Why Lok Sabha elections are good news for Google, Facebook

New Delhi: Election campaigning by political parties is likely to significantly boost revenues of digital platforms, an Assocham study has found.

Of the nearly Rs 4,000-5,000 crore total advertisement and publicity spend, the digital platforms can expect to garner at least Rs 400-500 crore, given the fact the internet penetration is limited to about 30 percent of the voters, the study has revealed.

Technology giants like Google and social networking websites like Twitter and Facebook can expect their India revenue to rise substantially this year with the political parties spending more money on digital media than the previous general election in 2009, the study observed.

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“It is not just national parties such as the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) but also smaller regional parties that are bumping up their digital ad budgets this year,” Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.

As per the new rules of the Election Commission which has strengthened its oversight over the social media, all the political ad insertions for the social media would need its clearance.

“When it comes to cities, the majority of parties are appealing to a younger generation of internet savvy voters, not just in larger metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata but also in tier-II and tier-III cities as well,” Rawat said.

PTI