MxMIndia

Tag: MxM Monday

  • Given the clouds over the Indian Premier League, MxMIndia spoke to industry professionals to find out what brands can do in such a scenario

    Is negative publicity a positive for brands?

     

    By Meghna Sharma and Ananya Saha

     

    The Indian Premier League had more than its share of negative publicity this season. Did the brands associated with IPL get affected too? And is it possible for brands associated with an event to avoid negative publicity around the event? Or is any publicity good publicity? MxMIndia spoke to industry professionals to find out what brands can do in such a negative scenario.

     

    Harish Bijoor, Marketing & Brand strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc

    Brands are like human beings; they are born, they live, they thrive and then they die. In this entire life-cycle, if a brand has a slur cast onto it, this slur lasts as long or as short as the memory of the brand-audience. A controversy is both good and bad for the brand. It is good as it keeps the brand in public mindsets longer, it is bad because it is a canker that affects the image of the brand at large.

     

    Brands that are active, dynamic, have large mind-shares and market shares alike, cannot really stay away from controversy. The silver lining is the fact that public memory is proverbially short. Very short. Irreverent brands love all kinds of publicity. Possibly IPL is on the cusp of being an irreverent brand. All controversy is good for such brands.

     

    Vandana Das, President, DDB Mudra Group, Delhi

    I do not think that any brand associated with IPL got affected with the recent controversies. Brands have their own long-standing equity. Controversy is the pivot, but not necessarily everything in the periphery will get affected. What is important to note is that controversies are short-lived and brands have a longer life than a controversy. While one can say that IPL is in trouble, one cannot say that the brands are in trouble. It is not that the brands knowingly get into controversy. Brands do not have the control or have influence over such controversies. The brands tend to tide over it. At that particular moment, controversies seem big but brands tide over it.

     

    But this in no way means that any publicity is good publicity. At the end of the day, even short-lived negative publicity can affect a brand. And if a brand is not strong enough, it can even dilute its equity. Just like people, brands also need to avoid any negative publicity around them.

     

    Sachin Kapur, Chief Marketing Officer, Groupon India

    I particularly do not think that brands associated with IPL will get affected by negative publicity, primarily because it is not in the brand’s or brand manager’s hands. Yes, there are brands riding on the popularity of the event, the association is more to do with individual team or player. The overall interest in the IPL might go down, and while brands might have associated with the event to gain from it, it is still a long shot to say that it might have affect on the brands.

     

    Today, with active social media, even one negative blog post or tweet spreads like wildfire. It will reach your customer.

     

    There are times when there are situations, negative situations, surround a brand. These are times that challenges or reactions from the brand do not go down well with the consumer or audience. But no brand, whether six-sigma complaint or not, can stay down for long. The strategy of every brand should be to focus on customer.

     

    Amitabh Khona, Communication Consultant

    Today, crisis management is very important. Everyone knows about the Cadbury and Coke controversies, but have people stopped eating or drinking them? No. It depends on how a brand strikes back. For instance, Cadbury changed its packaging after worms were found in one batch. Also, another factor is the short memory of people. We will talk about something for a few days or months, but forget about all of it later and move on with our lives. Same can be said about IPL, although the recent events are all over the news channels and newspapers, people haven’t stopped watching the matches.

     

    Also, today where there are too many brands, one can say that any publicity is good publicity. No one will go out of business because of negative publicity or controversies. Such things keep happening and will continue to happen, everywhere in the world.

     

  • Successive governments have employed ad campaigns to drive home positive messages. But do these really influence the electorate?

    Do election time feel-good ads work?

     

    By Ananya Saha

     

    While every government wants to showcase their doings and achievements, campaigns such as India Shining by NDA, Bharat Nirman by UPA or Mera Bharat Mahaan have also been surrounded by criticism. Do such campaigns work? Do they neutralize the negatives and help showcase the good? Or do they put people off (given the scams and corruption charges faced by the current government or criticisms by previous governments) rather than fostering the sentiment of nationalism and patriotism?

    MxMIndia spoke to industry professionals and analysts for a better picture.

     

    Dilip Cherian, Founding Partner, Perfect Relations

    Great political advertising, by definition, must be political. It can’t be general. So, in some senses, neither the NDA’s “India Shining” in 2004 nor the UPA’s ongoing “Bharat Nirman” campaign should really be called effective or great political advertising. One flopped and now questions are being asked whether this one is headed the same way.

    But the bigger thought is that even great advertising cannot reverse a mindset. The BJP calculated that India was “shining” and hoped to take the sheen to a higher level. The “Bharat Nirman” campaign is clearly an attempt to halt a violently negative public sentiment, at least in much of the target audiences that are being addressed. Can this change their perception? With a campaign this size, I would be worried. Can the image damage be reversed? As an image guru, my answer is, “Very tough.” So, is this good money being spent after bad image?

    Governments notoriously walk the fine line between advertising and information campaign. If it is an information campaign, then more power to it.

     

    Rajiv Desai, Chairman and CEO, Comma Consulting

    Well, I do not know. The ad series launched by UPA is called the ‘Story of India’. I can only speak on the ‘Story of India’ campaign because I know something about it. The idea of this campaign is to simply remind people – because of the complete shallowness and sensationalism of the media, especially television – the story doesn’t get out. It is highly irresponsible and a blatantly sensationalist media. So this series is intended to tell the story of India from the point-of-view of the government and what has been done, what has been accomplished, how the govt sees it.

