Advertising volumes on radio rebounded in 2021 with a 29% year-on-year growth after a dip of 27% in pandemic-stricken 2020. The third and fourth quarters of the year witnessed the highest V-shaped recovery, according to the latest data released by AdEx India, a division of TAM Media Research. However, radio ad volumes have still not reached pre-pandemic levels.

The lowest average ad volumes was seen in the second quarter of 2021 due to the second wave of the pandemic. After seeing a consistent rise from June, radio ad volumes recovered to pre-second wave level during the festive period with double-digit share.

In terms of the sectors, the services sector acquired the top position with 27% share of ad volumes on radio in 2021 followed by food and beverages with a 13% share. The top three sectors together accounted for more than 50% share of ad volumes.
Among the categories, properties or real estates led the top ten chart with an 11% share of radio ad volumes. In addition, two categories each out of the top 10 categories belonged to services, BFSI, and retail sector. On the other hand, housing or construction loans category was the new entrant in the list.

While LIC was the top advertiser of 2021 followed by Maruti Suzuki, Mother Dairy, GCMMF (Amul), LIC Housing Finance, Honda Motorcycle, Vicco and Vishnu Packaging saw positive movement in ranking. Furthermore, LIC Housing Finance was the top brand in 2021 followed by LIC. Considerably, three out of the top 10 brands were related to LIC India.

More than 4,900 advertisers and over 6,500 brands exclusively advertised on Radio in 2021, as opposed to 2020. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was the top exclusive advertiser as well as the brand in the year. Moreover, three brands each among the top 10 exclusive brands were from auto, food and beverages, and BFSI sectors.

As for states, most of the advertisers came from Gujarat as it accounted for 19% share of ad volumes, followed by Maharashtra with 16% share. The top five states accounted for 61% of total ad volumes and South radio stations accounted for 27% share on Radio. Among the cities, New Delhi topped among the 18 cities followed by Indore.

Out of all the time bands, evening was the most preferred time-band on the radio followed by morning and afternoon time-bands as these time bands together added more than 65% share of ad volumes. Ad commercials of less than 20 seconds were most preferred for advertising on radio in 2021.