MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • Personally speaking, I am all ready for the future. I have decided to start a specialized scam ads shop. Which to me sounds like a really lucrative business

    Anil Thakraney: Channel V: A wasted opportunity

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Channel V has announced they are giving up music for good, and it will be all about youth entertainment from hereon. My first reaction: ‘So what’s new, guys?’ Because whenever I have made the mistake of dropping by at Channel V, I have never spotted a music video, only some mindless trash involving screaming and yelping kids.

     

    Channel V has been around for nearly two decades, and I must say they have struggled badly in terms of the content mix, from the start. From music to comic promos (remember Quick Gun Murugan?) to juvenile reality shows… they’ve been trying to pull all sorts of stunts, with the hope that something will get the Indian youth hooked. This hasn’t worked. Channel V has remained a very small player in the STAR bouquet, and every other year there are murmurs of a shut down.

     

    The core problem, in my books, has been lack of focus. As programming heads and CEOs changed over the years, each one added new confusion to the proceedings. With the result that today, all these years later, Channel V stands for nothing really to the youth segment. It’s become like that proverbial dhobi ka kutta… na ghar ka na ghat ka. This is bad news for any brand, leave alone a television channel operating in a very saturated market.

     

    Anyways, they seem to have finally decided it’s going to be all about entertainment content, whatever that means. But it appears to be good bye to music for sure. Let’s see how this pans out in terms of actual programming, though going by past records, this is likely to be 24X7 nonsense stuff.

     

    When I look back, there appears to be one very important trick that Channel V missed. And it’s cost them heavily. They should have positioned the brand as THE Bollywood music channel from the very start. Hindi film songs are always popular in this nation (the local pop and rock bands are sidey shows anyway). And the channel, being an early starter, could have owned this genre, leaving no place for those who came in later, such as Sony Mix, Mastii, and others. Channel V could have become Bollywood’s official music station. This would have translated into loyal viewership and a lot of ad revenue.

     

    But instead of that, they opted for retarded reality shows, and today they are neither here nor there. Channel V should consider itself lucky its parent has very, very deep pockets.

     

    * * *

     

    PS: Harvey Nichols recently ran this outdoor campaign inLondon. The idea is totally sensational and many locals found it to be deeply offensive. But the damage was done before it could get pulled. Wonder when we’ll see such stuff in India. And wonder how the hockey loving ACP Vasant Dhoble would react. 🙂

     

    Anil Thakraney is a senior journalist and commentator. He is Editor-at-Large, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are his own.

     

     

     

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare in the morning papers and the nightly news. And sometimes the afternooners, the newsmags and all that's on the Web

    Ranjona Banerji: Media forgets more than it remembers

    Ranjona Banerji

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Most Indian newspapers stayed up late to bring readers the results of the Euro semi-final between Germany and Italy. The Times of India also managed to check up the Wimbledon scores and had a front page snippet on Rafael Nadal’s shocker of a second round exit. This is unusual because TOI usually does much less for tennis than other newspapers.

     

    (But CNN tennis reporter, I have a question for you: Is Rafael Nadal’s second round exit bigger than Pete Sampras’s fourth round exit in 2001, since you said that Nadal’s upset was the biggest in tennis history and no one could remember another? Nadal has two Wimbledon titles, Sampras at the time had seven Wimbledon titles – a record he holds with William Renshaw – and would never win another. The man Sampras lost to: Roger Federer. It was only 11 years ago, a little history is not a bad thing for a sports reporter. Or even, a good memory!)

     

    * * *

     

    The Houston Chronicle has fired a reporter for working as an exotic dancer (sometimes known as stripper) as a second job. The woman was exposed by a rival publication. Snitching on your competitors is a trend in Western journalism which is yet to reach India and one wonders whether that is not a good thing. The Guardian’s exposes of phone-hacking and other dubious practices by rival newspapers, especially those owned by Rupert Murdoch, perhaps fall in the realm of both public service and dogged investigative journalism. (The Hindu comes the closest in India, as it occasionally pulls up lesser media houses for journalistic and marketing transgressions.) But “investigating” fellow journalists of media houses and their personal lives to inform readers? Am not sure what category of journalism this falls into.

     

    * * *

     

    A minor storm in Indian journalism has been over the death of a photographer who worked with Tehelka, was sent into the hinterland to do a story on Naxals, got malaria there and died. The newspaper is at fault for apparently not factoring malaria into the threat element of this assignment.

     

    Newspapers in India are notorious for not being bothered about the dangers of newsgathering – mainly because most newspapers have dispensed with most kinds of dangerous reporting. (I could I suppose say the same thing about TV, in that they hardly started.) Gone are the days when even gossip columnists – like Devyani Chaubal being slapped by Dharmendra – faced physical dangers while working. I am being facetious I know but bullet-proof vests are hardly part of a reporter’s must-haves in India. There should be no room for callousness. But I am still unconvinced what Tehelka could have done about a mosquito. If they did not help the photographer or his family later, then there is cause for criticism.

     

    Still, it would not hurt media houses to take a closer look at employee welfare (this does not mean a box of mithai at Diwali) and on-the-job dangers.

     

    * * *

    Interesting that the anniversary of the Emergency came and went with little media attention. Are we moving on or did we just, like, forget?

     

    * * *

     

    The case of Abu Jundal or Jindal or Zaby or whatever his name is – the Lashkar handler of the 26/11 attacks sent to India by Saudi Arabia – is exciting but it is still in its early stages. Rather than focus their hysterics only on Pakistan, the Indian television media might like to look at it as a story first and probe all angles rather than jump into jingoistic propaganda.

