As India has entered its vibrant festive season, the importance of print media in driving consumer engagement cannot be overstated. Festivals like Navratri, Dussehra, and Diwali are not just culturally significant, but they also fuel a surge in advertising, with brands vying to capture consumer attention through high-impact, large-format print ads.
Industry leaders highlighted that from automobiles to electronics, and jewellery to consumer durables, every year advertisers rely on print to deliver their festive messages effectively. With its trusted reputation and deep reach across various demographics, print continues to be an essential medium for advertisers seeking to leverage the seasonal rush, offering unmatched brand visibility and immediacy.
In the wake of Navratri this October, India’s print industry has already seen a significant uptick, with categories such as consumer electronics and automobiles rolling out ads across various publications. Industry leaders have noted this momentum as a promising sign, with publishers expecting a further surge in advertising leading up to Diwali.
Navratri alone has proven to be a strong driver, and print houses anticipate that the coming weeks will only solidify their gains, with current bookings indicating high demand from advertisers across multiple sectors.
According to industry leaders, the festive period is projected to contribute between 40% and 45% of total print ad sales for the year. They have also highlighted that festive advertising typically accounts for a significant portion of the industry’s annual revenue, with this season expected to generate close to Rs 5,000 crore in print ads alone.
Print publishers have already noted robust advertiser interest, with premium inventory selling out early, signalling a healthy festive season for the print sector.
Sivakumar Sundaram -CEO (Publishing) BCCL, highlighted that according to Pitch Madison Advertising Report 2024, print advertising has consistently grown from Rs 16,595 crore in 2021 to Rs 18,470 crore in 2022 and Rs 19,250 crore in 2023. Print advertising will continue to grow 7% to Rs 20,613 crore in 2024 and surpass it pre-Covid high of Rs 20,045 crore. Like the Pitch Madison report says, print continues to hold the fort in India.
Also, a recent report by TAM indicates that print ad space saw a 5% increase in H1 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, reinforcing the prediction.
“These growth predictions are reflected in our own performance. As an example, on August 15, we clocked the highest revenue and count of clients in the last five years on Independence Day. Similarly, we achieved our highest August revenue in the last five years,” he said.
Speaking about festive season advertising growth expectation for FY 24-25, Sundaram said that this gives them confidence that festive advertising will hit new highs this year.
“Beyond the traditional festive categories such as automobiles, real estate, e-commerce, apparel, and food and beverage, we anticipate heightened demand from sectors like retail, jewellery, consumer durables, electronics, OTT platforms and financial services driven by festive deals and growing consumer optimism,” he said.
“This broad focus will help us attract a diverse array of advertisers, all eager to tap into the festive energy. By significantly promoting major festive events like Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri, Dhanteras, and Diwali, we aim to secure strong visibility for our clients during these high-impact periods. We expect advertising to be around Rs 5,000 crore in the print industry during this festive season. This season typically sees 30-35% of total industry advertising spend, with large-format advertising, such as innovations, gatefolds, jackets, and full-page ads, offering unparalleled visibility and brand recall,” he added.
Furthermore, he went on to say that in October last year, BCCL print publications saw the highest number of display advertisers across all festive months, with more than 3,800 brands choosing to advertise.
“We expect to see significant growth in volume and revenue from our premium inventory as most of the key inventories have been sold out already,” he added.
Varghese Chandy, Vice President- Marketing and Advertising Sales, Malayala Manorama underscored that festive season is always advantageous to newspapers as the clients will be looking for immediate returns for which newspapers are the best medium. Also the sales are driven by offers during seasons and print is probably the only medium that can communicate details of the offers in a large format.
“For the reason given above, the major share of ad budget goes to print in Kerala as the newspaper is still a passion for Keralites and the reach is quite high. Electronics and consumer durable retailers is the biggest category during the season, followed by automobile brands, consumer durable brands, textiles and jewellery. Moreover, we had a reasonably good Onam,” he added.
DB Corp, in its financial results for the quarter and half-year ended September 30, 2024, mentioned that Dainik Bhaskar’s market leadership in India’s newspaper industry continues to drive a self-reinforcing cycle of growth.
“While monsoons have impacted advertising revenues from real estate, other traditional sectors such as auto continue to drive their campaigns, especially in the lead up to the festive season. Coming off a high growth period across the board, there has been some cooling off, albeit in some sectors due to prolonged monsoon,” it said.
Emphasising the continued strength of the print medium with consumers, Sundaram said that the medium continues to have deep reach, benefiting from affordable cover pricing and easy home delivery.
“We continue to shape public opinion on the most important topics, with disproportionate influence due to our affinity with affluent consumers, influencers, and decision-makers. We continue to be the most trusted source of news and opinion, in a world filled with fake news and biassed opinions,” he said.
“We continue to be in touch with the pulse of the country, with unique content in our local editions, based on reader interest. And, we continue to be an integral part of the morning routine for hundreds of millions of readers, due to ingrained reading habits. In many ways, newspapers are the only medium to remain somewhat insulated from the challenges of Big Tech,” he added.
Sundaram said that print continues to be a strong evergreen medium for advertisers who are looking to build trust and credibility for their brands. BCCL continues to bring innovation to print advertising and increase the impact for its advertisers. Innovations like GNP jackets, masthead co-branding, gatefold, and fragrance-infused printing have opened up new creative possibilities for advertisers and agencies.
“Several categories like auto, BFSI, real estate, retail, mobile phones, and FMCG continue to invest heavily in print advertising. Print continues to be the preferred medium for government and corporate advertising including IPOs,” he added.
