MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • The music channel's business head Aditya Swamy says evolving to keep pace with the changing demands of its TA – the youth market – is the secret to staying ahead

    MTV goes multi-dimensional, wearing multiple hats

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    To survive, adapting to changing times is an absolute must. MTV, which started the music revolution in the country decades ago, has not just managed to survive but also remain a hit with its audience, when grabbing attention is an increasingly tough job.

     

    How did MTV do it? Evolution is the answer, according to Aditya Swamy, MTV EVP and Business Head. “Our brand talks to youngsters, who are constantly evolving, so to connect with them we have to re-invent ourselves time and again too.”

     

    The channel now is working towards being multi-dimensional and multi-platform. Ask about the rationale behind the new strategy and the response is that while music is at the heart of MTV, the brand is not limited to it. Therefore, the channel isn’t stopping itself from wearing multiple hats – from music both filmi and independent and reality shows, it also has a slew of new properties since March, starting with MTV Sound Trippin, followed by India’s first social road trip titled Drive with MTV , a 13-part film named MTV Rush, and MTV Coke Studio.

     

    Aditya Swamy

    “Today a channel has to be multi-dimensional especially if it caters to youngsters. Youth wants options – music, reality shows, fiction etc. So, a brand needs to have a well-rounded offering for its TA. Audiences are wearing multiple hats, so why shouldn’t a channel?” asks Mr Swamy. “And as choices evolve, we’ll have change accordingly and maybe a new phenomenon will be created in the future.”

     

    However, the channel is very clear that it will never compromise on music. “Music is in MTV’s heart so we cannot let go of it. But we’ll continue to do different things with it and come up with original content. Our mantra is quality over quantity.”

     

    The brand can be consumed on various social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook apart from its website and, of course, television. “When so many options are available to ‘connect’ with the audience then why should a channel be only be limited to TV? All these platforms give us a total consumer platform, which makes it a two-way communication,” says Mr Swamy about the importance of being available on multiple platforms.

     

    He further explains it with an example of Roadies which won ‘The Most Social TV Show’ at Mashable Awards, last year. The show had gone all out by posting videos, images, updates and exclusive sneak peeks on social networks. The show was the only Indian entry to reach the top 10 slot too.

     

    “Not only does the engagement help a brand reach out to its audiences, advertisers prefer it too, as it also helps them to reach their TA through various platforms which a brand they can associate with is on,” Mr Swamy adds.

     

  • Delhi HC says India TV did not infringe Yash Raj Films’ copyright in India Beats programme

    India TV wins case against Yash Raj Films for ‘fair use’ of “Kajra Re’ etc on news shows

    By Ananya Saha

     

    In an ongoing legal dispute between India TV and Yash Raj Films, the Division Bench of Delhi High Court consisting of Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Manmohan Singh has delivered a breakthrough judgment in favour of India TV. The honourable court has held that small amount of usage of songs in a programme by India TV does not amount to ‘copyright infringement’.

     

    The Delhi High court was dealing with a dispute involving India TV and Yashraj Films. The High Court has said that use of five words of the song ‘Kajrare’, ‘Mera chain vain sab ujda’ in a promo for a consumer affairs program telecast on India TV and singing a portion of the song ‘Salaam Namaste’ in a one-hour programme ‘India Beats’ of India TV by Vasundhara Das whose life was being reviewed, amounts to ‘fair use’, as the same is de minimis, that is, very little usage compared to the whole programme.

     

    India TV MD & CEO Ritu Dhawan said, “The ruling itself is a victory for the channel and media houses alike, and places their right of ‘fair use’ at the forefront.”

     

    Prathiba Singh, intellectual property lawyer appearing for India TV, said, “The court has protected the rights of artists and creators on one hand and news channels on the other. The court has held that if every form of usage of even small bits is infringement, then creativity would be stifled.”

