FMCG, auto companies step up ad spends to revive demand
Nestle, Colgate-Palmolive, Godrej Consumer Products, Maruti Suzuki, Volkswagen, Skoda and Tata Motors, have stepped up advertising and marketing spends in September quarter, and some of them said they will continue to increase spending through the December quarter to help revive demand.
Toothpaste maker Colgate increased marketing and ad spending by 17.8% in the July-September period to ₹242 crore and expects the momentum to continue, while Godrej Consumer Products said in a post-earnings call that it will continue to incrementally increase ad spends as it did in the past quarter. Colgate in a management commentary said a step up in ad spends, which were nearly a percentage point higher from a year earlier, were on account of innovation in the quarter.
Nestle India increased advertising and marketing investments in the September quarter. «We kept a relentless focus on investing behind our core brands, with advertising and marketing investments increasing this quarter,» Nestle India chairman Suresh Narayanan said in an earnings statement. Addressing reporters at Nestle's Samalakha factory last week, Narayanan said the company is «taking steps to address pockets of weakness and mitigate local competition with higher ad spends».
Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, Tata Consumer, Godrej Consumer Products and Dabur are among the large companies that have called out to demand stress in urban cities on account of surging costs of food and fuel, while adding that rural demand is recovering. Packaged consumer goods makers, on
