MxMIndia

Category: Digital

  • Flipkart will soon offer online advertising and brand consulting for vendors using its electronic marketplace

    Flipkart to pursue online advtg, brand consulting like Facebook, Google

    By Aditi Shrivastava & Harsimran Julka

     

    Flipkart will soon offer online advertising and brand consulting for vendors using its electronic marketplace, its diversification into fee-based businesses much like Google or Facebook aimed at chasing new high-margin revenue streams to accelerate profitability ahead of a potential public listing.

     

    On the commerce front, the company has picked furniture as a category it will seek to expand in as part of this thrust into higher margin areas, sources familiar with the company’s plans told ET.

     

    The diversification into publishing online ads and brand consulting follows a recent top deck rejig that had founder and Group CEO Sachin Bansal shift from daily operations to focus on strategic initiatives.

     

    He will lead the new advertising revenue thrust, which will see Flipkart, one of India’s most-recognised Internet brands with a large web presence, become also an online ad publisher much like Facebook and Google.

     

    Flipkart’s IPO plans are driving it to explore new avenues that would help it turn profitable or at least lower its losses, people familiar with the plan said. “They need to show some solid revenue ground apart from its marketplace to go public,” said one person aware of the developments.

     

    Flipkart is the sixth-most visited website in India, according to website ranking site Alexa. Google’s various sites, Facebook and Yahoo occupy the first five spots. It already carries ads on its website from brands such as Max New York Life, Reliance General Insurance, ICICI Prudential, Franklin Templeton India and Bharti AXA, but presently earns only a minuscule sum from this.

     

    “We know something about the most important decision that a consumer makes, that is purchase. What you like on Facebook versus what you spend your own money on, the value of that data is a lot higher,” said Mekin Maheshwari, chief people officer at Flipkart.

     

    NEW TEAM BEING HIRED

    Sachin, who is hiring a new team for the advertising initiative, is exploring opportunities to be able to personalise and create ads that would be relevant to both customers and advertisers, he said. “Overall, there is a great opportunity to increase their revenues, and coupled with the fact these ad revenues will be at very high margins, this will definitely help these businesses from a profitability standpoint,” said Kartik Hosanagar, professor of ecommerce at The Wharton School.

     

    Ravi Vora, senior vice-president (marketing), will head a newly formed brands consulting group that will work with small and medium businesses to build their brands online. “(The initiative) is broader than just Flipkart and may not be completely online,” said Maheshwari. “We will enable emerging brands in India to carve out their Internet strategy.”

     

    Flipkart has about 30,000 small and medium business sellers on its platform, and aims to grow that number to more than 1 lakh in the next 12 months.

     

    FOCUS ON FURNITURE TOO

    As for furniture, the company expects it to emerge as a large category in the online retailing market on the lines of other high-margin categories such as electronics and fashion.

     

    The furniture category is a highly profitable business with margins in the range of 40-60%. “We will have an added focus on furniture category on our commerce platform, which we look to build ground-up,” said Ankit Nagori, head of marketplace at Flipkart.

     

    It was reported recently that Snapdeal could record a five-fold increase in losses going up to $250 million (Rs 1,500 crore) for this fiscal year. Industry experts estimate Flipkart’s losses would be at least double that number (over $500 million), with the company expecting to sell goods worth $8 billion in 2015.

     

    Sunil Wattal, who teaches management information systems at Temple University in the US, said that by being able to show profits earlier, Flipkart will be in a stronger position when it offers the IPO, and could possibly even expedite the timing of the listing.

     

    DIVERSIFICATION RIGHT STRATEGY?

    Vivek Wadhwa, a fellow at Stanford Law School and director of research at Duke University, doesn’t think diversification is the right strategy.

     

    “This is a mistake that many Indian companies make: try to become conglomerates that are in several businesses. It has worked for a few old line companies but does not work in the Internet space. Here you need to focus and execute with precision,” Wadhwa said.

     

    Over the past year, Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon India have been engaged in a cash-draining battle to acquire customers. Flipkart in January recorded a gross merchandise value of $3 billion while Snapdeal was on a $2-billion run-rate that month and Amazon at more than $1 billion.

     

    The Indian ecommerce market is projected to reach $43 billion in value by 2019, according to Nomura.

     

    Last year, Flipkart raised a total of $1.9 billion, at a valuation of about $11 billion (Rs 69,000 crore). In December, the eightyear-old company announced a $700-million investment round. Its investors include Tiger Global, DST Global, Steadview Capital and the Qatar Investment Authority.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

    All Rights Reserved, Licensed to republish

     

  • The new TVC from OLX focusses on the real value of using the platform

    Olx helps unlock best price with priceless proposition

    By A Correspondent

     

    When Olx started building the market for consumer-to-consumer (C2C) classifieds in India, people took to the platform spontaneously and enthusiastically. As ‘Bech De’ took over the country, users began to not only experience the monetary benefits of the platform, but also the various less obvious, and deeper benefits of using Olx. ‘Keemat Bhi, Kuchh Keemti Bhi’, the latest campaign from Olx, is based precisely on this insight shared by its users over the last four years.

