Category: DAS KA DUM

The question was meant to provoke, and we are happy we did that. For, the answer that you are about to read is, in one word: brilliant. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the February 15 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

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. GroupM forecasts a drop of 1% in television and print. Are you still bullish on the legacy media

A. First, bullishness is not a function of irrational exhuberence. It is contextual and not predicated on some statistical deviation. Secondly, I am not bullish (slightly exaggerated adjective though). I have fact-based confidence, as of now, on both the formats of delivery in Indian context. For instance, my position on print is very clear: that is, print market leaders still deliver to the advertisers inspite of any real-time data. This is because of variety of factors like: pecking order in a market, a factor like primary pick-up, empirical evidence and for passive medium, active audience as a format advantage. Now, for television, the sheer Reach is a sizeable market for marketers (India has still maximum number of single TV homes) which can’t be ignored. Secondly, in an omnichannel media ecosystem, complementarity of media usage for maximising reach is equally important than only performance marketing as marketers are divided on the final verdict on the subject, as it is dependent on nature of the product/service. Even today, legacy media is critical for brand-building. Finally , a 1% negative variance on a large base, can’t reduce the efficacy of a medium. With increasing fragmentation of media and consumer attention and tepidness in the demand side of various industries, due to both local and global volatilities, a marginal negative growth can’t be conflated with a significant erosion of effectiveness of a media format of delivery.

The question was meant to provoke, and we are happy we did that. For, the answer that you are about to read is, in one word: brilliant. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the February 15 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

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. GroupM forecasts a drop of 1% in television and print. Are you still bullish on the legacy media?

A. First, bullishness is not a function of irrational exhuberence. It is contextual and not predicated on some statistical deviation. Secondly, I am not bullish (slightly exaggerated adjective though). I have fact-based confidence, as of now, on both the formats of delivery in Indian context. For instance, my position on print is very clear: that is, print market leaders still deliver to the advertisers inspite of any real-time data. This is because of variety of factors like: pecking order in a market, a factor like primary pick-up, empirical evidence and for passive medium, active audience as a format advantage. Now, for television, the sheer Reach is a sizeable market for marketers (India has still maximum number of single TV homes) which can’t be ignored. Secondly, in an omnichannel media ecosystem, complementarity of media usage for maximising reach is equally important than only performance marketing as marketers are divided on the final verdict on the subject, as it is dependent on nature of the product/service. Even today, legacy media is critical for brand-building. Finally , a 1% negative variance on a large base, can’t reduce the efficacy of a medium. With increasing fragmentation of media and consumer attention and tepidness in the demand side of various industries, due to both local and global volatilities, a marginal negative growth can’t be conflated with a significant erosion of effectiveness of a media format of delivery.

Not a soft Friday question for a change. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the February 17 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

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. In the US, FAST (or free ad-supported streaming TV) is gaining traction, and generating 50% of total OTT viewership and 29% of total ad views. Do you think that’s the way to go in India as well?

A. FAST is a relatively new concept in India and I understand it is being offered by only a few platforms in india. All of us realise that the Indian audience (not the super elites perhaps) has an appetite for free alternatives. But that’s the story of the audience side (the demand side). But for making the proposition attractive for the advertisers, it can’t be business as usual. In this case it can’t be placing advertising in a linear GEC or any other genre, for that matter. There has to be a value proposition for the advertisers. For instance, if data for viewing habits are generated and used for advertisers which can enable them to create engaging advertisements back to the audience. This, in turn, can improve effective Reach and Frequency to create better ROI for the advertisers.

Since we are on the subject, it may be relevant to share my thoughts on the possible scenario that might emerge so far monetisation models of OTT platforms are concerned. I think we are going to witness an evolution of streaming space for some time, till a clear picture emerges. At this stage, all players users are experimenting various monetisation models where lines between SVOD, AVOD and perhaps now FAST are getting blurred. This would fragment audiences further as freemium models do work as majority of consumers prefer it. Indian audience love ‘Ketna deta hai’ (an ad tagline of a leading brand used some time back) mentality, which is essentially a fetish for value exchange, but the content has to be of high quality at the same time.

So if FAST has to gain ground on the supply side that is an attractive proposition for advertisers, quality of advertisements has to go up. But it presupposes that there has to be proper content environment that allows better targeting and measurement capabilities. Quality content, platform usability and content discovery are some of the key variables that can drive audiences to streaming over watching traditional/linear TV. With increasing adoption of Smart TV home screens , discovery and content recommendations would get a fillip, I guess. In short, India would see a hybrid format of monetisation due to multiple stratification of economic strata and content preferences of diverse age cohorts. I, for instance, wouldn’t prefer FAST. My preference would always be SVOD, as of now. What about you?

