The advertising outlook for Q4 2023 looks promising! From a lineup of captivating media events, the excitement of the Cricket World Cup and the resurgence of big-screen heroes to strong consumer sentiment and a festive season ad spree, here’s the breakdown of the key highlights and trends shaping the final quarter of the year.
Power-packed Q4
A series of media events will keep consumers engaged through Q3 and Q4 till the general election to be continued with the Indian Premier League and box office blockbusters. This is apart from a slew of offerings on GEC or general entertainment channels and reality shows like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Kaun Banega Crorepati, Kapil Sharma Show, Dadagiri, India’s got Talent, Indian Idol, Khatron ke Khiladi, Big Boss in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada, and world TV premiers like Gadar -2, Maidan, Adipurush, Animal, Jawan, Yodha, Rocky aur Rani kii Prem Kahani, Rola awards shows, etc.
Q4 festival quarter for sports fans
The Cricket World Cup will be played in India after a gap of 12 years between October 5 and November 19. That’s 42 play days with 48 matches covering 60 percent of Q4 calendar days. The political theatre will then take centre stage with the assembly election in five states—Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Mizoram and Chhattisgarh—that are due by the end of the year, and which will be the precursor to the general election in 2024, before it’s back to sports with the Asian Games, India-Australia cricket series and Pro Kabaddi League starting the first week of December being the other notable events in Q4.
Theatre premiers: Big Screen heroes are back with big bangs
Box office collections in 2023 are expected at Rs 9,736 crore, 8 percent lower than 2022’s take of Rs 10,637 crore. However, the second half of 2023 has a strong lineup of films that are expected to perform well, especially Jawan, Salaar and Tiger 3. H2 is expected to witness 15percent growth over H2 2022. In my view, the gross box office collections in 2023 are expected to be between Rs 11,000 and Rs 11,500 crore. Big-ticket films coming up in the remaining four months of 2023 such as Jawan (Shah Rukh Khan – Hindi), Salaar (Prabhas – Telugu), Tiger 3 (Salman Khan – Hindi), Leo (Vijay – Tamil), Animal (Ranbir Kapoor – Hindi) and Dunki (Shah Rukh Khan – Hindi), will drive the collection this year.
Consumer sentiments
India’s consumer optimism index is 62.2 against the world average of 47.60 according to the Ipsos Global Consumer Index for September 2023. India has moved up to the second spot in ranking, across the 29 markets (countries) polled. It is a strong sign of a growing economy.
Advertising expenditure forecast: Spends back to best.
This year’s festive season is projected to witness an advertising splurge, with experts forecasting an impressive surge in ad expenditure of 18-22 percent given the World Cup, apart from the interesting content lined up. Overall, 42percent to 46 percent of the total ad spends are expected during the festive quarter of this year, which means Rs37,200 crore to Rs 41,300 crore. Experts are expecting the ad spends this festive season to be above the average, with 7-8 percent coming from sports and political ad spends.
About author: Ramsai Panchapakesan is the managing partner, investments, Havas Media India.