Locations · Chennai · Advertising
Chennai ads,Tamil first
A city that reads Tamil first, with old home-grown papers and tight hoarding checks, punishes ads that were written elsewhere. We count the calls each ad brings.
A strategist calls you in one working day.
Write it in Tamil.Book it where it pays.
Chennai readers trust the Tamil they grew up with, and an ad translated at the last minute shows. PromotEdge shapes the idea, writes the Tamil and English ads, and books papers, radio and licensed outdoor sites for Chennai firms.
Then you can match each media rupee to the enquiries it brought.
Plans, copy and designs are made by our servicing team, which is based in cities across India, and shared with you on screen. For a launch, our team comes to Chennai and stays as long as the job needs. Our job is to impress your Chennai buyers, not you. We start on the creative campaigns desk.
This page covers only what is different about Chennai. Our advertising service covers press, radio, TV and outdoor in general. See how it differs in Mumbai, Delhi NCR or Ahmedabad.
- 2015working with Indian brands since
- 65+in-house team: strategy, creative, media and tech
- 4pillars under one roof: strategy, advertising, digital, on-ground activation (BTL)
- 6cities: head office in Kolkata, teams in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Guwahati and Bhubaneswar
Our beliefWe can't do magic alone. The more involved you are, the faster you see results.
Six jobs,one plan.
An idea that works in Tamil
We test the headline in Tamil first. If it only lands in English, it goes back to the desk.
02Morning and evening papers
Tamil dailies for wide reach, English ones for office buyers, an evening paper for a same-day offer.
03FM and Akashvani spots
Which station, which time band. Tamil scripts are timed to the second.
04Licensed hoardings and shop boards
Sites checked for a live licence, and name boards laid out Tamil first in the 5:3:2 ratio.
05Tamil TV bursts
Short bursts on Tamil channels when a launch must reach the whole state, with telecast proof.
06Search and social, alongside
A paper ad makes people look you up. Meta ads and Google search make sure they find you.
Send us your offer and dates and we will reply with a one-page media sheet, in plain words. Get a free growth plan
Four facts that change how we buy media here.
From government lists, court reports and the papers' own pages, read on 4 October 2026.
Tamil comes first, on paper and on signs. About 78% of people in the old city limits named Tamil as their mother tongue in Census 2011, as reported. The Corporation fixes shop-board letter sizes: Tamil, English and a third language in a 5:3:2 ratio. So our Tamil copy is written first.
The papers grew up here. The Hindu began in Madras in 1878. Dinamalar, started in 1951, has its head office in Chennai. A Chennai plan usually starts with the press.
A shorter dial. The government's list of 30 March 2026 puts Chennai among four A+ radio cities, with six private FM stations. Station and hour matter more.
Hoardings are licensed and checked. Since 1 September 2016 the Corporation, not the District Collector, gives hoarding licences. By June 2026 the city had 967 licensed hoardings; an unlicensed one draws a Rs 25,000 penalty. We only book sites whose licence we have seen.
What the public record says,row by row.
| Item | What the source shows | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Dailies | Daily Thanthi (1942) and Dinamalar have Chennai editions on the ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations) list, as do The Hindu and The Economic Times. DT Next started on 1 November 2015. | Tamil dailies for mass offers, English for trade and office buyers. |
| Hoarding rules, 2023 | As reported: three-year licences, a 10 m height cap, no boards near water bodies, monuments or places of worship. | We drop any site that breaks these before it reaches your plan. |
| Tamil name boards | Tamil on top, then English, then a third language. The High Court set 1 November 2026 as the final date for retailers. The fine is Rs 2,000. | Shop fronts and mall boards we design follow this layout. |
| Festival dates | Ayudha Pooja 19 October, Vijayadasami 20 October, Deepavali 8 November 2026. | Book press and radio for these weeks now. |
Sources as cited, checked 4 October 2026. Papers are named as Chennai media, not as our partners. Outdoor rows are general guidance, not legal advice; each site's licence is what counts.
From your briefto the call count.
- 01
A short brief
What you sell, who buys it, which areas, and the date you are aiming at.
- 02
The media plan
Each paper, station and site on one sheet, with its reason and the owner's rate.
- 03
Tamil and English copy
The Tamil is written first and read by a native speaker. Our language partners write both versions.
- 04
Licence and print checks
We see each hoarding licence and its end date before booking. Print goes to a printer you choose or one we work with.
- 05
Proof and enquiries
Tear sheets, station logs and dated site photos. What cannot be measured cannot be achieved, so each medium gets its own number or QR code.
Tell us what’s not working. We’ll send you an honest one-page growth plan, free.
How we deliver it, and why
How your business model changes the plan
A retailer needs name boards and festival press. A dealer-led maker needs English trade papers and a few good sites. A service firm needs radio and search together.
- Write the Tamil first. Readers feel a last-minute translation. Tamil and English versions side by side.