     

    * * *

     

    The Indian media – particularly TV – got itself into a bit of a bind over Pakistan’s flip-flop over the release of Sarabjit Singh. Sarabjit is a celebrity prisoner whose family has ceaselessly campaigned for his release. Pakistan announced Sarabjit’s name and then changed it the next day to Surjeet Singh. Now the dilemma: should the media show happiness for Surjeet, rage against the machine for Sarabjit, damn Pakistan or blame Pakistan? Is one Indian equal to another or are famous Indians more equal? It is not known how hard Surjeet Singh’s family worked the media to get him released, so perhaps there’s an answer. Also Surjeet Singh walked across the Wagah border and claimed he was a RAW agent, a tag Sarabjit and his family have consistently denied!

     

    * * *

     

    Congratulations to Mid-Day on its 33rd anniversary and a whopping anniversary issue of 200 pages which I haven’t had the time to read yet. Might take me all week!.

     

  • Since the last Olympics, a lot of Indian sportspersons have come to the fore. Apart from gold medals, I think our chances of winning a larger number of medals are higher than ever, says Prasana Krishnan

    The Anchor: Prasana Krishnan on 5 things to watch out for in the 2012 Olympics

    By Prasana Krishnan

     

    1. Indian contingent: The Indian sportspersons have only improved since Beijing 2008. Apart from gold medals, I think our chances of winning a larger number of medals are higher than ever – meaning more silver and bronze medals too – leading to a larger overall tally of medals.

     

    2. Individual performances: Since the last Olympics, a lot of Indian sportspersons have come to the fore. Our boxers and shooters will do us proud this time as well. And, so will the badminton players.

     

    3. Team spirit: Controversies might have outshone them. But I do feel that Indian tennis team’s performance will be worth watching. The players are in great form.

     

    4. Hockey: It’s our national sport and hopefully they will make us proud. The hockey team’s performance is definitely something to look forward to.

     

    5. Usain Bolt: Don’t be surprised if he smashes his own record. After all, he is ‘Lightning Bolt’!

     

    Prasana Krishnan is COO, Neo Sports Broadcasting Pvt Ltd

     

  • While email marketing may be a cost-effective medium enabling larger reach, the challenges that accompany it are also large

    Email Marketing: Vast opportunities make it a favourite with brands

    By Robin Thomas

     

    Easily the most preferred medium for a brand or marketer to get close to his consumer, digital has never seen such a fervent chase being put up by its users. While it was mostly search and display advertisements that advertisers flocked to, much of digital advertising is still unexplored territory. The importance of engaging the youth through social media marketing has only just been realized, while video marketing and mobile advertising are also gaining traction among marketers.

     

    According to a recent IAMAI-IMRB report on Digital Advertising (as on March 2012), the total advertising spends including classifieds was valued at Rs2,850 crore.  It is expected that by FY2013 the digital advertisement spends will be about Rs4,391 crore.

     

    The March 2012 report on digital advertising points out that search advertising constitutes about 20 per cent of the total online advertising spend or about Rs570 crore.  The report also states that advertisements on social media, email and video over the Internet constitutes about 3 per cent (Rs94 crore), 5 per cent (Rs144 crore) and 2 per cent (Rs59 crore) respectively. What is noteworthy is that a major proportion, around 53 per cent, of the overall digital advertising spends come from classifieds listing (Rs1,496 crore).

     

    With such infinite possibilities continuing to emerge on a frequent basis around the medium, one tool that has been a favourite with the marketers in the recent past is email advertising. With just a handful of players that operate in the realm of providing email services, it becomes all the more challenging for owners to come up ideas that catch the attention of the advertisers. The question is whether there is enough being done around the vertical or if companies are missing out on the edge that this medium can possibly offer.

     

    The IAMAI – IMRB Digital Advertising report already states that email advertising is worth 5 per cent of the overall digital advertising spends. According to industry estimates, email advertising is expected to grow from the current Rs144 crore to Rs250 crore in the next year or two. The role or purpose of email marketing is said to be about delivering the message and inviting consumers into brand engagement. Further, with mobile internet being touted to take internet inIndiato new heights, email marketing is expected to also thrive in the long run.

     

    Mr Prasanth Mohanachandran, Co founder, AgencyDigi stated: “email marketing is very relevant and important today, it is cost-effective and reaches to wide range of audience. While it is already witnessing growth, mobile will only further grow email marketing as nearly 27 per cent of mails received by consumers are on handheld devices. The challenge, however, is to find newer ways to reach out to the consumers’ inbox and not their spam. Segmentation in email marketing will also help brands reach their relevant consumers.”

     

    Mr Gaurav Nabh, Business Head, Quasar was of the view that since email is the most used platform for internet users in India, it is absolutely important and critical for any brand as a medium for reaching out to its consumer. “It is a communication medium, much like print, radio or TV. What you do with this platform and how you are able to maximize its effectiveness depends on the idea and approach,” he said.

     

    What is noteworthy about email marketing is that it acts as a reach building medium by allowing brands to segment the audience as per their demographics and profile, and thus directly targeting them. While email marketing may be a cost-effective medium enabling larger reach, the challenges that accompany it are also large. Most email advertisements tend to be unsolicited mails and thus enter the spam mail. Lack of creative email advertisements could be another challenge for this business and hence it must not only get more creative but, also innovative in terms of rich media and interactivity and so on.

