Radio ad volumes showed revival by 29% in 2021: TAM AdEx

Radio ad volumes showed revival by 29% in Y 2021, compared to Covid-hit Y 2020, as per TAM AdEx’s advertising overview on Radio in 2021. Ad Volume growth in H2 of 2021) crossed last 5 year’s mark, that is, second half of the Y 2021 grew by 4% compared to H2 of 2017. Y 2018 witnessed growth of 3% in Ad Volumes, while Y 2020 saw 33% decline compared to Y 2017.

The lowest average Ad Volumes seen in the 2nd quarter is the dip owing to the Covid second wave. Ad Volumes on Radio show a V-shaped recovery in Q3’21 and Q4’21. Radio Ad Volumes recovered to Pre-Second wave level during the festive period, where they witnessed double digit share.

The Services sector tuned to the top position in Y 2020-21, garnering 27% share of the Ad Volumes on Radio, followed by F&B with 13% share during Y 2021. The Top 3 sectors together accounted for more than 50% share of the Ad Volumes. With minor rank shift, all the Top 10 sectors of Y 2020 remained in the Top 10 list of Y 2021.

Properties/ Real Estates led among the categories on Radio with 11% share of the Ad Volumes, while Hospital/ Clinics shifted up 2 positions to secure the 2nd rank. Properties/ Real Estates, Pan Masala and Multiple Courses maintained their ranks, while Hospital/ Clinics, Retail Outlets - Jewellers, Retail Outlets - Clothing/ Textiles/ Fashion, Retail Outlets - Electronics/ Durables and Housing/ Construction Loans categories saw positive rank shifts.

Two categories each out of Top 10 categories belonged to Services, BFSI and Retail sectors. Housing/ Construction Loans category was the new entrant in Top 10 categories’ list.

The Top 10 Advertisers contributed to 16% share of the Ad Volumes on Radio. LIC topped the advertiser list of Y 2021, followed by Maruti Suzuki. LIC was on top last year as well. Mother Dairy, GCMMF (Amul), LIC Housing Finance, Honda Motorcycle, Vicco and Vishnu Packaging observed positive rank shifts, compared to Y 2020. LIC Housing Finance, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter, Vicco and Vishnu Packaging were the new entrants in Top 10 advertisers’ list on Radio.

Top 10 Brands contributed to 9% share of the Radio Ad Volumes. During Y 2021, there were a total 10.5K+ brands present on Radio. Four out of Top 10 brands were from the BFSI sector, while two were from the F&B sector. LIC Housing Finance topped among the brands of Y 2021, followed by LIC. Three out of the 10 Top brands were related to LIC India.

Over 220 Categories registered positive growth. Properties/ Real Estates among categories saw highest increase in Ad secondages with growth of 50%, followed by Hospital/ Clinics with 60% growth during Y 2021, compared to Y 2020. In terms of growth %, Corporate-Pharma/ Healthcare category witnessed the highest growth % among the Top 10, that is, 3.8x in the Y 2021. Three of the Top 10 categories belonged to the Services Sector and two each from BFSI sector and Retail sector.

Over 4.9K advertisers and 6.5K+ brands exclusively advertised on Radio during Y 2021, compared to Y 2020. SEBI (Securities & Exchange Board of India) was the top exclusive advertiser as well as brand during Y 2021, compared to Y 2020. Three brands each among the Top 10 exclusive brands belonged to Auto, F&B and BFSI sectors.

Gujarat State was on top with 19% share of the Ad volumes on Radio, followed by Maharashtra with 16% share. The Top 5 States accounted for 61% of the Total Ad Volumes and South Radio Stations accounted for 27% share on Radio. New Delhi topped among the 18 cities on Radio, followed by Indore in the 2nd position. The Top 10 cities accounted for 68% of the Total Ad Volumes on Radio. New Delhi saw the highest rise in Ad Volumes growth during Y 2021 at 54%, compared to Y 2020, followed by Hyderabad. After New Delhi, Vadodara observed highest increase in Ad Volumes during Y 2021, compared to Y 2020.

Comparing the Radio advertising trends in the four Metros – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai – with the other cities, the TAM AdEx report reveals that in both the Clusters, Ad Volumes on Radio witnessed considerable upsurge during Q3’21 and Q4’21, compared to Q2’21. Q4’21 saw 3.7x rise for Cluster 1 cities and 3.2x rise for Cluster 2 cities, compared to Q2’21.

In both the Clusters, Properties/ Real Estates topped on Radio with 10% share in Cluster 1 (the 4 metros) and 11% share in Cluster 2 (Other cities). Eight of the Top 10 categories were common between both the Clusters. The Top 10 categories added 39% share of Ad Volumes for Cluster 1 and 44% share for Cluster 2 during Y 2021.

LIC of India topped the list of advertisers in both the Clusters. Eight of the Top 10 advertisers were common between both Clusters. The Top 10 advertisers added 21% share of Ad Volumes for Cluster 1 and 14% share for Cluster 2 during Y 2021.

Evening was the most preferred time-band on Radio, followed by Morning and Afternoon time-bands. Evening & Morning time bands together added more than 65% share of the ad volumes.

Ad lengths on Radio saw similar share of Ad Volumes in both the years (Y 2020-21). Ad Commercials with < 20 seconds was most preferred for advertising on Radio during both the years.