The Nepali advertising industry is finally established as a full-fledged industry with big investments and big opportunities.

A few years back, the industry was looked down upon by many as a fringe business that required little finance and human resource. Today, one needs to enter this business with complete planning, a sound investment and loads of creativity. The operational cost for even a small scale advertising agency would be more than a million rupees per month. Any company that wants to establish itself as an advertising agency must have the creativity, capacity and the infrastructure to sell that creativity This growth is simply because of the increased number of advertisers. For example, a couple of decades ago, you could count the number of banks on your fingertips. Today, we have 27 commercial banks operating in the country. The number of service providers such as the insurance companies, financial institutions etc. have grown too. The manufacturing companies have also seen a tremendous growth in numbers. As the market has grown more competitive over the years, the corporate sector has begun to understand the importance of advertising like never before. They now believe in the mileage and benefits that advertising brings to their products and services. It has become imperative to resort to brand building measures and stand out in the crowd as products and services are being launched on almost a daily basis. Besides this, the media sector has grown too which provides advertisers added platforms for advertising. the last 20 years or so, the market has grown by leaps and bounds. The number of advertisers and the advertising agencies has grown immensely resulting in where the industry stands today. And the growth is not only quantitative but qualitative as well. The positivity of it all is that the industry is headed in the right direction. Over the last decade or so, the focus of advertising has shifted from merely advertising product manufacturers, to creating lasting brand names The advertisement market has developed due to globalization and industrialization and also due to development of media, communication and broadcasting technologies. Nepali advertising sector that is worth Rs 3 billion per year

Advertising Business In Nepalese advertising professionals optimistically predict better days for the advertising industry amidst various challenges. According to them, if the government shows sincerity towards creating a favourable atmosphere for the rupees three billion industry. It will grow by leaps and bounds within very short period of time. "Advertisement has emerged as an indispensable tool for any business. Thus, it must take an upward spiral in a sustainable manner", they opine. According to Nirmal Raj Poudel, the President of Advertising Association of Nepal as well as CEO of Welcome Advertising and Marketing Pvt. Ltd., of the total of rupees 3-billion television, radio and print account for some 1.5 billion. Similarly,"the remaining amount 1.5 billion is occupied by Hoarding Board, Flex Printing etc. Ranjeet Acharya, CEO Prisma Advertising, claims that the growth of Nepalese Advertising a simply inevitable."if the system of "clean feed"is adopted while broadcasting foreign television channels, it will immediately facilitated the growth of Nepalese advertising. The application of the system will prohibit the airing of foreign advertisement through foreign channels. And, it will make the featuring of domestic advertisement via these channels compulsorily. Advertising Professionals believe that the implementation of this rule will also go a long way towards contributing to the economic sector "every year some 5 hundred to 6 hundred million IC goes to India due to the lack of such system. As such they say that the said amount will remain in the industry if the clean feed is implemented. "Either we should be allowed to view foreign channels free of cost or clean feed should be implemented," Acharya insists. According to Acharya, in Bangladesh any advertisement which has 50 per cent domestic investment is recognized as a domestic promo. If any company shows reluctance to do show it has to pay additional tax to the state. Poudel says that AAN is taking initiations to emulate same rule in Nepal too. Creativity, originality and investment it is not an obscure fact that the quality of Nepalese advertisement is often questioned. It is often said that Nepali advertisements severely lack creativity, originality and inventiveness. However the Nepalese advertisement fraternity flatly deny to subscribe to this allegation. They are the view that the unrestricted airing of Indian advertisement has created this kind of such impression in the psyche of people. If to believe Poudel, Nepali advertisement are conceived and designed with creativity and originality."While viewing Nepalese advertisement some Indian professionals express astonishment by saying that Nepali people are ahead of Indians in terms of advertisement originality. Director of Water Communication Nabin Shrestha says that any advertisement which can connect the related product with the targeted audience is a creative advertisement."From this stand point, the creative factor of Nepali advertisement is not so feeble"he opines. Shrestha also claims that Nepali advertising industry is well equipped to successfully overcome the challenges to insert in advertisement in tandem with the demand and growth of the market."The trend of granting commission to advertising agencies in accordance to the sell of product has already been started in India. If the same trend is supplied here in Nepal, it will definitely sharpen the creative age of Nepalese advertisement agencies,"says Shrestha. Sujan Raja Shrestha, Marketing Manager of the Himalayan Snack and Noodles Pvt. Ltd. Believes that the role of customer is equally important as advertising agencies as far as determining the creativity of promos goes. He adds that the amount of budget allocated for advertisement has also significant role to play in the creativity. Most advertisers tend to invest less an advertisement and basic quality. As such this sort of mind set can stifle the advertisement creativity. The boss of Prisma, Acharya says that customer play a major role in determining the advertisement creativity. According to him, any reputed company wants their advertisement to be liked by people for longer period rather than acquiring more benefits.However, in Nepal, the advertisers are yet to be duly cognized of this fact. Acharya says that the trend of bargaining by company is bound to have negative impact on the quality of its advertisement. If to believe Nirmal Raj Poudel, no brand can have a full swing play in the market place without the advertisement. He also claims that the absence of advertisement results in a decline in the sale of product. Poudel also insists that consumer schemes play a decisive role in the performance of any product in the market. He also views that if any company tries to deceive the customer through false claim it must also bear the consequences, which might be created due to such misleading information.

