Edible oil brands continued advertising in print and radio while others shied away during the lockdown; Ad Volumes per publication in Print increased by 93%: TAM

• While other brands have tightened their purse strings for advertising in newspapers, essential brands such as Kaleesuwari Refinery, Shree Hari Industries, Gemini Edibles & Fats India continue to bet their money on print.
• The ad volume for Edible oil brands per publication in print by edible oil brands increased by 93%.
• The next highest bet went on radio, which saw a hike by 3% during the lockdown period.

Due to the nation-wide lockdown, brands started investing their marketing monnies in digital advertising. As the whole country stayed put, OHH saw a decline in advertisers and OTT saw an increase in viewership. As a result, brands started re-evaluating their media budgets and plans.

However, as India gets back on its feet, edible oil brands, which come under the essential category, have started investing more on traditional mediums such as print and radio.

According to TAM’s latest report, Advertising on radio by the edible oil category grew by 3% during the period of lockdown, which was from March until May ’20. While in print, they increased their advertising volume by 93% in May 2020.


Advertiser’s 100% focus from the edible oil category was on General Interest Newspapers. More than 60% of category ad volume in Print was on southern languages.

Kaleesuwari Refinery, Shree Hari Industries ( Hari Oil Mills), Gemini Edibles & Fats India were the top 3 oil brands to invest in print during the lockdown. On radio, N K Proteins, Mother Dairy Fruit & Veg, Bevkart Industries took the lead.

Gujarat had the maximum share of Edible Oil’s ad volumes i.e., 64%. South Zone, on the other hand, topped with 70% share of Edible Oil advertising in Print during Apr May ’20.

The category’s advertising on TV medium dropped by 13% in March to May 2020. Digital media went further down by 15%. Most Edible Oil ads on TV were less than 20 seconders. 20-40 seconds and 45-60 seconds ads covered 27% and 1% share respectively during March - May ’20.


In May’20, the overall count of Advertisers and Brands increased compared to Apr’20 across all mediums.