Get set for a week of slight profound questions. And equally profound responses. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the February 20 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

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. Are the forecasts by GroupM and Madison in line with your own estimates of what the media economy will be this year? (PS: estimates or guesstimates?)

A. It is very difficult to do an armchair guesstimate about the media economy. Both the estimates have followed research methodologies that are robust enough to predict a direction that would provide impetus to media companies and advertisers to plan their media planning and buying activities accordingly. One needn’t focus on the divergence of their percentage growth/degrowth projections, but on the optimism evinced in India growth story through these reports when other nations are reeling under stagflation or declining growth trends. I am in convergence with the directions of these research reports, unless some force majeure queers the pitch of the Great India Story.

Is radio a profitable media to be in? Read what Dr Bhaskar Das has to say in the February 21 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

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. The government is set to auction FM radio stations and get more Tier 2 and 3 stations on board. Should the big media companies be excited?

A. I guess so, provided the to-be-auctioned stations allow for niche genres to be introduced. This would provide marketers and advertising agencies to plan for not only different geographical market but also for psychographic market in the form of tastes and preferences of the target audience.

Radio, as a reminder medium and for penetrating local markets in Tier-3/4 markets , would provide an opportunity to advertisers (both local and national advertisers) to further expand their addressable market. Good for consumers also. So, there are enough reasons to be excited for all stakeholders.

This is a must-read response as it comes from an industry veteran who has successfully reinvented himself and launched into the digital world. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das has to say in the February 22 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

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. Marketers with digital and strategy skills are in high demand, notes LinkedIn. So would you recommend just a digital marketing course as against a two-year MBA?

A. Yes, candidates with adroitness in STEM are more in demand as skills in decoding and problem-solving through data analysis are the need of the hour for all business functions, especially marketing area.

It is not enough to do a digital marketing course. One needs to have an understanding of management of business from all its facets including functional specialisations. Incidentally, all MBA curriculum include digital marketing as an integral part of the pedagogy. A sole digital marketing course would be useful for those who had done MBA a few years back when data-led algorithm hadn’t dominated business consciousness to the current extent. So for upskilling to future proof oneself, literacy in digital marketing, AI, ML, ChatGPT , Blockchain, Metaverse are an imperative for an ongoing successful career.

Another excellent response to what could’ve been a delicate question. Presenting Dr Bhaskar Das in the February 23 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

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. Over the course of a year, P&G’s USA-based fabric care brands saved roughly $65 million in adspends by bringing media planning and buying inhouse, it’s CFO said. Should our media agency captains be sweating?

A. The debate on merits of an in-house media buying agency has been going on for quite some time. An inhouse or outsourced model has its own merits and demerits. I don’t want to elaborate on the subject, but the jury is out about any definitive answer on the subject.

I think you’ll see more situations where the Marketing Head would prefer a hybrid of nimble agencies to complement their in-house capabilities (eg social media, influencer marketing, real-time data tracking etc ) with a traditional agency of record (AOR) model. I know one size doesn’t always fit all organisations. Many CMOs like to get their hands dirty and break down the walls between various functions and manage the various aspects of marketing operations in a symbiotic way. There are other CMOs who feel an outside-in perspective from an agency with all their capabilities across industry categories could be a useful learning experience for managing the function. Hence, there is no best way to approach a subject just because one organisation has been following a practice. Every corporation has to find what works best for them, given the operating challenges.

Another excellent response to what could’ve been a delicate question. Presenting Dr Bhaskar Das in the February 24 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

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. When you see an article tagged ‘Marketing Initiative’ or ‘Promotional Feature’ or some such, do you trust its content?

A. It all depends on how a topic is treated. If it smacks of just a propaganda or public relations exercise, I don’t engage with it. We can’t take our addressable audience as unintelligent and gullible. Hence, trust and credibility must be at the core of such content creation. If one treats such content as ‘Native Content’ as in digital space, not always though, the engagement becomes better. Promotional content per se needn’t have a pejorative perception. The creator of such contents is responsible to give it a negative tag. In the age of active Earned Media, one needs to treat promotional content with as seriousness as other edit content, if one wants engagement/ immersion in the content.

A few years back, a leading family associated with the film industry decided to boycott a film award because of some negative comment in a group publication. It’s the same with news media dealing with political personalities. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das with his response to our question in the February 27 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

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. Since the presence of well-known people is critical for the success of conclaves, do you think news media organising these compromise their editorial integrity by doing so? They can’t be too critical of a political leader for at least a month before an event…

A. Not necessarily. There are two key issues in your question:

1. Should mews media organise conclaves,

2. whether their success has the built-in risks of compromising the editorial integrity as during the pendency of the conclave, the news media has to ensure that they don’t rub the celebrity speakers in the wrong way, thereby affecting their keenness to attend the conclave.

