Digital drives future, TV still steers wheel for auto brands: TAM
Television continued to be a stronghold for the auto sector, with ad volumes growing by 7% in 2024 compared to 2020 and surging 18% year-over-year versus 2022. Meanwhile, ad space in print of Auto Sector witnessed growth of 27% during 2024 over 2020.
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The auto industry has come roaring back with renewed advertising momentum across traditional and digital platforms in 2024, according to TAM AdEx’s latest cross-media advertising report. According to report, television continued to be a stronghold for the auto sector, with ad volumes growing by 7% in 2024 compared to 2020 and surging 18% year-over-year versus 2022. Meanwhile, ad space in print of Auto Sector witnessed growth of 27% during 2024 over 2020.
On Radio, the indexed ad volume of Auto Sector reflected growth of 2.57 times time in year 2024 against year 2020 for Auto Sector. However, ad impressions on digital for Auto Sector increased by almost 20X during 2024 over 2020.
Two-wheelers lead the charge on TV!
As per the data, after a slight dip in Q2 and Q3 of 4% and 3%, respectively, the ad volumes bounced back sharply in Q4 with 40% jump over Q1.
Interestingly, two-wheelers dominated the TV category mix, with the return of 'Ret Two Wheelers' to the top 10 categories, climbing to the 7th position from 18th in 2023. TVS Motor Company emerged as the top advertiser, accounting for 14% of the ad volumes, while Honda Shine made an impressive leap to become the most advertised brand, up from 44th place last year. In fact, Skoda Auto and Yamaha Motor India entered the top advertisers list and secured 8th and 9th positions during 2024 over 2023.
Notably, 7 out of the top 10 TV brands were new entrants in 2024.
News channels dominated with a 63% share, followed by movies at 16%. Prime Time was the preferred time band, contributing significantly alongside afternoon and morning slots, together comprising 72% of ad volumes. Advertisers showed a strong preference for 20-40 second ad creatives.
Hindi publications lead the print space...
In print, Q4 stood out with a 41% surge in ad space over Q1. Cars and two-wheelers retained their dominance among categories.
Maruti Suzuki India was the top advertiser with a 16% share, while Honda Activa H Smart was the most prominent brand, contributing 5% of total ad space. Six new brands broke into the top 10 in 2024, while top 10 brands together accounted for 27% share of ad space.
Hindi publications led language preferences with 43% share, and the General Interest genre accounted for a staggering 97.7% of ad volume. North India emerged as the leading region with 33% share, Delhi and Mumbai being the top cities. Sales promotions drove 62% of ad space, dominated by multi-offer and discount promotions.
Regional focus takes center stage in Radio...
Radio advertising witnessed a 157% spike over 2020 and a 29% rise from 2023, highlighting its growing importance in local engagement strategies. Q4 alone showed a 48% increase in ad volumes over Q1.
Cars were the top category on radio with a 69% share. Maruti Suzuki India topped the advertiser list with 26% share and Maruti Suzuki Arena emerged as the leading brand on radio. Gujarat led the state-wise ad distribution with 17% share. It is interesting to note that morning and evening time bands were most favored, together accounting for 83% of ad volumes.
Read More: Amazon Online India tops digital ad spending in 2024; Google drops to ninth position: TAM
Digital witnesses skyrocketing growth!
Digital advertising for the Auto sector has seen exponential growth with over 20 times in both 2023 and 2024 compared to 2020. While growth slowed to a modest 1% YoY in 2024, Q2 still saw a 10% uptick in impressions over Q1.
Cars and two-wheelers led the category split with a share of 55% and 26%, respectively. Hyundai Motor India made a significant leap from 101st to 1st position among brands, and 7 of the top 10 digital brands in 2024 were new entrants. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the new top advertisers this year.
Meanwhile, programmatic advertising dominated with an 89% share, reflecting a digital-first, data-driven ad strategy from auto players. Programmatic and Programmatic/Ad Network transaction methods together added 93% share of sector ad impressions.