     

    Said Amarjit Singh Batra, CEO, Olx India, “When we started out, we had the challenging task of creating the C2C market for used goods in India. As the platform started gaining popularity, we realized that there was a something bigger happening which was more compelling and emotive than just a mere transaction. People enjoyed Olx because it thrived on direct human interaction, which is both becoming more fleeting under the pressures of a busy and stressful life, and is typically done through middlemen in marketplaces. The other user insight we gained pertained to the place our belongings have in our life. The products we own are closely tied to our stories, passions, and dreams, and Olx is a means to extend those dreams by the way extending the life-cycle of the product. Our ‘Keemat Bhi, Kuchh Keemti Bhi’ campaign is a tribute to not only all Olx users, but also everyone who has had to let go of a passionate dream because of circumstances.”

     

    The ‘Keemat Bhi, Kuchh Keemti Bhi’ campaign features two films, a TVC built around common love for a jeep and a short film on cricket. The TVC with the jeep features actor Shefali Chhaya, and has been directed by film director and writer Homi Adajania of ‘Finding Fanny’ and ‘Being Cyrus’ fame. This is Homi Adajania’s first ad film.

     

    Created by Lowe Lintas, the TVC depicts the story of a middle-aged man and woman, who are the potential seller and buyer respectively of a used Jeep. While on a test drive, the man tries to break the ice by indulging in a light conversation with the slightly uptight woman, played by Shefali Chhaya. She reveals that she likes the jeep because her dad used to have one but does not take well to the tone the man is using, and accuses him of flirting. When she notices that the man is feeling guilty because of her remark, she lowers her guard, and buys the car from him indicating the beginning of a possible friendship between the two. The film ends with the tagline “Keemat Bhi, Kuch Keemti Bhi”.

     

    The short film on cricket tells the story of a cricket player who is unable to pursue his dream of playing cricket because of circumstances that lead him to join the family business. Trapped in a job at a marble factory that he doesn’t like, he often looks at his cricket bat with a sense of despondence. Frustrated and hopeless, one day the protagonist takes his bat to a marble-slicing machine with the intention of pulverizing it. The film then moves on to a cricket stadium where a local game is being played. The batsman at the crease is in full-form hitting boundaries one after another. The protagonist watches in anticipation, clapping for the batsman after every shot. At the end of the game the batsman looks at the protagonist and starts walking towards him. The film moves to a flashback and shows that the protagonist never put his bat in the machine. He decided to sell the bat on Olx, and the buyer was the young batsman. Coming out of flashback, the young batsman is seen thanking the protagonist. The film ends with the ‘Keemat Bhi, Kuchh Keemti Bhi’ tagline. The last frame of the film says #LetWhatYouLoveLive.

     

    Amer Jaleel

    Amer Jaleel, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas, said, “People not only get value for their products but also earn something valuable in the process. The Campaign line –“Keemat bhi, kuchh keemati bhi” says it all. Olx provides a platform, where people can share a passion for a particular product, therefore connecting with each other beyond a monetary exchange.”

     

  • The campaign builds on the core Cinthol brand philosophy of 'Alive is Awesome', and has been conceptualized and executed by Creativeland Asia

    Cinthol creates ‘Alive is Offline’ for the digital medium

    By A Correspondent

     

    Cinthol has announced the rollout of a new integrated campaign, ‘Alive is Offline’, to encourage people to disconnect from the Internet and spend some time adventuring in the real world instead.

     

    The ‘Alive is Offline’ integrated campaign is anchored by a film that depicts the journey of a man adventuring through wild terrain, keeping away from his smartphone, the Internet and social media. It showcases how rewarding a life of nature and adventure is, if people would only give it a chance.  And finally, the film is also a convincing demonstration of how “the world is more beautiful than the World Wide Web.’

     

    The campaign builds on the core Cinthol brand philosophy of ‘Alive is Awesome’, and has been conceptualized and executed by Creativeland Asia.

     

    Sunil Kataria, COO – Sales, Marketing & SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. said, “Three years ago, Cinthol began its journey of talking to the young, live-for-the moment India through its brand philosophy of Alive Is Awesome. Through this campaign, we aim to strike a chord with a generation that’s conscious of how much they’re online and glued to one screen or another. #AliveIsOffline is a brilliant effort that builds on the brand philosophy in a manner that’s both insightful and inspiring. It urges addicted netizens to take away ‘media’ from ‘social media’ and leave one to only be social, to be social with nature, fellow companions and more importantly, with themselves.”

