Category: THE ANCHOR

By Haresh Nayak, Managing Director, Posterscope Group India

In an industry which is suffering because of research / Insights has seen a change over the past few years that have put us in an intriguing position today. On the one hand, OOH has a rich heritage. As one of the “traditional media” – indeed, the oldest medium – we have a long and impressive track record that we can point to – hoardings work – they have done for centuries. On the other hand, the newer formats being developed in OOH and the way they connect smartphone-carrying consumers with other media, make it one of the most future-facing of all media. Those of us who work in this media are keenly aware of this. But those who don’t deal with the industry on a day-to-day basis may not be so aware of the technological changes that have changed the face of our medium.

They may more readily think of the “traditional” side of the medium, rather than the cutting-edge side of it so I think the out of home industry faces a big question right now: do we want to be associated with the past, or do we want to be associated with the future? The reason this is such a big question is because industries – as we know – follow a ruthless, Darwinian trajectory. The dinosaurs die out very quickly. You adapt…or you’re gone. So, although there is a lot that’s very positive about OOH’s past, and while traditional posters remain a very powerful part of any marketing armoury, I think there’s only one answer to this question. We need to be associated – in the minds of clients and media planners – with the future. Media planners have a natural affinity with the future. They’re looking for something new and different to excite their clients. If you’re looking for new and different, you don’t go looking in a box marked “traditional”. If they perceive 00H as an old or traditional medium that could quickly become a problem for us. A big, Darwinian problem. We need them to perceive OOH as new and different or, at least, we want them to understand that if they’re looking for something new and different, OOH would be a worthwhile place to look. So we have to associate our medium with the future. Fortunately, I think we can do this. The groundwork has been laid by investment in new formats. The technology exists for both new and older formats to play an integral role in influencing today’s connected consumer.

We are part of the future. But to make sure we’re perceived as such, we need to take every opportunity to behave like a new medium, not like an old one. One area where we can clearly do this is in rethinking our attitude to data and knowledge. How do new media behave in this regard? They share. They take an open-source attitude. Traditionally we don’t share. We regard data and knowledge as something that might offer a competitive advantage. So we keep it to ourselves and guard it jealously. This is an outdated attitude, it’s a traditional attitude, and it will perpetuate media planners seeing us as a traditional medium that behaves in traditional ways. If we can start to behave more like new media companies – and throw our data out there for everyone to use – the benefits to our medium overall will surely outweigh the marginal benefits for an individual company of keeping things to themselves. Because it will firmly establish us as a forward-thinking medium in the minds of the people who are in a position to spend more money with us. We need to share our insights and data about how consumers behave in this new, connected economy.

We need to move towards genuine real-time planning and we won’t get there by acting selfishly as individuals; but we can get there working together. It will require a huge cultural shift to start sharing, of course. We’re used to treating all of this data as marketing collateral; but if we can make this change, and start to work together to develop the insight, the benefits will be there for all of us. We will be giving a new generation of media planners what they want – better insight, better measurement. If we have an opportunity to make media planners’ lives easier – and we don’t take it – we’re missing a trick.

By Manajit Ghoshal, Managing Director & CEO, Mid Day Infomedia Ltd, India

The age-old model of selling newspapers to readers at a pittance and then to monetize through advertisement revenue is set to change in India. I am talking about newspapers in general and English newspapers in metro cities in particular. The revenue ratio for most English newspapers would be in the range of 85:15 for advertisement revenue and subscription revenue respectively. This should move to an ideal mix of 50:50 in the medium term and to a 25:75 mix in the long term. I am aware that I am sticking my neck out with these figures, but publishers have to respect content first and only then will they be able to make the readers pay the fair price with conviction.

The present lopsided revenue model puts huge pressure on the business side of media businesses, and some of this pressure to get advertisement revenues seeps into the editorial function in terms of the business side trying to curtail negative edit on big clients. It’s a serious deterrent to independent newsrooms and while so far most publications have been able to keep a clean record as far as hard news is concerned, features and specials have not been able to resist some of this lure. Publishers of quality newspapers will need to up the subscription prices in line with international pricing models and thus reduce their reliance on advertisement revenues. This will also lead to increase in rates of advertisement as publishers will not be hard-pressed to cut yields to garner advertisement volumes.

