Category: THE ANCHOR

By Veena Gidwani, Independent Strategic Consultant, (Former CEO of Madison PR)

Public Relations, which enables organisations to communicate effectively with all their stakeholders, has over the past decade evolved from largely being media relations to a strategic communication discipline. Today, PR is vital to the success of any brand or organisation, because of its intrinsic credibility, creativity that can be brought in and the ability to strategically synergise it with other communication routes like advertising, digital communication, below the line etc.

However, in spite of making a huge contribution to building brands, the PR industry continues to grapple with lack of recognition, low fees and inadequate trained talent, all of which need to be addressed for the industry to take the next big leap. In my view, as a first step the key players i.e. the top 30 to 40 PR consultancies /agencies should come together on a common platform and agree to lay down and abide by a common set of standards in the areas of servicing, pitching, measurement of PR delivery, fees, credit policy etc. Clients/Corporates can also be involved in the process. The advertising industry did this many, many years ago with the AAAI. The PRCAI (Public Relations Consultants of India) has been trying to work on some of these issues, but the whole effort needs wider participation and a determination from agency heads to make it happen.

This will make clients be willing to pay fees that are fairly linked to scope of work and dissuade agencies from the current practice of undercutting each other. Also clients who have unfairly held up fees of an incumbent agency, would not get the interest of any other member agency. Once agencies get better revenues and improve their profitability, they will be able to invest more in their people. The other areas that this platform/body can be involved with are showcasing the industry’s performance through yearly awards for excellence and contributing to modernising the syllabus of PR colleges and institutes, in tune with the changing industry needs. Once corporates/clients experience the growing professionalism across the industry, they will treat PR agencies as strategic partners who play a crucial role in long term image building for them.

With more and more Indian brands going global, more global brands establishing a presence in India and more Indian entrepreneurs servicing the growing consumer aspirations with innovative offerings, managing corporate and brand reputation will continue to be a major need for corporates… the need for strategic PR will only keep growing. It’s a good time for the industry to come together.

By Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands India & CEO, Lodestar UM

Nowadays, everyone is talking about convergence taking place between the mediums of print and digital, but is it really happening? Lots of publications today do have a digital existence but newspapers and digital tend to work as parallel streams and therefore there is no real convergence that can be seen.

For instance, leading publications like The Times of India and Hindustan Times have major presence in the digital space, but as different entities. Traffic to one is not really facilitating traffic to the other – cross-leveraging is not there. Globally, the collaboration between online and newspapers is big, and that is the future.

Indian publications need to act towards this now. More so the regional press. The need of the hour is for digital and print to be inter-related and inter-dependent. While everyone seems to have understood the power of digital they have done so while treating it as a separate entity compared to the others.

By Suraj Nambiar, Partner, Digital, Mindshare

One big idea that will be a game-changer is when the digital strategist truly embraces brand communications planning. Currently we still look at digital as a different medium that will deliver some magical result as compared to the other mediums. This starts from the briefing stage where most brands will have a different digital brief tagged along with the mainline. True integrated planning will start with one brief for all mediums and the strategy will merge different communication touchpoints to deliver the brand objective.

Today, users are evolved in consuming content, and they look at the web either on their laptop, PC, pad or smartphone as just another screen. Content has moved from airing to sharing and these touchpoints that have the capability to engage audience through interactivity also have the power to deliver a brand story just like TV or print. It is up to the strategist to frame it and make the brand promise social by design.

With increase speeds and merging of technology and screens it is imperative that clients and agencies will have to look at communications planning without a lens to meet the brand objective.

By Joydip Kapadia, Executive Vice President, What’s-On-India

“I hate television. I hate it as much as I hate peanuts. But I can’t stop eating peanuts.”

– Orson Welles

Orson Welles said it right; you just cannot stop watching television, be it analogue or digital. Even TV’s inventor, Philo T Farnsworth, would never have imagined what his invention would have to go through in this age.

Television in India is at a threshold of change in the way content will be delivered, searched, consumed and measured. This will make all the stakeholders to look and understand television consumption differently that itself is going to be a game-changer.

A simple media research design will have to be now looked at very differently for a simple reason that a lot of data will be available readily at the click of a button which in earlier days was collected by foot soldiers going house to house.

Digital makes automation a lot easier. There is nothing to stop operators from providing STBs that can track which household is watching what on television, and the same box can also allow consumers to surf the web.

Soon there will be smart devices that will enable viewers to search and select content they want to watch, and use the same device to go to that content on their TV sets without bothering what channel it is aired on.

And what will stop the consumer from watching content on that same smart device? And can the device enable viewers to post a comment about the content on social media using the same device? The options are never-ending.

All these connected devices will be strong sources of information to understand consumption habits. At a conservative estimate, the data and information in the TV business is set to increase by almost 75-100 times over the next three years.