    India Shining was some sort of a boastful campaign. It was a flop. There was no substance to it. The Story of India is backed by solid facts and statistics. The point is all media, including your kind of media, tend to slot things according to their personal predilections. So you put these campaigns in the same breath. It’s not. One was a campaign that was launched (India Shining) in anticipation of a mid-term election, which there was. NDA never completed its term. It was meant to influence the thinking of people, voters in the knowledge that they were going to call elections early.

    As far as The Story of India is concerned, it is an attempt to tell people that it is not all scams, and actually not scams but allegations of scams. In India, everybody jumps to conclusions. Even these three cricketers are innocent until proven guilty, in the court of law. Given these allegations of scams, they are given manufactured outrage especially on the television channels. The government seems to believe that there is a lot of noise and we need to cut through that noise to tell The Story of India.

    The story as it is told is that the rural employment guarantee scheme, which media has always seen as a job scheme – it actually isn’t. They are actually building some infrastructure in the rural areas and actually it’s a rural poverty alleviation scheme rather than a job scheme, which is how the media has portrayed it. I think it talks about the telecom revolution from 2004-2013, I think there is a whole series of ads with focus on higher education, and there is series of ads that focus on enrolment in primary and secondary sectors, of education that is at an all-time high, there is a series focused on agriculture. We are going to be breaking all records of wheat and rice production this year. Not to mention things like oilseeds, where increases have been upto 86-88 percent, and these are the value-added crops. The government is trying to tell the story that not only are we trying to grow rice and wheat, but that their strategy was to encourage farmers to grow value-added crops and how yields have grown dramatically.

    This is the kind of story that the government seeks to tell, because the media would not have it. They want to know who raped whom, and who stole from whom, and all random stuff. And I think that is the focus of this whole advertising campaign. It’s not comparable to India Shining at all because this government will have elections when they fall due.

     

    Shashi Shekhar, Chief Digital Officer, Niti Digital

    We need to draw a distinction between a campaign funded privately and a campaign funded by the government at the taxpayer’s expense. We also need to draw a distinction between “direct impact” on voters and “indirect impact” on influencers. As the Radia Tapes had revealed, a sizeable ad-spend budget can be used as leverage to exercise influence on media houses. In the present context, I would consider that more than the “direct impact” of Bharat Nirman ads on voters we need to pay more attention to the “indirect impact” resulting from the leverage the party in power is able to exercise on media houses through this sizeable “ad-spend” by the government.

    As far as “direct impact” goes I don’t believe it will be substantial as the Bharat Nirman ads are currently not targeted. As an example running a quarter-page ad in English in major English newspapers on NREGA will not fetch any incremental votes from the demographic segment to which NREGA is intended. To your question on “nationalism” and “patriotism” I think Bharat Nirman or India Shining has a zero impact on fostering either sentiment for the same reason as above – lack of targeting. The same, however, cannot be said of campaigns run by some state governments which tend to have a narrower focus and hence better targeting.

    On the whole we need to move away from the direction of spending taxpayer money on what is barely concealed propaganda by the party in power. This tendency to spend taxpayer money on propaganda seems to have originated during the Indira Gandhi regime in the Emergency years. It is shame that it has become an institutionalized practice irrespective of the party in power.

     

  • With KBC travelling to several Indian states and Bigg Boss following suit, regional adapts of popular Hindi shows seems to be a trend.

    Reality goes Regional… and how!

     

    By Ananya Saha

     

    Kaun Banega Crorepati might have been adapted from the international Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, but that is not where the adaptations stop. Suvarna TV, the Kannada general entertainment channel, has adapted the reality show into Kannadada Kotyadhipati, Vijay TV in Tamil Nadu has a version in Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi, and so does Asianet, which has the Malayalam version of KBC – Ningalkkum Aakaam Kodeeswaran. ETV Marathi has launched the Marathi adaptation recently. And it is not only KBC. Bigg Boss was recently launched on ETV Kannada and an announcement has been made for a Bangla variant of the show with Mithun Chakraborty as host. Many reality shows in the past have been adapted into regional languages and channels, and the trend seems set to grow.

    MxMIndia spoke to industry professionals for their view on regional adaptations of reality shows.

     

    Dhruv Jha, GM- Content & Experiences, Lodestar UM

    The regional adaptations do well, and they open well. It is to do more because of the kind of buzz that is generated on national scale – they are able to replicate it in some manner, and then it’s more like ‘we are not far behind’ and ‘if you can have a Bigg Boss, so can we’. And there is an aspirational level at the state and regional level that the channels also feel ‘our stars also deserve a Bigg Boss’. I believe the initial ratings were good, though I am not sure of the ratings now.

     

    I am sure that there are brands buying into it. If initial TRPs are generated, if there is a buzz, then regional adaptations are able to monetize. Strong national brands that are strong regionally, they are able to look at this option. I know of brands who are looking at AFP (advertiser funded programming) model and they are looking at programming in region – if it the format that is going to work, then there will be brands investing into it.

     

    All said and done, most of the reality shows on national GECs are also adaptations. Truly adapted, it can be as good – in any language or market. And the channel or programme would have to consider local culture, sensitivity and sensibilities while adapting.

     

    Anuj Poddar, AVP and Business Head – Regional Channels, Viacom18

    KBC is a proven format that continues to be successful; audiences have not tired of watching six seasons in Hindi. So why should the Marathi audience (even if they have watched it before in Hindi) not watch KHMC when it is tailormade for them? Format shows are adapted all the time, across the world, across regions.