Most importantly, it will be favourable to the reader despite an increase in his media outlay because he will be assured of quality independent news without interference from big businesses. After all, if readers want the gold standard in news reporting they will be ready to pay the price.

This flipping of the ad:subscription price ratio will herald a radical shift in media reporting and media selling.

By Sandeep Sharma, President, R K Swamy Media Group

Currently, clients focus on maximising return on investments in media in terms of reach, frequency and GRPs. GRP becomes the currency for performance. And as long as the marketwise evaluation of a plan within the defined target group delivers those GRPs, the media agency is doing a good job.

Going forward, all this will change. Given the slowdown in the last five years, the fundamental insight learnt is “Trend is no longer your friend.” This means today’s business environment is complex and clients are facing new and unforeseen challenges. The heterogeneity in India makes their task further difficult. In this scenario, standalone solutions will not work and the client will seek all constituents to work towards achieving one common goal which will be linked to his business result, either in terms of sales growth or gain in market share, clearly defined at the outset with all partners as a common goal.

So what are the implications in the media context? The focus will shift from low rates to solutions. Solutions are agnostic to platforms or medium and in isolation or combined, whatever works best for the best solution will be the answer. Hence, creative idea synergy playing across all touchpoints and exposure for the viewer/reader will be superior; the further implication would be that creative and media agencies will have to work in unison.

Agency planners will have to think solutions and not medium, will have to understand the client’s business and not just the brand. There will be a higher level of interaction between agencies and clients living the eureka moment of “True partnership”. Agencies will be truly seen as partners and extension of clients’ marketing and business teams, and not agencies or vendors.

Last, but not the least, agency remuneration will be linked to the client’s market performance and achievement towards the goal, and here I pray the industry learns to play it right and not undermine itself like in the past and get their rightful share of the value they bring to the table. On this subject of remuneration, I pray that “Past trend no longer be your friend” for agencies.

By Srikant Sastri, Country Chair, VivaKi India

It’s actually two ideas that need to work in tandem, to transform the digital space in India. We’re late by a few years with both these ideas, but the time has come. As soon as service providers expand the reach of broadband, the numbers will explode. Simultaneously, low-cost smart phones, supported by an eco-system of multilingual content, will do for digital what regional TV has done in traditional space.

Indian consumers, even at the bottom of the pyramid, have the innate ability to adapt to new technologies and devices as long as it’s affordable, accessible and delivers value.

Desktop internet and browsers have not met these criteria, and this has limited digital growth.

However, I would bet that the same consumer will lap up content delivered via easy-to-use multilingual apps on affordable smartphones. This will set off a flood of activity and revenues with respect to smartphones, content creation and ad formats, as well as a flurry of start-ups with smart business models.

All of us have often wondered why India’s massive base of more than 800 million mobile phones does not translate into ARPUs for service providers, or viable advertising platforms for marketers. Broadband access, coupled with multilingual content, has the ability to make this a reality.

By Harrish M Bhatia, CEO, 94.3 MY FM

The potential of radio as an advertising medium is by far the most underutilized in the country. Given a level playing field, radio has the potential to garner 8-10% of the advertising pie, which is a global norm in developed markets. However, with short-sighted policies, long delays in phase III and the lack of credible wholesome measurement tools, the medium has not been able to compete ably with other media vehicles. Many professionals still include radio in their plans at the last moment to highlight the probability of their idea being campaignable. Moreover, media spends are not proportionately allocated to radio even though it has outgrown other media in time spent, especially in non-metro markets.

At this crucial juncture, radio players now need to combine forces, taking this challenge head-on to showcase the strengths that the medium has to offer and how radio can provide superior value to advertisers.

Instead of competing on price, there is a need to focus on creative hard selling of the medium’s unique strengths like customized communication to address local market needs and ‘radio properties’ that contribute significantly in brand building. It is also imperative to highlight programming innovations which seamlessly integrate the advertiser’s brand without compromising on the entertainment quotient ensuring that the communication remains relevant and engaging. Lastly, radio players need to come to consensus on adopting a common measurement tool that can support and verify the credibility that radio offers.