- Check every licence before booking. A lapsed licence can end a campaign mid-month. A licence and end date per site.
- Give each medium its own number. What cannot be measured cannot be achieved. Calls counted by medium.
Go deeper: Chennai's media houses and radio
Media groups
The Hindu Group also prints Businessline, Frontline, Sportstar and The Hindu Tamil. The Sun Group, at MRC Nagar, started Sun TV in 1993 and bought Dinakaran in 2005. The Thanthi group runs Daily Thanthi, DT Next, Maalai Malar, a news channel and a radio station. We judge each outlet on its own buyers.
Source: Media Ownership Monitor; DT Next; Wikipedia, read 4 October 2026
Radio
Akashvani adds FM Rainbow 101.4 MHz, FM Gold 102.3 MHz and Vividh Bharati 100.5 MHz. Its card prices FM Rainbow and FM Gold at Rs 770, Rs 550 and Rs 330 per 10 seconds by time band. That is the government's card, not our rate.
Source: Akashvani gross rates card, read 4 October 2026
AI in advertising: today and next
Today: Meta Advantage+
Meta says Advantage+ applies AI across a campaign's audience, placement and budget, and matches ads to people most likely to act. Our view: useful for the online half of a Chennai plan. Tamil copy and licensed sites stay human jobs.
Source: Meta for Business, Advantage+, read 10 October 2026
Next
Our view: drafts and sizes will come faster, so a clear Tamil offer matters more. Want us to test yours? Ask us.
Not sure whether press, radio or a hoarding suits you? Ask what we would buy first if it were our money. Talk to us
What affects the cost of advertising in Chennai.
There is no price list on this site. After a first call we write the scope and send the quote within 2 working days. Paper space, airtime, sites, printing and our travel are billed at actual cost, shown before you say yes.
What affects the cost
- Languages. A Tamil and an English version are two pieces of writing and two layouts.
- Editions. A city edition costs less than a state-wide run.
- Radio hours. Prime-time bands cost more than late-night ones.
- Licensed sites. Good ones go early in festival weeks.
- Name boards. How many shop fronts to redo before the 1 November 2026 date.
How we quote
- A first call on your buyers, areas and dates
- A media sheet with the reason for every line
- A written quote, line by line, that you can approve or cut
What you get in the quote
- Our creative and planning work, shown apart from media
- Each paper, edition, size and date, each station and time band
- How each ad will be tracked: number, QR code or offer code
Comparing Chennai quotes? Ask each agency to show the licence and end date for every hoarding it offers.
What happensafter you ask.
For projects we think we can help, this is how it goes.
- 01
A strategist calls you
In one working day: a 30-minute call with one of our strategists about your business and what is not working.
- 02
You get a 1-page plan
A short, honest plan: what to fix first and what we would do. It is free.
- 03
A quote, if you want one
If you want to go ahead, we send a quote within 2 working days.
We confirm the timeline in the quote. Contracts start at 3 months, with 30 days' notice to stop.
Brands and people are named only as public examples. They are not PromotEdge clients or endorsers unless stated.
Related pages.
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In their own words
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Bobby SrinivasChief Manager Marketing & Brand Marketing at Utkarsh India“As a progressive and emerging digital marketing company, PromotEdge is doing something right to enhance the experience of companies associated with them. …”
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Sharif Rezwan KabirBrand Manager at PRAN RFL GroupSend us your offer and dates.We'll reply with a media sheet.
Straight answers.
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We serve Chennai through a servicing team based in cities across India, working hybrid and remote, so you hear from us every day. We travel for launches and site checks and meet you in Chennai regularly. Plans and copy are shared on screen.
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Usually both, with Tamil leading. Our language partners write the Tamil and our team checks it. Most people in the city have Tamil as their mother tongue, and the Corporation's sign rule puts Tamil first. English works for office and business-to-business buyers.
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Choose the edition, size and date, then send artwork before booking closes. We can do it for you: pick titles, make the ad, confirm the paper's rate and keep the tear sheet. You approve the final proof in writing before anything is booked.
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Yes, on a licensed site. 967 licences were live by June 2026. Under the 2023 rules, as reported, boards stop at 10 metres and are banned near water bodies and places of worship. This is general guidance, not legal advice. We check each licence before booking.
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Now. Ayudha Pooja is on 19 October, Vijayadasami on 20 October and Deepavali on 8 November 2026. Press and radio can still be booked this month. Book early, because good dates and licensed sites sell out first. Send us your offer and dates, and we reply with a media sheet.
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No. The state's Information and Public Relations Department releases all ads for government departments, boards and universities, at fixed rates. We work for private businesses and institutions, so government notices are not part of our work. If you supply the government, we can still plan your own ads.
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Press or radio with a clear offer can bring calls the same week. Outdoor works more slowly. Judge a plan after two or three bursts. We confirm the timeline in the quote. Ongoing work has a 3-month minimum, then 30 days' notice.