After two years of single-digit growth, the Indian ad industry is looking at a 10-12 per cent rise in its billings this year. The total billing last year was around Rs 8,000 crore (Rs 80 billion).
What's more encouraging is that the country's prominent admen expect the growth story to continue next year, too, due to the remarkable growth of the economy.
And, for a change, the industry is talking about hiring after years of an unofficial recruitment freeze.
Several ad firms are projecting that the industry will hire at least 500-600 people in 2004. The last time the industry hired such a large number of professionals was way back in 1995-96.
Says Ishan Raina, chairman and CEO of Euro RSCG (Indian subcontinent and Middle East): "The advertising industry should see double-digit growth this year. We are reaching a critical mass and there is no doubt that we need to hire young people to drive the industry. The new crop will come from various fields of specialisation: creative, marketing, pshycoanalysts and demographers," Raina said.
Many in the advertising business said they had not expected billings to grow after the World Cup cricket in the beginning of the year.
But the worries are now over with the huge surge in corporate spend on advertising and the booming festive season sales. The growth would only accentuate after the harvest season, they felt.
Heman Misra, president (north and east), Mudra Communications, says: "We are confident that this trend will continue next year. We should definitely be able to at least sustain this."
Said Pulak Chakraborty of Twohmp Communications Pvt Ltd: "The kind of growth we are witnessing now was last seen in 1995-96. The hiring bit is very much connected to the economy doing well."
Navroze D Dhondy, chief executive of Creatigies Communications Pvt Ltd said a 10 per cent growth rate was sustainable provided the external factors were favourable.
Experts pointed out that all sectors, which had a direct link with advertising -- consumer durables, FMCGs, consumer electronics, automobiles -- were in an upbeat mood.
"The telecom industry is in an upbeat mood as well. Home loan rates are down. And consumers are buying, and buying more -- credit or cash down," they said.
Even below-the-line work like direct marketing, promotions and events had seen even higher growth rates with companies increasingly looking for innovative ways of communicating to consumers, they said.
Santosh Desai, president McCann Erickson Pvt Ltd, however, has a note of caution. "We are expecting a double digit growth rate after at least 4-5 years. But we are still far from the growth that we witnessed in 1995-96."