Advertising entrepreneurs also bemoan that the government media, industrial houses and educated people as well are not also well aware with the significance of advertisement in today's world of information. He also expressees sadness that the government is yet to give the status of industry to advertising sector."Due to this fact, the sector is bereft of many facilities from the government till now,laments Acharya. Industrials and business houses will do well if they realize the fact that advertisement not only helps to augment the sells volume but also it helps to create more value for the brand. He demands the perceptional shift regarding the advertisement from the concerned sector. Nabin Shrestha of Water Communication, laments that many colleges as well as educated youths are still in dark about the immense career opportunity the field of advertisement offers. He also charge that management colleges are more inclined to assure their students banking is the only promising place to do job. 'This is not right. Advertisement is more lucrative than banking job" says Shrestha. Acharya and Poudel also subscribe this view. A consist that there is a scarcity of skilled human resource in advertisement field. According to Poudel, AAN is taking necessary steps to attract youths in the field of advertisement. Is advertising so SIMPLE By Abhaya Pandey (an Advertising Professional) I sometimes watch the reruns of Indian TV serial CID and find it quite interesting. Watching this serial reminds me of our Nepali advertising. CID and Nepali advertising, both, somehow undermine the intelligence of their udiences. In one crime scene, the protagonist of the serial, ACP Pradyumna, looks at the broken glass of the window and exclaims, Yeh sisa tuta hua hai. Khuni yahi se andar aya hoga(This glass is broken. The killer must have entered the room from this window). He would have been better off not saying that because even a 4-year-old child would have guessed it right. Our advertising imitates the character of ACP Pradyumna to a great extent. What it says is trivial, what it doesnt say is essential. The reason our advertising suffers this fate is because it is orchestrated by simple minded people in the simplest of ways with the simplest of assumptions about their consumers. Every one considers oneself an expert in advertising and the only reason I can find for such self-belief is that we all see or listen to ads, day in and day out. Analogically speaking, advertising is perhaps the only profession in our country where most patients (clients) advice the doctors (agencies) what to prescribe and most doctors follow the advice like good patients. But seeing ads on Indian and Nepali channels is not the same as knowing about advertising. Has a ward boy ever become a doctor by seeing patients? As one great philosopher has said, I know that I dont know. But do they know that they dont know? Life is Advertising Advertising is a form of storytelling. The only difference between a work of fiction and advertising is that the latter operates within given boundaries. Creativity in advertising is not a free spirit. A writer or a poet can travel the universe in seconds. For an advertising copywriter, it is not that easy. A fiction writer amuses the readers, the copywriter should not only amuse the consumers but more importantly influence their purchasing behaviours. As Jean- Jacques Rousseau, the Swiss philosopher had said, Man is born free but everywhere he is in chain. Creativity, also, is within chains. If this was not the case, one could, for example, make a very interesting ad by showing a fight between two dogs, of course ending it with the brand name and slogan. As interesting and eye catching this story may sound, the dogfight and brand, together, may not make much sense in many instances. Advertising message MUST be consistent with the brand message. They cannot tell two different stories. And this is the biggest chain that binds creativity. To illustrate how advertising works in the life of consumers I am presenting a story, which portrays the interaction between consumers and advertising. The attractive lady in the following story is a metaphor for consumer and the pedestrians a metaphor for advertising. In a sense, life is advertising. All of us are brands in our own rights. No wonder we are always in the business of selling the self that we create, in our personal, professional and social lives (markets). Reading life is always more insightful than reading books on advertising. Disclaimer Before I proceed with the story, I would like to make a small disclaimer. The choice of products or services presented in the story is random and the statements are not targeted towards any particular product or with any ill intention whatsoever. And the story begins Sita is walking back home as she does everyday. It is a fine summer evening. A cold breeze gently caresses her cheek as she thinks about the romantic date with her boyfriend later in the evening. Suddenly, a group of people blocks her way. They smile at her but she cant remember where she has seen them. Sita:Excuse me, can I proceed? Bank A:You dont remember us? We cross your path everyday. Sita:Maybe. But for me to remember you as you cross, you should either be too good looking or too different. Bank B:Actually we are banks. We see you everyday. Mornings and evenings. And we are amongst the best banks around. Sita: Really? What can I do for you? Bank C: We have something to say. Sita: What? Please be quick because I cannot give you much time. I have other things to do. Bank D:We are the bank with the largest deposits.

