Navratri sparks surge in print ads for power brands

The commencement of Navratri on October 3 has energized India's print industry, with market leaders, of both national and regional dailies, witnessing a massive surge in advertisements. For the rest, the season is a muted one, industry executives told e4m.

The Times of India published a whopping 76 pages on Saturday, driven by numerous full-page advertisements. Their editions on Friday and Sunday also had 44 pages.  Advertisements these days have largely shifted towards weekends, business heads said.

“Navratri has been a strong season for us so far. We expect to secure even more ads in the coming days leading up to Dussehra, based on our current bookings,” Surinder Singh Chawla, President of Response, BCCL group told e4m.

The group’s language dailies, Navbharat Times (Hindi) and Maharashtra Times (Marathi), also bagged several ads during Navratri, Chawla noted.

The season has been good for the Hindustan Times as well, Rajeev Beotra, Executive Director, HT Media, said, “Navratri is the good season for the print media industry. We are getting tremendous response from advertisers.”

Dainik Bhaskar, which is believed to be India’s largest newspaper in terms of circulation, too is having a sparkling festive season. Satyajit Sengupta, Chief Corporate Sales & Marketing Officer at Dainik Bhaskar Newspaper Group, “The Navratra season accounts for 15-20% of our annual revenue. This year, we find all festive categories using newspapers in a big way. We are looking at a double-digit growth over last year's Navratri advertising.”

Categories like jewellery, auto, consumer durables, appliances and real estate have dominated the ad space, capitalizing on the festival's auspicious reputation, executives shared. They hope to cash in on more in the next few days till Dussehra which falls on October 11.

While market leaders have managed to put up a good show, the advertising landscape during Navratri has been challenging for many English and regional newspapers. For them, the ad revenue numbers are falling way short of expectations, industry leaders shared.

Publishers had anticipated a 20-25 % revenue growth driven by Navratri advertisements which usually start flooding newspapers 1-2 weeks ahead of the festival. “The projected growth during the festival is 5-10 %, based on ad bookings. The situation might improve slightly in the next few days but is unlikely to match the expectations or last year’s numbers,” publishers told e4m.

“In states like Kerala, Navratri is not a major event,” said Varghese Chandy, VP, Marketing & Ad Sales, Malayala Manorama. Publishers in those states pin hope on Diwali which falls at the month end.

Ad agencies are missing the “festive frenzy” which usually keeps them on their toes every year. Rahul Vengalil, CEO of Tgthr, said, “On average, the lead time for purchases is 2-3 weeks. Navratri ads should have started three weeks ago, and Diwali campaigns should be underway now. We’re still waiting for the usual flood of ads that typically mark the festive fervour.”