     

    “A lot has been done with email marketing as a platform – from embedding previews of videos to lead generation, polls and voting. The limitations of the platform are based on poor bandwidth and technology limitation of most email clients and platforms. email marketing has been most successful for finance and real estate sector – helping them in generating leads. email marketing is here to stay as it has a role and purpose and the fact that it is cost effective. Email marketing will over time be seen not as a reach builder, but that of targeted awareness, and a medium to initiate and enable dialogue rather than just spread the message,” affirmed Mr Nabh of Quasar.

     

    Mr Saurav Patnaik, VP-Marketing, Kenscio Digital Marketing Pvt Ltd was of the view that email marketing or digital direct marketing does not lack innovation, but to a great extent, is lacking creativity. “The agency’s focus has been on producing beautiful communication, but not much attention has been given to this channel. The road ahead is bright for this channel of marketing. We are very positive about the future and India as a market is growing and more the penetration of the internet happens the bigger it will get in the next few years,” he said.

     

    Mr Gupta of DGM India noted: “Spam is a big issue, due to which it faces similar issues as SMS marketing. Like SMS, email marketing is also being done by loads of small/unorganized players. Due to this the larger players with opted-in databases are not getting their due pricing and share. Because of its nature, email marketing is being predominantly used for activation/ response oriented campaigns rather than branding campaigns. It is, in fact, very cost effective for these objectives. Also it is very effective in lead generation campaigns for BFSI, travel packages, auto, online listing businesses etc. It also works very well for highly niche products.”

     

    While industry players are of the opinion that email marketing is here to stay and will grow over the years there is a need to be innovative and creative in delivering the message to the audience. E-marketing must be used to send relevant information and brands must start a meaningful dialogue with their consumers through email marketing. In order to escape spam and reach their consumers directly, email marketing could be used as a perfect tool for permission marketing. As internet consumption through mobile or smart phones grow, and consumers are given unique experience on mobile, email marketing could possibly witness a whole new chapter in the way it gets consumed.

     

  • General entertainment channels needn't worry much about the big live sporting events

    Games on, but GECs not worried

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    The UEFA Euro Cup has made the Europeans forget all about the economic crisis; London, along with the whole world, is eagerly waiting for the world’s biggest sporting event – the Olympics – to begin. The world is buzzed about the various sporting events coming up in the next few months.

     

    Sports, around the globe, generate a major interest and channels – sports or otherwise – fight each other out for viewership and advertisements, and brands try to out-do each other through advertisements and activations to leave a mark on the public’s mind.

     

    The last event of such a stature in India was the recently concluded IPL which saw the entertainment channels fighting for eyeballs. With the next three-four months choc-o-bloc with sporting events, MxMIndia takes a look at how channels in the country are gearing up.

     

    Event Period Channel
    UEFA Euro Cup June 8- July 1 Neo Prime
    Wimbledon June 25-July 8 Star Sports
    India-SL series July 22- Aug 7 Ten Cricket
    Olympics July 27-Aug 12 DD/ESPN or Star Sports

    Time to worry?

    According to the media planners, for GECs and other channels, there is nothing to worry about. “Non-cricket fare is still appealing to a small niche segment and hence, its popularity is not reflected in ratings. India in the months of Jul-Aug has always been a moderate performer and not as high profile as some others and so this will also not have a major impact,” feels Shubha George, COO -South Asia, MEC.

     

    Suresh Balakrishnan

    And she is not alone. Suresh Balakrishnan, CEO, Brand Programming Network, agreed with her and added that though cricket is more than a sport in India, even IPL, which has both cricket as well as entertainment and was telecast at primetime, hasn’t been able to affect channels, especially the GECs in the recent past. “Lately, IPL has been able to get a rating of 2-3 which has hardly affected any GECs, so I’m sure other sports won’t matter to them at all. However, there is no denying the fact that viewership for other sports is increasing in the country. And major events might be able to at least reach the ratings which cricket gets, in the coming years.”

     

    Mr Balakrishnan, however, feels that sports channels don’t have much to worry about as there are many male-focussed brands which help them generate enough ad revenue. “Having said that, I also feel that channels showing sports other than cricket know that recovering money isn’t an easy task,” he added.

     

    The television behaviour showcases the interest of the masses which obviously tilts towards popular entertainment channels. However, most media planners agree that sports viewership is growing in the country and soon things might change but until then channels will have to make do with what they have/get.

     

    Amin Lakhani

    Amin Lakhani, principal partner, Mindshare said: “All leading newspapers and news channels have special coverage of important events, take Euro Cup for instance, but how much of it is being converted into viewership or readership? Even then, that hasn’t deferred them from covering the events because they know that, though tiny, there is a loyal following. Even brands are doing activations for sports which are gaining popularity in other sectors apart from Sec A&B – Pepsi is doing activations for football.”

     

    Business as usual

    Akash Chawla

    Entertainment channels continue to enjoy the largest share in the viewership pie. Although, they continue to compete with each other, when it comes to other genres, nothing has been able to write them off.

     

    Akash Chawla, Zee Entertainment Enterprise (ZEEL) marketing head – national channels, said: “Just like IPL, we are ready to combat any other sporting event. Our programming strategy does not depend on these events.”

     

    “For us, it will be business as usual. The channel is backed with strong and fresh content for its viewers, irrespective of the programming on competing genres,” said Hemal Jhaveri, general manager, Movies Ok.

