Indian ad industry worth Rs 2,500 crore; growing at 30% pa

Lucknow, Jan 23 (UNI) The Indian advertising industry is worth Rs 2,500 crore and growing at the rate of 30 per cent annually, according to ace ad film maker Prahlad Kakkar.

''The 30 per cent growth is subject to the projected GDP growth of eight per cent. If the GDP growth exceeds eight per cent, then the advertisement industry would proliferate accordingly,'' Mr Kakkar said.

Asked if companies were overspending on ads and promotions in present times, Mr Kakkar told UNI that as per industry standards the ad spend is five per cent of the turnover.

''The corporate world now reckons the ad spend as an investment rather than expenditure,'' the adman and restaurateur maintained.

He opined since India and China were the world's fastest growing economies and represented large markets due to sheer population, the multinationals were rather liberal in their ad budgets.

Giving the example of aggressive promotional campaigns by two rival cola companies, the adman reiterated the cola giants treated it as investment.

''Their ad budget is also necessary to retain the visibility of their product among the people through the various mass media.'' Commenting on the evolution of the Indian ad industry, he observed the dynamics of the sector had changed with the electronic media boom oflate.

''The unique characteristic of the Indian ad industry is that the vibrant, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic background of India is reflected on the campaigns and films.'' The maverick adman was in town recently to share his success story with the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIM-L) students at the annual business conclave 'Manfest 2007'.

Manfest is an ISO 9001:2000 certified extravaganza, which over the years has metamorphosed into one of the largest and most awaited events across all Indian B-schools.

The list of speakers at Manfest included Prahlad Kakkar; Raghu Pillai - Head, Reliance Retail; Chandra Sekaran - Managind Director, Cognizant; Robert De Haas - Global HR Director; R P Singh - Director, PGCIL; Indrasen Vencatachellum - Chief of Section for Arts, Crafts and Design, UNESCO; Siva Shanker - Head, Structured Finance Division, Citibank; Neeraj Gambhir - General Manager, ICICI and Head of M&A Advisory, ICICI; and Krishna Iyer - COO DSP Merill Lynch.

UNI