Author: Dr Bhaskar Das

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Q: We’ve discussed in the past, but now a New Yorker article asks it so many words: Is the Media Prepared for an Extinction-Level Event? From what you see currently in India, do you find our print majors rethinking relations with their audiences?

A: At the outset, I must mention that western predictions about print media can’t be extrapolated in Indian context. In fact in India I feel print would experience a resurgence of sorts, provided the media owners understand their key strengths in the face of changing media landscape and the taste-spaces of various age cohorts they cater to.

Why do I perceive that it could be a resurgence time for Indian print media? The naysayers of print media have either examples of western world to rely on, or they base their comment on the media habits of post millennial generations.

But the reality is different at the ground level —first, in the age of generative AI and deepfakes, everyone can create content and its veracity cannot be verified. We have examples galore about disinformation and distorted videos misguiding millions and engender social and cultural tension. The new content environment divides society but in all these TRUST has become the biggest casualty.

In the backdrop of this, print media have been consistently scored high on CREDIBILITY. As a passive medium, active audience characteristics of print media and given its 24 hours gap of production of new content, it has no pressure of breaking stories even at the cost of credibility. Print media could easily fill up this credibility gap (literally and metaphorically) by investing in content and its creators. It may be relevant to mention here that the leading newspaper brands have experienced better topline and bottomline proving the doubting Thomas’ prediction wrong, as of now.

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Q: Last year, Godrej Consumer Products chose to zone all its advertising inhouse. Would you say that’s the way to go for large Indian marketers?

A: It’s too small a sample base to predict a possible patten of corporate behaviour in future. It depends on so many factors, both internal to an organisation or external to them. It is also a prioritisation on the basis of classical ‘Make’ or ‘Buy’ trade-off.

Each options has its merits but there is no doubt that agencies bring on the table a lot of expertise across the spectrum of services that can help an organisation leverage its marketing and thereby business objectives.

So, the jury is out on the subject and I can’t give any skewed nod to either of the options. It’s very situation-specific.

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Q: By acquiring the India licence for Esquire and Hollywood Reporter, the RP Sanjeev Goenka group is bucking the sentiment that magazines are dead. Any words of advice to the group?

A: There must be a strategic reason for RPSG Group’s acquisition of India licence for Esquire and Hollywood Reporter. Your observation about the dwindling fortunes of magazine marketers, both in circulation and advertisement revenue, is generally correct. This is a worldwide trend including India except a few titles, here and there.

What is still working for the magazine business is experiential events and digital/ native content in partnership with brands.

The two titles acquired by RPSG Group are well-known globally and if relevant edit content is created with well-known journalists/ experts on the subject and branded experiential products are created around the persona of the brand, an appropriate provenance can be created for them.

It all depends on how an ecosystem of value driven content and contextual environment can be created and a community based cohort can be served. Then an innovative monetisation would be possible. I believe that a brand can be a sunrise product in a so-called sunset industry. What say, Journalist sir.

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Q: We’ve already started seeing Linear TV fighting Streaming/OTT ahead of IPL. Are there any lessons both parties must learn given that it’s a kind-of zero sum game?

A: This slugfest, if I may use the term, is normal in a competitive environment. It is not a bellwether  to indicate which way the winds of change (consumer adoption curve) would blow. If the market and consumer are the final arbiter, why waste time in engaging in astrological prediction?!

Given that digital technology is mainstream now, various consumer cohorts would use their preferred options depending on speed, convenience, quality of content and service and brand affinity etc. Lessons would be learnt on the way , as textbooks and ego-based management of media would not be a a reliable guide to discover the winning formula.

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Q: We’ve not had measurement for print for a while now. Your response to the state of things?

A: Your concern is legitimate, especially in the age of performance marketing where third-party data is a very critical ingredient for optimal media evaluation and media buying. At this juncture, the reality can’t be altered and it is the same with Radio, OOH , OTT. I am sure the respective business models of various media formats would necessitate a convergence amongst industry players to evolve an acceptable metric for contributing towards a data-driven future.

Having said the above, it would a travesty of an empirical reality that that repeat purchase in leading newspapers in various markets does not reveal any declining trend of volume, value and profitability. And repeat purchase is a function of any lack of post purchase dissonance about return on investment. Some of the categories like retail, real estate, education and automotive sectors etc are investing for both strategic and tactical purposes. It is needless to say that the selected sets of media vehicles are opted for post evaluation of their efficacy. Since print media scores high on the consumer trust quotient, in an age of deep fakes, the brand attractiveness has been accentuating in India. With the India growth story going great guns, I feel this would be renaissance period of sorts post Covid. Of course only the smart guys would be capable of leveraging it.

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Q: Would you recommend visiting a restaurant given that it has won an award from one of the newspaper supplements?

A: Personally I never read a review first and go to either a film or a restaurant. When one comes to food, individual tastes are unique and it depends on personal preference. In fact , a word-of-mouth or word-of-mouse (social media ratings) would be a better guide on such occasions.

It may be relevant to add here that these days manufactured content is rampant and it’s not difficult to generate some positive buzz about anything under the sun. And it has nothing to do with a particular format – manufacturing consent in the age of Generative AI is platform-agnostic. Brands need to accept the reality: they’ve lost control over the desired narrative.

