MxMIndia

Tag: Jai Lala

  • The global ad market is on track for 8% growth in 2022, notes Zenith’s latest Advertising Expenditure Forecasts report

    India Shining, in Adspend Growth Projections

     

     

    By Our Staff

     

    India is in fifth place of adspends, accounting for 4.6% of the growth this year, even though it is only the twelfth-largest ad market. India will be the fastest-growing market in percentage terms, expanding by 20.8%, driven by election advertising and the resumption of festivals that were cancelled at the height of the pandemic.

     

    Jai Lala
    Jai Lala

    Said Jai Lala, CEO, Zenith India: “India continues to have a robust AdEx growth on the back of Digital and TV. Key categories continue to be led by FMCG and the new app-based clients in the area of Fintech, Edutech, Foodtech amongst others.”

     

    Global adspend is forecast to increase by US$58 billion in 2022, rising to US$781 billion from US$723 billion in 2021. Most of the new ad dollars will come from the US, which is forecast to expand by US$33 billion in 2022, driven by continued, rapid digital transformation, accounting for 57% of all the money added to the ad market this year. China, Japan, and the UK come next, supplying 9.1%, 6.2%, and 5.8% of new ad dollars, respectively.

     

    Global advertising expenditure is forecast to grow 8.0% in 2022, according to Zenith’s latest Advertising Expenditure Forecasts report, published today (June 8). This represents a minor downgrade from the 9.1% growth rate Zenith published in December 2021. Growth will be supported by the Winter Olympics, mid-term US elections and soccer World Cup, which for the first time will take place in the most advertising-intensive period of the year in the run-up to Christmas. Faced with this tough comparison, growth will slow to 5.4% in 2023, before the Summer Olympics and US presidential elections help boost it to 7.6% in 2024.

     

    Zenith’s forecasts for North America, MENA and Western Europe this year are unchanged at 12%, 7% and 6% growth respectively. Latin America was downgraded slightly from 9% to 8%, but Asia Pacific was upgraded from 6% to 7%, thanks to a very strong performance from India. Severe disruption in Russia and its closest trading partners after the invasion of Ukraine will lead to a 26% decline in adspend in Central & Eastern Europe, even though most other markets in the region will continue to grow.

     

    Adspend has remained on track despite the macroeconomic headwinds that emerged this year. High inflation, concentrated in essentials like heating, petrol, and food, is forcing consumers to reprioritise their spending, particularly the less well-off, and has led to a drop in consumer confidence. But for now, consumer spending continues to grow, as consumers demonstrate their strong appetite for the travel and entertainment experiences that were denied to them over the pandemic. Business confidence is generally high, and corporate investment is rising, and there is little evidence of widespread cost-cutting.

     

    Higher prices in traditional channels accelerate shift to digital alternatives

    The sustained growth in demand from advertisers is pushing up media inflation, particularly in television, where the supply of audiences is falling steadily as viewers switch to alternatives. Price rises vary widely for different audiences in different countries, but the global average cost of television advertising across all audiences is expected to rise by 11%-13% this year. Online video prices are expected to increase by about 7%, although in this case the supply of audiences is rising. Other digital channels where supply is climbing and volumes are flexible are inflating only modestly, with 3% average price rises forecast for social media and other digital display. Out-of-home and radio prices will go up about 4% this year, while print prices will remain stable, because demand for advertising in printed publications is falling as rapidly as readership.

     

    Brands that simply buy broad audiences to achieve reach targets will not be able to avoid having to spend more to reach the same audiences. But brands that use first-party data to identify their most profitable customers, and combine it with third-party data to target their best prospects in the most efficient channels, will be able to mitigate much of the effect of media inflation. The huge and growing volume of digital content consumption is making it more effective for brands to scale by aggregating digital audiences. Zenith predicts 62% of ad budgets will be spent on digital media in 2022, up from 59% in 2021, and that this proportion will reach 65% in 2024.

     

    “In a world where trading is becoming dominated by auctions, competitive advantage is achieved not by scale, but by data,” said Ben Lukawski, Global Chief Strategy Officer, Zenith. “Inflation will hit cheap reach buyers hard, but brands that make smart use of their data will manage costs and grow their business at the same time.”

