Digital platform is becoming the ’in thing’ for brands and marketeers to reach out to young customers and companies are increasing their advertising spend on the medium.
Firms like LG Electronics India and Bharti Airtel are increasing their ad spends on the digital medium just as auto majors such as Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have done.
“We are seeing that every brand or company wants to spend more on the digital medium. Every client of ours wants to spend at least a double digit percentage of its total advertising budget on digital now,” Smile Group Founder and Chairman Mr Harish Bahl told PTI.
This is reflected in the way internet advertising had grown last year. As per ‘Pitch Madison Media Ad Outlook 2012’, online advertising clocked touched a total of Rs 1,535 crore in 2011, up 45 per cent from 2010.
“This year we will spend Rs 40 crore on digital medium, which is about 8-10 per cent of our total ad budget for the year. In the last three years, we have been doubling our spends on digital every year,” LG Electronics India Chief Marketing Officer Mr LK Gupta said.
The funds are being invested across platforms such as search, display marketing and social media, he added.
Asked how increased advertising on digital medium has helped in increasing sales, he said: “The investments we make does not always have to reflect on sales, but they help in brand building and lead generation.”
Telecom major Bharti Airtel is also increasing its digital spend as competition hots up.
“Currently, we spend about 8 per cent of our total ad budget on digital and is likely to go up to 10 per cent next year,” Bharti Airtel Head Media and Rural Arun Sharma said without sharing specific details.
Commenting on how firms are embracing the new-age medium, Google India Marketing Head Mr Nikhil Rungta said: “Marketers are increasingly realising that digital medium is very important.
"A lot of big brands like Coca Cola and HUL have been investing in creating content in digital platforms to engage with the consumers.”
As the digital medium grows rapidly, questions have been also been asked about how it will affect advertising traditional media such as TV and print.
“Digital media can co-exist with the traditional media. The problem will come only if the conventional medium such as print and TV reach a saturation point, which is not yet the case in India,” Multi Screen India Pvt Ltd Senior VP and Head for MAX Mr Gaurav Seth said.