NEW DELHI: A host of South East Asian countries along with Australia and South Africa are posing a threat to the outsourcing of Indian advertising, according to a recently concluded Assocham study.
According to a paper on 'Outsourcing in advertising: is India the destination next?' brought out by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) the size of the advertisement outsourcing business in the country is currently estimated at 280 billion dollars, of which 50 billion dollars is pumped into the creative and production segment of advertising.
Assocham president Anil Agarwal said that China, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and Australia offer sound infrastructure and a single window clearance to conveniently entertain outsourcing advertisement calls from all part of the globe while in India, the policy makers have yet to evolve a mechanism for further expansion of outsourcing business opportunities.
It has been estimated that during 2004-05, the Indian advertising industry spent 5 billion dollars worth of foreign exchange in going abroad to shoot advertisements, a job which could have been accomplished in India, Agarwal said adding that this happened because the advertisement industry in India had trouble obtaining permission to shoot at selected places in the country.
However, in countries like China, Singapore, South Africa and Australia, ad filmmakers are quickly given permission for shooting and subsidies are also extended to them to undertake the job. This was a major reason that these nations were becoming attractive destinations for outsourcing advertisement assignments, revealed the study.
The paper, which will shortly be submitted to the Centre, recommends a slew of proposals to make India an attractive destination for advertising.
The suggestions made by the industry chamber include adoption of a process driven approach, which would give higher confidence to the international customer.
Representatives of advertising agencies should come together with a common vision to ensure that India's collective capability can be marketed globally. The government should create a 'single window clearance' for communication to enable the advertisers to outsource their business in India in a hassle free environment and also reduce import duties to promote the imports of equipment needed to manufacture and cameras that are effective and cost-competitive.
The paper also suggests that advertising organisations should participate in relevant international fairs and also organise special visits of international bodies to India.