     

    Online video overtakes social media as the fastest-growing channel for the first time in past decade

    Online video is now predicted to be the fastest-growing channel over the next three years: Zenith forecasts it will grow 15.4% a year on average between 2021 and 2024, driven by the rapid development of connected TV, ad-funded video-on-demand, streaming and other video formats. Connected TV is now a mainstream video platform in the US, with a higher penetration than cable TV, and is becoming established in other markets, especially in Western Europe and Asia Pacific. The introduction of cheaper ad-funded tiers by SVOD services like Netflix and Disney+ will boost growth further by providing new high-quality environments for brand communication. Mixed video-on-demand models that combined subscriptions with advertising will also help online video audiences continue to grow across the world by recruiting consumers unwilling or unable to afford the growing roster of subscription-only services. Zenith expects online video adspend to rise from US$62 billion in 2021 to US$95 billion in 2024.

     

    Online video will overtake social media, the fastest-growing channel for the previous nine years. Social media adspend (which includes video ads in social media feeds) is still forecast to grow at an average rate of 15.1% a year between 2021 and 2024, propelled by rising competition among platforms that is driving continued innovation on formats and closer integration with commerce. Meta’s share of social media adspend outside China has been falling steadily since it peaked at 89% in 2019, reaching 85% in 2021 as TikTok, Snapchat, LinkedIn and Pinterest gained market share. Zenith forecasts social media adspend will rise from US$153 billion in 2021 to US$187 billion in 2022, when it will account for 25% of expenditure on advertising across all media.

     

    Cinema and out-of-home will take third and fourth place among the fastest-growing media, averaging 11.9% and 8.0% annual growth between 2021 and 2024 respectively. These are still recovering from the deep losses they suffered in 2020 and 2021 when cinemas were closed, and consumers were confined indoors. Cinema and out-of-home have a lot of ground to make up, however, and are taking their time to do so. Many brands that were forced to find alternatives, often digital, have found them effective, and see little need to shift their budgets back again. Zenith expects cinema adspend to reach US$3.9 billion in 2024, well below its pre-pandemic level of US$4.8 billion in 2019, while out-of-home will reach US$45.0 billion in 2024, exceeding the US$42.3 billion it achieved in 2019 for the first time.

     

    Linear television advertising is forecast to grow by 1.1% a year on average between 2021 and 2024, from US$173.6 billion to US$179.2 billion, as price rises continue to compensate for loss of audiences. This ongoing decline in reach and efficiency will drive brands to digital channels, however, including online video. Television’s share of total adspend is forecast to fall from 24.6% in 2021 to 20.8% in 2024, while online video’s share increases from 8.8% to 11.1%.

     

    “Online video is growing by creating new opportunities for building brand awareness, complemented by social media’s capacity for cost-effective targeting with low barriers to entry,” said Jonathan Barnard, Head of Forecasting, Zenith. “Online video is steadily narrowing the spending gap with television, and will be half as large as television by 2024.”

     

  • Zenith will handle the entire gamut of media planning including brand strategy, media buying and implementation

    Zenith wins Zoomcar mandate

    By Our Staff

     

    Zenith, Publicis Groupe agency, has been awarded the media mandate for Zoomcar, the car sharing platform. Zenith India has won the mandate after a successful multi-agency pitch. As a part of the mandate, Zenith will handle the entire gamut of media planning including brand strategy, media buying and implementation. The scope of work will be ROI-driven with data analytics as its core. Through this association Zenith expects to help expand Zoomcar as a brand to a larger audience and build a strong media presence in the market.

     

    Jai Lala
    Jai Lala

    Commenting on the business win, Jai Lala, CEO, Zenith India said: “In a progressing market, we aim to give the best data analytics experience to our clients. We are delighted to have partnered with Zoomcar, the world’s largest emerging market focused car sharing platform. Our ROI led strategic media approach will aid to company’s growth in India.”