     

  • Zee turns #1 Hindi GEC thanks to DID Season 2 finale's 8 TVR plus Ramayan and the Gold Awards

    Zee TV turns numero uno again

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zee TV has moved way ahead of the competition in the Hindi general entertainment channel space. According to the ratings out today (Week 33), the channel garnered 283 GRPs, with Star Plus slipping to 255, Colors up to 238 and Sony down at 214 GRPs.

     

    Last week (#32), Star Plus was leading with 270 GRPs as Zee TV trailed with 247, Sony with 225 and Colors with 217 GRPs.

     

    The high ratings can be attributed to the Dance India Dance season 2 Finale, which managed the ratings of 8.0 TVR on 12 August. Ramayan also caught many eyeballs, and managed the TVR of 2.7. The Gold Awards that were telecast on August 18 fetched the ratings of 3 TVR.

     

    Riding high on the success of Dance India Dance, the essential question is whether Zee will be able to sustain the ratings. Channel executives and an analyst MxMIndia spoke wit are bullish about Zee maintaining the lead since the channel is planning a standoff between season one and season two finale winners of DID. This will ensure that the interest is kept alive for the next five weeks.

     

    Dhruv Jha, Business Head at Lodestar Universal, is optimistic that the channel would have innovative content to keep the interest alive. He said, “Zee TV is always reinventing its programming. Even when this show ends, I am positive that they have another show in the kitty.”

     

  • The show will be simulcast across BIG CBS's three channels – Prime, Love and Spark, beginning September 14 and then every Friday and Saturday at 9pm in India

    BIG CBS brings X Factor in concurrent telecast with US

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    On the back of the success that the simulcast of the reality show America’s Got Talent delivered to the BIG CBS Network, it is going all out to cash in on the trend. The network has acquired the latest season of The X Factor, which will air concurrent to the United States, from Fremantle. The show will be simulcast across BIG CBS’s three channels – Prime, Love and Spark, beginning September 14 and then every Friday and Saturday at 9pm in India.

     

    Created by Simon Cowell and produced by Fremantle Media – North America, The X Factor is back for its second season with a jury mix that consists of Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, Simon Cowell and L.A Reid.

     

    Commenting on the show, Anand Chakravarthy, EVP marketing, RBNL said, “It has been our endeavour right from the start to offer India the latest-freshest-hottest of global entertainment, and with the acquisition of Fremantle’s hit show The X Factor, we once again live up to our promise. The X Factor’s concurrent telecast with the US and the simulcast across the Prime, Love and Spark channels will give us enormous mileage. Our strategy allows the show to reach a large relevant audience base across consumer segments, while simultaneously offering marketers an excellent platform to reach out to their audiences.”

     

    To ensure optimal reach, the BIG CBS Network has planned an extensive marketing plan for the show. The network will engage in a multimedia holistic marketing campaign across multiple touch points ranging over radio, television, out of home media and social media to promote the show.

     

  • Not everyone is against the restriction, but is it an effective solution to check anti-national content?

    Is the Indian government right in blocking the digital media?

     

    By Ananya Saha and Robin Thomas

     

    In the recent wake of violence and riots in Assam, and against north-eastern Indians, the government ordered a ban on bulk SMS and blocked access to over 200 webpages. Even as these recent moves might seem to be curtailing freedom of expression, and have received mixed responses from the industry, the spotlight is now on internet freedom and content regulation.

     

    Sidharth Mishra

    Sidharth Mishra, Consulting Editor, Millennium Post & President, Centre for Reforms, Development and Justice said, “This is a kneejerk reaction by the government which completely failed to precede what happened with the North East residents. The government is trying to cover up its failure by indulging into such harsh measures on websites. I am not against any monitoring by the government but, there is a difference between monitoring and censorship. The drawbacks of social media domain can be stopped only by prevention and not by reactionary actions which we see from the government. If you ban one website another one will emerge and thus there will be no permanent solution to the problem. The government must therefore be pro-active and keep a vigil on these issues and then take necessary steps as and when required, rather than just putting a blanket ban.”

