Google India spent over Rs 690 crore on promotional ads in FY18

When it comes to creating awareness, an advertisement is still considered the best way. It is true for even search engine giant Google.

The online search engine behemoth has emerged as one of the top advertisers in India.

In the financial year 2018, Google spending on ads and promotion increased 45 per cent to Rs 696 crore in comparison to the previous financial year. The company's overall media investment is estimated at Rs 1,100 crore. Out of this, over 50 per cent was spent on the digital medium.

Offline media investments including - print, TV, radio also raised to double to Rs 540 crore in 11 months. In 2017, the figure was at Rs 330 crore.

The major part of its advertising and marketing drive featured its consumer-facing offerings including Google Maps, video-calling product Google Duo, payment app Google Pay, and hardware products like Google Pixel and Google Home.

In print, the search engine firm promoted its enterprise product G Cloud.

Google has been eyeing high-impact properties such as cricket and entertainment programmes and popular movies.

In recent years, the promotional trend has caught on in large firms. Globally, including Google, a group of other firms- Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Netflix spent $1.9 billion collectively on TV advertising between January 2017 and February 2018, said an ET report.

The recent ad spending by firms like Google and Facebook is to push their revenue.

Google’s India unit registered a turnover of Rs 9,337.7 crore for FY18. Its turnover is still about 1 per cent of the parent's revenue.

Meanwhile, they have been witnessing a rise in their ad revenue. Google crossed the $1 billion (Rs 6,700 crore) mark in ad revenue. Facebook has also been inching closer to search engine behemoth digital ad revenue in India.

Amazon, which is currently earning over Rs 100 crore, plans to make more than Rs 600 crore from its advertising business. The e-tailer makes ad revenue through charging sellers and brands to advertise on its platform.

In India, the total advertising market is around 70k crore, according to media agency Magna. The digital spending on the ad is about 20 per cent of the total market, which is around Rs 12-15k crore.