In a competitive category where higher salience in the consumer’s mind is of utmost importance, radio can play a critical role in occupying a dominant share of mind via higher frequency and faster turnaround time. Working together, the industry can present a stronger front and showcase the true potential of radio.

By Ravi Rao, Leader, South Asia, Mindshare

The one big idea that will change the face of the newspaper industry in the coming years will be the effective use of ‘couponing’.

Most newspapers have not exploited this successfully in India. Imagine a situation where the regional newspapers offer coupons 52 weeks a year, whose total value is 4x of the newspaper subscription. It is value for money for readers, great opportunity for trial build for brands, and this will kickstart the emergence of a new back-end industry to manage redemptions. Advertisers will also get to see which publication really ‘performs’ and can get a lot more data into the ultimate decision-maker to buy their products.

The second big idea in the internet era will be the use of ‘paywalls’ – a few publications didn’t succeed with the revenue models as the final readership determines the success of any subscription or ad model. With TV digitization, imagine if there is a single aggregator like Zite in India offering news or specific titles online across multiple genres!. Exciting times for the ad industry to look at content generation that is relevant and appropriate and will surely be the money-spinner. Nothing excites me as much as the convergence of media.

By Madhukar Sabnavis, Vice Chairman, Ogilvy and Mather, India

The One Big Idea that will be a game-changer will be in the digital space. Digital has transformed the business world, and it’s going to change the way brand-building will be done in future. We are just waiting for the tipping point.

There are already over 800 million mobile handsets and over 150 million internet users. That’s enough hardware for software to be developed on. Print brought in the era of information in advertising, television drove emotional affinity. Digital will drive engagement – the highest level of brand connection.

Whether through mobile applications or social networks or retail activations, digital is at the cusp of breaking free. All that is required is the creative firepower and ideas to emerge to show clients the way – give them the confidence to back it. It will then make branding a two-way conversation from the one-way communication that most advertising has been during the television era. It will necessitate new metrics of measurement and a mindset change from mass market thinking to more segmented, focused and targeting marketing. It will mean that marketers will have the opportunity to address both consumers and shoppers which traditional media didn’t enable.

What final form it will take, one can’t tell today. There are exciting times ahead.

By Dr. Subho Ray, President, Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)

The big idea that can change the internet business in India is providing affordable broadband access to rural India. However, it is not the idea itself that is important, but its implementation. The digital future is being built as we speak. The government is committed to spending Rs 20,000 crores in reaching true broadband connection to all the 2.5 lakh panchayats through a fibre optic backbone. Usually, people are ignorant or sceptical of such government projects, but I am personally very bullish about this one. Even if half the project is completed within the next two years, we will have broadband connection reaching more than a lakh village panchayats.

This will be like handing over a livelihood tool to the usually infrastructure-poor areas and similar to teaching a person how to catch a fish. Of course, initially the adoption will be slow at first, then there will be self-discovery of the potential of the internet, and then there will be the special India jugaad!

This process in the next three to four years will change the face of the internet and also the face of rural India. The former will change because new content and services will have to be designed for a completely new market, the latter will change because commerce and information will be available at the tip of the finger. With that, empowerment and inclusion will not be far behind.

By Keertan Adyanthaya, Managing Director, Fox International Channels India

Technology, ever-evolving, has brought about a radical change in our lives. Every activity, inane or important, is governed by technology, giving us limitless choices. Perpetually time-starved, we prefer to pick up our tablets or smart-phones to access information instead of reading the newspapers or quickly record our favorite shows to watch at a time convenient to us. What’s more, with increased internet penetration consumers have access to their choice of content at the click of a button.

The world around us has undergone a massive revolution. The TV hardware that consumers use is quite advanced with micro-computers that can adjust the picture quality, level the sound and allow you to access the web straight from your TV set. The distribution mechanism has changed – from analogue to digital – and now gives you a wealth of information about the exact programme that you are watching. New-age set-top boxes allow you to pause, rewind and forward live television. They allow you to set up recording for entire series of shows that you like. At the same time, the television universe has also exploded with 700+ channels vying for the attention of the viewers. Broadcast companies are making efforts to cater to changing audience interests and desires by providing close to bespoke channel offerings – regional TV in more and more languages, golf channels, wildlife channels, action movie channels, education channels, etc etc.

