Airtel, Jio to spend about Rs 400 crore on ads during festive season

Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio together are likely to spend the bulk of around Rs 350-400 crore in festive season advertising

Amid anticipation of the launch of 5G services in October, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio together will outdo Vodafone Idea (Vi) as they will likely spend the bulk of around Rs 350-400 crore in festive season advertising, reported The Economic Times on Monday.

All three telcos --  Airtel, Jio, and Vi -- will have tactical campaigns for the festival quarters as Bharti Airtel is set to lead the media spending in the category, media planners told ET.

"This festive season, brands have the option to invest in media spending on three major (entertainment) properties - the FIFA World Cup, the ICC-T20 World Cup, and the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati," DDB Mudra Group's Rammohan Sundaram told ET.

There would also be on-ground campaigns deployed at points of sale and other touchpoints of customers, Sundaram further told ET.

Earlier, planners had estimated that telcos will spend around Rs 700 crore in media spending in FY23 amid estimated  5G rollouts, however, the actual amount may be lower as cash-strapped Vi has not revealed any plans for the same yet.

Vi has said it will be able to launch 5G services only after it lines up fresh loans and finalises 5G network gear procurement deals with multiple suppliers, reports ET.

However, some planners expect Vi to spend a good amount on advertising during the festive season in a bid to undergird its existing 4G campaign.

In the past, all three telcos have had tactical campaigns ahead of the new network launch. Launched with a 4G network, Jio had "Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan" campaign, for which it optimised media spending during the Indian Premier League (IPL).

For Vi, this will be the first campaign since the merger, which was announced in 2020.