313Blog - Print rides on premiumisation & political ads in 2024

Print rides on premiumisation & political ads in 2024

Posted on 20th Dec 2024

 

While the authenticity factor continued to work in favour of Print, players have been working on marketing strategies to stay strong in the game, industry players shared

By E4M

 

2024 was another difficult year for print but the industry continued to stay resilient with innovative ads of premium brands appearing on the front pages.

According to industry watchers, ad revenues in the print sector witnessed a resurgence, particularly in sectors like real estate, education, and local retail. The festive season, elections, and special events have provided additional revenue streams to the publishing houses.

Hindustan Times posted ad revenues of Rs 252 crore for Q2 FY25 and Rs 471 crore (3.5% YoY decline) for H1. Meanwhile, DB Corp saw ad revenues up by 0.5% to Rs 829 crore in H1 FY25 as against Rs 825 crore during the same period last year. Jagran Prakashan’s ad revenue for H1 of FY25 stood at Rs 608.8 crore, against Rs 627.98 crore in the same period of previous fiscal, marking a 3% decline.

Resilience & Trust

Manoj Singh, Vice President, Madison Media believes despite facing significant challenges, the industry demonstrated resilience and adaptability, acting as a transformative year for print. Many publications successfully navigated the shift to digital, while others focused on niche audiences and specialised content.

 

Circulation numbers remained stable for some titles, while others experienced declines. Overall, the industry's ability to evolve and innovate helped mitigate the impact of declining advertising revenues and changing reader habits, Singh noted.

“One of the key things is coming back to authenticity because people have realized there are so many dubious things happening especially in the digital world that people have started re-valuing or putting the authenticity factor on high pedestal again,” explained Partha Sinha, President and Chief Brand Officer, BCCL.

“This year was fine for the North and West, with a growth of around 5-10%. It wasn't really good for the Southern players, one of the big reasons being that the election happened very soon. This slowed down political and government advertising,” said a highly placed individual of the print industry.

Elections & premiumisation

In 2024, political campaigns invested heavily in print advertising, which helped increase print billing. As per Singh, this trend was particularly noticeable in local and regional elections, where candidates focused on community newspapers and magazines to connect with voters.

“Political advertising and government advertising were really big sources of revenue for the publishers,” said the source.

The premiumisation of the market has also seen an increase in luxury advertising on paper. The source added, “We also saw a dramatic increase in the premium selling of houses, garments, electronics.”

“The ongoing shift to digital platforms forced publications to adapt and innovate, investing in new technologies, formats, and distribution channels to remain relevant and competitive,” Singh added.

The industry's emphasis on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion reflected a growing recognition of the need for more representative and inclusive content, as well as greater diversity within newsrooms and editorial teams.

Additionally, opinion makers are the main emphasis and are once again receiving more attention. At the end of the day, they aim to attract young audiences. “Young audiences are good for value for money and small value products but when it comes to high value products, it is always the premium consumer that has the purchasing power to make the decision,” Partha Sinha added.

Marketing strategies

Industry experts observed that publications were able to expand their readership and increase brand recognition through partnerships with social media influencers.

The emergence of influencer marketing has impacted the market immensely, said an expert. Even political parties were seen roping in influencers. “Collaborations with social media influencers helped publications reach new audiences and build brand awareness,” added Singh.

Further elaborating he said, “Focusing on specific, dedicated audiences allowed publications to maintain loyalty and attract targeted advertising. Offering digital versions of publications helped attract new readers and provide additional revenue streams. Moreover, hosting events, webinars, and conferences enabled publications to build brand awareness, generate revenue, and connect with readers.”

As for Sinha, marketing happens via the brand ethos they have set for the Times of India. “So our positioning, both from the content side as well as the communication side has always been saying that we are here to set the change agenda.”

On the audience engagement side he said, “Our advertiser engagement is such that you don't buy Times of India for the reach and frequency that you get but for far more than that. You buy Times of India for changing the country's opinion about your products or service.”

Sinha also mentioned: “In the world of AI, the only AI that matters is affluence and influence. The world is either run by money or by power and if any brand can get closer to affluence and influence part of the society, they will pay a premium to be there and that has been BCCL’s marketing mantra for some time.”

Challenges

Digital platforms continuing to capture advertising and subscription revenues has forced print publications to rethink strategies. Also, the lack of readership survey fast tracked the migration to digital news consumption, some experts noted.

Singh also said that the ongoing shift to digital media has continued to erode print advertising revenues, forcing publications to explore alternative revenue streams.

Moreover, the rise of digital media and social platforms altered the way people consume news and information, making it essential for publications to adapt to these changes.

In terms of AI, an expert said that while the influence of AI on the newspaper industry is not big at present but publications have become cautious.

Additionally, quick commerce has become really big this year. “This means that for the publisher there is a new category of competition in terms of ad revenue, and that is from quick commerce,” he said.

What's next?

The outlook for the print industry in 2025 is mixed. While challenges persist, there are opportunities for growth and innovation.

Singh expects further investment in digital platforms, formats, and distribution channels as publications strive to remain relevant and competitive. The industry may also witness further consolidation, with publications forming partnerships or merging to share resources, reduce costs, and increase competitiveness.

BCCL’s Sinha is of the opinion that print is a secondary business. If the consumer business does well, then print does well. Now, when the inflation factor is gone, that should give the industry some amount of natural buoyancy and they should benefit out of that.

“Secondly, with the fragmentation of media, influence and creation of influence is becoming of paramount importance and as long as that becomes more and more important, it gives much better scope to brands like ours.”

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