Mumbai: India’s Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector witnessed a robust year in advertising, with significant cross-media growth in 2024, according to the latest report by TAM AdEx. The report, TAM AdEx – 2024 Cross Media Advertising Recap – BFSI Sector, which analyses ad volumes and impressions across television, print, radio, and digital platforms, highlights a sector in transition — embracing innovation while reinforcing traditional strengths. Legacy institutions like LIC continued their advertising supremacy, even as emerging digital-first brands and fintech platforms gained momentum, particularly through programmatic strategies.
Television Advertising Trends:
Television remained a cornerstone of BFSI advertising in 2024, registering a 7% year-on-year increase in ad volumes over 2023. This marked a cumulative 35% growth compared to 2020 levels, underlining the platform’s sustained relevance despite the rise of digital. Notably, ad volumes peaked in the first quarter of the year, followed by a sequential decline across the subsequent quarters.
Life Insurance emerged as the most advertised category on TV, commanding 23% of the sector’s ad volumes, followed by Mortgage Loans at 17%. Together, the top ten categories accounted for 86% of all BFSI ad volume. LIC of India led the advertiser list with a 12% share, reinforcing its long-standing dominance. Other significant players included Muthoot Financial Enterprises and AMFI, with State Bank of India and SBI Life among the noteworthy new entrants in 2024.
Muthoot Finance’s Loan Against Gold campaign stood out as the year’s top brand on television, accounting for 10% of the total ad volumes. LIC’s product-specific branding efforts were also prominent, with Jeevan Utsav and Jeevan Akshay among the top performers. News channels were the preferred broadcast genre, accounting for 68% of the sector’s ad spend, followed by movie channels at 14%. In terms of programming, news bulletins and feature films were the most leveraged formats. Prime Time (6 PM to 11 PM) remained the most coveted time slot for TV advertisers, capturing 31% of the sector’s ad volumes, while short-duration ads between 20 to 40 seconds were the most favored format.
Print Advertising Trends:
Print media continued to hold sway among BFSI advertisers in 2024, registering a 16% rise in ad space over the previous year. This growth marks a significant increase of 171% compared to 2020, reflecting continued confidence in the medium’s reach and credibility. However, similar to television, print advertising volumes declined sequentially after a strong first quarter.
Life Insurance again led the category mix with a 10% share of ad space. Mutual Funds and general Banking Services followed closely. The top ten categories contributed to 38% of all print ad space, with new entries such as Bonds and Corporate-NBFCs making their way into the list. LIC of India topped the list of advertisers with a 9% share, trailed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and State Bank of India. Interestingly, Hyundai Motor India entered the top 10 advertisers list, leveraging BFSI tie-ins for IPO-related promotions.
LIC’s brand presence was particularly strong in print, with three of its sub-brands—Jeevan Utsav, LIC Index Plus, and its flagship brand—appearing in the top 10. Bhim App and Hyundai’s IPO campaign were among the new high-impact entries in 2024. English publications dominated the language preference, accounting for 57% of ad space, while business and finance-themed newspapers secured 53% of the total category ad space. Regionally, the South Zone led with a 33% share, with Bangalore emerging as a top-performing city.
Radio Advertising Trends:
Radio saw a healthy resurgence in 2024, with ad volumes rising by 22% over the previous year and by 74% since 2020. Despite a strong start in Q1, ad volumes saw a decline across Q2 to Q4. However, the medium continued to serve as an important outreach tool, particularly in regional markets.
Life Insurance was again the most advertised category on radio, commanding a significant 30% share of ad volumes, followed by Housing Loans and Mortgage Loans. New categories like Fixed Deposits, Personal Loans, and Credit Cards made their debut in the top rankings. LIC of India remained the leading advertiser with a 27% share, while its subsidiary LIC Housing Finance followed with 12%. Together, the top 10 advertisers on radio accounted for a staggering 76% of total BFSI ad volumes.
Brand dominance on radio was heavily skewed toward LIC, which occupied seven of the top ten brand slots. LIC Housing Finance emerged as the most advertised brand, and LIC Jeevan Utsav made a notable jump to the second position from its previous 306th rank in 2023. In terms of geography, Maharashtra led the state-wise ad volume distribution with 18%, followed by Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Evening time slots (5 PM to 9:59 PM) attracted the most ad spend, accounting for 46% of the ad volumes, with Morning slots also drawing 42% of the sector’s attention.
Digital Advertising Trends:
Digital advertising in the BFSI space continued its rapid ascent in 2024, with ad impressions growing by 29% compared to 2022 and over 11 times compared to 2020. Despite impressive annual growth, digital also followed the broader media trend of quarterly de-growth after Q1, with Q2, Q3, and Q4 experiencing declines of 19%, 46%, and 41% respectively.
In terms of category share, Securities and Sharebroking Organizations and Life Insurance were tied at 18% each, followed closely by Corporate Financial Institutes and Banking Services. Mutual Funds and Credit Cards each claimed 8% of the impression pie, while Health and Automobile Insurance made their entry into the top categories list.
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) emerged as the top digital advertiser with a 6% share, reflecting the rising focus on UPI and digital transactions. Bajaj Finserv, LIC, and ICICI Bank were among the other key digital advertisers. Remarkably, five new advertisers entered the top 10 in 2024, underlining the dynamic and competitive nature of the digital landscape.
UPI Chalega led the list of top digital brands, accounting for a massive 27% share of all impressions. DSP Index Funds saw a meteoric rise to third place after ranking 702nd the previous year. Among the top 10 brands in 2024, seven were new entrants, showcasing the rapid transformation of digital BFSI advertising. Programmatic advertising dominated the digital space, making up 78% of transactions. When combined with programmatic-ad network hybrids, automated buying accounted for 87% of total digital impressions.
The TAM AdEx 2024 report on BFSI advertising highlights a sector in evolution — simultaneously reliant on traditional media for trust and reach, and digital channels for agility, targeting, and efficiency. LIC remains the undisputed kingpin across platforms, but digital-native brands and newer financial products are beginning to reshape the narrative, especially through programmatic and performance-driven advertising.
As 2025 unfolds, the BFSI industry is expected to further consolidate its presence across media platforms, with digital likely to drive innovation and personalisation, and legacy media offering reinforcement and brand depth. The lessons from 2024 point to a more integrated, data-driven approach that marries the reach of television and print with the precision of digital and radio.