     

    Hemal Jhaveri

    Other genres which focus on the same target audience as the sports channels are youth and news. But many in these genres believe that such sporting events don’t affect their viewership. Nikhil Gandhi, executive director, youth channels, media networks, Disney UTV claimed that most of the sporting events attract a majority viewership of urban youth, whereas they, as channels, focus on the HSM belt which includes 62 cities. Hence, such sporting events won’t affect their viewership.

     

    A broadcast veteran from a Delhi-based news channel too felt that news channels give enough coverage to the various sporting events, so there is no question that the events might eat into their viewership pie. He said that though both cater to the same TG, they are different genres and people might shift between the two, if needed.

     

    Nikhil Gandhi

    On the other hand, Neo Prime, the sports channel which is currently telecasting UEFA Euro Cup 2012, is aware of the competition within and between other genres and risk involved, but is still optimistic. “Sports is still a male-dominated genre, whereas other genres (read GECs) enjoy female viewership. But during big events, there are chances of a shift in the remote control. Sports do get eyeballs. And as for the advertisements, the brands which advertise on sports channels are different from the ones in GECs or other channels. Hence, nothing overlaps each other,” said Prasana Krishnan, COO, Neo Sports Broadcast.

     

    Prasana Krishnan

    Hopefully, as said by various media personalities, sports other than cricket in the coming years will be able to generate same interest among Indian citizens across sections and help sports channel to boom and enter the main TRP race as well.

     

     

     Imaging: Rafiq, Pictures courtesy: London2012.com

     

     

  • … and they aren't complaining as Hindi Speaking Markets seem to love the action & colour of the South

    Hindi channels say ‘Vanakkam’ & ‘Namaskaaram’ to Southern hits

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    What is common between Ghajini, Wanted and Bhool Bhulaiya, apart from the fact that they were all blockbusters and starred A-listed actors? The fact that they were all remakes of popular South Indian films.

     

    Lately, Bollywood has been experimenting with a lot of films made down south. And since, the small screen is a reflection of what happens on the big screen, even the channels – movie as well as GECs – are cashing in.

     

    There has been a spate of south Indian dubbed films being shown on the television. According to the recent data, there isn’t much difference between the ratings for Hindi and dubbed films on TV. On an average, both get a 0.3TVR (HSM CS15+ on channels like Colors, Star Plus, Sony Max, UTV Movies, Star Gold in Jan -June) as compared to prime time where Hindi movies score better.

     

    So, it is logical to wonder, why the sudden acceptance of South Indian dubbed films on national channels? Is it a Rajnikanth effect or there is more than what meets the eye…

     

    Formula or freshness?

    Manisha Sharma, weekend programming head, Colors feels that the acceptance started gradually over four-five years ago with experimentation by all three stakeholders – Bollywood, broadcaster and viewer.

     

    Anilkumar Sathiraju

    “The viewer was getting hungry for content and the increased frequency with which Hindi blockbuster movies were being repeated ensured that he was willing to experiment with dubbed movies. The other thing that worked for the dubbed movies was the fact that the production quality of south Indian movies has gone up tremendously in the last decade. Also, the movies which were initial successes were the ones which had stars who, at some point, had crossed over into Hindi like Rajnikanth and Nagarjuna,” she added.

     

    According to media planner Anilkumar Sathiraju, associate VP and head South, Mudra Max, the fresh content and faces are working in favour of the dubbed movies on channels. “Movies down south, especially Telugu films, have a certain mantra – say six over-the-top fight scenes, two behind-the bushes romantic songs – which isn’t very common in Bollywood movies of late. So, people don’t mind watching something ‘different’.”

     

    Mohan Gopinath

    However, there are movie channels like Zee Cinema, which have been showing South Indian dubbed films for a long time, which feel that the trend has caught on other channels recently. “To be frank, these movies have always rated on Zee Cinema, so the appetite has always been there. Other channels have picked the trend up in the past few years and now the viewer gets South films, dubbed in Hindi, all across. Now with South Indian films being remade into Hindi films, the appetite for dubbed films has increased,” says Mohan Gopinath, business head, Zee Cinema.

     

    Manasi Sapre

    Also with broadcasters taking precautions to maintain the real essence of the film while dubbing, not much is lost in translation. So, viewers find it easy to relate to the films.

     

    Manasi Sapre, director programming and acquisitions, Movie channels UTV, said: “Though, dubbing is a challenging job, we make sure that the essence of the film isn’t lost in the process. Therefore, it varies – sometimes they are sourced dubbed and sometimes we do it.”

     

    Vijay Subramaniam

    “Till a decade or so ago, most regional movies were shown with subtitles which didn’t attract the viewer as much it does today, since they are dubbed. So, not only masala movies but also artistic films are able to find their way into one’s living room,” said Vijay Subramaniam, deputy GM, Madison Media.

     

    Apart from the content and viewer’s acceptance, Anamika Mehta, COO, LodestarUM feels that it’s the explosion of media which is behind this: “What happened with the song Kolaveri di is the finest example one can give today. Boundaries are shrinking and more and more people are coming to know about the film culture down South.”

     

    Cost cutting

    Vajir Singh

    Vajir Singh, editor, Box Office India accepts that freshness in content and crossover of actors – famous like Rajnikanth or lesser-known ones like Siddharth – does play a role, but feels that it is the cost of acquisition that plays a bigger part here: “If a channel can purchase entertainment at cheaper rates, then why shouldn’t it? South Indian films in comedy and action genre have always done well as they provide pure entertainment to viewers and eyeballs to the channel.”

