ISA takes cudgels on behalf of its members; sends notice to IBF on self ad-cap regulation

Acting on the decision by some of the channels to self regulate and implement the 12 minute ad cap voluntarily has upset the advertising & media applecart of many a advertiser brands and put the advertising agencies handling their accounts in a serious spot of bother. This happens at a time when India is in a midst of a festive  season and when advertisers resort to heavy advertising to boost promotion of their major brands, launch new products, incite the buyers with discount schemes etc.

This move by some of the channels, sources tell Adgully that leading GECs are doing this has prompted the India Society of Advertisers (ISA) Chairman, Hemant Bakshi to dispatch a formal notice to the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) on the ad cap issue. According to the contents of the notice, it states that ISA members have received letter from some of the IBF members stating their intent to implement the ad cap on voluntary basis and thereby ration the inventory ( read ad time) that is available to advertising agencies on the channels.” As evident from the notice, the ISA has taken this issue very seriously and have asked IBF to refrain from this as this smacks of ulterior motive to make undue gains by some of the channels. This more like controlling the supply or availability of ad time at a time when demand for advertising is normally at its highest. This is reneging on the contracts between the advertisers and the broadcasters.

Going for self regulation before the October1 deadline also implies that the channels may be testing the waters of what is to follow afterwards. Maybe they can gauge if the ad rates can be increased, whether  the advertisers will be willing to pay beyond the contracted rates and whether  at the cost of some revenue loss in this period there is a chance of long-term gains when the ad cap really sets in.

Both the ISA and the IBF members need each other to survive and grow so the current notice can be viewed as a short term action. In the long run, they have to be a mutual admiration society. However what has surprised ISA for now is the unilateral step by some of the IBF members without taking the advertisers body into confidence or giving adequate notice. Things are expected to be sorted out in the end.  ISA has advised its member to be on the right side of the law and the regulations in the meanwhile.

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