Saradha scam leads to budget cut in Kolkata Durga Puja

Saradha scam is weighing heavy on festivities. In Kolkata, the budgets of leading Durga Puja pandals have dried up, as corporate entities are failing to fund the five-day extravaganza.

Leading Durga Puja organisers said, their budgets were down by 15 to 20 per cent over last year. This year, some 2,400-odd pujas are being held in Kolkata, with budgets between Rs 75,000 to Rs 45 lakh.

Companies like Saradha, Rose Valley, Icore, MPS and Ramel Group, to name a few, have been some of the biggest source of funds for pujas, before Saradha scam broke out.

"This year the market is very bad. The Budget of Durga Puja has drastically come down due to the fall of chit fund companies. Companies like Saradha, Rose Valley and Ramel group were big fund sources for pujas. On an average the budget has come down by Rs 5 to 6 lakh for each puja," said Pushpak Banerjee, member, Forum for Durgotsav.

"Till 2011-12, the market conditions were good and we used to get good funding. But now corporate entities are reluctant to fund the Pujas," said, Deepak Kumar, Secretary, Badamtala Ashar Sangha. The puja's budget, this year, is close to Rs 25 lakh, against Rs 30 lakh on an average.

At Suruchi Sangha, another famous puja, the budget has come down to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 25 lakh earlier. At Telengabagan Sarbojanin Durgatsab, the budget has come down from about Rs 17 lakh to Rs 11 lakh. Mohammad Ali Park's Durga Puja, one the oldest and know pujas, this year the budget has come down from Rs 42 lakh last year to Rs 32 lakh this year.

Big companies too shy away
With the shadow of Saradha scandal looming over the government, big firms too, have been reluctant to spend on advertisements this Durga Puja.

"The response have been quite poor, we have only 50 percent occupancy now, which is at least 25 percent below expectation," said Bitan Roy, Managing Director, Eden Media.

He added that out of the 150 bill boards it planned in the prime locations during Durga Puja, only 67 have been occupied. Perception about Bengal is a problem. The advertising agency has Airtel, Reliance Communication, and Vodafone amongst its clients.

In August 2014, a report by ASSOCHAM (The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) on overall advertisement spend across India during festivities, said that companies would increase their ad spend by about 30 percent during the festive season. However, Kolkata doesn't seem to have cornered much of this increased spending. The representatives of the Out-of-home (OOH) industry, (advertisement other than print and television media) in Kolkata said the overall corporate spending has been far below expectation this year. Durga Puja is the peak season for the OOH industry in Kolkata as brands try to increase their visibility during the four- day festival.But some of the traditional spenders feel there are reasons for the cool-off during Pujas. Debabrata Mukherjee, vice president, marketing and commercial, Coca-Cola India said that , "Over the years, we are observing that the seasonality curve for the beverage industry is tapering off and consumers are enjoying our beverages throughout the year, we

have planned our puja- advertising budgets accordingly."Coca Cola India engages in merchandising, on ground events, retail premise activation and digital marketing during Durga Puja.

Innovation despite fund crunch
Despite a fund crunch, some companies have found innovative ways to fund the Pujas.

For example, some of the leading jewelers are showcasing gold jewellery on the idols. For example, Tanishq will be providing 7.7 kgs of gold jewelleries to goddess at the Ekdalia Evergreen Club. Once the pujas are over the jewellery would be melted and retained for next year's pujas. "Though overall responses have not been good, brands have shown interest in ideas which are different from traditional hoarding and banner advertisement and can make an emotional connect with local customers," said Pallav Bhattacharya, general manager Arun Sign Service.

The agency has tied up with Parle Products which owns the famous biscuit brand Parle-G for this puja. The pandal of a famous puja in south-east Kolklata has been constructed of 3 lakhs Parle biscuits. " We expect recall-value of the brand to increase substantially due to such campaigns," he said.

Bhattacharya credits his agencies innovative tactics contributing to aa growth of 20 percent in revenue from this year's puja campaigns.

Kolkata-based FMCG player Emami has brought Tracy Lee Stum , an American 3D street painter beside launching a digital campaign to promote its men's deodrant brand HE among the urban consumers.

An official spokesperson of Emami Limited said that, "Ninety per cent of the deodrant market is urban-driven, contributing to approx 45 percent sales, such advertisement strategies help us to connect with our target group."