media will be the biggest vehicle of our marketing activities for this year and even the next," said Ashim Mathur, Director Marketing (Entertainment and Devices Division), Microsoft Corp India
• General Motors India is aggressively focussing on Internet advertising for its premium range of cars such as Captiva, Optra and Chevrolet Cruze

Media and Communication Channels

A new study released in April 2010 by media agency Zenith Optimedia, part of the French advertising conglomerate Publicis Groupe SA, has forecast 9 per cent growth for India's advertising industry for 2010.

The agency projected the total advertisement expenditure for India is likely to touch Rs23,631.9 crore (US$ 5.33 billion) in 2010 as compared to Rs21,602.5 crore (US$ 4.87 billion) in the previous year.

Newspaper advertising, which grew at an annual growth of 5 per cent in 2009, is likely to rise to 7-8 per cent in 2010. Rising literacy levels and better distribution in the regions are gradually improving the reach of newspapers. The survey also predicts a healthy 11-12 per cent growth for television in India riding on the digital wave and advertising opportunities offered by the new “larger than life” entertainment formats.

The survey pegs Internet advertising in India to grow at an annual growth rate of 25 per cent in the coming three years.