     

    He’s not the only one to voice such a sentiment. Even media planners feel that cheaper acquisition rates are a main reason why suddenly these movies are being shown on television so frequently. “It is far cheaper to acquire little older or newer South Indian movies than latest Hindi movies which are showcased as premieres on the weekends by channels. So, it helps them to build a bigger library,” said Ms Mehta.

     

    “Broadcasters, over years, have been struggling with increased cost of acquisition, limited hits and increased competition. As compared to about a decade ago when a Bollywood star would have 2-3 releases a year, today stars prefer to do one movie at a time. Also, in a good business year the number of blockbuster movies will not cross 10. This, coupled with the fact that there are new channels getting launched in both Hindi GE and Hindi movie space, ensured that broadcasters was struggling for content and more willing to experiment with south Indian dubs,” explained Ms Sharma.

     

    The new experimentation seems to be working for Bollywood and it is working for the channels and viewers too. No one seems to mind it!

     

    Pictures courtesy: maxtelevision.com, Imaging: Rafiq

     

     

  • Although we are often accused of being jingoistic (by me), when it comes to football, it is the beauty of the game which gets us

    Ranjona Banerji: India’s great football triumph = Viva Espana!

    Ranjona Banerji

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    So who was bigger this week? European football or the prime minister as the finance minister? In spite of how much we love the Indian economy and can now all speak knowingly about repo rates and supply side economics, actually it is the question of whether Spain is really the greatest sporting nation in the world or not that concerns us.

     

    Since everyone stayed up all night on Sunday to find out – all the newspapers that is, not me – we can now safely say that football is the second biggest sport in India, after cricket. In fact, sometimes newspapers do not stay up all night to bring us the results of late night cricket matches, especially where India is not playing, so…

     

    I point this out because the chances of India playing at the Euro Cup are, of course, zero but the chances of India playing football at the international level are also, er, zero.

     

    No one, however, cares. Although we are often accused of being jingoistic (by me), when it comes to football, it is the beauty of the game which gets us. All these European countries fighting each other as they chase a ball around a field affects us deeply. We take on loyalties that are deep and meaningful, we become close to all the players and we have no compunctions about fighting with our friends who support the wrong team. I see “we” in a generous sense that has nothing to do with me, since I don’t understand any of this.

     

    Funnily enough, we don’t even care that we can’t even make tenuous Indian connections which make us so happy at other times – the white mayor of Pigsknuckle, Arkansas once ate an Indian meal made by second-generation Indian immigrant Lucky Kohli, thus proving how great India is.

     

    Spain is now top country for India (I make this arbitrary judgment based on Twitter), even though I don’t think that Spain has many of the celebrity footballers who make the news the rest of the time when they play for clubs (Messi, Ronaldo, Rooney are the ones who pop up all the time for philistines like me). Also, once the World Cup arrives and the South American teams take part, all these loyalties will shift again.

     

    Indian TV news does devote some time to football but not as much as Indian newspapers which even sent correspondents to Poland and Ukraine. That is why newspapers are at the vanguard of identifying the sports which fascinate the new India.

     

    TV news is involved in saving India night after night so sport, unless it involves scandal, is not really that newsworthy. No?

     

    PS: The prime minister as finance minister? Boring!

     

  • Digital Media advertisers end up creating metrics which are not 100 per cent aligned to the business goals, which they wish to achieve, with campaigns being driven via digital media planned, says Siddharth Puri

    The Anchor: 5 reasons why advertisers don’t get desired ROI from Digital Media plans

    By Siddharth Puri

     

    1. Advertisers inability to identify right metrics to evaluate media plan performance

    Digital Media advertisers end up creating metrics which are not 100 per cent aligned to the business goals, which they wish to achieve, with campaigns being driven via digital media planned. For example, e-commerce advertiser looks to advertise and drive more transactions, but instead deploys money on media and optimizing media plan for a metric such as number of visits received on the e-commerce store front, instead of owning up to all metrics in the funnel till business objective of transaction. Lot of advertisers end up treating metric like on-site conversion ratio as black box instead of demystifying up to product searches, carts created, number of users reaching closer to end metric of transaction and optimizing media plan on deeper in sales funnel metrics.

     

    2. Cross Digital Media Channel Attribution Management

    Digital Channels have evolved from being a single channel to a medium with multiple media channels like social, search, display, mobile, affiliate among many others. With advent of multiple channels and ability to measure via technology, it is important that the advertiser doesn’t make a mistake in establishing, not only channel which leads to last content before conversion of customer in campaign, but the medias which lead user down the funnel.

     

    Performance channels like Search and affiliate networks sit lower in funnel and closer to conversion, but study of users’ path before conversion reflects strong display activities with correct frequency and media placement on media plan reflected as high as 50-60 per cent work done to influence conversion.

     

    3. Digital Media plan created with over-dependency on single creative format type

    To create 360 degree impact, it’s important that all formats, including Mailers and Text Ads, beyond Display should be used effectively to capture the user intent created. What’s required is the ability to synchronize communication across formats to deliver higher ROI than single creative format type plans.

     

    4. Measuring of Google as single property/channel on media plan

    Google is made up of multiple line items for an advertiser for instance:-

    1. Brand Keywords – Users search for your branded products and are captured via Google text ad words advertisers at the cheapest cost. The ROI should compete with your SEO/organic traffic metrics as there is no effect of advertising but ability for technology to funnel direct demand for you. 30 per cent is the ideal spend for a brand advertiser.

