Tag: Dr Bhaskar Das

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

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

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

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

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

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

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

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

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

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

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

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

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

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

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

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

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

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

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

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

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

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

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

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

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

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

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

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

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

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

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

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

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

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

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

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

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

Perhaps an unfair question to ask, but we asked it nevertheless to seeks his views. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the February 14 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q. Thirty years back, not many knew of Valentine’s Day. Today, it’s as widely celebrated as, say, several major community festivals. Ditto with various other ‘’days’’. Do you approve of the consumerism that has ‘infiltrated’ our observances?

A. Consumerism is a byproduct of a celebratory mood of citizens of India which has a mosaic of multiple cultures and varieties of celebrations. In fact, I observe that all celebrations, irrespective of region, faith, caste and creed and global celebrations are increasingly embraced. What’s wrong in it? With the increasing challenges of navigation of life due to many factors, celebrations can act as tranquilisers/ soul-soothers for tormented souls or even for stoic minds. The ambient moods provoke consumption senses. And all these sentiments help the economy to remain vibrant. Now, that calls for a celebration too.

Unfair question to ask as he can’t really speak for creative agencies. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the February 13 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q. Do you think our creative advertising agencies should focus on diversity, equity and inclusion just as they are doing in the West? Or would you say one should just let creativity flow?

A. To my mind any advertising communication reflects/ mirrors the ever-evolving societal trends and behavioural mores through creativity. Hence, awareness about diversity, equality, equality have gone up already and both government and civil society are evincing clear intention of integrating them as part of organisational priorities. So it’s not about following the West. It has already dawned amongst us the urgent need of reflecting these areas into our creative and real-life execution. If one looks around, you would get many instances in that direction eg the Cadbury ad in the T-20 Women’s World Cup and Women’s IPL. Gender diversity in corporate boards etc. Creative flow can’t be outside the gamut of the ecosystem of societal consciousness. It has to act as an agent of social change.

A soft Friday question, but given the nature of the question, a profound answer. Here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the February 10 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q. It’s Valentine’s Day next week. Talk to us about your romance with the media ecosystem… after four decades in it?

A. While I started my journey in media space four decades back, the attractiveness of the sector hasn’t gone down even a tad bit. In fact it is only increasing. The reasons are many. Some of the prominent ones are:

1) tremendous learning opportunities due to continuous evolving mediascape, in terms of media formats, accelerated technological innovation and consumption behaviour. I am fortunate enough to get exposed to most of the formats including the unfolding Web 3.0 ecosystem. The ability to migrate from a single media format to a platform agnostic environment has resulted in significant learning on-the-go to remain relevant,

2) improved understanding of consumer behaviour, specially of multiple age cohorts and their uniqueness,

3) the whole gamut of continuously changing media planning and buying process, and

4) ability to innovate on multiple monetisation routes

I am sure you have internalised the reasons of my continuing romance with the media sector.

Could’ve been a straightforward question, but we twisted it a bit to provoke our Wizard with Words. Let’s dive in directly to read Dr Bhaskar Das in the February 9 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…

If you wish to access the archives, please go to the Das Ka Dum tab on the website’s top navigation bar or click here: https://www.mxmindia.com/category/columns/das-ka-dum/

Q. Dentsu reports that digital media is expected to overtake the ad spends share of television in 2023. Are you surprised?

A. I am not surprised at all. In fact, if I recall right, in an annual report of EY last year, Digital share in media spend was # 1.  It was inevitable as Performance Metrics became a dominant logic for media investment. Digital media is way ahead in this space. With strong headwinds affecting most businesses, post Covid, the emphasis on investment measurements gained currency to optimise marketing spends.