Indian Newspaper Society, the central organisation of newspapers and periodicals, has said that its members reported a total advertising business of ₹16,472.40 crore, up 10.6 per cent in CY 2023 over ₹14,892.34 crore in 2022.

Experts believe that print is among the three key advertising mediums in the country while continuing to offer effectiveness of scale and reach to brands.

According to INS Annual Report FY 24, among the various sources of advertising revenue, accredited advertising agencies continued to dominate the advertising business of its members. The ad revenues of English dailies grew by 6.23 per cent to Rs 3433 crore, while for Indian language dailies grew by about 2 per cent to Rs 4496.52 in 2023.

Manpreet Singh Ahuja, CDO & TMT Leader, PwC India said, “Print media has been slowly recovering, inching towards pre-COVID levels, with regional language publications rebounding faster than other segments. Increased ad spending from the auto, real estate, BFSI, and durable sectors has driven this growth.”

Outlining some of the key reasons for print medium’s continued dominance as an advertising medium in India, Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World said, “There are a large number of categories, like automobiles, two-wheelers, tyres, mobile phones, laptops, electronics, e-commerce , retail, jewellery and entertainment which believe that a front full page ad in a local, regional and national newspapers is an essential ingredient of an impactful brand launch. Use of Print though expensive on a cost per contact basis, because of mass readership can create a large and quick impact on a single day. Other mediums because of their nature take time to build reach.” He added that there are also “ tons of successful local FMCG brands” that are using local and regional print medium on an ongoing basis to maintain their brand salience.

A recent report by TAM Media Research noted that ad space per publication in the first half of 2024 grew by 5 per cent compared to same period in 2023.

Naresh Gupta, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle, said print advertising helps brands garner scale and immediate reach. He added that it also allows for long story telling. He noted that digital-first brands are also being seen investing strongly on print ads.

Brand strategist and veteran adman Ambi Parameswaran stated, “D2C brands have realised that if they put all their spends on performance marketing then after a particular time their brand may stop commanding a premium. So, after they achieve certain level of scale using performance marketing, D2C brands start to plough money into brand marketing by putting ad spends on print and TV. mediums.”