    2. Non Brand Keywords – Spend done on this bucket is for placing your ads in front of category specific searches happening and trying to influence or win SOV – 40 per cent spend for an advertiser

    3. Google Content Network – Spend done on this bucket is to place your ad in contextually relevant environment basis audience targeting driven from content on page taken as input or measurement of relevance. This category constitutes approximately 30 per cent of an advertisers spend

     

    From a ROI cost perspective, the above channels have been listed in order of their cost to return ratio, indicating clearly that the average ROI delivered by Google is lesser than ROI metric achieved on non brand keyword due to averages from brand keywords making other channels on digital media plan look ineffective in meeting goals. If, as an advertiser you treat all the three as different channels, you will be able to increase ROI efficiency on your media investments by 30-40 per cent.

     

    5. Ad Network buys which constitute 20 per cent of the media plans are bought on price with comparison of channel against Search than Display Properties

    Ad Networks are fundamentally Display Format Publishers and hence inherit strengths and weaknesses of Display. Their performance and optimization which can be achieved is similar to display properties. One uses Ad Networks over display properties due to the technology which brings along additional optimization capability beyond creative and placement optimization. Digital Media plans are being developed as operations plan rather than strategy plans. If brands marketers/advertisers change their approach to Digital Media plans, they will be able to generate desired ROI since the Demand being less than Supply scenario still exists on digital media.

     

    Siddharth Puri is the Business Head, Tyroo Direct

     

  • Both accounts are headquartered in Mumbai and shall be serviced by Happy's Mumbai branch

    Happy bags Ola Cabs and Eros Now

    By A Correspondent

     

    Happy Creative Services, which recently launched its Mumbai operations, has been appointed the creative agency for two new accounts based out of the city.

     

    The first one being Ola Cabs, a technology-based cab service that allows people to book a cab directly through an app on their smart phone along with the option to book via telephone and the web. The service is currently available in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore currently and shall soon roll out to 8 cities within the year.

     

    “It is about time we had a proper organized cab service in our country. I am sure everyone is sick and tired of being put to the mercy of unorganized cab services and unprofessional cab drivers. We’re really excited to be working with Ola Cabs to launch their brand across the country. That fact that it is a technology-based service makes it all the more exciting. We are grateful to the team at Ola for placing their faith in us”, said Kartik Iyer, CEO, Happy Creative Services.

     

    On appointing Happy as the creative agency Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO, Ola Cabs said: “I was impressed with the simplicity and broad appeal of Happy’s past work and that’s exactly what we wanted at Ola. The team at Happy has put in a lot of time with us to understand what our product and brand is and how to communicate with our consumers. I’m really excited about bringing them on board!”

     

    Happy also bagged the Erosnow.com account, the digital arm of Eros International – the producers behind many of some famous Bollywood movies. Erosnow.com is a subscription based website where people can watch their favourite Bollywood movies on demand, from anywhere in the world. The site shall also feature Tamil and Telugu movies and will proceed to offer more languages in the future. Erosnow.com shall also offer music and humor content alongside the movie offering.

     

    “It is an opportunity to take Bollywood to the world. And we can’t think Eros enough for choosing us to do the job. We have a lot of exciting things planned for the global audience. It is all about the movies, and that can only be fun and entertaining,” said Pallavi Nayak, GM Mumbai, Happy Creative Services.

     

    “Getting Ola Cabs and Erosnow.com on board at Happy Mumbai is very much in sync with our overall growth strategy,” said Siddhartha Roy, COO, Happy Creative Services. “We are very confident that our work on these businesses will certainly help increase our penetration in Mumbai” he added.

     

    Both accounts are headquartered in Mumbai and shall be serviced by Happy’s Mumbai branch.

     

    Since its inception the Mumbai branch has also been working with MTV on certain special projects surrounding their ACT initiative.

     

  • Presenting the first of our half-yearly reviews where we asked industry captains to tell us how the first six months of 2012 have been

    The Half-Year That Was

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s July 2 today, and the first six months of the year have passed. While the slowdown has impacted spends in a major way, most of the 182 days from Jan to June have been eventful. On the positive side: new television channels, new agencies – media and creative, consolidation, people and account movements, government issues, digitization, awards… the list could go on. And on the negative: a channel being shut, pink slips, pay cuts, appraisals deferred, digitization delayed… the list could go on here too.

     

    We have already embarked on the second half of the year, but as we do that, here’s a quick look at how industry captains review the half-year. We present you the half-yearly review in two parts… the first today and the second mid-week… on Wednesday.

     

    As you would gather, there is much gloom in the industry, though no despair. Not yet.

     

    ADSPENDS:

     

    Nagesh Alai, President, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) & Executive Director, India Operations, Draftfcb Ulka Group

    Nagesh Alai

    If I were to summarize the indications of the economy, then one has seen softness beginning last November and December leading to a situation of downturn. The macro-economic indications like rupee falling, impact in production and fall in demands have also reflected in the consumer behaviour in a negative way. The last quarter of 2011-12 (Jan-March) has seen a fall in GDP to 5.3 per cent. All this have impacted the manufactures as well as service providers, with the mood being that of postponing a decision. While some would have thought that the situation would not impact FMCG, but that one has seen a resistance from that sector too.