     

    But let me also give you a specific fiction example: “Uttaran” from Colors has been remade as “Asava Sundar Swapnancha Bangla”. For that I asked the team to answer 2 questions: “How will we make it different enough and more relevant so that viewers who have seen the Colors version will yet watch the remake on ETV Marathi?” and “How will we make it as similar or true to the original Colors version so that the elements that made it work in the first place are not lost in the remake?” We made sure we had the answer to both these questions and a healthy balance on both these seemingly opposite aspects. If you get that right then the viewers will come. And if the viewers come, the advertisers will follow.

     

    KHMC (Kon Hoeel Marathi Crorepati) is completely tailored for the Marathi audience. The questions, while being based on overall general knowledge, are inclined towards the culture and history of the Maharashtrian heartland. Our objective with this show is to also create awareness of the rich heritage and history of this Maha – Rashtra amongst people. The contestants are naturally Marathi-speaking people. The auditions have been done across Maharashtra. So in every way, the show is adapted to the regional audience. Having said that, the grandeur and the magic of the original format is all there – no compromises on that!

     

    The KHMC format is hugely back-end intensive. I must admit that before getting into it I did not realise how much logistical work goes into the show. And what we have achieved is probably the fastest ever mounting of this format so far, because we had a specific time-window that we had to catch. So my full compliments to my team and to Big Synergy for having pulled this off. The challenge of course is that such formats come with well-established quality benchmarks that the audience expects – if you compromise on that, they would feel cheated. And yet, the resources available to a regional channel are fewer than to a national channel – so it is a tight balancing act. Having said that, I am confident that the Marathi and other regional markets will scale up further.

     

    Harneet Singh Rajpal, Vice-President – Marketing, Domino’s Pizza India

    For any brand, particularly a mass brand that is present across the country, it is very important to have a regional connect. While presence on national television gives a wider reach across the country, to engage a consumer at a regional level it makes sense to advertise on regional properties, especially for the brands that have regional presence through regional channels on the shows that have been adapted and already follow on the success of national shows.

     

    Domino’s spends close to 20 percent of our total media and television ad budget on regional channels. This would mean the 7-8 markets that we are present in.

     

    Anilkumar Sathiraju, AVP & Head South, DDB Mudra Max

    The adaptations of big ticket shows are being accepted by many, be it audience or advertiser for that matter and the response is, in my opinion, a positive one. Not sure about whether the channel is able to make profits, but yes, they are investing heavily and the channel dependence on that particular show is becoming very critical and important

     

    Challenges as such that the show should be accepted by the audience regionally/locally, else its no point, cos it might just not work. Therefore channels are obviously looking at what kind of content appeals to the local audiences and thereon adapting the same

     

    KBC in Tamil did ‘average’ in 1st season, later on seasons it’s doing pretty ok. In Malayalam, KBC did quite well, in Karnataka it was a bigger success than Tamil Nadu. May be it’s because the audiences were used to a personality such as Big B that nobody else was accepted. In today’s scenario if you look at what a Big Boss has done in Karnataka, we have something to talk about. The original Big Boss in Hindi was accepted anyways but when it came to adapting it to Kannada, initially am sure people couldn’t accept it, but now the program as such is doing well in the market place.

     

  • So prevalent is paid content, that it's almost taken for granted. But does that mean it's good, or ethical? MxMIndia asks industrywallahs what they think

    MxM Monday: Paid news – yes or no?

     

    By Ananya Saha

     

    Mediaah! Are disclaimers enough to pass off paid content?

    Readers expect the content in the newspaper to be published based on the decision of the editor, and not an advertiser paying for it, writes Pradyuman Maheshwari. Read more…

     

    Paid content such as Medianet has gained much ground. Despite flak from different quarters, it appears that buyers are still willing to pay for space that resembled news and features. And readers may never know the difference. More media houses have begun indulging in paid content, but surely that does not make it right?

     

    We ask industry folks to weigh in with their views.

     

    Arun Anant, CEO, The Hindu Group of Publications

    People may not know that some newspapers carry paid-for articles, and some people do not care either. That does not make it right. If an article is paid for by an advertiser, it should be made clear that there is an interested party that has paid for it.

     

     

    Ranjona Banerji in ‘Freaking News’
     

    :: Medianet mars an otherwise trendsetting paper

    :: Not too late for TOI to correct practices

     

    Santosh Desai, MD, Future Brands

    Globally, it has become a phenomenon where sponsors pay for news. There needs to exist a clear difference between journalism and an act of promotion. If not kept separate, the line of demarcation will blur between the two. However, what is more dangerous is that when news is influenced by a transaction. Many do not care about Page 3, so if you have paid for it, it does not matter. The issue arises about hard news, when you do not know who has paid for it. MediaNet in itself not a wrong thing as long as you are announcing it who is paying for it. For instance, if you are reporting about a policy being announced and you do know which political party or a corporate house has paid for it. What is a much bigger issue is the corporate ownership of the media houses. There has to be a divide between news and advertisement: and how do you tell it? How do you divide ownership and journalism: and do you – that is more serious threat than MediaNet, in my opinion. The bigger point is about trusting the ‘news’.

     

    Bharat Kapadia, Chairman, Whatuwant Solutions, and Founder at ideas@bharatkapadia.com

    Using Medianet is completely unethical – whether readers do not seem to notice it or whether they do not care. There are two parts to it: the publisher and the readers. The publisher has been doing it for a much longer time than visible, especially at the time of elections. The readers, unless told, would not know which news is being paid and which is not. When, it all began, Bombay Times used to mention with a small symbol that it is paid news. Now even that is gone. People buy or consume news media trusting for a fair perspective. Now, if this perspective can be influenced, it is definitely not fair.