By NP Sathyamurthy, President & Head – Media, Mudra Max

If we look at the viewership pattern of the top one or two regional language channels, their viewership is fairly consistent. They have the opportunity to guarantee some GRPs, and then charge cost per rating point. That would find a lot of takers.

It is viable in regional language channels because they offer far more consistency in GRPs, than Hindi GEC at a broad level.

And in the process they are likely to get higher returns from investors. They can definitely demand more for an ad spot than they are doing now – if they offer a guarantee. If they adopt this approach, they can also sell their second-level programmes, which are not very high rated, but which are reasonably good. It would definitely work from the revenue perspective, and advertisers would be far more confident, if it is guaranteed. To put it simply, they would benefit in two ways – by getting higher revenues, and a higher share of the advertising pie.

The other option that networks have is to bundle in various language channels, and sell them as combination. Currently, they are all selling them as individual channels. For a number of advertisers a couple of markets in the South, Maharashtra and West Bengal are priority one markets. If they offer them as a bundle, they can get a higher share of the advertising pie at the cost of so-called national channels catering to Hindi-speaking markets.

By Maheshwar Peri, Chairman, Pathfinder Publishing

In light of the recent happenings, I wonder whether ethical journalism is any longer viable. Can we make great journalism a paid-for product?

Look at all the news media brands launched in the last 20+ years. Those that do not have the advantage of a 100-year history, that thrive on conditions suited for them. Those that got into the business of news media to carve out a space for themselves on unique propositions based on geographies, targeting etc. that were supposed to be largely their own.

Drill down further and see how many of them have been successful and profitable — NDTV, TV 18 group, Times Now, Eenadu TV, ABP News etc… How many have been profitable? DNA, Mint, Business Standard – are they profitable? And can they ever be profitable? In fact, on the television side of the business, the two biggest news channels have consistently lost money. What has changed from where we were say 50 years AGO?

Once upon a time, Journalism was a noble profession. People with a deep passion for the society and a commitment to telling the truth sought to work in the field of journalism. It was the profession of the ‘jholawala’. However, the manpower costs of news media organizations are at their peak now. Market forces have invaded. For all those who have freedom to write the truth, very few are willing to compromise their salaries. Most job movements even in journalism are for ‘better career’ prospects, and ‘possibly’ compromised work places. Much of the media corruption starts because ‘your’ salary comes from ad revenues.

When some editors draw salaries in eight figures, how can it ever be viable?

So, in the light of high costs, is ethical journalism any longer viable? In my view, the solution is with us. Do we have it in us, as those who believe in ‘ethical journalism’, to work for less pay?

By Gautam Kiyawat, CEO, Madison Media

The future of News, as we know it, is not in broadcast. It is in individuals accessing news on their time, on their screen of choice, about areas they are interested in.
It is not about who breaks it first or who shouts loudest. It is about well-presented points of view backed by analysis, even if it is after the event.

Shouting heads, sometimes six at a time on split screens, do not make for compelling viewing. A news anchor is a guest in your living room and will do a lot better to behave that way on screen.

Broadcast news needs to take a bold, deep breath and get back to the basics. Analysis and presentation, wrapped in a unique positioning – that forms the bedrock of programming.

My holy grail is Fox News. Ignore their political stance; it is up there right on top of the news broadcast mountain. A single-minded, bold positioning leading to an incredibly strong programming lineup. Less focus on news, much more on analysis and opinion. Packaged and presented with professionalism, enthusiasm. And pride.

By Aditya Swamy, EVP & Business Head, MTV

In 2020, for an 18-year-old, the smartphone was in his home before he was born. Just as the internet was for a person born in the 90s. With the rate of adoption of technology increasing rapidly, the emergence of the smartphone as a platform and not just a device is the next big leap in our industry and this will change the way content is produced, distributed and consumed forever.

While people primarily use their televisions and computers to view content, trends clearly indicate that they will start using multiple devices to access this digitized content and in India, smartphones will have the lion’s share of this new device adoption.

Singapore leads the world at 7.2%, which is the traffic that comes from non-computer devices. India is still only at half that at 3.7%, but what’s interesting is that a whopping 90% of this comes from mobile phones. In 2011, 150 MM smartphones were sold in India. The 3G user base is projected to hit 200 MM by 2016. And increased Wi-Fi availability is making mobile connectivity a very real experience.

The interface is moving from the large screen to small, attention spans are getting crunched, and with each passing day content options are increasing exponentially. This will mean looking at our business through a very different lens from what we do today.

At MTV, we see ourselves as content producers first, being in the business of young people, and not as broadcasters. The more platform-agnostic our content is, the more advantage we can take of this increasingly fragmented device diet among young people. And the more time we spend being our audience, the more naturally we will evolve with them. Stay Hungry, Stay Raw !