     

    On the campaign thought, Anu Joseph, Executive Creative Director, Creativeland Asia shared, “Most of us are guilty of staying connected – answering calls, replying to emails, posting, liking, tweeting, commenting, forwarding – even during our breaks. We go on holidays, but never go offline. We are never alive in the moment. Alive is Offline is Cinthol’s attempt at reminding people to lead more balanced, more fulfilling lives. To go offline because “this world is more beautiful than the world wide web.”

     

    The film opens on a scenic landscape shot, which is rudely interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. When the phone call goes unanswered, an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) starts saying, “The person you are trying to call is currently busy”. The phone rings yet again while a man is basking in the sunrise. He remains oblivious to the phone ringing next to him. The IVR says, “The person you are trying to call is currently busy.” This time the IVR continues to speak and explains the philosophy behind ‘Alive is Offline.’ What follows next is best explained as a juxtaposition of what happens in the online world against complementary acts the man does in the offline world.

     

    As part of the teaser phase of the campaign, Cinthol’s Twitter handle  created #Addicted and #AliveIsAwesome, and posed a simple question to its 12.4 K followers- ‘What would you give up your Twitter handle in exchange for?’ This was to make its followers question their own addiction to Twitter and social media on the whole. The campaign received multiple responses. These tweets were monitored and followers were constantly pushed through the day to think deeper about their social media addiction.

     

    On the day of the launch, the #AliveIsOffline film managed to clock 11k plus shares, indicating a very high engagement rate.

     

    Following the teaser and the launch phase, Cinthol will create and promote #AliveIsOffline through user engagement activities on Facebook and Twitter.

     

    Customized caller tunes will also be made available for download, using the same IVR device deployed in the film in a fun and entertaining manner.

     

    The film is produced by BWP Totem Productions.

     

  • The morning and working hour timings of World Cup matches have made millions of sport lovers follow the action on dedicated websites, apps and social media

    More ads go digital as ICC World Cup action shifts to sites, apps

    By Vijaya Rathore & Ravi Teja Sharma

     

    The morning and working hour timings of matches in the ongoing cricket World Cup have made millions of sport lovers follow the action on dedicated websites, apps and social media, prompting several big and small brands to latch on to digital advertising like never before.

     

    Brands across industries, including Lufthansa, Accenture, Tissot and Hero are looking to catch the on-the-move consumer on a variety of platforms including official broadcaster Star India’s starsports.com, social media sites, cricket portals and apps such as Hotstar.

     

    “Some of our clients have looked at digital very seriously. Hero, for instance, has bet heavily on digital and it is really doing well for the brand,” said Praseed Prasad, national director for digital trading at media buying firm GroupM India. Another client of his, Pepsi Lays, has chosen to do more on the digital side and only advertise on television during select matches in the World Cup this year.

     

    A spokesperson for Star India says they have seen an exponential growth in consumption online. This World Cup, Star has got around 35-40 advertisers, including Lufthansa, Accenture, CarTrade, Tissot and Hero for its online platforms, with about 20% of those exclusively on the digital medium. “Revenues from digital will be significant this time,” the person said.

     

    Hero is the co-presenting sponsor of the World Cup 2015 digital. “The medium has seen exponential growth in terms of traffic,” a Hero MotoCorp spokesperson said. It is the lead sponsor on the property with branding/inventory in terms of video inventory, logo presence, banner ads, special sections such as replay and match insights, and has also launched a dedicated app, Hero Super Skipper, the spokesperson said. “This association is a strategic move, owing to a perceptible shift in viewership patterns in favour of digital medium.” The India-Pakistan match at the beginning of the tournament, for example, got over 25 million views on Star’s digital platforms, the highest in the world for a single game.

     

    Firms such as DishTV have created fresh campaigns around the World Cup. “Most digital campaigns are either in the form of graphics or extension of TV campaigns but we created one especially for the digital medium and that has helped us reach the young consumers, the millennials,” said Salil Kapoor, COO of DishTV.

     

    He said the interactive nature of the digital space helps consumers to make purchases by routing them to the firm’s call centres if they wish to. Also, a television ad campaign costs at least 3-4 times more than a digital campaign, Kapoor said. DishTV has shot a campaign with brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan to promote their HD channels during this world cup.

     

    Digital adoption by brands is on the rise with large companies now allocating significant spends to this medium. “From about 2-3% of a large company’s marketing budget, digital is now in double digits,” says Ahmed Naqvi, CEO at digital and social media agency Gozoop.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

    All Rights Reserved, Licensed to republish

     

  • Online retailer Snapdeal is in advanced talks to acquire Komli Media in a deal that values the ad technology company at about $300 million, the same as when it raised funds from investors last year

    After Flipkart’s Adiquity deal, Snapdeal eyes Komli for $300m

    By Pankaj Mishra & Jayadevan PK

     

    Online retailer Snapdeal is in advanced talks to acquire Komli Media in a deal that values the ad technology company at about $300 million, the same as when it raised funds from investors last year.

