By Arzoo Dina

An already sluggish economy coupled with the impact of Covid-19, has led to some of the worst months on record for Indian advertising. These are some of the key findings in the mid-year review of the PITCH-Madison Advertising Report (2020).

According to the report, Ad Expenditure in India collapsed by an unprecedented 65 per cent in Q2 this year, a drop of nearly Rs14,000 crore in absolute terms. This is a steep drop from Rs35,110 crore in H1 2019 to Rs21,298 crore in H1 2020, highlighting the far-reaching effects of the pandemic.

However, it is also worth noting that AdEx had contracted by about 8 per cent in the first half of this year, owing to a slowdown in the economy. In addition, the previous year saw IPL, elections and the ICC World Cup contribute about Rs3,000 crore, during Q2 of 2019.

According to the report, traditional media has been the worst hit, de-growing by 47 per cent in H1 2020. Television, which makes up the largest share of the advertising pie, saw a significant reduction in spends. The months of April and May were when TV suffered the most, despite breaking records in viewership and time spent by audience.

Even lucrative discounts offered by broadcasters failed to bring advertisers back and saw more than half the usual number of advertisers disappear from Print and Radio and a quarter from TV, compared to normal times, the report says.

Similarly, during the April-June quarter, Print de-grew by almost 80 per cent, Radio by 90 per cent and Cinema and OOH recorded virtually no billings, owing to the closure of theatres and empty roads. Digital is the only medium to have gained some momentum and growth, both in H1’20 and Q2’20 and now accounts for as much as 30 per cent share of AdEx – the second largest medium after TV.

There’s also been a shift in categories. Telecom, Travel, Clothing, Fashion, and Durables were the worst hit. FMCG, predictably showed up to be the most resilient and its share moved up to 38 per cent, compared to 33 per cent it had in the full year 2019, the report highlights.

However, industry experts are optimistic that the tide will turn and consumer demand will see an uptick, on the back of the festive season, coupled with big-ticket events like IPL, and TV properties such as KBC and Big Boss.