The automobile industry in India is highly competitive and technology-driven. In such an aggressive business scenario, ensuring the success of an advertisement campaign is critical for a company’s success as huge advertisement budgets are involved. The purpose of the study is to recognize specific drivers of effective advertising for the Indian automobile sector in the context of print media using a qualitative research approach. A structured Delphi technique was implemented to identify specific drivers of effective advertising for the automobile sector. 32 drivers of effective advertising are narrowed down and refined through a structured Delphi to finalize specific 13 drivers of effective advertising for the Indian automobile sector in the print media context. Recognition of 13 specific drivers of effective advertising will help advertisers and marketing managers to be focused while designing advertisement campaign in the Indian print setting. It will also ensure formulation of effective media and message strategies which will lead to long-term business growth for the Indian automobile manufactures. The study demonstrates how a qualitative research tool, viz., Delphi technique can be successfully used to investigate the dynamic field of advertisement effectiveness.

The automobile business in India is characterized by extreme competition, dynamism and business intricacies. With more than 35 players fiercely competing in the industry locally, it has come a long way since its inception in 19821. The technological advancements, global competition and easy access to market information to customers have made the scenario more aggressive (Bovet and Sheffi, 1998). Customers’ demands are rising continuously which has forced automobile companies to change significantly to deliver the finest model to them. In such an aggressive business scenario prevailing in the Indian automobile sector, advertising represents an important means of ensuring not only a company’s success and profitability but also its long-term business growth.

Advertising symbolizes an important way through which organizations communicate with their existing and potential customers worldwide (Bendixen, 1993) and automobile industry in India is no exception. Advertising is a major element of a company’s promotional mix in the Indian automobile sector. In 2015, the industry grew by 17.6% and 2016 assures to be yet another high growth year. It is expected that Indian advertisement market will grow by 16.8% in the year 2016-17 and Automobile, Telecom and E-Commerce companies will contribute majorly to overall advertising spending (Pitch – Madison Advertising Report, 2016).

It is apparent that advertising drives the automobile business in India and has played a considerable role in its rapid growth in the recent years. As a result, ensuring effective advertising is of utmost importance so that the organizations can plan their advertising strategies and allocate their advertising budgets wisely. In this light, the present research is an attempt to recognize the specific drivers of effective advertising for automobiles in the context of Indian print media using Delphi technique. Recognition of specific drivers of effective advertising for the automobile sector will help out advertisers to be more focused while designing an advertisement copy for an automobile brand which will create greater impact on buying behavior. The scope of this paper is limited to print media only as it is expected to grow strongly in India for another decade and a half due to mounting literacy (Jeffrey, 2012) and is an uncomplicated means of individual empowerment (Raghunath, 2012) in the Indian society.

Marketing Management,Indian Automobile Manufactures, Industry , Effective Advertising, Qualitative Analysis.