     

    The deal will give Snapdeal engineering capabilities in Bengaluru as it battles Flipkart, as well as help it notch up advertising revenues by selling space on the ecommerce site, according to a person familiar with the deal. “These guys have so much traffic, it makes sense to monetise it,” said another person. According to audience measurement platform SimilarWeb, Snapdeal had an estimated 79.8 monthly visitors in February and Flipkart, 110.5 million.

     

    Flipkart recently made clear its plans to sell advertising on its platform. The ecommerce firm also acquired ad technology company Adiquity. “This is incorrect, we are not acquiring Komli media,” a spokesperson for Snapdeal said. An e-mail to Snapdeal co-founder Kunal Bahl was unanswered at the time of going to press.

     

    Amar Goyal, CEO & Chairman of Komli Media, declined to comment on the deal. Komli, founded in 2006, has raised $97 million in five rounds from investors including Nexus Venture Partners and Peepul Capital. It employs nearly 300 people across India and started as a digital advertising network – buying and selling advertising inventory online in Asia Pacific.

     

    Goel also set up Pubmatic, focused on technology for online advertising in the US in 2008. Inmobi, another ad-network based in Bengaluru, was founded a year later and went on to raise $200 million from Japan’s Softbank.

     

    Driven by increased spending by ecommerce companies, India’s online advertising market is set to grow by 30% this financial year to reach a total size of Rs 3,575 crore, according to the Digital Advertising India report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

    All Rights Reserved, Licensed to republish

     

  • Industry estimates say the broadcaster could make up to Rs 950 crore from advertising this year

    MSM makes most of IPL ‘mauka’, nets 9 sponsors

    By Ravi Teja Sharma

     

    Multi Screen Media, the official broadcaster of the Indian Premier League, has managed to sign up nine sponsors for season eight even as the ongoing Cricket World Cup is giving it stiff competition. The league has signed up Amazon and Vodafone as presenting sponsors this season and advertisers including Hero MotoCorp, Intex Mobiles, Cardekho.com, Pepsi, Vimal Pan Masala and Paytm as associate sponsors, according to Rohit Gupta, president of Multi Screen Media.

     

    Rohit Gupta

    “We had eight sponsors last year but this year we might have to increase our sponsorship slots to 12,” said Gupta. Although Gupta declined to comment on the revenues that Multi Screen Media expects to get from IPL 8, industry executives indicated that the broadcaster could make up to Rs 950 crore from advertising this year, coming close to its revenue figure in 2013, when the league had 76 games.

     

    With 60 games, IPL made about Rs 800 crore last year. IPL has been riddled with controversies over the past few years, especially the spotfixing and betting scandal that rocked it in 2013. However, Gupta said such controversies do not impact viewership.

     

    “For consumers, it is the best cricket being played and till the cricket is good, viewership won’t drop,” he said.

     

    In 2014, despite the controversies, a watershed election and the first half of IPL being moved to the United Arab Emirates, the tournament saw its viewership grow 7% from that in the previous year, to 192 million from about 175 million.

     

    Ratings for IPL, according to Gupta, have been stable for the past three to four years.

     

    With the IPL coming close on the heels of World Cup, advertisers were cautious initially, Gupta said. “But we were able to convince them because we had ratings to back us.”

     

    Vinit Karnik, national director, sports and live events at GroupM ESP said it was never an either-or situation between the World Cup and IPL for advertisers.

     

    “India has an appetite for both, which is what was proven in 2011 as well,” he said, pointing out that IPL is a seasonal league and people have planned marketing campaigns around it. “It is part of the calendar for marketers now,” he added.

     

    Controversies have, however, impacted the brand value of the league.

     

    According to brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance, IPL’s brand value peaked in 2010 at $4.13 billion but dropped to $2.92 billion in 2012. It picked up again in 2013 to rise to $3.03 billion.

     

    Another brand valuation firm American Appraisal India pegged the value of the IPL at $3.2 billion before the start of the 2014 edition of the tournament.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

    All Rights Reserved, Licensed to republish

     

  • The initiative will bring out-of-this-world films, once-in-a-lifetime music events, unique sports experiences and a global movement that will light up entire communities

    Game to take on the #PepsiChallenge?

    By A Correspondent

     

    Pepsi has unleashed its biggest socially-led, content driven initiative ever with a variety of global and local challenges designed to galvanize consumers around the world to defy convention, make every moment epic, and truly “Live for Now.” Issued on Pepsi social and digital channels and via renowned ambassadors from around the world, #PepsiChallenge will incite consumers to take on different challenges for amazing life experiences and rewards.

     

    Imbued with the cultural standing that has become its trademark, the 2015 content- driven, socially-led Pepsi Challenge will bring world-class films, music events, unique sports experiences and a global movement that will light up entire communities.