     

    Speaking on the partnership, Nirmal NR, CEO, Zoomcar India added: “We are happy to partner with Zenith to help bolster our marketing strategies in India. We look forward to a fruitful association and believe that the agency with its innovative ideas and inherent data analytics, media planning and buying knowledge will help with our business growth”

     

  • Will handle the entire gamut of media planning

    Zenith wins Mamaearth media account

    By Our Staff

     

    Mamaearth, the digital-first brand, has awarded its media business to Zenith following a multi-agency pitch. As a part of the mandate, Zenith will handle the entire gamut of media planning for Mamaearth, including brand strategy, planning, buying and implementation.

     

    Commenting on the business win, Jai Lala, CEO, Zenith, said: “Mamaearth is committed to its consumers and keeping its brand idea and ethos intact, we at Zenith aim to deliver a focused consumer-driven 360-degree media approach. With our unique ROI plus and digital-first practice, we intend to help the brand reach its business goals in the FMCG category in the market.”
    Speaking on the media partnership, Sambit Dash, Vice President Marketing, Mamaearth added: “As we grow, we are constantly looking to reach out to more and more millennials in India and have meaningful conversations with them about our products and our belief of “Goodness Inside. We have chosen Zenith as our media agency partner because we believe they understand the media landscape as well as our philosophy very well. Zenith will help us achieve our goals by identifying the right media mix and expedite the next step of our growth journey.”

  • Her last assignment was with Lodestar UM for almost 10 years as Connections Lead for Coca-Cola

    Zenith appoints Priyanka Kapur as Vice President

    By Our Staff

     

    Priyanka Kapur
    Priyanka Kapur

    Zenith India has appointed Priyanka Kapur as Vice President to lead its Nestlé business. She will be responsible for media planning, relationship management and supervising the complete and integrated offering for the client. Her key focus will be on strategy, digital transformation, data, analytics, implementation and buying.

     

    A postgraduate from NMIMS, Kapur has over 18 years of rich experience in media and marketing. Her last assignment was with Lodestar UM for almost 10 years as Connections Lead for its key client Coca-Cola. Her role involved spearheading the strategic planning product across portfolio brands and in crafting solutions, connecting brands to consumers. She was also responsible for research, insights and staying updated on the latest consumer trends and building them seamlessly into  solutions for brands.

     

    Announcing the appointment, Jai Lala, CEO, Zenith India said: “I am delighted to have Priyanka on-board.  Priyanka’s diverse work experience in the field of media and strategic approach towards the  business will help provide impactful and effective solutions to our clients, in an evolving media landscape.”

     

    Added Kapur: “I am really excited about Zenith’s unique ROI plus and digital-first approach that delivers maximum business results for clients. Also, I am delighted to be part of  Publicis Groupe and look forward to the PowerOfOne advantage.”

     

  • Appointed as client lead for Platform HMCL

    Linu John joins MotoCorp business at Publicis Media

    By Our Staff

     

    Linu John
    Linu John

    Publicis Media has announced the appointment of Linu John as head at Platform HMCL. Platform HMCL is built to cater integrated media offerings for its client Hero MotoCorp. The unit consists of a team that manages media planning and buying, along with providing dynamic content, analytics, data, activation, performance and programmatic solutions.

     

    Said Jai Lala, CEO, Zenith India: “Platform HMCL aims to deliver strong business outcome and grow brand impact. Given the dynamic nature of media environment it will be crucial to continue driving experimental solutions backed by data, technology and analytics to provide business outcomes. Known for her extensive skill sets and experience, we are confident that Linu will lead the mandate by concentrating on integrated planning, business growth of HMC and digital transformation for HMCL.”

     

    Added John: “Being agile in learning helps people to evolve in life and overcome difficult situations. It’s the mantra that helps me to be competitive and impactful. With the same aim, I join the Hero MotoCorp business at Publicis Media. I look forward to expanding Platform HMCL capabilities and drive high momentum for the business.”

     

  • Rising audiences and investment in ecommerce to drive 7% annual growth in FMCG digital adspend, as per the Zenith report

    FMCG adspend expanding by 14% a year in India: Zenith

    By Our Staff

     

    Media agency network Zenith has forecast that fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) food and drink brands will increase their ad expenditure on digital channels by 7% a year to 2023, according to its Business Intelligence – FMCG Food and Drink report, published on Monday. That’s well ahead of the 4% annual growth forecasts for FMCG adspend as a whole in the 12 markets included in this report.