     

    As morphed images and hate messages targeted towards a certain community spread like wildfire, the Indian government is trying to tighten its noose on social media, and telecom operators. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have been warned to pull off and remove the objectionable content by the Indian government, perhaps remembering Arab Spring that relied heavily on protests on the social media in the early stages and helped mobilise public opinion for several key social issues.

     

    LinkedIn, Yahoo!, and Sify did not participate in the story, but a Google spokesperson clarified, “We understand the gravity of the situation, strongly condemn acts of violence, and continue to work closely with relevant authorities. Content intended to incite violence, such as hate speech, is prohibited on Google products where we host content, including YouTube, Google+ and Blogger. We act quickly to remove such material flagged by our users. We also comply with valid legal requests from authorities wherever possible, consistent with our longstanding policy.”

     

    P N Vasanti

    But the damage has already been done, according to industry veterans. “The government should have taken steps like these earlier. Even though I am a strong supporter of freedom of internet and media, any instance that triggers communal violence should be strictly dealt with. I do not agree with censorship but penalising those who spread illegal, harmful and abusive material is important,” said P N Vasanti, Director, Centre for Media Studies.

     

    The government had initiated the Convergence Bill in 2000, with the objective of establishing a new “converged” regulatory framework to promote and develop the communications sector (including broadcasting, telecommunications and multimedia) in an environment of increasing convergence of technologies, services and service providers. In a multi-media environment when procedure of ownership and registration is as doubtful, the Bill would have helped in such a crisis. However, it failed to become operative.

     

    Pavan Duggal

    Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India who specialises in the field of Cyberlaw, said, “The freedom of speech is relative, and is subject to relevant restriction. The govt is blocking out the content, which is anti-India. This is a legitimate step, but the govt needs to focus on the steps so that misuse of social media does not happen in the future. Only close to 200 websites have been blocked, which was a necessary step. The govt also needs to come up with specific rules for mobile operators, in time, so that the handheld tool is not misused.”

     

    Another industry analyst suggested that the government should plan long-term framework on the communication monitoring across the nation on the virtual and mobile platform to avoid similar circumstances in the future.

     

    BG Mahesh
    BG Mahesh

    BG Mahesh, Founder & MD, Greynium Information Technologies, opined, “SMS limit surely affects many but monitoring of social media, blogs has no effect on the majority as they are not doing anything anti-national. If my tweets are being read by the govt I am perfectly ok with it, after all it is in the public domain already. Free speech is a must but then people should not be posting anti-national content and spreading rumors. At the same time govt too should not be blocking content if it feels the policies are being criticized.”

     

    Giving a different perspective, Sanjay Aggarwal, CEO, Unicel Technologies, said, “What is effectively a blanket ban is actually not in the public interest. Banning communication systems in such a critical time can worsen the law-and-order situation rather than improving it. The lack of truthful news messages creates an information vacuum which increases anxiety and drives people even more toward unreliable rumors.

     

    Sanjay Aggarwal

    Despite the ban, person to person messaging is likely to continue as this is virtually impossible to control by the operators.” He further added, “Due to the SMS ban, as an industry we are looking at a 15-20% loss in this quarter, but considering the loss to our customers as well, businesses will take a hit in a multi-crore dimension and the numbers will be big. We have suffered bans in the past, and the financial impact is always large, but their effectiveness in achieving the government’s objectives is questionable.” There already exist solutions like BBM for Blackberry users and Nimbuzz, if the consumers prefer a multi-platform communication platform to avoid the SMS-related communication problems.

     

    Arunava Sinha, Head, ibnlive.com & cricketnext.com at Web 18, agreed. He said, “If the internet is the trigger, which I really doubt it is, then blocking the access to the websites is not the solution. It does not take much time to create another website. How many sites can only block? The solution is to act proactively, and do prompt campaigns and tell people not to believe in such messages.”

     

    Just as print media is responsible for it publishes, and follows self-regulation, is it time that internet be also regulated through the same protocols?