However, one area where there has not been much technological advancement is the area of audience measurement. We still depend on the 9,000 people-meter homes to tell us what people are watching. This data is still delivered to its end-users on a weekly basis. Both the sample size and the frequency of reporting are woefully inadequate.

Why can’t we install a tracking chip in every set-top box which can report viewership data? There are an estimated six million boxes that will be deployed in the next 12 months; even if we get the tracking chips into 1% of these boxes, its 60,000 boxes that will give us the data. That’s six times the current sample size.

A key aspect that can help fill the gap between content and viewer interest is a robust measurement mechanism. By using the technology in the STB, we could bring back the data from each television set to the tracking agency; it could prove to be an effective and accurate means of measurement. This would be a more robust measurement mechanism than the 9,000 people-meter boxes that we depend on today. What finally goes on air is largely dependent on the research data that comes from measurement agencies, and a technology like this might just be the next big thing that revolutionizes the process of designing content according to consumer interest. In addition, it will also help advertisers to have sharp focus and decide their media spends as per what their core TG is watching. Technology can help us to improve measurement in the broadcast industry, but are we willing to embrace it?

By Sanjay Pareek, President, Percept Out of Home

In these tough economic times, for every rupee a brand manager spends, they want to know how much have they received back from the media in terms of sales or brand recall depending on the objective of the camping.

The out of home industry in India requires systematic improvement to become a media of choice, used across the industry category. Honestly, I don’t think there is a big idea required to propel the industry in the growth phase. Everything required is common sense.

All media gives a ROI for the money brands invest in them, except outdoor and therefore it is a must that the industry stakeholders should invest in a measurement index, which will offers ROI to the brands. This will help brand managers and media managers to justify the investment in outdoor media.

Second common sense, is that Outdoor media should be looked as an independent media, and not an extension of TV or Print for creative strategy. The brands who have used a different creative strategy for outdoor has gained far better results from this media than the brands which have used the creative strategy that are an extension of their creative strategy from TV and Press.

Once these issues are addressed then we can look at technology in outdoor, which will allow a dialogue with the consumers, instead of the current monologue form of communication. This could be a “BIG IDEA” which will offer wow factor to the brands, but the hygiene factor has to be addressed first and sooner than later.

By Mitrajit Bhattacharya, President & Publisher, Chitralekha Group

Print is thriving in India and will continue to do well in the near and distant future. India is a complex market and often “one formula fits all” does not work here. However, there are some learnings, which if applied as needed, could make the medium take maximum advantage in future.

• Learn from Bollywood to contemporize: Do you recall Amitabh in Lal Badshah or Govinda’s yellow pants? Bollywood, in the 80s, was exactly what the thinking class abhorred. It did things to cater to mass through single-screen theatres. With multiplexization, Bollywood has gone through a sea change in how it shoots, edits, promotes (both AV and print) and finally uses its PR machinery. Print medium needs to contemporize and go beyond. Even the small-town readers expect the best both in terms of content and production, and I am sure the regional biggies are geared to take up this challenge of the hinterland.
• Customize: Print has this amazing quality of customization which TV does not. Eventually, there will be technology to deliver customized products to key audiences. And even before customization, one needs to know the reader beyond his/ her SEC/ MHI and other demographics.
• Growth in literacy: The world example does not work here at all. Most of the western world is 100% literate whereas large parts of India still gains substantially in literacy in the coming two decades or so. This will continuously add newer readers in the hinterland. Regional media will reap the rewards even more.
• India resides in Tier II and III cities: Look at the growth of India in smaller towns. They are adding more consumers than the metros for most product categories. Traditionally catered to by TV, these markets can be effectively reached by local editions/ splits tailor made for them.
• Growth in luxury market: India is booming. The next decade will belong to growth of the luxury brands’ market in India. No one covers luxury better than print. Still concentrated in the metros and largely capitalised on by the English press, this trend will also move to the Top 10 cities in the near future. The print medium is all geared up to take maximum advantage of this boom.