     

    “Pepsi Challenge is an iconic piece of our brand equity and in many ways established our can-do attitude and spirit,” said Kristin Patrick, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, PepsiCo Global Beverage Brands. “When we talked to consumers around the globe about what challenge meant to them today, they resoundingly said that it entailed challenging convention and daring to do something differently. We used that sentiment as our inspiration to expand beyond just taste and re-imagine the Pepsi Challenge for new generations, creating this cross-pollination of experiences, events, community and social advocacy, designed to ignite a mindset that challenges the status quo, our fans and ourselves.”

     

    The global challenges will be augmented by regionally relevant challenges designed to capture the authentic essence of each market. Examples from around the world include, among others, an interesting challenge in India that urges youth to stop being spectators and uncork their creativity; regional food-focused challenges in Thailand; and a Latin America summer music challenge tied to La Gira Refrescante.

     

  • Bang in the Middle will work in creating the new campaigns across mediums to make the brand cooler and desirable

    Zovi.com brings Bang in the Middle on board

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zovi has appointed Bang in the Middle as its communication agency. There was no formal pitch for the account.

     

    Zovi has aggressive plans for the brand. The ever expanding ecom landscape is opening up new opportunities and Zovi is looking at expanding both the offering and geographical spread. Bang in the Middle will work in creating the new campaigns across mediums to make the brand cooler and desirable.

     

    Manish Chopra, CEO Zovi.com said, “We are on a new growth curve and we needed a partner who is hungry, willing to experiment and work inventively to create the following for the brand. We found that in ample measure in Bang in the Middle.”

     

    Naresh Gupta, Managing Partner and CSO, said, “Zovi.com is a terrific brand, early to move into the fashion space and today is well placed to ride the new wave that the country is witnessing. Zovi has given us a very challenging mandate and we are delighted to be on board.”

     

  • Triton India has appointed Rohit Kaul as CEO, to head their 360 degree equipped Digital Mobile arm DIGIMO

    Triton Communications launches digital arm DIGIMO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Triton Communications has launched its digital agency DIGIMO. Contrary to existing practices, the planning teams of both digital and mainline will co-author the brand and communication strategy from inception. This approach will help clients reach their TG with the optimum mix of their content consumption platforms. Whilst the brand proposition is broadcasted via mainline. a return path on digital will ensure consumer interactivity in a bi-directional mode on various digital and mobile platforms. Thereby enabling marketers maximize their ROI.

     

    Triton India has appointed Rohit Kaul as CEO, to head their 360 degree equipped Digital Mobile arm DIGIMO. He moves in from Mobilox Innovations where he spent the last three years as their COO. Prior to Mobilox, Rohit has worked in leadership positions across Netcore Solutions, HT Media, STAR India and ZEE Television. Scholastically a B.TECH and MBA in Marketing from Mumbai University, he brings over 15 years of experience in multimedia, new media sales and start ups.

     

    Commenting on the latest endeavour, Ali Merchant, Director Triton quoted, “The continued, symbiotic evolution of technology and consumer expectations is fuelling on-demand marketing. Hence digital marketing is entering more unchartered and challenging territories. And with digital marketing becoming integral to our clients’ marketing mix, we decided to enter this domain not with a baby step but with a giant leap. I welcome Rohit on board and am sure given his overall rich multimedia experience of being a business leader, especially on Digital Rohit will make this venture a great success”.

     

    Incorporated in 1991 by Ali Merchant and Munawar Syed, Triton is one of the largest privately held Indian communications agencies and has enjoyed a successful run of over two decades in partnering some of the leading and most successful brands in Indian advertising.

     

  • An insight based campaign with a humorous take on how we view life and death

    AEGON Religare launches digital campaign #NothingWillHappen

    By A Correspondent

     

    AEGON Religare Life Insurance (ARLI) has launched a campaign – #NothingWillHappen, for its flagship protection plan iTerm. As a pioneer in online life insurance, ARLI has launched this campaign in an exclusively digital format. The campaign consisting of four long-format films looks at the way in which Indians view life and death. Partnering with well know stand-up comic Atul Khatri AEGON Religare is taking a step into uncharted communication territory with these online only films. The idea behind them is to get the audience who is aware of life insurance but not buying it, to start thinking about and considering the category.

     

    On the launch of this campaign, Yateesh Srivastava, Chief Operating Officer – ARLI, said, “At AEGON Religare we have always tried to be different and explore new territory. In this campaign we leverage on the very Indian insight that ‘bad things happen to others’ and hence the use of the hashtag #nothingwillhappen. In Atul Khatri we found the perfect protagonist, with a culturally relevant take on protection. The only difference in this campaign is that it is being released only through digital media and will not have a television release. While the campaign is product specific, we also expect a positive impact on our overall brand awareness. In insurance, the treatment of life and death has been predictable so far. With this unconventional take on protection, we hope to change the communication paradigm within which insurance operates.”