Sita:What difference does that make to me? Will you give a million rupees loan without any collateral? Bank E:We have the largest network of branches. Almost 20 around the country. Sita: 20 branches in 75 districts? 75 branches in 20 districts would have sounded a little better, isnt it? By the way, none of your 20 branches is located anywhere near I live or work. Bank F:We are the first bank that introduced ATM service. Sita:Does your ATM work all the time? Does having the first ATM guarantee any better service? Bank G:Well...errmaybe. Bank H:We give you 10 percent interest on your savings, almost 2 percent more than the rest. Sita:You see, I dont have much savings anyway. A 2 percent extra on my savings would give me around 2 thousand rupees extra per year. Effectively, I would be getting around 200 rupees more per month. Thirty cups of tea. Perhaps your message should be, An extra cup of tea everyday. She laughs and continues her walk. Once again she goes back to her own world where things are much more important than meeting strangers. Tomorrow is Monday. She has to take her brother for admission to a college, a nice college in fact. Suddenly, a bunch of people land in front of her shouting right into her ears. She is not pleased. Sita: Please, dont shout in my ears. College A:If we dont shout, how would you listen? Sita:The only thing you can accomplish by shouting is getting your voice across my ears, but remember it will never enter my mind. Loudness can only get you so far. College B:You see our college has science lab, computer lab, spacious rooms, good teachers. You name it. Sita:Everyone says the same thing. By the way, I am totally confused between you guys. You are you or the other guy? And the other guy; is that he or someone else and that someone else is he or you? You all look so similar and you talk so similar. And by the way, arent all colleges supposed to have computer labs, spacious environment and good teachers? My question is what actually do you do? Colleges:We educate Madam. Sita: What for? Colleges:For the bright future of students, of course. Sita: Then show me the future, for gods sake. Dont talk about your buildings and classes or what you do. Show me the transformation, not a list of bland information. Sita is now somewhat exhausted. She wants to reach home soon. But her ordeal with strangers does not end as yet. One person confronts her after the other. Product A: You remember me? I am your favorite brand. Sita:Dont tell something about me that I myself dont know. Please dont put your words in my mouth. Products BCD:We are the best of best. We build nations. Sita:I know building nation is the noblest of goals but right now I am concerned about building a strong house for myself. Excuse me! Noodles: I am the best noodle, healthiest. Others: I am the largest selling. I am this. I am that. I have this. I have that Sita can no longer take it. She closes her ears and pleads, Please, please dont tell me who you are or what you have. Because that is not going to affect me very much. If you really want me to listen, then you rather coax me, cajole me, seduce me, amuse me, surprise me, make me happy, make me cry, make me laugh, give me a sweet pain, make me feel like a queen, show me a sweet dream. If advertising is a story then give me a great story that I will love and believe and tell the whole world. The bottom line is, treat me like an emotional human being, not a computing robot. On the footpath, a vendor has his radio airing a beautiful Hindi song from yesteryears, Pal bhar ke liya koi hame pyar karle, jhuta hi sahi. Sitas anger turns into a smile and she continues her journey. Postscript Advertising is not about advertisers. It is about consumers. It is not about products, it is about the minds of consumers. The irony is that the mind of consumers is not as simple as we wish it to be. We believe that advertising can be as simple as this: I will tell consumers how good my product is and they will remember what I say and believe. If this was as simple then advertising would have been the easiest of all jobs and any company who advertised would have become a Coca-Cola or an IBM. Besides, all the creative professionals in this country would have become Ogilvy, Bernbach or Neil French. To sum up this argument, let me borrow words from the Osho on what he said about meditation: Meditation is simple. It is so simple that it is very difficult to understand. The mental construct or the worldview of the consumers can be enormously different from what we, as advertisers or advertising professionals, believe it is. The words consumers hear or the visual they see in advertising take a different meaning when they travel beyond eyes and ears. Consumers create their own meanings as a result of a complex interplay between the advertising message and their knowledge, belief, experiences and emotions about the world. The story advertisers aim to plant may either be totally ignored, its meaning subtracted or added or distorted based on an individuals worldview coupled with his mood and goal at that particular point in life. The truth is that saving a few extra thousand rupees or having a child admitted to a college with a sprawling space or with qualified teachers is not an intrinsic life goal. The deepest life goal of humans is its survival (both biological and social) and the quality of survival. From these deepest life goals stem our deeper but subconscious thoughts and emotions, which ultimately manifest in our conscious or

