The election battle stage is set. Campaigns are live on TV, print, digital and radio. But it is just the beginning. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is gearing up for a fierce campaign drive and ad agencies are fighting it out for a piece of this business. According to sources, more than a dozen advertising agencies, including industry giants Ogilvy and McCann Worldgroup, are currently engaged in pitching to secure the BJP account for the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
While there is no confirmation on the size of the account, sources close to developments said most of BJP’s campaign work is handled internally. However, smaller accounts of media planning, buying, creative and on ground activations are currently afloat.
Other than the heavyweights, contenders for the same account include agencies like, Efficacy Worldwide, Cosmos Maya, Crayons, Moving Pixels, Vishista VFX, Thought Blurb Communications. Media planners said around Rs 30,000 crore was spent on advertising in 2019 before general elections and the figure will grow by at least 30-40 percent this time.
Read more: ‘BJP doesn’t need advertising. And advertising doesn’t want Congress’
“Agencies want to be a part of the winning party’s campaign. They just want to be associated with the ruling party, no matter in what capacity and no matter how big or small the account is,” said the founder of an independent creative agency working with government clients over the years.
They did not wish to be named. They also said 70 percent of the entire election campaign budget is being spent by the ruling party and that is what agencies are after.
“Billings from even a small campaign would be a windfall gain for agencies not just in terms of revenue but also footage and sheer brag value,” they said.
Meanwhile, integrated marketing agency DDB Mudra has dismissed recent speculations and media reports suggesting that it has secured the Congress party’s account for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024. In response to a query by Storyboard18, the agency neither confirmed nor denied any such development, stating that they are not currently handling the Congress party’s campaign.
Storyboard18 sources however, have confirmed that Congress has indeed on-boarded DDB Mudra for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Read more: Congress sources confirm DDB Mudra on-boarded for LS elections 2024
The Congress party has collaborated with various marketing agencies in the past, including Nixon Advertising and DesignBoxed and others who specialise in political marketing. As the country prepares for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, there is heightened interest in the anticipated advertising expenditures and their impact on the AdEx.
While speaking to Storyboard18 about the election campaign of both the ruling party and the opposition, one adman quipped, ‘BJP doesn’t need advertising. And advertising doesn’t want Congress’, indicating that the latter has had a hard-time finding takers for its business among leading agencies.