2024 festive season sees mixed ad trends with TV adex fall, digital adex surge: TAM Report

Television broadcasters across various genres have expressed disappointment over the advertising volumes during this year's festive season, stretching from Navratri to Diwali. According to TAM AdEx advertising report, the total TV ad volumes for the festive period from October 3 to November 1, 2024, saw a 9 per cent decline compared to the same period in 2023, which ran from October 15 to November 13.

The drop has dampened expectations for broadcasters who were hoping for a stronger performance during this traditionally high-spending period. In fact, the count of categories and advertiser too decreased by 8 and 9 per cent respectively in October 3 to October 8, 2024 over October 15 to October 20, 2023. The total number of advertisers in 2023 period was 2,646 while it was 2,606 in 2024. Similarly, the total number of categories fell from 390 in 2023 to 368 in 2024.

Two wheelers, shampoos, paints and moisturising lotion/creams were new entrants among the top 10 categories this year. However, six out of top 10 categories were present during Navratri period of both years. These categories are toilet soaps, washing powder/liquids, toilet/floor cleaners, toothpastes, ecomm media/entertainment/social media and retail outlet - jewellers.

When it comes to Radio, ad volumes have grown by 8 per cent. The count of advertiser too increased by 4 per cent, from 3,071 in 2023 to 3,182 in 2024. However, the count of categories have declined from 324 in 2023 to 303 in 2024. Cellular phones-smart phones and retail outlets-departmental stores were not present among the top 10 categories while eight out of top 10 categories were present during Navratri period of both years.

For print, ad volumes dropped by 4 per cent with the count of categories and advertiser decreased by 7 and 5 per cent, respectively. The number of categories and advertisers both decreased from 580 to 537 and 36,117 to 34,286, respectively. Two wheelers topped the list of top 10 categories in both the year. Interestingly, nine out of top 10 categories were present during Navratri period of both years. Branded jewellery in 2024 and readymade garments in 2023 being the distinct category.

The ad insertions for digital medium rose by 22 per cent from 2023 to 2024. In addition to this, the count of advertiser increased by 21 per cent, while count of categories grew by 2 per cent. To be specific, the count of categories in 2023 was 31,029 which increased to 37,492 in 2024 and when it comes to the number of advertisers, it grew from 510 to 519 in 2024.

Furthermore, seven out of the top 10 categories were present during both the periods with top category, ecom-online shopping, retaining its position.