     

    The films were ideated and conceptualized by ARLI’s advertising agency, Infectious. Mr Ramanuj Shastry, Co-founder – Infectious, says, “The #NothingWillHappen web series from AEGON Religare is a new voice in the Life Insurance category, rife with cloyingly emotional advertising. Using humour and an unlikely spokesman in stand-up comedian Atul Khatri, the campaign pokes fun at people, in a state of denial about death, while gently reminding them to protect themselves. Needless to add, behind every ‘new’ communication stands a truly brave client – the AEGON Religare Marketing Team in this case, who have been unflinching in their support and trust. It was a singular pleasure working on these films.”

     

  • And why companies like Google, Snapeal & Flipkart are interested in gobbling up ad tech shops

    Hot, happenin’ and most wanted!

     

    By N Shivapriya

     

    Last week, early talks were reported between Google and ad tech firm Inmobi for a possible valuation of over Rs 12,000 crore. Inmobi founder Naveen Tewari later told employees that he was not looking for such a deal. The same day, it was also reported that e-commerce firm Snapdeal was looking to acquire Komli Media, another ad tech firm, for a potential valuation of over Rs 1,800 crore. Flipkart acquired Adiquity earlier this month.

     

    All this comes in the backdrop of a squeeze in the US. After an early flurry in 2013 and the first half of 2014, the number of ad tech initial public offerings have now dried up. But that hasn’t deterred new firms and existing ones from aiming for a slice for huge spends that are on stake as online ad spend continues to grow on the PC and mobile. It could also very soon enter the universe of wearables.

     

    inMobi: Going After Mobiles

    CEO: Naveen Tiwari, Employees: 900

     

    Last month, inMobi said it reached 1 billion unique mobile devices. This is precious real estate in the ad targeting world.

     

    inMobi connects those that want to sell ad space, like content sites, apps or game developers, with those that want to advertise on the mobile platform. Its technology helps to serve the right ad to the right user. For instance, when you are in your newspaper app you could be shown an ad for a bag you were planning to buy earlier on an e-commerce app. This is a simplistic scenario.

     

    inMobi builds audience personas and uses various targeting capabilities such as appographic targeting (based on a user’s app preferences) to determine the right user for the right ad.

     

    When the user engages with the ad by clicking on it, inMobi gets paid. Cost per click or cost per mille (mille referring to a thousand ad impressions) are some commonly used metrics.

     

    In addition to guaranteed engagement, there could other payment metrics such as guaranteed outcomes. For a game ad, the outcome could be a download, for an auto ad, it could a test drive query.

     

    A game developer who is an advertiser can also specify the goal of the campaign to be a certain number of high lifetime value users, who download the game and play it frequently by purchasing features such as lives and coins.

     

    “So as our ad network gets bigger, our knowledge about user behaviour gets better,” says Richard Sullivan, vice president and general manager, who attributes this and analytics and data sciences to better ad targeting and performance.

     

    To improve engagement, inMobi also innovates on how the ad is delivered. Native ads, where the ad looks and feels like the rest of the content on the page, although it is called out as an ad or sponsored content, is one such innovation that’s been found to increase user engagement.

     

    Komli Media: Helping marketers squeeze more value

    CEO: Amar Goel, Employees: 300

     

    It started as an ad network bringing together ad supply and demand for India and South East Asia. Today, Goel says part of its business is a demand-side platform and part of it is an ad network. The company is mostly about helping advertisers and marketers drive value through its offerings, such as the re-marketing demand-side platform, RevX, that is has developed.

     

    RevX is programmatically driven and is used by almost all the leading e-commerce firms in India and South East Asia, Goel says. The platform also integrates with customer relationship management data.

     

    The programmatic capabilities it is building are becoming a larger share of its business. It also executes rich-media campaigns and crossdevice campaigns, which are hard to do programmatically.

     

    Media.net: Money in Targeting at Scale

    CEO: Divyank Turakhia, Employees: 500+

     

    It is positioned as a contextual targeting specialist. Contextual targeting serves ads relevant to the context of the page as opposed to what the user was doing a while ago or a few days back. For instance, a user may have been on makemytrip.com to check out some flights. But if the user is currently reading an article on used cars, then contextual targeting will analyse the content of the page real-time to show ads relevant to it – an ad for a second-hand cars website, for example.

     

    “As of now the user may not be interested in seeing an ad about flights because he is researching cars,” says Turakhia. Most ad tech firms start with one niche and then expand to other areas, he adds.

     

    Media.Net gets a cut from what the advertiser pays the publisher. “Publishers will come to us only if we are able to offer them good rates and advertisers will pay more only if they get the desired results. So our targeting has to be really good,” says Turakhia.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

    All Rights Reserved, Licensed to republish

     

    Future of Ad Tech Firms

    Globally, companies spent about $140 billion on digital advertising last year. One or more ad tech firms have a role to play in every one of these dollars spent. Going forward, ad tech will continue to play a crucial role in targeting ad spends precisely at the right consumers.

