Assembly elections are scheduled to take place in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram at the end of this year. News channels view the upcoming assembly polls coinciding with the festive season as a fortuitous opportunity for the news sector
Ahead of the assembly elections, national news channels project a potential 20% rise in revenue with the extended festive season falling during the same period.
On top of that, the regional channels, focused on state elections, forecast even greater revenue growth.
Assembly elections are scheduled to take place in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram at the end of this year.
Gaurav Dhawan, Chief Revenue Officer, Times Network, said that the convergence of elections with the festive season is expected to have a dual impact on ad spends and audience engagement as brands are expected to leverage integrated innovative solutions to drive brand visibility. “This confluence is perceived as a strategic buildup for the general elections, generating heightened interest from both viewers and advertisers, creating a dynamic environment conducive to increased engagement and advertising opportunities,” he added.
According to Sidharth Newatia, National Revenue Head, News18, it is a blessing in disguise for the news genre. Diwali being in mid-November makes the festive period longer this year. Moreover, five-state elections are also happening in the November – December time frame and the general elections will take place during April – May, which are also high adex months coincidentally. So the second half as well as the entry to the next fiscal is looking very buoyant.
Although Mona Jain, Chief Revenue Officer, Zee Media, said, “The festive season and elections are two different propositions – hence you have a differentiated set of advertisers who strategically associate with festival content/programming and a different set who look at elections separately and some also look at both in conjunction to create a dual impact. Hence there is no cannibalisation or choosing one over the another
The anticipation of high involvement levels in upcoming elections along with high viewership growth across platforms will lead to better benefits to advertisers giving them better ROIs. The above will certainly lead to high ad rates in the news genre resulting in growth in the overall adex,” Fernandes added.
Brands across all categories to advertise on news platforms during the election+festive period
News18’s Newatia believes that there is no particular advertising category that refrains from elections. Advertisers are always looking for eyeballs and avenues to reach their target audience.
“During election periods, the viewership of news channels go up and as a result, advertiser interest also grows. So, we see interest from a plethora of advertisers across categories,” he added.
Echoing the same sentiment, Zee Media’s Jain highlighted that there are a number of brands who historically associate with election campaigns over the years on news networks. Many brands use it interestingly and seamlessly and integrate their brand proposition or messaging through the process of elections to the viewers and create a position for themselves that emotionally and functionally engages with their consumers.
“We also have a lot of new advertisers looking at election content on our flagship channel Zee News alongside all our local state channels to maximise their brand reach in an environment that will have a highly actively engaged viewer which will create higher comprehension of their campaigns and brands. This will be through a combination of commercial time, non-FCT, conclaves on the ground and leveraging our marketing formats,” she added.
Resonating on a similar level, Times Network’s Dhawan said that they are also witnessing interest from a diverse category of brands such as automobiles, construction materials including paints, cement and home fittings, consumer durables, FMCG and handsets. Additionally, there is significant spending from state government and political parties on election advertising campaigns.
Impact of market uncertainities
Chowdhuri believes that India TV would benefit more because when there are uncertainties, major brands look to parking their monies with stable, credible and consistent channels, so that irrespective of market conditions, the deliveries should not be affected. Consistency and credibility are our key factors, apart from the fact that we have an impeccable lineup on our programming front. I am more than confident that we will sail through with abundance, not shortfalls.”
Jain said, “For advertising brands – Elections are definitely not compromised due to uncertainties. In fact, these circumstances and dynamics make the content more compelling and viewable – it only garners greater interest. I believe they will spend more.”
