Festive season ad spends shift: TV ad spends down 10%; digital up 20%

The advertising volumes on television— a medium once considered most apt during the festive season, especially for categories like consumer durables and automobiles— has seen a decline of 8% in the Navratri period alone (October 3 to October 12 y-o-y) and is expected to see an overall decline in ad spends by 10% this year.

Meanwhile, with platforms like Flipkart and Amazon reporting a 20% surge in festive sales, digital ad spends continues to grow— with the overall adex projected to hit $14.76 billion in 2024 (festive season will contribute around 6.8%), experts tell Storyboard18.

According to the data sourced from TAM AdEx, the ad volumes dropped ranging from 7%-9% during October 3 – October 12 this year over October 15 – October 24 last year (Navratri period) across GECs, movie and news channels.

Meanwhile, the count of categories and advertisers decreased by 8% and 9% respectively this year as compared to the last year, in the same period.

“The trend seems to be quite indicative clearly that there is a churn from the core. The core has been television for the longest time but after the pandemic, we have seen a faster movement towards other mediums, particularly digital. Brands find digital adoption much easier now while TV has several constraints; GRP deliveries on TV have gone down drastically.

Also, the costs in digital are focused and micro, hence are easily containable; one doesn't have to go for big budgets on digital, unlike television. Additionally, during the festive season, there is an excess clutter on TV. For the remaining festive season, I suspect TV ad volumes to remain the same,” highlights Krishnarao Buddha, senior category head, Parle Products.

He expects TV ad spends to go down at least by about 10% this festive season, while digital will grow by around a 15%-20% increase in the spends.

The company has increased digital spends by almost about 15% as opposed to TV, this year for the festive season.

Petal Gangurde, chief of brand & culture at XYXX Apparels, believes TV advertising is on a downward spiral because of three factors – lack of an accurate measurement framework that results in a lot of leaks, increasing OTT adoption and a shift in traditional categories like FMCG where spends on TV would be massive have had to pivot as all metros and larger towns in India have digitised rapidly.

“Brands have to spend split budgets across multiple sales channels now including e-commerce, D2C and q-commerce so a blanket TV plan is out of the question in the modern festive advertising playbook”

The apparel company spending upwards of a crore this quarter on digital and hasn't done any TV since 2022 and doesn't plan to either, going forward.

"The average TV consumption is at a historical low. Not only are consumer eyeballs migrating away from cable TV to digital mediums, but television simply cannot compete with the efficacy of digital ads,” shares Gangurde.

Ad insertions in digital rose by 28% in the same Navratri period this year, according to TAM AdEx.

On the medium, the count of advertisers has increased by 14%, while the count of categories remains almost the same.

The digital ad market in India is projected to reach $5.3 billion in 2024, and current trends indicate that this forecast remains on track, as per AdLift. Search advertising, expected to generate $1.9 billion in market volume, leads the charge as consumers increasingly shift their buying habits online.

Targeting users based on their search habits ensures that ads are relevant and personalised, driving higher engagement and conversions during the festive shopping spree.

Prashant Puri, CEO and co-founder, AdLift, points out that the 8% decline in TV ad volumes during Navratri’24 also stems from fewer major sports and entertainment events compared to last year.

TV- still the biggest share of the ad pie?

According to GroupM's TYNY report, TV ad spends in India is expected to grow by over 7% in 2024, contributing to 29% of total adex. Overall, India's ad revenue is expected to grow by 10.2% in 2024 to reach Rs 1,55,386 crore.

While TV’s contribution to overall adex growth might be more subdued compared to digital this festive season, experts say it may still be able to drive a 2-4% rise in adex.

TV ad volumes may see a moderate recovery in the remaining festive period on the back of FMCG, e-commerce, and auto majors, points out Yasin Hamidani, director, Media Care Brand Solutions.

Experts believe that TV and video advertising remain major players in India's ad market.

While digital platforms have seen rapid growth, TV retains its significance during the festive season, when family gatherings increase viewership. This cultural behavior makes TV a go-to medium for high-reach campaigns during events like Diwali when many brands focus on television to drive emotional and collective experiences, adds Puri of AdLift.

TV remains indispensable for building brand awareness and driving festive season engagement across households.

Janani Kandaswamy, head of marketing at Versuni India Home Solutions, points out that TV continues to operate at the top of the funnel where its primary role is to generate impactful awareness at the lowest cost per reach.

“Conversations with media agencies are tilting towards TV+Digital with Youtube and connected TV occupying anywhere between 10-30% of the media plans for building the top funnel.”

However, “the medium (TV) continues to operate with a conventional waterfall approach of advertising involving a lot of ‘spray and pray’ and misses out on an agile approach of sprints that new–age and emerging channels offer which are by nature tailored to learn on the fly and course – correct,” she remarks.

So, while TV is still a behemoth that will continue to occupy the major share of adex, its salience in the media mix is bound to reduce with brand priorities and focus shifting to the middle and bottom funnel during festive.

Also, Kandaswamy concludes, 2024 has no marquee events such as cricket or political extravaganzas unlike last year and the lack of a sporting event of the likes of a World Cup means there might not be incremental spends on TV.

Hence entertainment genres with world premiere movies and blockbuster properties like Bigg Boss, KBC and dance reality shows are expected to drive adex, especially in regional markets.