     

    Zenith has forecast that India will be the fastest-growing market by some distance over the next three years, with FMCG adspend expanding by 14% a year. It will benefit from blossoming consumer demand as disposable incomes rise rapidly, coupled with the catch-up expansion of the underdeveloped ad market: advertising accounts for only 0.3% of India’s GDP, less than half of the global average of 0.7%. All of the other markets in the report are predicted to grow steadily at between 2% and 5% a year.

     

    Said Jai Lala, CEO, Zenith India: “FMCG growth will continue to be robust considering various reasons. Firstly, despite the pandemic, it is one category where the demand is constant, if not seen increasing. Secondly, with evolving consumer demand, FMCG continues to see a slate of new product launches and category expansion. Lastly, with the vast population being in Tier 2 and rural areas – it is one untapped potential market where the FMCG brands continue to increase penetration.”

     

    Meanwhile, FMCG brands still rely heavily on traditional TV, spending 39% of their budgets on television advertising in 2020, compared to 24% for the average brand. Excluding China, where FMCG brands have already adopted digital advertising as their main form of commercial communication, FMCG brands spent 52% of their budgets in television, compared to an average of 26%. Their principal goal is to maximise brand awareness and reach so they are front of mind at the point of purchase for as many consumers as possible. This is something that TV has historically excelled at, but its declining reach – particularly among the young – is making it less effective.

     

    “FMCG brands need a new comprehensive approach to reach-based planning,” added Ben Lukawski, Global Chief Strategy Officer, Zenith. “That means combining TV, paid advertising in online video, virtual placement in SVOD platforms and perhaps even a presence in gaming, using first-party and second-party data to prevent duplication and optimise incremental reach.”

     

    FMCG brands are therefore following audiences to digital channels. Zenith forecasts that FMCG digital adspend will increase from US$12.3bn in 2020 to US$14.9bn in 2023, and that its market share will rise from 46% to 49%. After the pandemic gave FMCG ecommerce its urgent stimulus in 2020, brands will look to support and expand their ecommerce capabilities, channelling consumers to DTC operations or retail partnerships. But the big challenge will lie in using digital to replace television effectively – creating large-scale brand awareness while managing frequency. The rise of Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD), which locks away high-value audiences from direct advertising, will make this even harder, as will the end of third-party cookies.

     

    Out-of-home is the exception to the declining reach of traditional media. As traffic returns to normal after the COVID-19 slump, the spread of digital displays will make it even more effective at reaching consumers with targeted and relevant ads near the point of sale. FMCG out-of-home advertising is forecast to grow by 9% a year from 2020 to 2023, while its market share rises from 6.1% to 7.0%, slightly ahead of its pre-pandemic share of 6.8% in 2019.

     

    Ad expenditure by FMCG brands fell more sharply than the ad market as a whole in 2020, shrinking by 10.7% to US$26.7bn. This was not because of any shortfall in demand. On the contrary, demand soared as people stopped eating in restaurants, cafes and bars and shifted consumption to the home. Instead, FMCG companies were faced with the challenge of ramping up production while supply chains were disrupted, and using limited available distribution to get their products onto shelves in stores, or to consumers’ homes. Many FMCG companies therefore cut back on promotional activity for products they couldn’t get to consumers quickly enough to satisfy demand, and invested in distribution infrastructure instead, especially ecommerce operations and partnerships.

     

    Zenith forecasts that the recovery of FMCG adspend will roughly track the market as a whole in 2021-2023. A bounce-back is almost inevitable in 2021 given the comparison with the sharp drop-off in 2020, particularly during Q2, though it will still be 6% below 2019 levels. FMCG companies face uncertainty over how quickly consumers will return to shops, and how much their behaviours have been permanently affected by the pandemic. However, now that FMCG ecommerce infrastructure is being put in place, brands will need to increase their investment in advertising to support it. Zenith forecasts 4.4% annual growth in FMCG adspend between 2020 and 2023, reaching US$30.3bn in 2023. At this point it will have fully recovered from the pandemic-induced drop in adspend, exceeding 2019 levels of spending by US$0.5bn.