     

    Anamika Mehta, COO, Lodestar UM

    My personal point of view is, for a newspaper or any other medium, there are different and more questions about paid content. It happens globally in various forms but of course, it is not a good practice. A lot of brands and advertisers have jumped on this wagon, yes, but as a responsible media one should know where to draw the line. If one considers Page 3, where you can pay to get featured, it is all for entertainment. So one does not seem to mind. The moment it starts entering news or motivate political, business or economic sentiment, then it is a problem.

     

    One can see that business pages also carry small snippets or news that might sway the reader into investing in a particular stock, or to create impact. Some of the brands do MediaNet for promotion. However, a line needs to be drawn. The reader should not be misled, and motivated information should be kept under check.

     

     

  • Not all in the creative frat agree that it's right to nail and name those charged of copy-paste advertising

    Is it right to damn the Copycats?

    By Johnson Napier and Ananya Saha

     

    Intellectual theft in the advertising industry is not a new phenomenon. The Creative Abby this year brought back focus on the topic, but plagiarism had never gone away. However, it has become easier to identify a stolen creative now, than it was earlier. We spoke to a cross-section creative people for a perspective.

     

    Abhijit Awasthi, National Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather

    The way we look at plagiarism is that if there is an awards show and if there is a contentious piece of work that is brought to light by somebody, then I wouldn’t want to award that work. But I wouldn’t go as far as to say that so and so ad has been plagiarized or copied – I wouldn’t make that allegation, as I would like to give the benefit of the doubt to whoever has created it. We are in the business because we like coming up with and creating ideas. We live in an age where we are exposed to most ideas especially on the internet, so sometimes something that you like subconsciously in the back of your mind just comes out without you realizing it. So I would treat it as an unfortunate incident and carry on with my work. A lot of such allegations come to the fore when you see print or outdoor advertising where it is the question of some visual or wordplay or illustration technique, which is not really worth mentioning. Like I keep giving examples of chemical processes which are 8- or 10-stage in process, and when it comes to filing a patent one realises that it has already happened before. So you come to terms with it as being unfortunate and you move on.

    The thing is that there are thousands of different creative ideas that are churned out in different parts of the world and it’s impossible to keep track. Also one cannot keep a repository of every ad that is created and keep tabs on it. So there are discussions that are held on the similarity of ideas and also on an idea which has been seen before but which has been polished and presented in a better form. They end being given the benefit of the doubt and appreciated by the jury.

     

    Bodhisatwa Dasgupta, Associate Creative Director, Grey Group India

    It’s a tricky thing, this plagiarism business. Especially when it comes to something creative. Because here’s the thing – say you make a hundred kids sit in a room and arm them with crayons and paper. Then, you tell them to draw (let’s say) a picnic. Or love. You’ll find out of 100 people, at least 30 of them have drawn a similar picture. Is that plagiarism?

     

    Bring it closer home to advertising. The web is filled with instances where something that has won big time this year was done some three years ago. Different agency, same execution. Of course, you could say that the present agency just poured over annuals and blindly copied each ad, and executed it slightly differently. Or, you could say (and incidentally this is what I think) that creative people think alike. They take similar leaps, think of similar insights, draw and write similar things. So most of the time, while the pictures may be the same, it’s the crayons that are different.

    As a mentor to an army of bright kids, I’ve vehemently discouraged them from poring over award annuals. Because here’s what happens – they think of an idea, then they flip through the annuals, only to see their idea in the flesh, beautifully executed. It’s a demoralizing thing. So my advice to them is, forget what’s been done. Think, think and think some more. Scribble out your ideas. It doesn’t matter if it’s been done before. What’s important is that you thought of something that was worthy enough, a few years previously, to win a Pencil. And that’s bloody good, for an intern/ trainee.

    Having said that, I know of people who’ve blindly copied another’s folio to get a job. That’s quite shitty. Of course, the thing with shit is that sooner or later, it’s sniffed out and dealt with.”

     

    Ashish Khazanchi, NCD, Publicis Ambience

    We keep hearing of instances of plagiarism in advertising now and then. In the current scenario it has gone to the extent of being a witch-hunt where people are seeing things that don’t exist. What happens is that there are thousands of creative people from around the world who work on a similar kind of brief and it is possible that the out of the hundred different ads, expressions from a few ads will have some similarities. But there are some ads that are too apparent and imitations of earlier produced works.

     

    In most ads today, the visual referencing could be similar – like television ads could be inspired from some big film, but more often than not people are not so stupid that they will enter an ad in an award which has been copied from elsewhere. There could be some odd cases where ads could be termed as plagiarized ads and the only way they could be booted out is if the jury is selected with a lot of caution. After all jurymen are people who have travelled a lot and have been around to ad festivals and they know a lot of stuff that is happening in the industry. So, the tighter the jury, the better it is for the industry. You have to get people who know the category that they are going to be judging.

    I do not agree that plagiarism does not happen in the West or even South East Asia. It happens there too but the big thing is that the western world is moving more towards the digital world. Which means the work they are treading on is all known. For them, the way a Press or TV ad was done is not as relevant any more. They are looking at integrated communications across mediums, which means more accountability for the work that’s been done. So there is not much scope for plagiarism in new-age mediums.”

     

    Philip Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions Festivals

    “We have clear and unambiguous rules against scam work across all our festivals and it is a matter of record that we can and will remove awards from agencies who have won using scam work.

