Education is biggest advertiser in print

In January-May this year, the sector increased its spending on print by 9% to stay on top with 19% of the pie.

The education sector has held on to its position as the biggest advertiser in the print media, bringing in 19 per cent of the total advertising in this medium in January-May this year, up from 17 per cent in 2008.

In the first five months of this year, the sector increased its spending on print by 9 per cent, according to Adex India, a division of TAM Media Research.

Services came in second, having brought in 11 per cent of the total advertising income of the print media. Banking and finance was third with 9 per cent.

Educational institutes accounted for 71 per cent of the overall spending on print advertising by the education sector. Coaching centres and competitive exams accounted for 15 per cent , and computer education 7 per cent. The rest is scattered.

Planman Consultant India, which is the force behind the Indian Institute of Planning and Management, or IIPM, was the top advertiser in the sector during the period. Mangalayatan University and Chate Coaching Classes were second and third.

Tamil Nadu, with 15 per cent share, was the top state in education advertising. Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra’s were second and third with 11 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.

“Private education is here to grow and these institutes are creating awareness about the programmes they are offering. So you will see more and more players advertising as state education has failed to attract and meet the needs of students,” said an official from an institutes that has been advertising heavily.

On television, education sector advertising grew 34 per cent during January-May. Ritnand Balved Education Foundation’s Amity University has been the top advertiser on television.

“We don’t think we advertise too much. We offer around 240 degrees and highly-specialised programmes, which students need to be informed about. We just consider advertising a mode of educating students,” said Atul Chauhan, president, Amity Group.

Rahul Foundation, an educational society with five institutes under its umbrella, has been the second largest advertiser. The foundation is based in Durgapur, West Bengal.

Lovely professional university has been the third largest advertiser.Beside educational institutes, computer education and vocational training institutes advertised the most.

The advertising however has been skewed towards regional channels.