     

    China stands out as the market where brands have most rapidly embraced ecommerce and digital advertising. In 2020, Chinese FMCG brands spent 71% of their budgets on digital advertising, compared to 46% across all 12 markets. Here, these brands focus on online video, which has a high and broad reach, and is open to commercial partnerships. This can mean advertising in online shows, or special livestreams by influencers, in which viewers can directly purchase the items being demonstrated. They also routinely advertise on ecommerce platforms to drive sales at the point of purchase. Chinese FMCG brands spent 35% of their total budgets on online video and 13% on ecommerce advertising in 2020.

     

    “Ecommerce will be the key battleground for FMCG brand growth over the coming years,” said Jonathan Barnard, Head of Forecasting, Zenith. “Western brands should look to China for best practice in using digital communication to drive FMCG ecommerce sales.”

     

    *The 12 markets included in this report are Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, which between them account for 73% of total global adspend. FMCG food and drink includes all packaged foods and soft drinks.

     

     

  • There will be an 4.5% annual growth in telecoms adspend to 2023, according to the report

    With 11% annual growth, India will be fastest telecom adspends market: Zenith

     

    By Our Staff

     

    Zenith forecasts that India will be the fastest-growing market for telecom advertising between 2020 and 2023 by some distance, with 11% annual growth. According to eMarketer, only 31% of the population currently has a smartphone, but thanks to the launch of low-price handsets such as the JioPhone, this proportion is rising rapidly.

     

    Said Jai Lala, COO, Zenith India: “The telecom sector in India in 2021 is anticipating a robust growth on the basis of an increase in tariff pricing, demand for data, growing number of mobile users and hopefully the launch of 5G in the last quarter. This will lead to a substantial increase in media investments by the key players especially on Television & Digital”.

     

    Overall, Zenith predicts that telecoms advertising will grow at an average rate of 4.5% a year to 2023 as its recovers from an 8.7% decline in 2020. According to Zenith’s Business Intelligence – Telecommunications report, telecom adspend in the 12 key markets included in the report will rise from US$17.8bn in 2020 to US$18.7bn in 2021, and then return to its pre-pandemic level of US$19.5bn in 2022. The 12 markets included in this report are Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, which between them account for 73% of total global adspend. Telecoms is defined as services and equipment facilitating the transmission of voice calls and data by land lines and mobile networks.

     

    Smartphone sales will start to spring back this year once consumers feel more confident in their future. Consumers are becoming more willing to finance and purchase handsets independently from their network providers, giving manufacturers and retailers a greater incentive to advertise handsets themselves. Meanwhile, the networks will seek to recoup their investment in 5G licences and infrastructure through new services and more expensive data packages. All these trends will help fuel healthy growth in telecoms advertising over the next three years. Zenith predicts telecoms adspend will grow 4.7% in 2021, 4.4% in 2022 and 4.3% in 2023.

     

    Digital platforms help telecoms brands demonstrate relevance to exacting consumers

    Voice and data services are commoditised and functionally indistinguishable to consumers, who expect them to work flawlessly in the background and only pay attention to them when they go wrong. High-impact advertising in mass-audience media like television and radio allows telecoms companies to differentiate themselves from others through branding, and makes them more relevant to consumers by promoting their association with things consumers are passionate about, such as entertainment, sport and music. Telecoms brands therefore spend substantially more on television and radio advertising than the average brand – in 2020 they spent 42% of their budgets on television and radio, while the average brand spent 30%.

     

    But as audiences migrate online, telecoms companies are refocusing on communicating their brand narratives to mass digital audiences. Telecoms brands spend less on digital media than average (49% of their budgets went to digital channels in 2020, compared to 56% for the average advertiser), but digital advertising is also the only channel in which telecoms adspend is increasing. Zenith forecasts that telecoms brands will increase their digital adspend at an average rate of 5% a year between 2019 and 2023. By 2023, digital advertising will account for 54% of all telecoms advertising.