     

  • Has the advertising industry become so blase that scams no longer have the power to shock? MxMIndia cuts to the chase

    Scam and scandal in the family

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    Goafest is over but the controversies that surrounded it will take a while to die down. The last month or two saw a lot happening in the advertising industry in the country – first, Ogilvy not participating in Creative Abby because it didnt ‘energise’ them enough, then the whole JWT-Ford fiasco with high-profile exits, and the latest being Leo Burnett withdrawing two of their award-winning entries.

     

    Scams have been around and are almost a given every year, or so it seems. Hardly anyone seems shocked, though the end result is a bad name for the advertising industry. Is it a fact that scandal is part and parcel of the ad game? Should we shrug and get on with things, or can something be done, asks MxMIndia.

     

    Priti Nair, Director, Curry Nation

    It’s not just here but scams and controversies are part and parcel of award shows all across the globe. According to me, unless certain rules are changed nothing can be done to avoid them. Also, shows should treat the creative awards just like fashion shows wherein we recognize and applaud creativity. The whole thing of it being published before has to gotten rid of. It is indeed sad when such things happen, but the worst part is that it sometimes leads to bad blood among the industry and finger-pointing starts. The awards are meant to showcase creativity and the focus should be only that!

     

     

    Viral Pandya, CCO, Out of the Box

    There are pros and cons to scam ads, or rather two ways of looking at the issue.

     

    First the cons. A lot of clients are not evolved, and let us accept it, reluctant to buy edgy work. Therefore quite a few agency creatives, particularly the junior lot, are frustrated. So sitting in one quiet corner of the office, they get their jollies by churning out scam. The process gives them release, but in the bargain they don’t get to learn how to understand a brief, how to sell one’s work to the client, or even how to do effective advertising.

     

    As the adage goes, bad currency drives out good currency. Likewise, scam ads are chasing away good, real ads. If only agencies put as much time, money and resources behind genuine work! What is unfortunate is that today there are clients, particularly those possessed with the entrepreneurial spirit, who demand great work. This is not to forget that agencies like Taproot and Ogilvy do sterling work on regular clients, but they are an exception rather than the rule.

     

    Now for the pros. Proactive work created for awards pushes the envelope and celebrates ideas. Often you come across work so brilliant that you don’t give a damn whether it’s scam. And the ads specially created for award shows do win us metals globally and bring us glory. Personally I can understand and relate to the urge to prove to the world that we in India are second to none in the creative race. Only, I wish that instead of pulling each other down, we could support and promote each other and present a united front to the world.

     

    So where does that leave us?

    Here’s my solution. At GoaFest, let us award real work, and by real work I don’t mean work that meets the legal definition of released work, but ads that agencies can put their hand on their heart and say are genuine. Let us also have a category for proactive work which celebrates creativity and ideas, but does not split hairs about how genuine it is. And let us ensure that there is a clear distinction between the two. That way we eliminate the unfair competition between genuine ads and proactive ads. And everybody wins.

     

    Nisha Singhania, Co-founder and Director, Infectious

    Scams have been part and parcel of the industry for quite some time now, but the series of events which have happened in past couple of weeks will surely make everyone more careful. Also, I think as a whole the industry needs to take a call about how they can pit and end to this. After all, the feeling of winning an award of something genuine is far more than on a scam ad.

     

     

     

    Dhunji Wadia, President, Everest Brand Solutions

    It is difficult to justify something that is wrong. The Ford controversy was covered in world media including some of the biggest news channels. We got our 30 seconds of fame globally but for all the wrong reasons. The controversy has made us a laughing stock throughout the world. I guess today there is pressure on agencies to win at award shows. Questions that come to mind are -‘How far would you want to go?’ and ‘Would you want to sell your soul for this?’ If you want to make a Faustian bargain, then learn to deal with the consequences too.

     

    Today, there is a lot of talk of having a separate category for this kind of work. But I think that is just side-stepping the issue. The persons wanting to win will want the real McCoy. They are not going to settle for anything less. Instead the auditing companies can have a larger role here. All major award forums have auditors for this very purpose. Henceforth, it should not be enough for clients to merely endorse the work that is sent for award forums. They should also have paid for it and the work should be part of their marketing plan. I am sure the auditing companies would have dealt with much more complex issues. This verification should be a piece of cake for them.

     

  • In the light of the recent controversies, we asked industry players what they feel about Goafest, what they are looking forward to, & who they think should win

    What does Goafest have in store?

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    In the world of media and advertising, awards go hand-in-hand with controversies. The upcoming Goafest is no exception – the annual festival to celebrate creativity in South Asia has been in the news for the wrong reasons. First, one of the biggies and main winners at the fest – Ogilvy and Mather – decided to stay away from the Creative Abby. Then, the entry of a controversial scam ad by JWT for their client Ford India led to heads rolling and shock waves across the industry.

     

    But turning to the positives, of which there are many, Goafest among other things offers many, especially youngsters in the industry, the opportunity to showcase their talent and learn from each other.

     

    In the light (and shade) of this, MxMIndia asked industry players what they feel about the festival, what they are looking forward to, and who they think should win.

     

    KS Chakravarthy, NCD, Draftfcb Ulka

    It’s an open field this year as there is no frontrunner or contender this year. All of the campaigns so far are good and deserve an equal chance of winning. There has been a good amount of work done by various agencies and it would be great to see it together. Also, to hear what the speakers have to share with others is always an interesting part of the event.

     

     

     

    Naresh Gupta, managing partner, Bang In The Middle

    I don’t have a favourite. This year hasn’t seen one landmark campaign that is the favourite. I would like to see a lot of challenger brands’ work to win. I would like to see more real work. Work that is mainstream. Work that the brands did to solve a marketing problem. I would also like to see greater integration of real and digital world.

