Education sector tops print advertising chart

Updated on: Sunday, August 08, 2010

Which sector could be the largest print advertiser in India? It’s neither food and beverages that includes big brands such as Coke and Pepsi. Nor is it FMCG which has HUL as country’s largest advertiser. It’s not even telecom. It's education.

In fact, during the first six months of 2009 and 2010, the education sector topped the chart in print advertising by pipping traditionally-heavy advertising sectors such as food and beverage, telecom and auto, according to TAM data.

Lovely Professional University, Maharana Pratap Group of Institutions, Manav Rachna International University and Aakash Institute are the new babies of the education sector who have mastered the fine print of advertising in TV and print media over the last few years. The mushrooming of private universities over the last few years has led to a surge in advertising as institutes try to build brands, establish credibility and increase student base in a short span of time.

“The purpose of advertising is primarily to inform corporates that we are here and can provide quality manpower to them,” said Aman Mittal, deputy director of Lovely Professional University. “We advertise on music, news channels and business news channels in order to make students aware of our courses and infrastructure.” The Punjab-based university, which was formed in 2005, has been advertising nationally since 2008.

Ditto is the case with Maharana Pratap Group of Institutions. Formed in 1995, the Kanpur-based group of educational establishment needed instant visibility to build credibility for its degrees and students. So, it resorted to TV advertising in 2008, highlighting its spread and the variety of courses. “We advertised with the aim of building a name among students and corporates,” said Gaurav Badoria, joint secretary of the Maharana Pratap Group of Institutions. We will launch Maharana Pratap University in Jaipur early next year,” added Mr Badoria. The group has 10,000 students across 20 colleges in Kanpur and Lucknow.

However, advertising industry observers feel that while the education sector has emerged as a big advertiser, the category is yet to present itself big individual advertisers. “The education category is very fragmented and filled with thousands of advertisers throughout the country,” said Navin Khemka, senior VP, Zenith Optimedia. There are some decent-sized accounts, but these are yet to become critically big individual advertisers like those in auto and FMCG categories, adds Mr Khemka.

Agrees Anamika Mehta, COO, Lodestar UM, also a media planning agency."Education advertisers have a clear plan. But the category is not as exciting as retail, which involves a lot more activation."

Right to education may have decades to go before it’s completely implemented in the country, but for-profit education is on a boom.

Education sector tops print advertising chart

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