     

    “The key shift we are seeing is in making marketing personal again,” says Kirthiga Reddy, MD, Facebook India. She compares it to the convenience of a kirana store that can predict what you will buy and also suggest something new you may like, but with the scale of mass media.

     

    Facebook along with Google is leading the charge of ad tech with precise targeting and measurement capabilities in ways that weren’t possible earlier with a number of their products. They are the giants in the field. Every ad tech firm competes with them in some way but also collaborates with them because the size of the pie is so big.

     

    Of the $ 50 billion US digital ad spend, for instance, over 35% is with companies that are not household names like Google, Facebook, Microsoft and AOL, points out Divyank Turakhia, CEO of Media.net, an ad tech firm that runs the contextual ad programme for the Yahoo-Bing network. His firm serves ads on websites that are part of the Yahoo-Bing network.

     

    Ad tech firms – both big and small – are re-writing the rules of advertising, changing how online campaigns are created and priced and setting goals so precise that shopping for customers is no different from say, drawing up a grocery list.

     

    For instance, an advertiser may want to target, say, only South Korean men between the ages of 25 and 40 years and who have a taste for Indian food. The advertiser can also specify the purse: $100,000. After the campaign, the ad tech firm will return measurable results and any remaining dollars as well.

     

    The simplest kind is search targeting, where a person searches for a particular term. Here, the intent of the person and what he or she is looking for is clear. So the ads that come up are related to the search keywords. But a person searching for pizza delivery in Mumbai wouldn’t want to see an ad for a pizza delivery place in New York. This is where geo-targeting comes in, explains Turakhia.

     

    “Similarly, there is demographic targeting based on what your age group is or whether you are male or female. These are conventional ways of targeting that advertisers used for their campaigns. But today there are multiple mechanisms of ad targeting in so many complex forms, which combines all the data signals that are available,” he adds.

     

    A pizza delivery chain based only in New York can set a goal of 20 pizza deliveries for every $100 spent and the ad tech firm will try to get the results by optimising the ads to a suitable audience.

     

    Sophisticated ad buyers such as eBay India place several millions of ad bids a day based on multiple variables and parameters to get the best bang for its advertising buck. “On a daily basis, we place about 40-50 million bids. When you’re working with such large numbers there is no way it can be done manually,” says Shivani Dhanda, head – marketing, eBay India.

     

    It uses a bid management system that evaluates how much to bid for a particular user and if eBay wins the ad impression, the appropriate ad is dynamically put together. For instance, if the user is searching for a keyword ‘mobile phones’, the bid management system will consider various parameters such as if the user visited eBay, which phones he searched for and how likely he is convert before deciding how much to bid. The entire process from placing the bid in a realtime auction to when the ad is dynamically put together takes about 100-150 milliseconds and happens even as the user is entering a url.

     

    The tools that help advertisers do this are also supplied by ad tech firms. eBay, for instance, uses software from Pune-based firm Sokrati, founded by former Amazon executives, to manage its bids, along with an in-house bid management system.

     

    “Display (advertising) has risen from the ashes. Programmatic (real-time bidding) technology allows bidding for each of display unit on a one-to-one basis, recognising who the user trying to access the website is, what the context of the page is, and what the size of the ad unit is,” says Subra Krishnan, vice-president (products) at Vizury, a Bengaluru-headquartered ad tech firm, which has raised $27 million so far from multiple investors and has a presence in China, Japan, Korea and emerging markets such as India.

     

    Players are Evolving

    The industry has become so complex that most firms are reluctant to label themselves as anything more specific than ad tech players as they venture into areas that can add more intelligence and help in more relevant targeting of customers.

     

    Vizury, for instance, is known in India for its ad re-targeting products on the mobile and desktop. But it is now venturing into proprietary data and the kind of work that large software companies typically do with business intelligence software. Its newest offering integrates multiple customer data such as call centre and loyalty programmes to provide better market segmentation and targeting of the customer.

     

    “There are probably 100 different types of ad tech companies. It’s a kind of battlefield where various entities are trying to optimise various parts of the business and yet ultimately, there is the consumer who takes the final call,” says Tamara Gaffney, principal analyst, Adobe Digital Index, which provides research and insights on digital marketing.

     

    Adobe also has offerings in ad tech, which integrate a number of technologies.

     

    “It’s hard to explain but there would be players around targeting, optimisation, analytics… a good analogy would be the financial services industry where are buyers and sellers but many intermediaries,” says Amar Goel, CEO, Komli Media, which started off as an ad network bringing buyers and sellers together but is now building a lot of programmatic (realtime-bidding) technology and leveraging data.