     

     

     

    Anil Kakar, Founder/Chief Creative Officer, Gasoline

    As always, I am hoping to see the finest our industry has to offer. This year, in particular, I expect to see surprising work, especially in terms of craft. It’s good to see that we’ve been raising the bar in terms of execution, year after year and I am hoping this year will be no different. Among the few pieces that I can remember, I think the print campaign for Varuna D Jani is brilliant in terms of execution. The Morphy Richards commercial is another exceptional piece of work, worthy of a metal.

     

     

    Ashish Khazanchi, NCD, Publicis Ambience

    I’m sure the conversations, this year, are going to focus mainly on the controversies. However, apart from that, I’m going forward to the work and new talent. Also, with Ogilvy stepping out of it, it is difficult to say who’ll be a clear-cut winner unlike the previous years where some of the work done by the agency has won various awards. We expect to do well and of course there is Leo Burnett and McCann which have good work to their credit.

     

     

    Vivek Srivastava, Jt MD, Innocean Worldwide

    It’s a platform to interact and observe. There should be some interesting seminars. The Goafest committee has worked rather hard to get an interesting line up of speakers. And the Industry Conclave is being done in a manner which makes the business leaders deliberate and argue about issues that are affecting our businesses in the immediate term. I am surely looking forward to these. Our agency Innocean has had some shortlists. I would be happy to see those win for sure. In my view campaigns that genuinely impact consumer behaviour, make an impact on the brands’ future and ensure their relevance in this dynamic are the ones that deserve to win.

     

  • For a country mainly mad about one sport, India has a surprisingly large number of sports channels on TV (17!). Is the market sturdy enough for more?

    Does India need more sports channels?

     

    By Ananya Saha

     

    Indian television has some 17 sports channels, almost as many as – if not more than – Hindi GECs. Star Sports recently announced a new sports channel: Star Sports 2. Sony Six debuted in the market not so long ago.

     

    Is India’s a big enough market for so many sports channels? Is the audience base growing or becoming fragmented? With channels facing the perennial question of differentiation, how are the advertisers responding to the plethora of sports channels?

     

    MxMIndia spoke to sports channel heads, advertisers and media planners to find out what they think.

     

    Muralikrishnan B, Country Manager India, eBay

    Sports channels are definitely a viable proposition, for a country where more than 50% of the population is young – less than 25 years. The core of sports channel audience is 15 to 35 yrs. Almost 1/3 rd of Indian population sits in that bracket – 400 million. Whether the number of sports channels can stay in the market or not will depend upon what kind of content they are able to show – in other words what are the tournament rights they are able to capture!

     

    Overall the sports viewership base is growing. Multiple sports channel option throws up better opportunity for advertisers. For eCommerce brands, youth is one of the most important Target Groups. And to connect with youth, besides music & movies, the sports channels are one of the key strategic options. Thus, as an advertiser trying to reach out to younger TG, we are very optimistic to the development.

     

    Sports viewership can be categorized in two parts:

     

     

    a) General viewing of sports channel (somewhat like default viewing) – it will depend on convenience of the viewer. And is more driven by what the person chooses to watch when he has remote in his hand, and is influenced by general viewing behavior of individual. Normally the sports enthusiasts tend to watch TV either early evening (younger ones, after school/college) or late evening (young adults & beyond). Both the segments also try and catch up on viewing during day time over the weekends Thus, the key viewing time (thus prime time) can be considered as 5 to 7 pm, 10 pm to midnight for Monday to Thursday and weekends day time.

     

    b) Appointment viewing of specific event – this is primarily driven by the desire to watch a particular event, irrespective of when it’s being telecast. The enthusiasm is more to catch the live action. In such cases, the viewer will adjust viewing behaviour to be in front of TV when the live action is on. For such occasions, that’s the prime time.

     

    With digitization setting in, I possibly foresee more sport channels launched/announced targeted at more niche audience – may be focused on specific sports. For instance, there can be a channel on golf or on motor racing. For all those sports which appeal to niche but influential and high value audience. On channels differentiating their positioning, as on date, seems to be a very difficult proposition where 90% viewership is driven by cricket. And the channel’s fortune depends upon what rights they have of the top cricket tournaments.

     

    Prasana Krishnan, COO, Neo Sports Broadcast Pvt Ltd

    With the limitations of analogue cable being systematically eliminated, the feasibility of existence of multiple sports channels in India is sound. The onset of digitization has ensured that fans are able to watch sports of their choice on a regular basis. This bodes well for the broadcasters and the viewers.

     

    These are early days still in the implementation of digitization, but it is heartening to see the progress that has been made so far. There is a definite surge in reach for the sports category in the digital markets. With digitization enabling delivery of niche sports as well, there is an increase in interest and confidence from advertisers in the genre as they are seeing the value of tapping into properties which have targeted audiences and are being accurately measured.

     

    It is imperative to remember that that sports is mainly consumed around live events. There are huge spurts in viewership during these telecasts and these could be airing at periods other than the traditional prime time band. As long as it is an event of interest, fans will continue to tune in. Sports broadcasters are actively acquiring properties in sports like football, tennis, hockey, golf and badminton. This is happening as a result of digitization unlocking value and making the delivery of other sports feasible. By spreading the pie across sports instead of being completely focused on cricket, channels can position themselves around their unique portfolios.

     

    In the immediate future, I expect existing sports broadcasters to continue to focus on strengthening their portfolios. New channel launches are still some time away.