     

    “Covid-19 has demonstrated how dependent we are on good, fast and reliable internet connections. Telecoms companies have been the unsung heroes of the pandemic, shifting our lives online and keeping us connected to entertainment, work and commerce,” said Ben Lukawski, Global Chief Strategy Officer, Zenith. “Their challenge is to go from being unsung to being acknowledged and appreciated for their efforts. The spread of 5G and the reality of our new-found virtual lives give telecom brands the opportunity to move into the limelight.”

     

    Telecoms brands are cutting back their spending on traditional television and radio as their reach declines, but less rapidly than brands in most other categories. Zenith forecasts that between 2019 and 2023, telecoms brands will reduce their television adspend by an average of 2.0% a year, compared to a 3.5% annual reduction across all categories. They will also reduce their radio adspend by 2.8% a year, compared to 4.1% a year for the market as a whole.

     

    Russia as well

    Russia is another market with relatively low (57%) but fast-growing smartphone penetration, and here telecoms adspend is forecast to rise rapidly too, by 8% a year.

     

    Most of the other markets in this report are forecast to grow by between 3% and 6% a year to 2023. The exception will be France, not because of any inherent weakness in demand, but unlike those in most markets, French telecoms brands actually increased spending in 2020 – by 6% – in response to the extra demand for data. The basis of comparison with 2023 is therefore considerably tougher.

     

    “The rollout of 5G services will allow mobile operators to supply bundled voice, data and entertainment services to the home and compete directly with landline broadband,” said Jonathan Barnard, Head of Forecast, Zenith. “This will spur greater competition to put together the most attractive services at the best prices and help stimulate a sustained recovery in telecoms adspend to at least 2023.”

     

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  • To be national buying head

    Zenith India appoints Ramsai Panchapakesan

    By Our Staff

     

    Ramsai Panchapakesan
    Ramsai Panchapakesan

    Zenith India has appointed Ramsai Panchapakesan as National Buying Head. He will be incharge of the company’s pan-India media operations, working within Publicis Media’s investment practice, PMX, to leverage scale and clout in the local marketplace.

    Said Jai Lala, COO – Zenith India: “We are continuously strengthening the media buying vertical at Zenith and with the on-boarding of Ramsai Panchapakesan we are confident of reaching our evolving objectives. He has been a steady force behind establishing the business process in sales and buying functions across his clients in the industry. His work experience and solutions-oriented approach will add great value to our organisation.”

    Added Panchapakesan: “I am excited to be a part of Zenith and I look forward to the new role. With my core expertise and skillsets, I look onward to bring significant value to the company.”

     

     

  • Both appointments will help Zenith put out passionate, exciting and compelling work, said Group CEO Tanmay Mohanty

    Zenith refreshes top deck. Jai Lala is COO, Gurnani is Chief Client Officer

    By A Correspondent

     

    Media agency network Zenith India has announced new appointments at senior levels. Jai Lala has joined for the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Zenith and will oversee operations, structure and expansion in addition to the scaling up of specialised, future-facing offerings for the agency. Focus will be on areas where Zenith is already market-leading such as Data, Dynamic Content, Tech, Analytics, Performance and Programmatic.

     

    In addition, Zenith has elevated its Managing Partner and Head, West & South Ajit Gurnani to the newly created role of Chief Client Officer. He has already had a great role in firming up client relationships for Zenith and will continue to interface with key clients, bringing in new and critical perspective on businesses and enhancing Zenith’s overall strategic product and delivery.

     

    Lala has over two decades of experience across across Media Planning, Buying, Research & Sales. He is has worked in organizations such as UTV, ESPN Star Sports and was last with Medicom as Chief Strategy and Growth Officer. He has serviced clients across the country such as Unilever, PepsiCo, GSK, ICICI, Castrol, Lenovo, USL, Coke, Marico and many more in various capacities. Jai is also a visiting faculty at ISB & MICA.

     

    Elaborating on the appointments, Tanmay Mohanty, Group CEO of Zenith India said, “Zenith stands at an important growth juncture; we have witnessed an absolutely spectacular year so far in terms of new business wins and performance on  key client businesses. In our endeavour to build further on our ROI+ offering, delivering transformational growth to our clients, we are announcing two big appointments at senior levels. Jai Lala needs no introduction and has over 20 years’ experience in media planning and buying. He will aid me in client deliveries,  keeping up the scale and momentum of operations,  integration of  existing talent and new hires and the  expansion in overall footprint for Zenith. Ajit on the other hand has been with us for over three years and  brings in huge expertise and value to every client conversation. He has transformed the way we deliver to clients and will shape our client relationships further. Both these appointments will help Zenith put out passionate, exciting and compelling work.”

