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Nithya Subramanian

It's now `ad time' for astrologers, marriage bureaus et al

New Delhi , March 19

It may sound strange, but its true. Astrologers, marriage bureaus, seeds and planting material, animal feed (pet food), tarpaulin and loft tanks are just some of the new ones using television to advertise their wares.

According to a study conducted by AdEx India, an advertising tracking agency, a number of unconventional advertisers have debuted on various channels be it news, sports, infotainment and spiritual.

For instance, astrologers have been advertising on news, music and movie channels while seeds and planting material have been visible on sports and music channels.

Animal feed advertising has begun on infotainment channels, while loft tanks, tyres, airlines and public issues are just some of the sectors using spiritual channels.

Interestingly, these categories did not spend across 2000-04 but have invested in television adverting during 2005.

Some media planners are of the opinion that such segments are not long-term advertisers but are those that would fritter out soon.

"This is cyclical and each year there will be new advertisers. The large advertisers such as the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), consumer durables, telecom and so on continue to remain the large spenders," said a media planner.

However, Mr L.V. Krishnan, CEO, TAM India, said, "Once an advertiser starts advertising, they normally stay on for a long period.

These categories have started advertising because they believe this would bring them some additional value."

For instance, advertisements by a category such as astrologer is more like those appearing on the tele-shopping network, based on phone-ins.

Here the advertiser gets feedback and, hence, knows the impact of the ad, almost immediately.

He further said that increasingly local advertisers would start playing a dominant role in the media space.

Referring to the dominance of local jewellery brands in Malayalam channels, Mr Krishnan added, "These are very local ads but have now emerged as big spenders.

"Also, since the channels have a footprint in the Gulf region, these ads help in building a brand among the non-resident population."

More Stories on : Radio/TV | Advertising

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