unconscious behaviours. At the core of advertising discipline lies the quest to understand those deeper thoughts and emotions and find ways to influence them so that they will manifest in the desired behaviors. Digging deeper into the minds of consumers or exploring the core drives of the consumers will not only bring universal insights about them but also help create better and efficient ideas for advertising. Coca-cola is the biggest brand in the world. The biggest. Yet it does not stop making good ads or making good ad spends. It does that not simply because it wants greater sales today; it does because it wants greater sales forever. Coca-cola is an example of a great vision, not confined in speeches and corporate wall hangings; it is an example of a great vision in an all-out action. The interesting thing about Coke advertising is, it does not say that it is the biggest brand in the world. It does not say that it is the largest selling cola in most parts of the world. It does not talk about its worldwide operations either. It simply says what is the most fundamental to the consumers: drink coke, be happy and enjoy. And it passes this message into our minds not explicitly (unlike the protagonist of CID) but mostly implicitly. And the sense of happiness or enjoyment or even the image that Coke helps bring in our lives is not due to the chemical substances in the product, but rather from the cultural messages disseminated mainly through advertising. Some may argue that the audiences in the west are different than the audiences in a country like ours. This argument is true only to the extent that these differences are cultural or intellectual and manifests only in superficial levels. Deep down inside, all consumers are almost same and are driven by same core goals, thoughts and emotions. Life for our advertisers will go on with or without advertising, better advertising or worse, meaningful advertising or senseless. The current crops of banks will keep getting their deposits, colleges will continue getting their enrolments, and noodles will get their sales. The only question is how much and for how long? Courtesy: New Business Age, dated August, 2009

History of Advertising in Nepal

There are no records of any kind that tell us about the origin and history of Nepali advertisements. The earliest form of advertising may thus be taken as the trumpet blowing tradition of kings and maharajas to disperse royal messages. The advent of Mass Communication in Nepal can be said to have been through such official proclamations, which were usually accompanied by the use of musical instruments like drums or trumpets. The age-old oral tradition of promotion by vendors selling their wares in the market can also be taken as another early form of advertising.