     

    “Any organization that wants to sustain itself will have to maintain some kind of self-regulation. They have to show some kind of responsibility towards the society. So, definitely self regulation is necessary and I am sure that most websites follow self regulation. At the same time some kind of government monitoring is also all right but, there must not be any censorship on the site or the internet,” said Mr Mishra.

     

  • Paritosh Joshi waxes eloquent about the joys of Hulu.com, and why India needs one. Soon

    Paritosh Joshi: Say Hello to Hulu

    By Paritosh Joshi

     

    This fortnight, your humble correspondent is in the US, starting with the beautiful city of San Francisco. However, his responsibilities to mxmindia.com are never far from his mind so he will take a pause in his schedule to tell you about a creature of great wonder and delight that enchants the natives here while remaining tantalizingly out of reach for most other parts of the world.

     

    You are reading this on a computer or other electronic device (ok, some Luddite actually printed out a copy on dead trees but it still started off on a device). Said device is connected, ie it has access to the internet (or as the incomparable Dubya once called it, “The Internets”  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKTH6f1JfX8) – and as the clip that came up when you clicked on the link demonstrates, your device can deal confidently with voice and video too. Let’s be honest; all that FBing and tweeting you do inevitably has you clicking on video links with fair frequency; so you are scarcely a stranger to internet video.

     

    You are also no stranger to the grim truth that almost all the content on all the C&S channels that you get on your Dish, T-Sky, Hathway or whatever, is being routinely pirated and can be watched, off schedule or VOD if you will, online.

     

    There’s a simple rule related with criminal behaviour. Do what the crook does, but do it better than the crook does and people will even pay a small premium to get it the legit way. Al Capone could only run speakeasies until booze was illicit. The Netherlands (where Cannabis use is broadly legal) ranks 9th in its usage. Even Canada is ahead. Simple point. Do the same thing and do it above board and compliance generally should go up. (Who remembers India’s Income Tax regime in the 70s with near 100% marginal tax rates and the highest incidence of tax evasion probably on the planet?)

     

    Which is what Hulu is to online television content.

     

    You can get a full fix of what it is by checking out the Wikipedia entry but the basic idea is simple. Top American networks, NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, Nickelodeon and several others have pooled their content into an advertising supported, high quality streaming service that simultaneously does justice to the consumer’s expectation of quality and the content owners’ expectation of fair compensation for intellectual property.

     

    What is most delightful about even the free tier of Hulu is the thoughtful Permission Marketing that it practices from the very landing page. A lot of content can be viewed by a simple registration and you also have the option of trying Hulu Plus for free. It wouldn’t foist it on you. Your call. This sensibility is visible at every stage. You choose a show to view, (I chose Jimmy Fallon learning the ‘Booty Tooch’ from Tyra Banks, don’t ask why) and even before clicking through, the mouse-over gives you a quick summary to help you decide if you want to go on. Next, you get advertising before the show starts. And it asks you if you find the advertising relevant. So the next time you are on Hulu again, the intelligent ad server engine will make better choices about advertising that actually make sense to you. Once you choose, the site will thank you for making the choice too! Inevitably these days, Hulu is keen to use your socmed (yes that is now a legit word) networks too. It asks you if you would like to post the video you just viewed to FB and Hulu giving you the option even here to opt out.

     

    I could go on but the short point is this. With bandwidth growing and streaming quality steadily improving as a result, we may well be at the point where an Indian ‘Hulu’ may be an idea whose time has come. Drive out piracy. Secure quality content for widest consumption. Get the advertising targeted to people who actually want it. What is not to like, eh?

     

    And in case you were wondering about Tyra… http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/booty-tooch-with-tyra-banks-82112/1414177

     

    Paritosh Joshi was until recently CEO, Star CJ. He has been a marketer, a mediaperson and on the Board/committees of various industry bodies. He can reached via his Twitter handle @paritoshZero

     

  • Complete News and Entertainment Broadcast Pvt Ltd (CNEB) and Launch Pad have joined hands to create Bhojpuri International Music TV Channel – Hummra M

    CNEB turns into Hummra M Bhojpuri music channel

    By Ananya Saha

     

    The Bhojpuri-speaking market has been categorised as Hindi-speaking market in TAM terms, so far. With an aim to change this, Complete News and Entertainment Broadcast Pvt Ltd (CNEB) and Launch Pad have joined hands to create Bhojpuri International Music TV Channel – Hummra M. Launch Pad, led by Probal Gaanguly and Vikas Varma, is acting as a consultant for setting up the channel.