     

    Navin Khemka, Managing Partner, Zenith Optimedia

    Sports channels are purely led by content. They will only survive if they have the content to sustain. The audience base is definitely growing beyond cricket. With more and more international sports being held in India, the interest levels are rising. It has also a lot to do with how we are performing individually or as a team in a sport.

     

    Advertisers are responding positively. The clutter on cricket and entry level costs are high. Other sports are offering all advertisers an opportunity to target audiences efficiently. It is a mixed bag. For instance, when EPL happens, it is India’s prime time. Advertisers who get in for the season; this gets balanced out.

     

    With digitization we will see emergence of specialised sports content channels within various genres. This will be more for the purists who follow the game. We will see emergence of golf racing soccer etc led specialist content channels. Positioning only on content can work in sports.

     

     

    Vijay Rajput, Chief Operating Officer, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd

    The typical Indian sports fan today has evolved a lot over the years. He is consuming not just cricket but a variety of sports like soccer, golf, hockey, motorsports et al. Today, fans get an increased opportunity to see, understand and appreciate nuances of various games given the number of sports channels that are available in the country. The best of sporting content from across the world is getting beamed live for the benefit of Indian audiences, which is bringing in more and more fans closer to their favourite sporting action.

     

    With better technology, quality production values and the best of TV talent, sports channels in the country have come a long way. We believe that with our superior content line up extending for the next few years across sporting genres, all our channels will be the top choice of sports fans in India and South Asia. Our endeavour thus will always be to acquire the best of sporting content across media and consistently aim to provide the sports fan with quality entertainment round the clock.

     

    Till now advertisers have responded admirably to the content on sports networks as sports can bring in and bind audiences across socio-economic demographics in a manner which other genres find difficult to achieve. What remains critical therefore is to constantly offer a superior value proposition to the advertiser so that he remains interested in associating with a channel and its sporting content. STAR Sports 2 is being launched especially for the Indian sub-continent keeping in mind the growing need of Indian sports fans to consume more and more of quality sporting action. I am sure advertisers will see huge value in what we have to offer.

     

    Sports does not follow typically a GEC pattern where-in you have a defined prime time. Our insights always point out that sports is best consumed live. The pleasure in watching a game unfold live with its twists and turns is what attracts fans. Sports is like an unscripted reality show which throws up surprises every minute.

     

    With digitization, individual preferences will indeed play a key role and we as a network are prepared for that.

     

    Deepali Naair, Country Head – Brand, Corporate Communications & Customer Service, L&T General Insurance Company Limited

    To an advertiser, the events matter more than the channel which is televising it in India, currently. Sports Channels in India still have an opportunity to extend the life of the main sporting event. For instance, if IPL is a two month long event, there is opportunity to capitalize one month before and one month after the IPL, with content around the IPL. There is a scope of making a two-month event into a four-month-event with pre-and-post-content. This logic can be extended to any sporting event with behind the scene coverage, past winners, legends, analysis, etc. Sports channels can also monetize the content digitally far more rather than leaving it to digital content suppliers; this may help in building channel loyalty.

     

    There is also a growing viewership of HD Sports channels, which reaches the top-end segment of consumers.

     

    When it comes to fragmentation, it is here to stay: across screens, across audiences and genres. While the audience for tennis, F1 is there, it is still small. But a change in sports preferences will not happen immediately; such phenomena occur with a generation gap. The audience of the next decade, especially teenagers, might also gravitate towards football, apart from cricket.

     

  • Yet again Press Council chief Markandey Katju's suggestion that only journos must be professionally qualified has drawn angry comments. Mostly: Bosh!

    Do journalists need to be qualified?

     

    By Ananya Saha and Meghna Sharma

     

    Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey Katju recently issued a press note that said, “Since the media has an important influence on the lives of the people, the time has now come when some qualification should be prescribed by law”. Justice Katju announced a committee mandated to “consider all aspects of the matter” and submit a report to him “suggesting the qualifications a person should have before he can be allowed to enter the profession of journalism”.

     

    The committee constituted by him, in addition to its mandate of recommending qualifications for journalists, will also recommend in what manner the Press Council can supervise and regulate the functioning of the institutions and departments of journalism in India so that high standards of imparting knowledge in journalism are maintained.

     

    MxMIndia spoke to senior journalists, academics and industry observers for their views on this (in alphabetical order of their last names).

     

    Prof Chandan Chatterjee, Director, Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication

    The role of education in building a foundation for thinking as well as building an worldview is well-accepted. More so for professions that have an ability to shape the thinking and beliefs of a society

     

    Journalists are the scribes and opinion leaders of modern society and culture which can impact a nation’s destiny, or the adoption of a new way of doing things. Hence, journalists ought to have capabilities and skills of recording facts and events and also analyse and interpret their observations.

     

    The role of upgrading curriculum of post-graduate Journalism courses, to reflect the current trends and thinking becomes equally important. And, like most other professions, journalists too need to be re-skilled and upgraded in their specific areas, periodically.

     

    After all, every point of view has two sides. It takes a balanced and educated mind to get the breadth and depth of issues involved. Else, we will have to learn with just one point of view!

     

    Deepa Gahlot, Film Critic

    To be a journalist or a film critic one needs to have certain attributes – ability to write and passion for the medium. If one has aptitude for it then qualification only adds to it. Therefore, both training and education go hand-in-hand.

     

    Today, a lot of newspapers carry articles written by people who have nothing to do with journalism too. Having said that, I do believe that a degree will only help the person. Also, it depends on an organization, what are they looking for – someone with good skills but no degree or someone with a degree and good skills.

     

    I won’t say that Katju’s recommendations are harsh because even if one is passionate about law but he/she still can’t practice without a law degree, why not for journalism?

