MAM
Amazon, Smithkline odd ones in FMCG top 10 TV ads
BENGALURU: The first week of 2017 saw an all FMCG hold over the top 10 television advertisers list in terms of ad insertions as per BARC data. The total number of television ad insertions by the top 10 brands in week 1 of 2017 (Saturday, 31 December 2016 to Friday 6 January 2017) was 268,323 as per Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data for top 10 advertisers Across Genre: All India (U+R): 4+ Individuals
Spoiling that perfect 10 score in week two of 2017 were online retail player Amazon Online India Pvt Ltd at eighth place with 17,512 ad insertions and Indian music major Super Cassettes Industries placed at ninth spot with 17,250 ad insertions. The rest of the players among the top ten advertisers in terms of ad insertions in week 2 were all FMCG players.
While music company Super Cassettes exited the list, Amazon Online India Pvt Ltd (Amazon) climbed to fifth place from eighth place in the top 10 TV advertisers in terms of ad insertions in BARC week 3 (Saturday 14 January 2017 to Friday 20 January 2017). Amazon’s ad insertions in week 3 of 2017 to promote its Great Indian Sale between 20 and 22 January 2017 increased a phenomenal 54.69 percent in week 3 to 27,089 from 17,512 in week 2. Pharmaceutical major Smithkline Beecham joined the top 10 list with 18,786 insertions(5.40 percent of total of top 10 advertisers list) in week 3 at eighth place.
The total number of television ads by the top 10 companies in terms of insertions increased 19.98 percent to 321,923 in week 2 of 2017 as compared to week 1 of 2017. In week 3 of 2017 when compared to week 2 of 2017, the total increased by 8 percent to 347,695 TV ad insertions.
Despite higher number of television ad insertions (5.02 percent more) in week 3 (17,444 insertions) ITC Ltd continued at tenth place. In week 2, ITC Ltd had 14,438 TV ad insertions.
Please refer to Fig A below for relative positions of the top 10 TV advertising companies in terms of ad insertions.
While the first four ranks in terms of TV ad insertions in weeks 2 and 3 of 2017 remained the same, there were changes in terms of number insertions, percentage insertions with respect to total ad insertions and changes among the other ranks between weeks 2 and 3. The top four advertisers in weeks 2 and 3 were Hindustan Lever Limited (Lever), Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd (Reckitt Benckiser), PatanjaliAyurved Ltd (Patanjali) and Cadbury’s India Limited.
Brands
Zepto names Saurabh Kabra vice president for non-trade advertising
Former blinkit and ITC executive to drive Zepto’s ad-led growth
BENGALURU: Zepto has elevated Saurabh Kabra to vice president—non-trade advertising, partnerships and catalogue, underscoring the quick-commerce firm’s push to deepen high-margin revenue streams beyond deliveries.
Based in Bengaluru, Kabra will lead the strategic expansion of Zepto’s advertising and partnerships ecosystem. He was previously senior director and head of the non-trade advertising business, where he played a central role in building the company’s ad-led monetisation playbook.
Since joining Zepto, Kabra has worked closely with the chief executive’s office on strategic initiatives, contributing to the company’s rapid scale-up in India’s intensely competitive quick-commerce market. His elevation comes as platforms increasingly court brand advertising to steady margins and diversify revenue.
Before Zepto, Kabra held senior growth roles at Blinkit, serving as associate director of growth and city CEO for Hyderabad, where he led regional expansion and operational scaling.
Earlier in his career, he spent several years at ITC Limited, managing brands such as Classmate and Paperkraft and overseeing sales operations in the personal care business. He is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta.
Industry executives view the appointment as a clear signal that Zepto is sharpening its focus on advertising, partnerships and catalogue-led monetisation: areas increasingly discussed by investors as critical to improving unit economics in quick commerce.