By Nikhil Gandhi, Executive Director, Youth Channels, Medianetworks Disney UTV

The discerning Indian youth audience is confident and informed. They are articulate about their preferences and choose to engage with preferred brands, with a choice of content across multiple platforms and touch points. If you see the media engagement of a young Indian’s life today, he is exposed to 24 hours of communication and brand engagement which occupies his mindspace for attention.

In such a scenario, any player in the youth segment needs to move beyond just the television numbers game. In fact, we as a youth brand need to seek out what they want, when and where they want it and be able to provide it exactly there. Working on this insight has been the ‘big idea’ which has the potential to catapult youth brands into the target audience’s consideration set faster than ever before.

Be it compelling content on TV, engagement on the web and mobile, rendezvous at live experiences correlated to their points of interest like music, celebrities, youth icons – everything needs an extensive, exciting and engaging with a 360-degree presence.

At Bindass, our constant research over the years has enabled us to delve deep into the fabric of young India and understand their fundamental tastes and preferences and changing trends. We have been able to create a youth brand which engages with them with a purpose. This means extending the bindass experience across platforms through innovative concepts like Chikipedia on the web, cutting edge show formats like Big Switch, Superdude, Emotional Atyachaar etc on TV, hi-octane live music events/concerts with exposure to international and popular local artists like Enrique Iglesias, Lady Gaga, David Guetta and much more. Also taking the experience across to the campus with properties like Bindass Buddies & Campus Attack.

The same philosophy also extends to our Bollywood brand UTV Stars. The brand was launched with a view to create exceptional Bollywood content and get the viewer closer to their icons. Within less than a year of launch, UTV Stars has made inroads into the web and ‘on-ground’ space in a big way via prestigious associations with People Magazine, Cosmopolitan Fun Fearless Awards, Lap Buddh Circuit After Parties and launching its first on-ground IP, the iconic Walk of the Stars! The brand is poised to become the ultimate Bollywood destination online with 45 mn+ video views on YouTube and 6 hundred thousand fans on facebook in less than a year.
The youth of today are influencers of change and the ‘mantra’ is to create impact and influence them across mediums they prefer to engage in.

By Supriyo Sinha, Vice President, Bengali Dailies, ABP

Over the next few years, advertisers will see discontinuous value in print advertising through micromarketing in locations beyond the metros. There are three main reasons that will drive this discontinuity:

(a) Advertisers are increasingly looking at tier 2/3 and semi-urban locations for the next wave of growth in India, (b) while metro locations have a large penetration of alternate advertising media, e.g., TV, FM radio, print, etc, tier 2/3 and semi-urban locations have a predominance of print, (c) this predominance will continue for a reasonably long time in these locations – some of the factors that have driven the drop in print advertising in the Western markets, e.g. internet penetration, web-literacy etc., are reasonably behind in the tier 2/3 locations (in relative terms with respect to metros). In addition, vernacular print medium will enjoy a special advantage, since in the semi-urban and tier 2/3 locations vernacular has a stronger bond than English.

In order to capture this opportunity, print players have to develop some important enablers: (a) develop customised location-specific content to engage readers of that location and (b) build advertising sales teams that are equipped to penetrate the real micromarkets.

Such a proposition will be a winning formula for advertisers – both national/MNC and local. While large national/MNC advertisers will get the next wave of growth from such a play, small/ medium local advertisers will have a much ‘closer’ view of the returns they get from their advertising buck. Beyond just the brand building and sales value, advertisers will increasingly be able to get a real pulse of the consumers in these markets through the print medium (which remains the most widespread communication medium in these locations).

Go beyond the metros. Go micro. That’s the winning formula for print advertising!

By Colin Lawrence, Director of Distribution, BBC Global News Ltd

“Persistent questioning and healthy inquisitiveness are the first requisite for acquiring learning of any kind.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

Certainly a big idea but not a new one! I’m afraid Mahatma Gandhi got there first. As India cements its position as a dynamic emergent economy, global competition for capital, consumers and knowledge has never been greater. As a global news provider, the BBC’s values and ambitions in delivering trusted and impartial international news and insight have never been greater. Enabling our viewers to live the story through original authored journalism, and providing them with the narrative to the rapidly evolving and changing geo-political environment around them.

We are now focusing on making that information available to our Indian audiences, on television, radio and online, and not surprisingly, those audiences are growing.
According to the latest Ipsos PAX survey (Q2 2012), BBC World News is the top English news channel in India among affluent viewers, and when compared against both international and domestic news channels in India, it is the #1 news channel among India’s top executives, BDMs, investors, travellers and tech-savvy young Indians.
Viewers in India will have much to look forward to when BBC World News moves to its new base in Central London in the upcoming months. New HD studios, dynamic presentation and state of the art graphics will showcase the BBC’s established journalistic credentials in an engaging and compelling way.

Our business is cutting through the hubris and hyperbole of headline news, to provide the depth, rigour and insight we all need.