vikram chawla
August 19th, 2009, 01:13 PM
There has been a long tradition of advertising in India since the first newspapers published in India in the 19th Century carried advertising. The first advertising agency was established in 1905, B. Datram and Company, followed by The India-Advertising Company in 1907, the Calcutta Advertising agency in 1909, S.H.Bensen in 1928, J. Walter Thompson Associates through its Indian associate, Hindustan Thompson Associates in 1929, Lintas (Lever international Advertising Services) in 1939 and McCann Erikson in 1956. Advertising expenditure in the 1950s was estimated at $US 300,000. Under the more socialist political environment of the 1960s and 1970s there was little incentive for companies to advertise because advertising was not tax deductible. In the 1970s there was a 58% growth in the number of registered agencies from 106 in 1969 to 168 in 1979, and this included a growth in Indian agencies. The first advertising appeared on state television in 1976.
With the opening of the economy in the 1980s there was a growth in the number of alliances with multinational agencies and an expansion in advertising though foreign network participation in agency ownership was limited. In 1987 Hindustan Thompson was affiliated to J. Walter Thompson. Lintas, the 2nd ranking agency, held only 4% of its subsidiary, as did Ogilvie and Mather. Saatchi and Saatchi/Compton had minority interests in Compton as did Lintas. A study done in 1984 of the largest companies in India found that the ratio of advertising expenditure to sales had risen from .64 in 1976, to .71 in 1980 to .74 in 1984. Foreign controlled corporations had the dominant share of total advertising expenditure, and 80% of these were in the consumer goods sectors. Advertising was very concentrated with the top 50 advertisers accounting for 80% of the advertising spending and the top 10 advertisers made up 40% of that figure, 32% of the total. The largest advertiser throughout the period was Hindustan Lever which was nearly 10% of the advertising budget of the corporate sector companies.Pharmaceutical companies were also significant advertisers at this time.
-Indian Advertising starts with the hawkers calling out their wares right from the days when cities and markets first began
-Shop front signages
-From street side sellers to press ads
-The first trademarks
-Handbills distributed separately from the products
18th Century
# Concrete advertising history begins with classified advertising
# Ads appear for the first time in print in Hickey's Bengal Gazette. India's first newspaper (weekly).
# Studios mark the beginning of advertising created in India (as opposed to imported from England) Studios set up for bold type, ornate fonts, more fancy, larger ads
# Newspaper studios train the first generation of visualisers & illustrators
# Major advertisers: Retailers like Spencer's, Army & Navy and Whiteaway & Laidlaw
# Marketing promotions: Retailers' catalogues provided early example
# Ads appear in newspapers in the form of lists of the latest merchandise from England
# Patent medicines: The first brand as we know them today were a category of advertisers
# Horlicks becomes the first 'malted milk' to be patented on 5th June 1883 (No. 278967).
# 1931- National Advertising Service Pr. Ltd. Bombay set up
# 1936- Indian Broadcasting Company becomes All India Radio (AIR)
# 1978 -First television commercial seen
# 1990-Marks the beginning of new medium Internet
# 1991- First India-targetted satellite channel, Zee TV starts broadcast
With the opening of the economy in the 1980s there was a growth in the number of alliances with multinational agencies and an expansion in advertising though foreign network participation in agency ownership was limited. In 1987 Hindustan Thompson was affiliated to J. Walter Thompson. Lintas, the 2nd ranking agency, held only 4% of its subsidiary, as did Ogilvie and Mather. Saatchi and Saatchi/Compton had minority interests in Compton as did Lintas. A study done in 1984 of the largest companies in India found that the ratio of advertising expenditure to sales had risen from .64 in 1976, to .71 in 1980 to .74 in 1984. Foreign controlled corporations had the dominant share of total advertising expenditure, and 80% of these were in the consumer goods sectors. Advertising was very concentrated with the top 50 advertisers accounting for 80% of the advertising spending and the top 10 advertisers made up 40% of that figure, 32% of the total. The largest advertiser throughout the period was Hindustan Lever which was nearly 10% of the advertising budget of the corporate sector companies.Pharmaceutical companies were also significant advertisers at this time.
-Indian Advertising starts with the hawkers calling out their wares right from the days when cities and markets first began
-Shop front signages
-From street side sellers to press ads
-The first trademarks
-Handbills distributed separately from the products
18th Century
# Concrete advertising history begins with classified advertising
# Ads appear for the first time in print in Hickey's Bengal Gazette. India's first newspaper (weekly).
# Studios mark the beginning of advertising created in India (as opposed to imported from England) Studios set up for bold type, ornate fonts, more fancy, larger ads
# Newspaper studios train the first generation of visualisers & illustrators
# Major advertisers: Retailers like Spencer's, Army & Navy and Whiteaway & Laidlaw
# Marketing promotions: Retailers' catalogues provided early example
# Ads appear in newspapers in the form of lists of the latest merchandise from England
# Patent medicines: The first brand as we know them today were a category of advertisers
# Horlicks becomes the first 'malted milk' to be patented on 5th June 1883 (No. 278967).
# 1931- National Advertising Service Pr. Ltd. Bombay set up
# 1936- Indian Broadcasting Company becomes All India Radio (AIR)
# 1978 -First television commercial seen
# 1990-Marks the beginning of new medium Internet
# 1991- First India-targetted satellite channel, Zee TV starts broadcast