     

    The channel, launched on August 13, is targeted at 15-24-year-olds in Bihar and Jharkhand (Bhojpuri-speaking) market. Probal Gaanguly, Partner, Launch Pad, said, “Strategically, the Bhojpuri market has been waiting to explode since quite some time. There is no regional music channel here. Hummra M is perfectly placed for advertisers to reach out to this important market.” The channel would telecast top-of-the-chart Bhojpuri film songs. The packaging and the look of the channel has been designed by Mr Varma (who was a part of the 9XM set-up team), and the channel would have 3D animated characters. The second phase would see more unique content, according to Mr Gaanguly.

     

    CNEB Hindi news channel, which did not turn commercially viable even after 4-5 years, was converted to Hummra M. The aim of Launch Pad is to look at profitability, create opportunities for marketers, and break even in the shortest time frame of 12-18 months.

     

    HS Sran, Group Chairman, HBN Group & Complete News & Entertainment Broadcast Pvt Ltd (CNEB Network), said, “We are delighted to join hands with Launch Pad to create the first entertainment TV offering from the CNEB network. With the proven track record of Vikas Varma and Probal Gaanguly in this genre of TV entertainment, it is a win-win situation for the CNEB Network, Launch Pad and the Bhojpuri TV viewer. We look forward to many more such ventures from this team.” According to the officials, the TAM ratings of Week 33 of Hummra M in BSM – 15 to 24 yrs TG is 6.42 which is almost the times of the three other Bhojpuri Music Entertainment Channels (Dabangg, Big Magic & Sangeet Bhojpuri).

     

    The Launch Pad team is already looking at regional channel markets of Orissa, Punjab, Bengal, and Assam. “We could act as consultant and take care of the entire project from launching to ensuring profitability, or become stakeholders. We are looking at different models and formats.”

     

    To market Hummra M, the channel would be engaging in below-the-line marketing and activations. The channel is also looking at tying up with film properties.

     

  • August 24 will be the last day at the channel for the head of non-fiction at Zee TV, who put in his papers recently

    DID creator Ashish Golwalkar to leave Zee

    By Ananya Saha

     

    A journey that began in April 2001 for Ashish Golwalkar is drawing to a close. The head of non-fiction at Zee TV put in his papers recently. He is currently serving out his notice period, and August 24 will be his last day at the channel.

     

    He is credited with the creation of Dance India Dance, the popular property at the channel. Mr Golwalkar said, “It has been 12 years at Zee. I have worked at various roles and positions at Zee. I have worked as a sales person, programming head, brand manager. It was a great learning experience. I was responsible for DID. Nothing can be as big as DID. Zee was acted as a university for me.

     

    “Once you do something, it becomes difficult to outdo yourself at the same place. One needs to look for challenges and the challenges need to change constantly,” he said.

     

    Mr Golwalkar has not decided on his next destination yet. “I will be on leave and will evaluate things after a month.”

     

  • The 13-part series, 'What Not to Wear – India' is scheduled to air every night at 10pm beginning September 2, 2012 on TLC

    TLC to launch ‘What Not to Wear’ India edition

    By A Correspondent

     

    After its recent ‘Be Blunt with Adhuna Akhtar’, the India-based hair styling and makeover series, lifestyle channel TLC is all set to launch the India edition of the international makeover series – ‘What Not to Wear’. The channel has roped in actor Soha Ali Khan and acclaimed stylist Aki Narula.