     

    He declined to comment on reports of Snapdeal acquiring Komli. The driver for such ad tech deals, says Anupam Mittal, CEO of People Group and angel investor, is the access that large e-commerce firms like Flipkart and Snapdeal have to customer shopping patterns and behaviour. “These ecommerce firms have billions of page views. They know people’s shopping habits and what they are looking for, so they have some level of context just like Facebook and Google. They also want to acquire good teams that can help to build their own ad proposition to customers,” he says.

     

    Still, many listed ad tech firms have seen their market value fall on Wall Street. “Ultimately, there are two kinds of ad tech: one captures the intent of the user, and Google does that.

     

    The second is when you know so much about the user that you can present the relevant ads. Facebook does that. Everything in between is a promise of something that will be built. Margins are wafer-thin if at all they are there.

     

    Google and Facebook own their audience so their margins are much better because they are not sharing the outgo with the publisher,” adds Mittal (see table).

     

    However, it’s equally true that there are smaller firms building smart capabilities that the likes of Google, Facebook and Twitter are interested in. “The very fact that Google buys companies nearly every year shows that they are getting beaten at their own game,” points out the CEO of an ad tech firm, requesting anonymity.

     

    Google’s mobile ad platform, AdMob, was through an acquisition in 2009. Similarly, Twitter bought MoPub, a startup helping mobile publishers manage their inventory

     

    Consumer is The Sweet Spot

    Fashion e-tailer Myntra, which uses both Vizury and Komli, says it has translated to higher revenues. “Our pain point as an e-commerce player is we create the intent but the average conversion rate (people who buy after visiting the site) is only two out of 100,” says Priyanshu Kumar, digital marketing manager, Myntra.

     

    On January 3, when Myntra held its ‘End of Reason’ sale, it notched up a record Rs 100 crore in eight hours. At least 3% of that revenue could be attributed to the re-marketing campaigns run by Komli and Vizury on that day as they brought back potential customers who had visited the site but dropped off, says Kumar. “They were very aggressive going after the users who had visited our site but not converted,” he says. Myntra saw a conversion rate of 6% on that day as compared to the e-commerce industry average of 0.8% – 2.5%.

     

    The most reliable data about users online is first-party data, which is collected by the site you are browsing, says Gaffney. Second-party data is obtained from exchanges which, in turn, get the information from participating sites that sell their information to the exchange for a fee.

     

    Such success stories are also helping ad tech win new following among companies in manufacturing, consumer and other industries in India. “Three years back, only internet companies were the most visible users of our ad offerings. But since then we have seen traditional industries like auto, FMCG and the government take it up signficantly,” says Nitin Bawankule, industry director (Ecommerce, Local, Technology), Google India.

     

    Ford India has hiked its digital ad spends from 5% of its ad budget to 15%-20% in less than four years, says Anurag Mehrotra, director (marketing, sales and service). Tushar Vyas, head digital (South Asia) at advertising agency, GroupM, says digital ad spends are growing three times faster than the overall ad growth.

     

    The mobile is the next frontier in advertising with its ability to identify the user location as well as predict user behaviour based on the device being used.

     

    This could be the next level of evolution for ad tech firms. With the mobile, for instance, advertising technology can even find out if the user is standing or sitting, says an ad tech executive.

     

    “If the advertising landscape is complex, the mobile landscape will make it more so. When you combine the advertising technology landscape with the mobile technology landscape, you could end up with this almost supernova of advertising targeting and data collection opportunity,” says Gaffney. The launch of Apple’s smartwatch and other smartwatches could take that to another level. Ad tech is here to stay and grow.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.

    All Rights Reserved, Licensed to republish

     

  • The integrated campaign to commemorate 100 years of Tata Power will be handled out of Rediffusion Y&R' s Mumbai office

    Rediff bags creative duties of Tata Power

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rediffusion Y&R has bagged the creative duties of Tata Power. The account was won following a multi-agency pitch.

     

    Tata Power accomplished 100 years of operation on February 9, 2015. The integrated campaign to commemorate  100 years of Tata Power will be handled out of  the agency’ s Mumbai office.

     

    The commemoration of centenary year celebrations were kicked off with the unveiling of logo and theme depicting the Company’s 100-year service of ‘Invisible Goodness’ to the nation by Chairman of Tata Power and Tata group Mr Cyrus Mistry in an event at Khopoli on February 9.

     

    Speaking about the development, Shalini Singh, Head-Corporate Communications,  Tata Power said:  “It is with extreme pride, joy and honour, that we would like to ring-in celebrations for our centenary year celebration. The Company will continue to announce various initiatives being undertaken for various stakeholders and we are happy to have partnered with Rediff as our creative partner. We are confident that Rediff with their innovative approach and creative solutions will enable us to drive impactful media presence across our audience segments this centenary year.”

     

    Commenting on the win, Neville Medhora, Vice President-Rediffusion Y&R Mumbai said, “A 100-year celebrations is a momentous occasion and we are very proud to be part of it. Tata Power has a strong value system and our job will be to upfront and celebrate that.”