Notice something about the annual budget ritual ? Nobody from the advertising fraternity is interviewed about the budget. This year around, it was no different for the Indian Budget '04. While the Finance Minister (PC) and the Prime Minister (Dr Manmohan Singh) went through the rituals, our big daddies were conspicuous by their absence (not invited ?) on any talk show.

Now, everybody will agree that advertising makes a difference to brand building, and to the marketing effort as a whole. (Why, it even helps to give a shine to our political parties!) So, why is it treated as a non-entity when it comes to the economic process that we focus on every year ?

Anyway, here is a humble attempt to decipher the effects of the Budget '04 on the advertising community.

The Message
Budget '04 has a strong message for the advertising community. The future is not just in the cities. Agencies need to do more than pay lip service to rural marketing.

The advertising community, comfortable in their air-conditioned offices and perpetually pre-occupied with their "strategy sessions" may be clueless when it comes to the real India. The India that the good doctor and his team are trying to bring into the mainstream of economic rejuvenation.

Of course, this must change. And Hindustan Lever has shown the way. By stealing a march over rivals with Project Shakti and the Hindustan Lever network. Distinguished management thinker C. K. Prahlad, who is on Lever's board has espoused the cause of establishing its presence at the bottom of the economic pyramid - to drive progress.

How well the company can leverage the Government's new policy (to promote the rural and agro sectors) will profile its thrust in the future. Add up the service brands like Lakme Beauty Salons and Ayush Health Therapy Centres - and you can make out a blueprint for the future.

In Sync with New Realities ?
There will of course, be a need for a whole new range of rural & agro based new products and services. The rural market will awaken to new possibilities. And the rural neo-rich will re-define many concepts including those of branding and marketing communities.

For example, while the new budget may seem to squeeze advertising budgets of mutual funds, this may be offset by an opportunity to sell MF schemes to the farmer.

The Juggler
The FM's budget is like a juggler's act - he needs to satisfy (appease ?) various segments of society. While (hopefully) keep his economic priorities.

The new 'transaction' tax on stock trading may prove a damper for speculative stock trading. (Speculative trading constitutes 60% of all stock trading.) Thus the new 'transaction' tax may slow down the launch of new IPOs, affecting plans of public companies & PSU's to raise funds from capital markets. This may reduce the huge IPO advertising & promotion budgets. (Will software giant TCS' much-awaited IPO slated to be launched this year be postponed ?)

The 4% excise duty hike on steel and 10.2 % service tax on commercial/industrial construction activities will adversely affect real estate prices, leading to a possible slump in demand.

And the withdrawal of tax exemption on aircraft acquisition/lease will make the future of existing and proposed 'no frills' airlines less exciting. This in turn may affect the tourism industry as a whole, an industry which includes hotels, airlines, sundry services. And adds up to quite a bit of advertising.

But there is little doubt that with personal computer connectivity leap-frogging, both hardware & software companies will have increasingly robust bottom-lines. Along with tech education.

And the burgeoning telephony networks will ride on television content - to create I.P.TV. Giving a fillip to content like films, animation, SFX, etc.

The Future is Here
The future cannot be kept waiting. Ad men ( & women ) need to take stock of their professional lives and shift their city-centric focus to one that shares space with people who they never imagined would be a part of their active TA's. A wise man once said : "If you need to sell in a desert, you need to learn to ride a camel."
Perhaps some agency should make a 'plan' to help the FM to market his budget. Any takers for Budget '05 ?