     

    The 13-part series, ‘What Not to Wear – India’ is scheduled to air every night at 10pm beginning September 2, 2012 on TLC. With two back to India productions – ‘Be Blunt with Adhuna Akhtar’ and ‘What Not to Wear – India’, TLC is said to be planning more localised programming in the near future, thus further strengthening its localisation drive. ‘What Not to Wear – India’ will be available in both English and Hindi languages.

     

    Each episode is said to be a personal journey of women reinventing themselves with new-found vigour, as they bid adieu to clothing items from their wardrobe they never should have worn in the first place. Rahul Johri, Senior Vice President and General Manager – South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific said, “TLC has been the front runner in bringing the world’s best experience to Indian television. Pushing the boundaries of differentiated and inspiring television entertainment, we are delighted to present another pertinent and refreshing India centric series- ‘What Not to Wear – India.’ Hosted by Soha Ali Khan and Aki Narula, the series will activate a new wave of style change and become the new benchmark in lifestyle programming.”

     

    Soha Ali Khan said, “I am excited to be part of TLC. ‘What Not to Wear – India’ is an extremely interesting makeover series that beautifully captures the emotional, psychological and physical journeys of women to style enlightenment. We hope that viewers enjoy the show as much as we enjoyed making it.”

     

    Aki Narula said, “This is a thoroughly researched, interactive and insightful series, where I can aptly put all my years of experience of fashion and style to great practical use for the participants and the viewers.”

     

    ‘What Not to Wear – India’ is based on the original format devised by BBC and produced by BBC Worldwide.

     

  • Media consulting and sales firm Aidem Ventures has been appointed as the media representative for Punjabi GEC GET Punjabi

    Aidem expands regional footprint, bags Get Punjabi

    By A Correspondent

     

    Media consulting and sales firm Aidem Ventures has been appointed as the media representative for Punjabi GEC GET Punjabi. GET Punjabi was launched in India in October 2011 GEE Info Media stable. The network has presence in US and Canada as Punjjabi TV in US and Canada.

     

    The channel is available across Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh (PHCHP). Said Vikas Khanchandani, Director, Aidem Ventures, “We, at Aidem, intend to create an assortment of focused offerings that deliver a pan-India reach to our advertisers. With this deal coming through, we have expanded our footprint in the regional market with channels ranging from the Tamil Nadu’s Jaya TV, Jaya Max, Jaya Plus and J Movies; Odisha’s Lakshyya Entertainment, Mi Marathi and now Get Punjabi.”

     

    Alok Rakshit, head, broadcast business, regional and news, Aidem Ventures said, “We are pleased to have Get Punjabi on board, as it is a perfect fit in our regional TV channels bouquet. It will help shape our growth path for the next few years. The Punjabi-speaking population across Northern India is the target audience for many a brands. With Rs. 75 Crores riding on Punjabi entertainment genre, the growing trend is deemed to continue.”

     

    “We at Get Punjabi invest a lot of time and resources to reinvent our programming and cover every aspect of entertainment in order to connect with evolving viewer interests.  With Aidem’s thorough understanding of what drives profitability and cash flow and its market-oriented approach to business, we are confident that this collaboration will have a progressive bearing on our ROI,” added Manish Vasisht, Executive Director/CEO, GEE Info Media Pvt. Ltd.

     

  • With one of the key issues for India being how to integrate its citizens into an increasingly digital economy, Hindustan Times brought together a panel of experts to discuss the topic

    Digital Literacy conclave by HT and Intel

    By A Correspondent

     

    With one of the key issues for India being how to integrate its citizens into an increasingly digital economy, Hindustan Times brought together a panel of experts from the government, private sector and non-profits at Digital Literacy conclave to discuss the topic ‘Digital Literacy – Keeping India Ahead in the Information Age’.

     

    Moderating the discussion at the conclave, Gautam Chikermane, Executive Editor (Business), Hindustan Times said, “Digital literacy is an essential but unexplored component of economic development and citizen empowerment in the 21st century. With this conclave, we hope to build the foundations upon which this idea can be built.”

