Rs 64.7 bln spent on advertising in 2012, top ad official says
View(s):By Sunimalee Dias
Advertising in the Sri Lankan media has been on the upswing with spends at approximately Rs.64.77 billion in 2012 and with new age thinking a new pattern is setting in breaking away from the traditional norms.
Advertising has taken on the new age concepts and innovations to suit the ever changing world with no dominant medium because how products are displayed and presented serves as the opportunity, advertising expert and Leo Burnett Chairman and CEO of India Sub Continent Arvind Sharma said.
Sri Lanka however, has seen a rise in its advertising spend and the main category has been the television industry that has dominated the market over the years at Rs.45.23 billion last year whereas radio and print had amounted to Rs.13.24 billion and Rs.6.30 billion respectively.
Mr. Sharma observes that today’s world is changing in respect of advertising and where marketing is available as the number of locations is on the rise and depending on the consumer requirements.
Apps, viral videos on YouTube and the Internet had posed itself as one of the biggest challenges and opportunities for the advertising industry today, he noted.
On the other hand, today’s advertising happens with increased participation with the people and getting more involved in branding the product by linking up with the users themselves directly.
In this regard, Mr. Sharma explained today advertising at Leo Burnett is looking at achieving the four P’s namely: people, purpose, participation and populism.
Engaging the consumer has become key to marketing a product effectively irrespective of culture barriers as people, the advertising expert believes are people deep down inside of them.
Leo Burnett Sri Lanka with its multiple personalities is believed to have achieved the creativity required of them and its global family have never treated it as a ‘small country’, Mr. Sharma explained.
He pointed out that however, the Sri Lanka office needs to be more ambitious with a new leadership team, something that the international advertising giant is proud of.
“Sri Lanka should inspire to be leading the way in this new age in almost sharing best examples of how advertising should be approached in the future,” he said.
The company has grown over 35 per cent in terms of revenue last year; he noted and observed that Leo Burnett Sri Lanka was not to be just following the change but actually making it happen.
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