Schooling the ad spend

Begumpet in Hyderabad is a tiny place for a business address. Naturally, outdoor advertising rates are also among the highest in this area.

But jostling for attention among a slew of car, mobile and branded apparel advertisements are hoardings by state-based educational institutions -- a direct fallout of the increasing competition among private schools and colleges in Hyderabad to attract students.

The twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad have more than 2,000 schools today. About 12 of them cater to the rich.

This apart, the city has more than 600 colleges for undergraduate, graduate and pre-university students. With the number of such educational institutions increasing by the day, competition and advertising expenditure are increasing as well.

The biggest beneficiary of this, of course, is the city's advertising agencies. Thanks to the ever increasing number of schools, coaching institutions and colleges that dot the city's landscape, the advertising industry here has seen an increased demand for its services.

"In the total advertising market of about Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion) in Hyderabad today, educational institutions contribute about Rs 30 crore (Rs 300 million)," says Suresh Pappu, director (operations), Surya Ads.

Educational institutions that advertise heavily, he notes, spend at least Rs 4 crore (Rs 40 million) a year on promotions in newspapers, hoardings, television channels and brochures.

Adds Santha John, managing director, Mindset EYW: "I think Andhra Pradesh is the only state that sees so much advertising by educational institutions." She cites Oakridge International School as one example of a school that advertises heavily.

The point that schools are big advertisers is echoed by Vidya Murthy, who looks after business development at city-based Trikaal Advertising.

"Today we have quite a few international schools in the twin cities and they do not mind spending on advertising."

T Abhilash, executive director at the Kakatiya group of educational institutions, confirms this when he says, "Our ad spend has increased by around 10 per cent over the last year. Today we spend around Rs 30 lakh (Rs 3 million) to Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) on advertising in all kinds of media."

John notes: "They are convinced that advertising works and, therefore, do not mind spending. The advertising industry in Hyderabad, therefore, is in an upbeat mood."

Pappu explains that the situation is unique to Andhra Pradesh. "Students over here vie for a good rank in the competitive exams for the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institutes of Management. Several coaching institutions and colleges bank on this. Each, therefore, tries to compete with the other to get as many students on its rolls as is possible," he says.

At admission time, local dailies and television channels are full of advertisements extolling the virtues of educational institutions. While some advertisements focus on the facilities that the institutions provide, others tom-tom the number of toppers that they have produced.

While John maintains that the print medium gets more advertisements than the electronic medium, Murthy points out that a number of local channels like TV9, Maa TV and Gemini cash in on the opportunity.

Still, this advertising bonanza is not reaped by all ad agencies. John is quick to point out that increased advertising expenditure may not mean great business for all advertising agencies.

Of the 700-odd advertising agencies in the twin cities, only about 20 do really well. Another 80 manage to make both ends meet, she says.