     

    Shantanu Bhanja, Vice President Marketing, HT Media Ltd, on the objective of the conclave said, “The need of the hour is to make our country and its people abreast with the digitization that the world is undergoing today. As a newspaper working in the field of education and literary, this conclave is a great platform to bring all influencers and players in the ICT ecosystem together to drive the urgency of making India Digitally Literate and to overcome the digital divide.”

     

    Speaking at the conclave, Debjani Ghosh, Managing Director, Sales & Marketing Group, Intel South Asia said, “One of the biggest concerns facing us today is the lack of user awareness about what technology can do to help their lives. If used effectively, technology can play a huge role in driving personal growth, be it in developing job skills or providing easy access to quality education, healthcare and critical government services. Unfortunately a lot of Indian consumers are still not aware of how they can benefit from technology. Not only does this limit growth, but will significantly increase the problem of haves and have-nots in India. Digital literacy is essential along with technology access, broadband and local content for improving national competitiveness. We are happy that the entire ecosystem is coming together to put in place a Digital Literacy mission. The sustained focus by all of us on digital literacy awareness, education and training will help India take a lead in the global digital economy and help us maintain our competitiveness and also shape a technologically empowered society.”

     

    Panelists on the forum included Sachin Pilot, Minister of State Communications & Information Technology, Govt. of India, Debjani Ghosh, Managing Director, Sales & Marketing Group, Intel South Asia, Sanjay Kapoor, CEO, Airtel India & South Asia, Osama Manzar, Founder & Director, Digital Empowerment Foundation and Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman & Co-Founder, NIIT Group.

     

  • As marketers take the digital route, it's appears to be the best of times for digital agencies

    @dvantage Digital

     

    By Ravi Balakrishnan

     

    Never mind the famous introduction to Charles Dickens’ A Tale Of Two Cities; digital agencies today can afford to stop at ‘It was the best of times.’ Because, there has been no better time to be in this space. For one, marketers no longer need to be coaxed into going the digital route. Also unlike mainstream advertising, almost every new campaign or assignment has the scope for interesting, maybe even ground-breaking work; considering best practices are yet to be carved in stone. And finally it makes a lot of business sense. Through 2012, independents in this space both in India and overseas are being picked at a rapid clip and the people doing the picking are some of the biggest names in the marketing communications industry.

     

    The one player that’s yet to announce a key purchase so far, Omnicom, is said to be keenly watching the Indian market, with a representative visiting practically every month. An industry insider is confident of at least three more acquisitions being announced before the year is through.

     

    Amar Deep Singh

    Not bad at all considering that many of today’s hottest targets started life a little over a decade ago, as a ragtag bunch of entrepreneur driven specialist shops. Many of them began either before, during or immediately after the great dotcom bust of 2000. It seemed a quixotic endeavour. Through the early years, most mainstream advertising and media agencies opted to ignore the space entirely. Says Amar Deep Singh, CEO, Interactive Avenues, “Traditional agencies missed the bus while advertisers saw value in using digital media. They now find it easier to buy than to build. It’s a win-win for both, because it gives traditional agencies digital expertise and it helps digital agencies get scale.”

     

    Today, even as ‘old’ shops like Indigo Consulting and Hungama Digital Services get picked up by the likes of Leo Burnett and JWT, agencies and their holding companies are casting the net wider. While Ignitee which has survived two name changes and 12 years in the business is an obvious choice, even the three and a half year old 22 Feet which has worked on Titan Fastrack, Kingfisher and Lenovo is being approached. Brijesh Jacob, founder and director of 22 Feet, admits, “Every offer is tempting because it’s either an agency you adored growing up or someone that’s done awesome work.”

     

    CVL Srinivas

    In the fray are creative and media agencies, larger digital shops, holding companies and even IT firms. But among the first two, there’s a rivalry that’s as old as the days of unbundling. They have squabbled over who gets more face time with marketers and more recently over credits at award shows. And now, many senior practitioners on both sides are convinced that their firms are quite literally the best support system for a digital shop.

