Bid to widen reach during elections, cricket mania: Companies plan ad splurge for action-packed June quarter

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

advertising budgets by as much as 80% in the April-June quarter from the year-earlier period as they look to expand exposure and reach with media consumption set to surge during the general elections, the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the T20 World Cup.

Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Hyundai Motors, Dabur and Godrej Appliances among others said they will be increasing their ad budgets for the next quarter. Overall spending may surpass that of the festive season because of the confluence of events, experts said. Marketers said the increased spend will be on print, broadcast and digital media.

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They said spending during the initial leg of the IPL has been muted since the tournament started at the end of the financial year when marketing budgets were exhausted and will increase as it progresses. The IPL started March 22 and will end May 26. The general elections will run from April 19 to June 1 in seven phases with vote counting on June 4. The T20 World Cup will begin June 2 and end June 29.

Shashank Srivastava, senior executive officer at the country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki, said ad spends by auto companies in the next quarter are likely to go up, especially for those planning product launches.


“Sporting events like IPL allow companies to build reach quickly