Amul to IndiGo, brands join the frenzy, step gingerly around poll politics

Ad rates soar on television, Indian elections top the trend lists on social media, even as brands step in with celebratory messages

On a day that had nearly every Indian glued to a screen, advertisers made hay. Brands stepped in for a slice of the action with cheeky celebratory messages, careful to compliment the voter without raising a toast for the victor while television channels, digital news portals and social media timeliness boiled over in cacophonous frenzy. Experts said that this is the event to beat all events in the country and no advertiser wants to be left behind. At the same time, they want to step carefully around party alignments, without antagonising a single consumer.

“Big brands with national presence and deep pockets will look at events like elections and the counting day with keen interest. The general elections result in the nation engaging in one conversation, which then they try and leverage for their advertising goals,” says Saurabh Uboweja, CEO Brands of Desire.

Over the past month-and-a-half through the nine phases of the election, a large number of brands such as KFC, Zomato, McDonald’s, Samsonite, Benetton have waded into the electoral arena using humour to get their messages across. As the D-day drew closer, more and more citizens were drawn deeper into conversations around politics, providing what experts say, the best opportunity for brands to strike. 

On social media it led to trending Twitter hashtags and on television, increased viewers. In April for example, the viewership on news channels saw a 60 per cent growth year on year, a trend which continued into the month of May. And on counting day, news channels were estimated to have clocked in numbers surpassing that of the Indian Premier League finals. According to one media planner, the average rates (throughout the day) on a typical Thursday would be in the rate of Rs 3000 to Rs 7000. However, on May 23, rates were in the range of Rs 2.5-3 lakh, he said. 

Avinash Pandey, CEO, ABP News Network says, “Chan­nels are selling just one third of the inventory on election day since the focus is on providing as much in-depth coverage as possible. Moreover, with a fairly decisive result, viewership is expected to trickle over into the weekend since there may be some communication from PM Modi.”

With the time available for ads going down, brands sought out innovative ways to make their presence felt. On ticker boards flashing at the bottom of the screen, labels on state-wise breakdowns of electoral results and of course via ads on social media. The rates for a flashing band on the channels was going for around one lakh rupees, said industry sources. 

On television, brands took a fairly routine form of messaging, keeping it simple and straightforward with just a name being flashed or running an old commercial. However, on social media, many brands took a humorous swipe at the results. The airline IndiGo tweeted a photo in its trademark blue background and the copy read, “We have seats for everyone”. SpiceJet didn’t couch its message, congratulating the Prime Minister and declaring that it was time for ‘Saffron on the ground, red in the sky’. 

Uboweja says that brands ought to be cautious at such times, more than what they were when Article 377 was struck down or the World Cup final is played. “When it comes to a political event, especially the general assembly elections, brands have to be very careful. They could end up alienating a part of the consumer base, employees or commercial partners otherwise,” he adds.