BJP vs. Congress who spent more money on the election campaigns this year. And what to expect in return?
India's biggest political party BJP spent spent a whopping 500% more than the main political party in the opposition.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has emerged the single largest spender on political ads on Google, social media giant Facebook and other sister platforms of the companies, spending upwards of Rs 20 crore through its official accounts as polling draws to a close this week.
Out of the total political ad spends on Google, YouTube and Google’s partner properties of about Rs 27 crore so far, 60% of the ads were paid for by BJP amounting to about Rs 17 crore, a whopping 500% more than the main political party in the opposition, the Indian National Congress, which spent about Rs 2.7 crore.
Out of the total political ad spends on Google, YouTube and Google’s partner properties of about Rs 27 crore so far, 60% of the ads were paid for by BJP amounting to about Rs 17 crore, a whopping 500% more than the main political party in the opposition, the Indian National Congress, which spent about Rs 2.7 crore.
 |
| BJP's advertising expenses vs. other brands. |
Both Google and Facebook introduced ads transparency tools in India ahead of general elections in February to make ads funding public.
On Facebook, the BJP spent close to Rs 4 crore from February to May 11, over 200% more than Congress. The Congress party spent about Rs 1.3 crore on Facebook during the same period.
Political campaigners and advertisers privy to the developments said the gulf is expected to get even wider this week with BJP expected to ramp up funding on social media as Varanasi, the prime minister's constituency, goes to polls on May 19.
Varanasi is expected to lead to a spike in BJP funding on digital platforms in the last phase of the elections as it is the prime minister’s constituency. Besides the official BJP account, there are several unaccounted-for support pages,” said an advertiser, who has worked on BJP campaigns, on the condition of anonymity.
Advertisers and analysts said unofficial spending is likely to be way higher with several affiliated pages of the ruling party spending on the platforms over the past few weeks. BJP's funding numbers on Google went up from about Rs 14 crore on Tuesday to Rs 17 crore on Wednesday.
With assembly elections lined up in five states, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has once again gone all out flexing its money muscles.
The BJP emerged as the number one advertiser on television in India in the week ending 16 November, according to the latest Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data, as reported by the Economic Times.
To be precise, the advertisements promoting the BJP in the run-up to the elections appeared on television channels 22,099 times.
The BJP had apparently dislodged Vimal Pan Masala, said the ET report, to become the leader in the number of TV adverts. The party moved up a rank to claim the top position across TV channels from number two in the previous week.
In fact, Modi’s party released more TV advertisements than even Netflix, an American media-services and video streaming behemoth, and Trivago, a hotel price comparison website, both of which trailed BJP.
The BJP’s “insertions” (the number of times an advertisement is aired on TV) were almost double the number of Netflix ads (12,951) and Trivago (12,795).
Similarly, consumer goods giants such as Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, and even corporates like Amazon and others were left behind.
For perspective, in the same week, ads for Santoor Sandal appeared on television 11,222 times, Dettol Liquid Soap appeared 9,487 times, Wipe appeared 9,082 times, Colgate Dental Cream appeared 8,938 times, Dettol Toilet Soaps 8,633 times while ads for Amazon Prime Video appeared 8,031 times.
The Congress, meanwhile, figured nowhere in the list of top ten TV advertisers.
The advertising overload obviously indicates how high the BJP deems its stakes to be in the assembly elections for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram — more so, given that the general elections 2019 are around the corner, likely six months away.
However, the BJP otherwise too is widely known to be big spenders — a testament to the corporate backing the party enjoys, returning the favour in kind, of course.
In four-and-a-half years, the Modi government has spent around Rs 5,000 crore — yes, Rs 5,000 crore — on advertisements and publicity through different kinds of media, revealed an RTI application by activist Ramveer Tanwar in October this year.
Google said it introduced an India-specific Political Advertising Transparency Report and searchable Political Ads Library as part of efforts to bring transparency to poll promotions.
"In 2019, over 850 million Indians are expected to cast vote to elect the next government. We're thinking hard about elections and how we continue to support democratic processes in India and around the world," Chetan Krishnaswamy, Director-Public Policy, Google India, had said in a blog post.
On Facebook, the BJP spent close to Rs 4 crore from February to May 11, over 200% more than Congress. The Congress party spent about Rs 1.3 crore on Facebook during the same period.
Political campaigners and advertisers privy to the developments said the gulf is expected to get even wider this week with BJP expected to ramp up funding on social media as Varanasi, the prime minister's constituency, goes to polls on May 19.
Varanasi is expected to lead to a spike in BJP funding on digital platforms in the last phase of the elections as it is the prime minister’s constituency. Besides the official BJP account, there are several unaccounted-for support pages,” said an advertiser, who has worked on BJP campaigns, on the condition of anonymity.
Advertisers and analysts said unofficial spending is likely to be way higher with several affiliated pages of the ruling party spending on the platforms over the past few weeks. BJP's funding numbers on Google went up from about Rs 14 crore on Tuesday to Rs 17 crore on Wednesday.
With assembly elections lined up in five states, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has once again gone all out flexing its money muscles.
The BJP emerged as the number one advertiser on television in India in the week ending 16 November, according to the latest Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data, as reported by the Economic Times.
To be precise, the advertisements promoting the BJP in the run-up to the elections appeared on television channels 22,099 times.
The BJP had apparently dislodged Vimal Pan Masala, said the ET report, to become the leader in the number of TV adverts. The party moved up a rank to claim the top position across TV channels from number two in the previous week.
In fact, Modi’s party released more TV advertisements than even Netflix, an American media-services and video streaming behemoth, and Trivago, a hotel price comparison website, both of which trailed BJP.
The BJP’s “insertions” (the number of times an advertisement is aired on TV) were almost double the number of Netflix ads (12,951) and Trivago (12,795).
Similarly, consumer goods giants such as Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, and even corporates like Amazon and others were left behind.
For perspective, in the same week, ads for Santoor Sandal appeared on television 11,222 times, Dettol Liquid Soap appeared 9,487 times, Wipe appeared 9,082 times, Colgate Dental Cream appeared 8,938 times, Dettol Toilet Soaps 8,633 times while ads for Amazon Prime Video appeared 8,031 times.
The Congress, meanwhile, figured nowhere in the list of top ten TV advertisers.
The advertising overload obviously indicates how high the BJP deems its stakes to be in the assembly elections for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram — more so, given that the general elections 2019 are around the corner, likely six months away.
However, the BJP otherwise too is widely known to be big spenders — a testament to the corporate backing the party enjoys, returning the favour in kind, of course.
In four-and-a-half years, the Modi government has spent around Rs 5,000 crore — yes, Rs 5,000 crore — on advertisements and publicity through different kinds of media, revealed an RTI application by activist Ramveer Tanwar in October this year.
Google said it introduced an India-specific Political Advertising Transparency Report and searchable Political Ads Library as part of efforts to bring transparency to poll promotions.
"In 2019, over 850 million Indians are expected to cast vote to elect the next government. We're thinking hard about elections and how we continue to support democratic processes in India and around the world," Chetan Krishnaswamy, Director-Public Policy, Google India, had said in a blog post.
0 Comments