MAM
Average ad duration on the rise again?
Whenever there is a slowdown and results in belt-tightening by companies, one of the direct casualties is the duration or length of the television commercial (TVC). During recessionary times, average ad duration on television plummets not only because advertisers take lesser time to convey their messages but also because of various consumer promotions that are run with even shorter duration.
AdEx India has observed that in the last few years, the average ad duration plummeted to just above the 20 seconds mark. This raised a fear among ad agencies and broadcasters that if this phenomenon continues, we will have increasing clutter and frequency of TVCs thereby reducing the effectiveness of television advertising.
However, years 2003 and 2004 ended with a surprise and posted an average ad size above 23 seconds mark. The average ad size during 2003-2004 has touched a level that we haven’t seen in the last five years! A record of sorts as shown in chart below!
Let’s look at the ad duration slots used in 2004. The pie shows that 30 seconds commercial is the most preferred one (with 27 per cent of the advertising share) followed by 20 second commercial contributing 19 per cent.
As a result, one is forced to ponder on the following:
a) Does this signify that the Indian advertisers’ fraternity showed sound judgment by not falling prey to frequency trap and therefore bettering their creative quality?
b) Also, what kinds of product categories have led this change?
To answer whether this is a freak phenomenon, let’s look at the Top 10 spending categories on Television in January-December 2004.
Here we see mixed results – We see that the Top 1 category – Shampoos uses large average ad sizes. However, the second Top category – Toilet soaps have the shortest ad sizes among the Top 10.
Let’s also have a look at the pattern of average ad sizes across the months during 2001-2004. Here we will see a very unusual behavior – average ad sizes observes dip during the festival season across 2001-2004 though 2002 was an exceptional case.
Brands
ConfirmTkt rolls out 1 per cent cashback for summer train trips
Unlimited wallet rewards valid till 31 May boost holiday travel
GURUGRAM: ConfirmTkt has announced a limited period 1 per cent cashback offer aimed at making summer train travel a little lighter on the wallet.
The authorised B2C online train ticketing platform, part of the Ixigo Group, will credit 1 per cent cashback directly into users’ ConfirmTkt Wallet for every train ticket booked through its app. The offer runs until 31 May 2026, neatly covering the peak summer holiday rush.
There is no cap on how much cashback users can earn during the offer window. The credited amount can be redeemed on the next train booking within 90 days, making it particularly useful for families planning return journeys, students heading home for the holidays, or travellers ticking off multiple destinations in one season.
Importantly, the process is automatic. Cashback is credited after booking, with no codes to enter and no hoops to jump through, keeping the reward simple and seamless.
Ixigo Trains and ConfirmTkt CEO Dinesh Kumar Kotha, said summer remains one of the busiest travel seasons in India, as families, students and professionals take to the rails to reconnect and explore. He noted that by keeping the cashback uncapped and redemption straightforward, the company aims to help travellers extract greater value from both outbound and return trips during this high demand period.
Beyond the seasonal offer, ConfirmTkt continues to position itself as a tech driven, customer first platform. Its features include high accuracy waitlist prediction, nearby trains and alternate travel plan suggestions when seats are scarce, live train status updates, seamless PNR tracking, instant refunds, seat availability alerts and UPI enabled payments. Users can also order food on train for delivery to their seats at selected stations.
Taken together, the platform’s tools are designed to reduce uncertainty and add a layer of reassurance to rail journeys. With this summer cashback in play, ConfirmTkt is not just helping travellers book tickets, but giving them a small return ticket on their spending too.
