Credit card companies spent more on print advertisements than television ads in the first half of 2004.
According to the latest AdEx analysis, a division of TAM Media Research, advertising spends on print have grown by 27 per cent in the first half compared with 6 per cent growth in television ad spends in the same period.
Sangeeta Pendurkar, head of marketing, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, said, "We are one of the highest spenders in the credit card category and a significant proportion is spent on print advertising."
HSBC prefers print because it believes that its target audience is accessible through print that resides in the 10 lakh plus towns. According to AdEx, credit card advertising in the January-September 2004 period contributed only 0.38 per cent to the TV and print media combined advertising pie.
V Vaidyanathan, head retail banking, ICICI Bank, said a lot of banks spend on events and promotions during the festival season.
He, however, did not put a figure to the total spend. Pendurkar puts it at 30-40 per cent more than in the other quarters of the year.
The analysis also looked at the top spenders across both the mediums for the first half of the current year.
Visa Card saw the maximum ad spends across television and print. In the first half of the current quarter, Visa spent almost 80 per cent on television ads and 23 per cent. ABN Amro is the second largest spender on television ads while HSBC is the second largest advertiser at 20 per cent in the print category.
