FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd emerged the biggest advertiser on television in 2020 with a 30 per cent growth in ad volumes over 2019, followed by the Reckitt Benckiser Group, whose volumes grew 37 per cent year-on-year in 2020, said Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India on Monday.

The top 20 advertisers in 2020 increased their ad volumes by 10 per cent over a similar set in 2019, even as the overall TV ad volumes contracted 3 per cent year-on-year in 2020.

Furthermore, the top 20 brands in 2020 — which include Dettol Toilet Soaps, Dettol Antiseptic Liquid and Lizol — increased ad volumes by 23 per cent over the top 20 brands in 2019, said BARC. The top 20 brands in 2019 included Santoor Sandal and Turmeric, Trivago and Colgate Dental Cream.

Ad volumes

The top 20 advertisers in 2020 clocked ad volumes of 766 million seconds compared to the previous year’s 694 million seconds. However, in 2020, the overall ad volumes stood at 1,497 in million seconds, compared to 1,542 million seconds in 2019, BARC found.

Meanwhile, the advertisement volumes on television grew 34 per cent in the second half of 2020 over the first half boosted by factors such as the return of originals, the festival season and live sporting events, said BARC. Ad volumes in million seconds during H1 (Jnauary to June) of 2020 stood at 639 compared to 777 in the corresponding period of 2019, a decline of 18 per cent. In H2 (July-December) of 2020, ad volumes jumped to 859 million seconds stood (765 million seconds), an increase of 12 per cent.

The FMCG sector accounted for the highest ad volumes in 2020 followed by digital, automobile, BFSI, education and durables. The automobile and durables sectors saw a significant reduction in ad inventory, BARC noted.

The news genre, with a share of 31.70 per cent, took the highest share of ad volumes in 2020, followed by general entertainment channels or GEC (across languages) at 25.20 per cent, and movies at 23.40 per cent, BARC found. However, ad volumes in the news genre dropped by one per cent year-on-year in 2020, while the movie genre saw a nine per cent growth in ad volumes in 2020 compared to 2019.

“Television continues to be the screen of the household and the most important medium for all the major advertisers to reach their audience pre-pandemic and post-lockdown too,” said Aaditya Pathak, Head – Client Partnership & Revenue Function, BARC India.

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