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Q: A lot of people are clueless about the new socio-economic classification system. From SEC to NCCS and now ISEC. Can you explain the concept and need for change in simple English?

A: There is nothing so stable as change, Bob Dylan once opined. The same is applicable in case of socio- economic classification. Within 10 years of introduction of NCCS, the new ISEC has to be introduced , keeping in mind the changing landscape of Indian households. It is also critical for marketeers for sharper focus of their addressable market.

What is the difference between NCCS and ISEC?  I don’t have the full report in my hand. Hence I won’t be able to highlight exhaustively the specific differences. But broadly, NCCS focused on education of the chief wage earner and presence of certain consumer durables and ownership of vehicles. ISEC has taken into account occupation of the chief wage earner and education of highest educated male adult, and highest educated female adult.

This makes ISEC more discriminatory and volatile. With the inclusion of the highest education of the female adult, it is evident that a significant aspect of India’s social capital is recognised.

Finally, I would like to add that such studies should happen at frequent intervals- eg 2/3 years – to reflect the dynamic nature of the socio- economic and household landscape of Indian society.

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Q: The winds of change are blowing across creative adland. Smaller agencies are blossoming. Tanmay Bhatt, the former standup comic, is being hailed as the next Piyush Pandey. Your comments

A: Creativity is generally not a function of size of the organisation or the status of an individual. Even the creative geniuses were not in their current position when they started their journey. There is no entitlement in a creative journey. Behind every successful creative genius, there must have been years and hours of hard work and perspiration. Rome was not built in a day, as they say.

Finally, I would like to add that in the  prevailing Creator Economy, every consumer is also a prosumer (courtesy Alvin Toffler). As a result of democratisation of creativity, the winds of change have started blowing for quite some time and it was not waiting for arrival of any individual.

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Q: While I understand the finer details are not yet known, and we must wait for all regulatory clearances to come in first, but what is your spontaneous reaction to the Reliance/Viacom-Disney-Star merger?

A: I think no comment is required (not because it’s too early to evaluate) on the subject. Let’s just look at some facts as a consequence of this merger:

I think the merger of Viacom18 and Star India will have a big impact on the entire M&E ecosystem as the combined entity will command a huge market share. The merger will create a large media house with 108+ channels (Star India has 70+ TV channels in eight languages whereas Viacom has 38 TV channels in eight languages), two large OTT apps (Jio Cinema and Hotstar) and two film studios (one each of Reliance and Disney India). There is a large market opportunity for the merged company, as India’s M&E market for print, TV and digital is at USD18bn in CY22, poised to post a CAGR of 8.2% over CY22-25 (Source: EY FICCI).

Post the merger, the combined entity will command a TV advertisement/TV subscription (excluding distributors/DTH/MSO revenue)/Total TV market share of 40%/44%/42% (as of FY23) respectively.

This dominance is expected to create a huge pressure on other linear GEC channels who have to take rear guard action to counter market challenges at both SVOD and AVOD level.

Will this virtual plutocracy be good or bad for the consumers? One can argue till the cows come home for a definitive answer. Consumers would be happy if they get to exercise their discretionary power on the basis of quality content and affordable price.

Anyway, it’s too early to predict if the merged entity would follow a consumer-desired policy. After all, the dil always maange more for consumers (Indian consumers are known for it) and business has to take into account its commercial viability.

Anyway, oligopoly, plutocracy et al are good for the shareholders and perhaps good for the economy, however imperfect the competition might be.

if you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q: At the ABP Conclave last week, siblings Piyush and Prasoon Pandey and Ila Arun underscored the need for family values shaping them into what they are today. How much of this is relevant for A&M professionals?

A: Sociologically, the debate of heredity vs environment in influencing individual’s behaviour and character is well known. Theoretically, it is true that family values are the glue that bind not only the family, but also impacts the  destiny of individuals. There are enough examples to corroborate both sociological and theoretical positions on the subject.

But with rising aspirations and democratisation of opportunities, individuals rise with or without “dynastic” inheritance or tangible family support. Here also, there are enough examples of such achievements in the field of cricket, athletics, film and entrepreneurship etc.

The above is not purported to suggest that family values are inconsequential. In fact, it provides a great tailwind for an individual to accelerate in life.

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Q: It’s being said that the Reliance-Disney merger will lead to a seller’s market, as against it being a spender’s one right now. Is that good for the media? Are consolidation and mergers good for consumers?

A: While I agree that the Reliance-Disney merger would create a significant competitive advantage for the merged entity, I don’t agree that it would result in a seller’s market. In today’s media environment, performance marketing in every delivery evaluation is a reality. Media shares are continuously getting reconfigured by sector, by company and by business/ media outcomes. Owning real estate (accessibility) might not necessarily result in automatic selection of a media vehicle for a campaign. The proof of delivery is a must. If the merged entity delivers that, it will get rewarded. Inspite of the ‘winner keeps it all’ adage, the fact remains that the right of way could rarely be for a seller, unless it’s a monopoly.

It may be discerned in the digital world but might not be true for a click-and-mortar world where the merged entity will compete.