     

    Media agency heads often argue that considering digital is a measurable, accountable, result driven medium, what better partner than a business that concerns itself daily with these very issues? Says CVL Srinivas, chairman, SMG, “Media agencies are ahead of the curve when it comes to digital. We hear this from clients and not just agencies.” Sudha Natrajan, founder of media consultancy, TMC and a veteran of Lintas Initiative Media believes, “The lines between creative and content, and analytics to chase, understand and convert consumers, do not exist. The talent and understanding in a media agency is more apt to capitalise on this, rather than a creative agency. Creative agencies have stopped understanding media a while ago; some are making a feeble attempt to understand the digital medium, but are failing.”

     

    Sudha Natrajan

    The creative agencies on the other hand argue that in the absence of ideas and content, there’s unlikely to be any consumer response worth measuring. Says Arvind Sharma, chairman and CEO, India subcontinent, Leo Burnett, “Agencies produce TV commercials and hand these over to media agencies who release them. But if you need to manage content on a live basis, just handing it over is not the future.” He believes media agencies can possibly work only in the short run and on specific clients where the communication is less dynamic.

     

    Mr Sharma counters the media agency claim about being result driven with, “Human beings are persuaded by content. In a simple thing like door-to-door retail, change the message and the productivity levels are up from 20% to 80%. Around the world, who are the bigger winners of Effies, creative or media?” Madhukar Kamath, group CEO and managing director, DDB Mudra says a tad philosophically, “I disagree with the point of view saying either digital or activation should rest with a creative or media agency. It resides with whoever thinks like a full service agency; addressing brand issues.”

     

    Arvind Sharma

    While pretty much everyone is speaking (or has spoken to) everyone else, a pattern is emerging where the more content and social media driven digital agencies find a space within a creative network and the more result and search engine optimisation focused shops opt for media companies.

     

    It’s an arrangement that Atul Hegde, CEO, Ignitee finds essentially flawed: “They should be doing the opposite. Why shouldn’t a media agency acquire a strong creatively led agency? It will bring completely varied skill sets.” Some digital heads claim they don’t have a dog in the fight between creative and media. This is especially true since it’s quite impossible to go in for unbundling in digital. Says Chhaya Balachandran Aiyer, founder and managing director, BC Webwise, “It will have to be pure play; agencies are okay either continuing independently or merging with an existing digital arm.”

     

    Atul Hegde

    The agencies themselves have earned the right to be spoken to on their own terms. The offers are a lot less diffused than they used to be. While previous conversations were primarily about money, these days, companies attempt with varying degrees of success to draw a roadmap. And given how digital firms have grown in size and scale and the frequent inability of the acquirers getting richer, the founders can take pride in their creations continuing to exist as standalone brands for the foreseeable future.

     

    Says Vikas Tandon, CEO of Indigo Consulting, “Being part of Leo Burnett gives us a chance to be at the table when a strategy is formulated at the top management level.” And yet he argues, “It would be foolish to not leverage the equity of Indigo.”

     

    Chhaya Balachandran Aiyer

    Gulrez Alam, COO, Resultrix says “We are the leading buyer of Google in India and Performics is the biggest buyer of Google worldwide. We will be representing Performics in India.” However the name remains unchanged even post merger with the Publicis Groupe firm – Alam says the only addition will be the line ‘a Performics company.’

     

    There are others who have been in conversations for years and are yet to hear anything they really like. Mr Hegde admits, “There have been no compelling offers; no network that can add value to our growth plans. Being independent is our strength today, allowing us to work across agencies and brands. One of the biggest things about acquisitions is someone comes to you for what you are. Once they acquire you, they try to make you who they are.”

     

    Vikas Tandon

    Besides, there’s a bit of scepticism about what value an acquisition really brings to the table. An industry insider believes Webchutney is pretty much unchanged and the same applies to Quasar. For the moment though, it sure feels good to be wanted. And digital agencies with their PC, Mac and Tab saturated offices, internet meme based humour and boisterous geeky staff are the unlikely belles of the ball.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

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