     

     

  • From a single sports country to a multi-sport one, India has seen a boom in telecast of sporting events. Jai Lala picks 10 trends

    10 Trends to look forward to in Sports Broadcasting

     

    By Jai Lala

     

    2014 has undoubtedly been a great year for Sports in India, and in turn it has also opened up new avenues for the broadcasting and advertising community. With India making a foray into League sports, and games other than cricket making a mark, one can look forward to exciting times in 2015 for the Sports Broadcasting Industry.

     

    Here are 10 Trends to look forward to in Sports Broadcasting

     

    1. From a single sports country to a multi-sport country: We are witnessing sports boom in India. Hockey, Badminton, Kabbadi, Tennis are seeing reach like never before. Albeit it is still smaller compared to cricket it is growing and we are seeing growing interest from advertisers and viewers alike.

     

    2. TV+ Digital the lines are blurring: World cup had more than 25 million views on Digital. IPL is slated to surpass that in the 2015 season. Is it just catch up TV or is it individual viewing only time will tell but currently the lines are blurring. World Cup on Starsports.com was sponsored by the biggest names in cricket advertising Hero, Vodafone, Pepsi all sponsors of the previous edition of World Cup 2011 but in 2015 have moved from TV to Digital

     

    3. Pay per view can it be a reality: The acquisition cost of sports growing and advertising yield at a matured level subscription seems to be the only resolve. With increased digital penetration as well as viewing pay per view is not far

     

    4. Sports viewing is more‘Lean Forward’ than ‘Lean Back’: The passion and the interest which evokes on sports can be “heard” on social media. Ball by Ball commentary, opinions and even Backlash is growing on Social Media.

     

    5. Sports & Mobile: With the mobile penetration in excess of 900 million coupled with multi-screen viewing there is a huge opportunity for advertisers to cash in. Heineken ran a contest on mobile which can only be answered by watching the live UEFA match on TV. No other sport lends itself to interactivity more than cricket

     

    6. Split beam: India being a diverse regional market with large linguistic preference networks are offering feeds in regional languages. This will grow further with split beams leading to adversioning and even regional advertisers getting a slice of the pie

     

    7. Rural: Radio is the only means for the rural audiences but with growing mobile penetration and DTH this could add on to the experience especially for updates and other opportunities

     

    8. Sports programming: In the US, ESPN Sportscentre is one of the most viewed programmes and it does not relay live telecast. Whilst in India non-live programming is only 1/7th of Live telecast it is growing

     

    9. Extra coverage for the passionate viewer: Cameras on umpires helmets to players helmets. View from the slip cordon to chatting with players during live match. We shall see more & more of this

     

    10. Revival of Print: Print in its traditional sense has seen challenges on sports coverage. Sportstar is nearly dead and many more such sports magazines. Blogging is reviving it. Can digital print revive the coverage?

     

    Jai Lala is Managing Partner, Trading and Partnerships, Central Trading Group, GroupM

     

    Extracted from the GroupM ESP-SportzPower India Sports Sponsorship Report 2015

     

  • Mindshare appoints Prasanth Kumar as CEO, South Asia to take over Ravi Rao who is rumoured to be moving to sandier pastures

    It’s PK as the new Mindshare South Asia boss!

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    The poster of the Aamir Khan film PK was the first thing that came to our minds when one of the A&M media’s favourite sources alerted us of the winds of change that were blowing across the GroupM South Asia headquarters in North Mumbai.

     

    Expectedly, the otherwise very responsive dramatis personae clammed up. Calls and text messages received no reply. Whatsapp messages got those two blue ticks, but not even the ‘typing’ indicator in response. But while we were sure of the news, we couldn’t carry it without a confirmation. So it waited from Wednesday to Thursday to the weekend.