     

    So in terms of advertising, the impact being in terms of ad outlays and remuneration; while the latter has been up for constant negotiation and any further would only impact the quality of service being provided, it’s the latter that is being hit now. I think this year one would see a growth of maximum 10-12 per cent as compared to 14-15 per cent in the past. While print and TV still comprise 80 per cent of the spends, but advertisers are looking at newer mediums, where the spends is not high and get better mileage for monies being spent.

     

    I personally believe that even if government were to take corrective measures, one will only begin to see the recovery by mid-2013. The mood can be aptly summarized as being that of cautious approach.

     

    PRINT:

     

    Narendra Kumar Alambara, COO, Thanthi Group

    Narendra Kumar Alambara

    In terms of the regional publications, I would say that the past six months have been good and bad. If one looks at readership and circulation, the regional dailies have seen an increase vis-à-vis the English language publications. However, there is a need to be bold and unconventional when it comes to regional publications, both by those selling this space and advertisers themselves. In today’s time when every paisa has to be accounted for in terms of returns, I think regional publications would have been an excellent answer to have targeted reach because of the value they provides for the money and reach.

     

    However, we have failed to do that. Today when most media houses are not restricted to being uni-dimensional and have different platforms for advertisers be it television, print, digital and even regional newspapers and channels under their umbrella; I think the solution lies in integrating various offerings, including the regional to get a better value and growth.

     

    Krishna Prasad, Editor-Outlook

    It’s difficult to put a number as yet on the kind of growth that has been witnessed, but you will always see print being challenged by television and other mediums. As far as the past six months are concerned, I would say the growth of print has been at par. By this I mean that even though most advertisers have huge monies, they are shying away from advertising with this medium. This is somewhat similar to what was observed during 2008, where companies didn’t have any reason to opt for cost-cutting, but were up for it. Many advertisers are seeing this downturn as a reason to go easy with their spending and not be too extravagant.

     

    Most newspapers today, especially in Delhi like Delhi Times, Hindustan Times and others appear chunky in their appearance, which gives you a sense that all is well but that may not necessarily be the case. Most of them are actually going slow with their spending and are trying to play it safe. I expect things to look better from October onwards – around the festival period. So largely, the growth of media will be dominated by how the economy transforms itself; it’s not operating in a vacuum. That’s the best case scenario.

     

    But the worst case scenario is that it may take a little bit longer for things to get better; perhaps with the elections coming up soon, with the country seeing a new Finance Minister and the markets going topsy-turvy, the print industry may still take some time to stabilise itself.

     

    RADIO:

     

    Prashant Panday

    Prashant Panday, CEO, Radio Mirchi

    The radio industry has been hit just as hard as any other segment. Maybe a little less than print and a little more than TV. The economic slow-down and the policy freeze has made advertisers a little wary. They are not exactly cutting spends, but they are demanding more from broadcasters. A broadcaster can either cut prices or offer more for the same. In some sectors, the advertising cut has been more severe like telecom, real estate and so on. But there are other segments that have done better – like core retail, and even auto.

     

    Given the economic conditions, and the lack of new frequencies, radio has done as well as it possible can.

     

    Rabe T Iyer

    Rabe T Iyer, Business Head, BIG FM

    The last financial year was alright, but the last three months have been pretty flat. The reason for that is because categories like BSFI, Auto and some of the campaigns of the usual summer categories were a bit slow. Nevertheless, we expect the next three to six months to be a good run. This is because people ultimately want to keep their goods moving, and hence the next three to six months are going to be good. The last three months were flat for the industry because the dollar exchange hit the sentiments and some categories which were expected to fire up in the month of May-June have taken some more time, mainly because of the overall economy conditions and the sentiments attached to it, and also because of the fluctuating dollar prices. This has directly impacted the ad spends, not just on radio, but across the portfolio on media brands.

     

    Ashit Kukian

    Ashit Kukian, COO, Radio City

    The last six months has been very good for the radio industry. One of the reasons I would say is because the core advertising categories in radio namely: Telecom, FMCG, and Entertainment channels to name a few, had increased their advertising spends on radio.

     

     

    DIGITAL:

     

    Chhaya Balachandran Aiyer, CEO and MD, BCWebWise

    Chhaya Balachandran Aiyer

    More and more brands are getting ready to seriously look at digital media and those who have been using it already, are increasing their spends. Digital is expected to deliver more cost-effectively. Amazingly, even production charges of films are expected to be cheaper, if they are being produced by digital agencies. It would help if brands which see real value in digital and see it delivering, also realize that results won’t come if they tighten their purse strings so much. Fortunately, there are a few clients who have realized the quality v/s quantity value and are waking up to the real digital age and extending their budgets.

     

     

    Rajiv Hiranandani

    Rajiv Hiranandani, Co-founder and Executive Director, Altruist, Mobile2win

    I think the mobile industry has underperformed in last six months, as per the overall outlook was supposed to be, in terms of number of handsets sold and amount of value-added services (VAS) consumed. Mobile industry has seen its slowest growth, and this has been also because of the negative outlook in the economy. Some of the reasons have been people waiting for better handsets models, the overall mood of economy not being good, and mobile VAS seeing a lot of restrictions in terms of TRAI guidelines.