Print

The roots of formal advertising can be traced back to a printed advertisement that appeared on the back cover of a book called Moksh Siddhi in 1919 B.S. The advertisement taken out by Manoranjan Press, Thahiti, promoted their various publications. The next instance of a Nepali advertisement on print is found in 1945 B.S. when Gorkha Bharat Jeevan brought out advertisements on the cover of Gorkha Hasya Manzari, published by the Gorkha Bharat Press, Banaras, India.

With time, improvements were made in media and communication services and Nepali advertising followed suit. It can be safely said that the milestones, and spurts of progress in the advertising sector have coincided with the developments in mass media. The start of Gorkhapatra in 1958 B.S. is not only a landmark in the field of Nepali media but can also be taken as the real start of Nepali advertising.

While Gorkhapatra Sansthan can be attributed as having initiated regular print advertising, another publication major, Kantipur Publications deserves credit for taking print advertisements to another level through full colour printing. The use of colour opened up new possibilities, and as a result, major progress was made by the advertising sector.

Advertising Agencies

With the national daily Gorkhapatra churning out advertisements on a regular basis, the advertising sector caught momentum, and the next major development came in the form of an advertising agency, Laxman Upadhayas Nepal Advertisers. The main objective of the agency was to publish flashy and attractive advertisements in the print media. Three years later, following in the footsteps of Upadhaya, Keshav Lamichane started Nepal Printing and Advertising Agency owned by Keshav Lamichane. This agency held the accounts of prime clients like Janakpur Cigarette Factory, Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation and Nepal Bank Limited.

Radio

Nepal got a taste of yet another medium of mass communication through the introduction of radio broadcasting in 2002 B.S. Instituted by Prime Minister Padma Sumshere and run by Kashi Raj Pande fro a powerhouse of Nepal Electricity Corporation in Tundikhel, the service was shortlived, and was discontinued due to protest from other Ranas.

Regular radio broadcasting commenced on Magh 17, 2007 B.S. with the start of Nepal Radio (now Radio Nepal). It initially did not offer advertising services, and due to the lack of reliable records, the presence of advertising content in the later years cannot be ascertained. The real impetus for radio advertising however came after private FM stations came in operation in 2047 B.S. A new trend began with stations like Hits FM creating advertisements in house, and effectively mixing their program content with advertising content.

Television

With the start of regular TV transmission by Nepal Television on Poush 14, 2042 B.S., a new era dawned in the context of Nepali Media. But unlike print and radio, the ushering in of TV did not bring about any dramatic changes or growth in the advertising sector, possibly due to various resource and technical constraints.

The start of private TV channels have added to the choice of content before the viewers, but the medium is as yet a little charted domain as far as advertising possibilities and opportunities are concerned.

The Future

The current age is one of convergence, and no medium is complete by itself, unless complimented by other media and technologies. The Nepali advertising sector, if it has to one of the future, has to look beyond petty interests, and move towards larger gains and ideals. Changes have to come in perception, work ethics, methods and technologies. The sector has moved ahead by leaps and bounds, but the situation is far from perfect. The sector is better organized then in the past, though there remains a lot to be desired. Professionalism is still lacking, and compromise, creatively and otherwise seems to be the rule of the day, due to the size of the market or the nature of the client and the general public.

The Nepali market is miniscule in comparison to other markets in the world, but it holds tremendous scope for improvement and growth. Nepali advertisements have broken free from the local realm, and stand tall amongst other international creative effort. Given the inherent constraints, Nepali advertisements are comparable, if not better, with international advertisements.

TV is a virtually unexplored territory and so is the Internet, and there still is scope improvement on print and radio. The path ahead is challenging, but Nepali advertising is looking ahea... Advertising Association of Nepal Volume of Ad Business in Nepal 2004-2009 (Estimated in Crore) Media Print 2004 52 2005 60 2006 85 2007 98 2008 102 2009 115

TV Radio Others Total

36 20 92 200

48 25 87 220

60 30 75 250

50 45 80 273

65 50 82 299

90 65 80 35