The Print medium seems to have sailed past the troubled waters, propelled by the rise of the digital medium and the onslaught of the pandemic. As per the Pitch Madison Advertising Report, the Print sector clocked an AdEx of Rs 19,250 crore in 2023. Although this is Rs 800 crore less than the sector’s pre-pandemic level, experts suggest it is a good show nevertheless.

However, industry observers are quick to point out that a visible rise in the volume of print ads has not really translated into a corresponding growth in ad revenue.

So, has there been a drop in ad rates?  

Hema Malik, Chief Investment Officer of IPG Mediabrands, believes print has recovered in terms of ad volumes. “Our data shows that the overall advertising by square centimetres has rather over-indexed to the 2019 level. And that is evident from the newspapers since we have been seeing from two to even four jacket ads.”

Among the big advertisers in print have been sectors like Real Estate, Government and Auto and they have been contributing largely to the advertising volumes. So, if the print ad volume is not decreasing, then it is likely to be the pricing, the industry experts noted.

Malik revealed that the price of print ads dropped by around 25 to 30 per cent during the pandemic. But even after the period of recovery, print ad rates are still 20 per cent below that of the pre-Covid levels. 

“There are many factors that decide the cost of a print ad – the publication, the sector an advertiser belongs to, the format, the page it's positioned on, and so on. A front-page advertisement on a leading newspaper before the pandemic cost approximately Rs 3 crore upwards. This has now come down,” she added. 

Sharing the advertiser’s perspective, a Parle executive observed there has been a sizable slashing of print ad rates.

Mohan Singh, Print Buying Head of Madison World, observed that there has been a drop in volume too in some cases but pricing matters more and, a comparison of pre and post-COVID figures suggests that there has been a drop of 15 to 20 per cent.

Rajiv Dubey, Head of Media, Dabur, feels, “Volume has suffered too because circulation has not caught up yet and papers are not able to import ads.”

Vernacular holds the fort

Vernacular dailies are still better placed than their English counterparts because, as experts suggest regional readers have still not shifted to the digital medium as much as the English reader.

In markets like Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, the print industry still holds a clout, the Parle executive said. However, in all other markets, including HSM markets like UP, Punjab, Rajasthan, MP, Jharkhand, Bihar and Bengal, there has been a huge loss in terms of numbers, subscribers and sales.

Singh further said, “Vernaculars, I think are doing pretty okay but of course, no publication can say that we have reached the 2019 level.”

What is to be blamed?

Shift to digital: Most newspaper readers did not buy physical copies during Covid and gradually shifted to the digital mode.

Digital news gained momentum during this period and it became more of a habit to consume news on our laptops, mobiles or tablets.

Malik said, “The big advantage was in favour of digital. This led to a permanent loss of print readership.”

“Several readers have been subscribing to e-papers. This has majorly affected the English publications,” added the Parle executive.

Additionally, the higher penetration of social media also works as a competition to news since there are masses who consume news on WhatsApp, Instagram and YouTube.

The impact on newspapers has also been reflected in circulation numbers by nearly 25-30 per cent, Malik shared.

Lack of reliable data: For advertisers and media buyers, the unavailability of the latest IRS and ABC data has made it even more difficult for them to invest in print advertising.  

Madison’s Mohan Singh also believes there is no authentic data now that the entire industry can vouch for. ABC data has been revealed but not completely. IRS has also not been updated after 2019.

Malik added, “For us the currency has always been readership from a planning perspective, not really circulation and there hasn’t been availability of data since long. Hence, we had to go to circulation numbers but even that got released last in 2022.”

This is a big stumbling block since there is no measurement, no authenticity and advertisers don't know the real numbers. And as a result, there is a black hole, and we have to go a lot more by hearsay.

How to speed up?

It is the responsibility of all the media owners and all the publications to do something about the lack of data, suggested Singh. If they want to sell print to clients, then there should be some kind of authentic data that is available for all the advertisers, agencies and publications.

Publications are also coming up with smart ways to ensure that they are not returning any business because eventually, it's a game of demand and supply.

The Parle executive added, “We also have a feeling that we have been advertising on their medium for several decades together and these are challenging times for them. Hence, we want to continue supporting them as we move forward in the next few years.”

Dubey believes the growth in print is going to be in double digits this year since a lot of advertisers have reposed their faith in print. With the upcoming general elections, the World Cup and the Olympics, print is set to make a comeback this year, he asserted.