     

     

    OOH:

     

    Noomi Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, Selvel One Group

    Noomi Mehta

    The last six months have not been good for the out-of-home (OOH) industry. The month of June, however, has seen a significant improvement, which is perhaps because the IPL campaigns in the months of April and May have fructified. Otherwise, I believe, the industry figures have been down. The markets, by and large, seem to be in a depressed state, along with the economy. Going forward, one of the basic steps needed to improve the industry’s performance is the need for a common currency for measurement. OOH is part and parcel of the country’s economy, and hence it will also be subject to the same pressures as the economy.

     

     

    Image: Rafiq

     

  • Mr Khan, known to be a marketing guru and one to value feedback, was looking to seek listeners' opinions and reactions for the show

    Aamir reaches out to BIG 92.7 listeners in 45 cities

    By A Correspondent

     

    92.7 BIG FM listeners had a special treat when Aamir Khan dropped by at the Mumbai station to interact with them on air.

     

    Engaging in conversations with listeners from across Tier II and III cities resulted in some interesting revelations, as they shared their feedback, the difference it has made to their lives and to the society at large and also proactive recommendations of subjects that could be taken up on the show. “People around watch the show and expect change from their society, change will happen only when one personally changes,” he said.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Mr Khan said: “I am very happy to have got this opportunity on 92.7 BIG FM to connect with my audiences. With Satyamev Jayate, our endeavor has been to address key issues plaguing the nation, the show today has gone a long way in helping us get a first hand feedback about the show, how it has impacted us and how the show can play a catalyst in bringing about the much required change in our society.”

     

    Commenting on Mr Khan’s visit to the studio, a company spokesperson said: “We, at 92.7 BIG FM, were happy to have Aamir Khan choose our network to reach out to people across India, while offering our listeners the opportunity to speak with someone, who is working towards creating a positive change in society.”

     

  • The change of guard was in keeping with the way the low-profile diversified conglomerate and its promoters go about their task – without ceremony and any announcement from the rooftops

    Shapoor Mistry seen within the Shapoorji Pallonji Group as a ‘big picture strategist’

    Shapoor Mistry

    By Kala Vijayraghavan

     

    Reclusive Indian-born Irish tycoon Pallonji Mistry, 82, officially bequeathed the chairman’s role of the $2.5-billion Shapoorji Pallonji Group (SPG) to eldest son, Shapoor Mistry, 47, in early June.

     

    The change of guard was in keeping with the way the low-profile diversified conglomerate and its promoters go about their task – without ceremony and any announcement from the rooftops.

     

    Shapoor will continue to be managing director, and Pallonji may take on the mantle of chairman emeritus, suggest two senior group officials on the condition of anonymity.

     

    When contacted, a group spokesperson confirmed the move. “Pallonji Mistry has stepped down as chairman of Shapoorji Pallonji Group and Shapoor Mistry has taken up this role. The group companies will continue to get Pallonji Mistry’s advice as and when required,” he said.

     

    Shapoor has taken charge as chairman & MD of SPG a little over six months before younger brother Cyrus Mistry, 43, is slated to succeed Ratan Tata, who will retire as chairman of the Tata Group at the end of the year.

     

    In November 2011, Cyrus was appointed deputy chairman and chairman designate of Tata Sons, the holding company of the over 100-company group.

     

    Prior to that, Cyrus was joint managing director of the SP Group, besides being a director on the Tata Sons board since August 2006.

     

    Pallonji is the single largest shareholder of Tata Sons, the holding company of the salt-to-software Tata Group, and was called the ‘Phantom of Bombay House’ (headquarters of the Tatas) for his reclusive nature. The patriarch had split his 18.5 per cent stake in Tata Sons equally between his two sons a few years ago. Cyrus’ shareholding has been moved into a trust as a part of an agreement between SP and the Tata Group before Cyrus was appointed deputy chairman at Tata Sons.

     

    Shapoor is seen by insiders within the group as a ‘big picture strategist’. Group officials point out that the new CMD has initiated a massive revamp of the SPG brand, which will soon complete 150 years.

     

    The rebranding – to SPG – is part of Shapoor’s ambitious plan to realign group companies to create a powerful combined entity that can compete globally, top group officials said.

     

    The rebranding exercise saw various group companies operating without the SP brand – like Afcons Infrastructure and Forbes Gokak, to name two – being brought under the mother brand.

     

    A new logo, with the slogan ‘Built to Last’ below it, seeks to convey trust and dynamism, and the group’s forward-looking nature even as it seeks to remind clients and consumers about its 150-year heritage, explains a company spokesperson. “The elements of the Shapoorji Pallonji brand have not changed. The group has rich values that have got re-emphasized with the new brand,” the spokesperson added.

     

    Shapoor is keen that the group, which is primarily B2B with businesses such as construction, engineering and infrastructure, show more of its consumer-facing side. The group has retail-driven businesses such as residential real estate (including luxury as well as affordable housing), home cleaning, security systems and air and water purifiers. Currently, construction and real estate account for over 60% of the group’s revenues.

     

    “Shapoor is looking at the branding and marketing aspect of the SP brand very closely. He wants the brand to be more visible as an interface to the consumer,” a top official said on condition of anonymity.

     

    Meantime, Shapoor has begun strengthening his management team by roping in professionals as part of his globalisation plan. He is working on consolidation of various group companies into manageable entities within the group’s core businesses. Along with mergers, he is also understood to be working on buying assets – overseas and local.

     

    Shapoor has identified a few global and domestic businesses for acquisition, officials close to the management said. SPG has also verticalised its various businesses such as real estate, construction and infrastructure according to the recommendations of management consulting firm The Boston Consulting Group.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

    Photograph: Fotocorp.com