     

    There were also other things that were also grabbing our attention.

     

    Prasanth Kumar
    Ravi Rao

    And then on Sunday evening, our inbox alert beeped. The message curiously asked us to embargo the news till 9pm. The news confirmed our earlier info: Leading media agency network Mindshare has appointed Prasanth Kumar as CEO, South Asia. He will take charge with effect from March 1, 2015. Ravi Rao, who is currently CEO, will be transitioning into a new role within GroupM, the details of which are to be announced soon.

     

    So where’s Ravi Rao going? Back to the Gulf, we were told. If not within the fold, outside of it. The communiqué says he will transition to a new role within GroupM, but which clearly means negotiations are still on.

     

    CVL Srinivas
    Gowthaman Ragothaman

    Kumar or PK, as he’s known in the fraternity, is currently Head of WPP-owned GroupM’s Central Trading Group and a member of the South Asia Executive Committee. As Mindshare South Asia leader, he will report into CVL Srinivas, CEO GroupM South Asia and Gowthaman Ragothaman, COO of Mindshare Asia Pacific. And who takes over from him, we asked the GroupM spokesperson. There are no names yet, but last year Jai Lala and Sidharth Parashar were elevated in the CTG team.

     

    Meanwhile, this is what Srinivas on the announcement: “Prasanth was a unanimous choice for this role.  In the past 10 years, he has played a stellar role in ensuring GroupM’s scale is leveraged to maximise value for our clients. I’d like to thank Ravi Rao for his contribution and wish him the very best in his new role within the network.”

     

    And here’s what Ragothaman (better known as GMan) commented on the change: “Ravi has done a fantastic job in growing our business in India in the last three years. India is at the inflexion point on digital, content, analytics, e-commerce and measurement and in Prasanth we have a seasoned veteran to lead Mindshare to the next level. And I am particularly happy that we continue to groom and grow talent from our larger GroupM ecosystem with diverse talent and experience to leadership positions, which speaks highly about our talent in the market place. In the past 10 years Prasanth Kumar has done a tremendous job scaling up GroupM’s CTG practice in South Asia, and developing strategic partnerships for GroupM that contribute to the successes of all GroupM agencies.”

     

    Big Story image inspired by poster of the Raj Kumar Hirani film PK. Imaging by Rafiq, Poster courtesy: PK, the film, poster

     

  • GroupM has elevated two senior leaders in the Central Trading Group team in India

    GroupM elevates Sidharth Parashar & Jai Lala

    By A Correspondent

     

    Jai Lala

    GroupM has announced the promotion of two of their senior executives of the Central Trading Group (CTG). The company elevates Sidharth Parashar, as Head, Pricing & Investments, and Jai Lala, as Head, Trading & Partnerships. Both will report in to Prasanth Kumar, Managing Partner, CTG, South Asia.

     

    Prior to his promotion, Mr Parashar was the Agency Buying Head for Maxus, for over five years, where he was a valued member of the leadership team, working on media mandates for brands such as Google, Nokia, Vodafone to name a few. In his new role, Mr Parashar will be responsible to facilitate and execute GroupM investment mandates across media. His key focus will be on the GroupM trading products that should continue to offer the edge to our clients. All the GroupM Agency Trading Heads and cluster heads will now report in to Sidharth.

     

    Prior to Mr Lala’s elevation, he was the Agency Trading Head for Mindshare, where he worked on media mandates for clients such as Pepsi, GlaxoSmithkline, ICICI, Aditya Birla Group and Nike. Going forward Jai will be managing all trading mandates at GroupM. He will also be heading a team of all the heads across verticals: Proprietary media, DTH, Xaxis, Syndication, GME and Special projects and maximize value for our clients. He will also work closely with Sidharth and the agency trading heads on delivering the maximum ROI on media investments.

     

    Speaking on the new structure, Prasanth Kumar said: “As we move into a growth phase largely driven by converging synergies across the group and driving client satisfaction it has become critical that we create more focus, especially in the area of media investment. With the development of new concepts of integrated media, merging traditional and digital media, we are also looking at reforming the way we plan our investments as a central hub. This new structure in our core function will deliver unparalleled client delight and value.”