HUL, Nokia, Airtel, Maruti & Tata Motors top advertisers in 2008

ndia's top five advertisers in 2008 include only one FMCG player, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), while two telecom companies, Nokia and Airtel, also figured in the list, says a new report by a leading media buying house.In 2007, the list included two FMCG majors and just one telecom player, shows the report, compiled by one of the country's top four media buying houses, who did not wish to be named for reasons of client sensitivity. The other two top ad spenders of 2008 were Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors.The rankings are based on total annual spends on television and print, and do not include spends on other smaller media such as outdoor, digital and radio.Reflecting the boom in the telecom sector, the study shows that Airtel's rivals, such as Vodafone and BSNL, too moved up several notches in the rankings. Bharti Airtel, which signed on a slew of celebrities for endorsements, including Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Madhavan and Vidya Balan, upped its ranking to second in 2008 against sixth the previous year.Vodafone moved up to the eighth slot last year from 18th in 2007, with a spend of around Rs 170 crore. Though Vodafone did not bank on celebrities, it used its 'happy to help' tag line to full impact. Nokia, another big spender, more or less maintained its ranking.Soft drink companies, traditionally one of the top advertisers, were stingy in 2008 thanks to the focus on profitability and reduction in marketing expenditure. Ad spends of PepsiCo and Coca-Cola slipped by six and four slots, respectively. PepsiCo spent close to Rs 145 crore last year on advertising and rival Coca-Cola followed with a spend of close to Rs 130 crore.HUL and Maruti, in fact, were the only ones to retain their rankings as the largest and the third-largest advertisers in 2008, similar to the previous year. HUL spent close to Rs 650 crore in the year on TV and print advertising while Bharti Airtel spent about Rs 240 crore. Maruti followed with a spend of roughly Rs 195 crore, and Tata Motors and Nokia were almost neck and neck with spends of roughly Rs 180 crore.For traditional FMCG companies, the rankings saw huge variations. This, experts say, is because companies are splitting spends more judiciously between conventional print and TV advertising and below-the-line activity to address growing rural demand. Core categories, such as hair oils, toothpaste, shampoos, skin creams and lotions, are growing faster in rural markets than urban, and overall rural demand among FMCGs is estimated at 20% against 17-18% in urban markets.Reckitt Benckiser, which was the second largest advertiser in 2007, slipped to the seventh slot last year, with a spend of roughly Rs 172 crore. In contrast, FMCG companies that rose in the rankings were P&G and ITC.P&G, marketer of Vicks, Ariel and Whisper, was the sixth-largest advertiser in 2008. The company did not figure in the top ten list last year. ITC jumped to number nine from number 16 in 2007. The cigarettes, hotels and FMCG company spend about Rs 169 crore on TV and print advertising last year. Colgate Palmolive, by and large, maintained its ranking with a spend of roughly Rs 150 crore.

Source: Televisionpoint.com Correspondent Mumbai