Titan to shun theme ads

Titan Industries, the watch and jewellery arm of the Tata Group, is planning to put a break on its advertising plans. The Bangalore-headquartered company will henceforth focus on tactical advertisements, which will generate immediate sales rather than 'theme advertising,' which aims at brand-building over a longer period.

Titan's advertising budget this year is estimated to be about Rs 180 crore (Rs 1.8 billion). In the current financial year, the company has already spent Rs 160 crore (Rs 1.6 billion) on advertising. Though the company has not made any cut on the ad budget yet, it expects that the adspend will drop.

"We are cutting back on brand-building advertising, which has long-term impact, and we are doing more tactical advertising, which generates immediate demand and. Since we are in the retail business, getting cash from the market is very important than holding it in the market," Bhaskar Bhat, MD, Titan Industries said.