The issues, albeit connected, have to be addressed separately.

Conclaves are organised for strategic reasons like getting closer to various stakeholders and addressable markets, geopoliticaly and psychologically for micro-market penetration and going beyond one to many studio-based shows/ reporting to one-on-one engagement. It also helps generating revenue as branded experiences complement regular FCT business.

I agree that market whispers confirm your alleged possibility. But whispers are whispers without any factual evidence. There might be a tacit reciprocal gesture/ agreement in that direction, but there needn’t be any empirical evidence of it that interferes with editorial policies. Since I am no longer an active practitioner of media/ news channels, my observations may not be contemporary, but if I go by past experience, I have no evidence of the same. Having said that, there might be some coverage that are high on congeniality quotient (as the high profile speakers also show a positive gesture by giving their valuable time (mostly pro bono), but that needn’t interfere with editorial protocols, as per my understanding.

There are days when we feel sheepish about a question after getting the answer from our Wizard with Words. Today is one such day. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das with his response to our question in the February 28 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

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. Almost three quarters of marketers in the UK are aged under 45, a study finds. Assuming it’s the same for India, do you think that’s a good thing. Or bad?

A. I have never been impressed by an average data without knowing the sample size and the sampling method. One gets a confirmation bias. I am sure you have done your own research. Yet…

However, if I answer the question as it is, I don’t see any good or bad trend in it. Business sagacity, acumen etc are not a function of one’s age. Youth or young mindset are reflected in the attitude and adaptability of an individual towards an external environment. There are unicorn organisations where the owner may be below 30 years. Mabappe is good (23-year-old). But so is Messi (36-year-old). Both are great players inspite of belonging to different age cohorts. The moral of my POV is that one can’t arrive at a generic conclusion on the basis of some research findings. This ignores individual ingenuities to make an impact.

If you are unsure about paying Rs 6800 for the blue tick, let’s read what Dr Bhaskar Das says in response to our question in the March 1 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

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. Twitter Blue has taken off in India. Do you think it’s worthwhile to pay Rs 6800 per year to get the blue tick?

A. According to me, I am sure no one is being forced to pay unless the VFM is in sync with consumer’s value perception. Secondly, a lot has been written and talked about the advantages and disadvantages of the verification process, its possible credibility tag and badge value, specially for elites in various fields. Thirdly, if Twitter Blue gains traction/ acceptance in India (at least at a reasonable critical mass level), it could potentially be a source for organisations in targeting prospects in a cost-effective way (I can’t help thinking about business model for any media platform). This might, in turn, result in various innovative collaborative alliances, as it happens in case of other social media platforms, for shoring up the sagging financial fortune of Twitter globally. Having said that, it is needless to say that the advertisers would also evaluate the ROI of such partnerships/ alliances.

The monetisation model managed through steps like charging like Twitter Blue appears to me a step towards a hybrid model, where SVOD and AVOD would co- exist simultaneously, albeit at differential ratios, depending on how the platform delivers experience to various stakeholders. From the above (seeing the impact of Twitter Blue in India) , it seems the initiative would be a success in India.

These are early days of Twitter’s new avatar and I am sure the picture would be clearer in the coming days in terms cost- benefit ratio of Twitter Blue in Indian market.

We aren’t taking names, but we were surprised to see this happening. So we asked Dr Bhaskar Das a question for the March 2 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

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. One can see a broadcaster who hasn’t got digital rights of a  sporting event deselling digital. One also hears of some print majors doing the same for digital. What’s your view on this practice? Are our legacy players scared of advertisers deserting them?

A. In a hyper-competitive marketplace, competition-bashing is considered to be a normal practice. But media experts might consider the behaviour to be myopic and distracting. Fundamentally, advertisers are rational enough to decide what works for them to advance their marketing and business interests, irrespective of claims and counter-claims of the owners of various delivery formats. Those claims would not also stultify the growth of accelerated technology or evolution of consumer behaviour of various demographic cohorts. Hence, one needs to concentrate on their audience as access point and their engagement with their respective formats of delivery. In a platform agnostic/ omnichannel media planning and buying environment, a media company doesn’t lose business to a competitor, but to their inability to deliver an advertiser’s addressable market in a cost-effective manner. Getting paranoid is no solution or tomtoming the superiority of one medium over another cannot be a survival model in a complementary media environment.