IPO ads to see 25% growth

Initial public offers advertising is set to see a 25-40 per cent growth in calendar year 2005.

Last year witnessed Rs 30,511 crore (Rs 305.11 billion) worth of IPOs plough in around Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million) of advertising money into print and TV media.

This year, the number of issues as well as issue sizes have increased, with total quantum of funds to be raised through IPOs pegged at around Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion).

"IPO ad spends are increasing in both print and TV. Even by conservative estimates, there is bound to be at least a 25 per cent increase overall," says Atul Phadnis, director, S-Group, TAM Media Research.

According to Adex India, a division of TAM, average IPO ad money per month in 2004 stood at Rs 4.34 crore (Rs 43.4 billion) (Rs billion). Taking the first five months of 2005, average IPO ad spend per month is at Rs 5.34 crore (Rs 53.4 billion), up by 23 per cent.

Average IPO ad spend on print advertising per month is up 14.5 per cent, from 3.77 crore (Rs 37.7 billion) to 4.33 crore (Rs 43.3 billion). Spend on television is up 80 per cent, but on a very small base.

Adex estimates -- not inclusive of the outdoor medium -- also indicate that out of the Rs 50 crore IPO ad spends in 2004, Rs 6.78 crore (Rs 67.8 million) or 13 per cent went into TV, while the remaining 45.32 crore (Rs 435.2 million) went into print. Of the Rs 26.74 crore (Rs 267.4 million) worth of IPO advertising in the first five months of 2005, share of TV stands at 18 per cent.

Media planners say that for an average client, the share of print to television has changed from around 70:30 last year, to around 60:40 this year. The share of the outdoor medium in IPO advertising, however, hasn't seen any significant growth.

"You can buy a week of advertising on a financial TV channel -- a national outdoor plan would cost as much and more. Also, whether to use the outdoor medium or not depends on the size of the issue," says Sangeeta Irani, president, Sobhagya Advertising whose client Punjab National Bank is among the top five IPO advertisers in 2005 so far in both the print and TV categories.

Madan Bahal, director, Adfactors PR, says: "The fact that there is only an 8 -12 day period for IPO advertising, somewhere between the filing of the prospectus and opening of the issue has also contributed to the fact that IPO ads have remained largely with the print medium".

Moreover, despite a spate of new publications and channels, IPO advertisers are wary of substituting established media platforms with new entrants.

"This is because an issue hits the market for a limited period and we always want the maximum impact in a very short time," said a media planner.