     

     

    Arati Jerath, Senior Journalist

    I think journalists need qualifications, which are not necessarily taught in journalism school. A good journalist should have the nose for news especially in a war or terrorist situation, extract right information, should be a sensitive human being when reporting on a rape case or terrorist attack. It cannot be taught in any institution. These are the values that they imbibe from their parents, schools, colleagues, mentors.

     

    Most media houses are very professional and hire talent based on their requirements. If the new hire does not perform, irrespective of their qualification, they are let go. A journalist needs to be a good reader, researcher but mostly, they learn on the job outside of the formalized structure.

     

    The Press Council’s role is of being an ombudsman and a watchdog in case media oversteps. Frankly, the council is trying to impose professional qualification on a person who wants to become a journalist.

     

    Chandramohan Puppala, Senior Journalist

    This is debatable. Yes, the basic qualification is necessary but not necessarily in journalism; it could be any basic qualification that would equip a person to make them capable of understanding situations or aspects. In my career, I have hired many new people as journalists who are far more knowledgeable and equipped than journalists who have spent years in journalism or have earned degrees in journalism. It is important, however, that a crime-beat reporter has orientation towards the subject. A reporter who covers economy will be more equipped if he has a degree in economics but it is not necessary that if they have a degree, they will turn out to be a good journalists!

     

    There are, in any case, very few specialized beats; journalists are all-rounders, and that happens over a period of time: during school, on field, the right sources, and is not dependent on a single qualification.

     

    Prof Dr Kiran Thakur, Journalist-turned media teacher

    Justice Markandey Katju’s plan to prescribe qualifications for journalists is absurd and Utopian. By his logic, politicians should be qualified in political science and NGO founders should be trained in social work. If he wants legal beat reporters to be law graduates, war correspondents will have to be trained in military science if not in warfare, health reporters in medicine, farm journalists in agriculture and so on.

     

    He will do well to realize that qualifications for reporters and sub-editors alone would not suffice. The owners of media houses, print and electronic, should also possess qualifications. The owners should be trained particularly in media ethics and their social responsibility. Justice Katju should recall the fate of the report of the Press Council committee on paid news. The representatives of owners in the Council opposed the committee and its recommendations.

     

    I do not understand why the PCI should be burdened with responsibilities to supervise and regulate media schools. There are bodies in the university system to look into these aspects. Let them discharge these responsibilities with efficiency. In the meantime, Justice Katju should find ways how the PCI can function effectively.

     

    Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Independent Journalist and Educator

    The idea is ridiculous. It is like saying that if you want to become a politician, one must have a BA or a MA degree. The issue of lowering standards of journalism, values or journalism ethics becoming less important or declining quality is very separate. Mr Vinod Mehta himself said that he flunked his graduation exam, and look at him today. Pritish Nandy flunked his exams, and they were not even studying journalism, and look at them today. There is no dearth of examples of journalists who have succeeded without degrees much as journalists with degrees such as Dr Chandan Mitra. The ability to communicate, write or express articulately is nothing to do with a qualification in journalism.

     

    The Press Council should be concerned much more about its own role and duties than all of this.

     

     

  • Phase II of digitization is scheduled to take off on April 1. We ask stakeholders whether they expect it to happen on schedule

    MxM Mondays: Stakeholders’ view on Phase II

     

    By Ananya Saha

     

    The data from DTH operators and MSOs indicates that more than 87.7 lakh Set Top Boxes (STBs) have been installed in Phase II cities against the target of 1.60 crore, registering an achievement of over 55 percent digitization. Out of 87.7 lakh, DTH connections accounted for 40.7 lakh, whereas cable STBs accounted for 47.0 lakh. A release from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said that it has been constantly monitoring preparedness for the implementation of digital addressable cable TV system in the 38 cities of Phase II. We speak to a cross-section of stakeholders for their views (in alphabetical order of their last names):

     

    Phase II: 38 Cities that need to be digitized by March 31, 2013
     

    1. Bangalore

    2. Hyderabad

    3. Ahmedabad

    4. Pune

    5. Surat

    6. Kanpur

    7. Jaipur

    8. Lucknow

    9. Nagpur

    10. Patna

    11. Indore

    12. Bhopal

    13. Thane

    14. Ludhiana

    15. Agra

    16. Pimpri Chinchwad

    17. Nashik

    18. Vadodara

    19. Faridabad

    20. Ghaziabad

    21. Rajkot

    22. Meerut

    23. Kalyan-Dombivli

    24. Varanasi

    25. Amritsar

    26. Navi Mumbai

    27. Aurangabad

    28. Solapur

    29. Allahabad

    30. Jabalpur

    31. Srinagar

    32. Vizag

    33. Ranchi

    34. Howrah

    35. Chandigarh

    36. Coimbatore

    37. Mysore

    38. Jodhpur

     

    Anuj Gandhi, CEO, IndiaCast

    All stakeholders are playing their role efficiently. We are playing our role and getting the deals done. We are using the learnings of Phase I when it comes to the issue of carriage fees. None of the MSOs are complaining this time. In Phase I, we did not have a refence point and now we have the signed deals of Phase I. This time it is a lot easier.

     

     

    Joydip Kapadia, Executive Vice President, What’s On India Media

    It will happen but in a phased manner. My logic is based on the fact that MSOs who are present in the metros are also present in these 38 towns. MIB has an upper hand now, and industry is prepared that Phase II has to happen unlike the Phase I where in the Delhi and Mumbai people thought that deadline would be extended. The towns like Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Pune etc are almost on track to become digitized while towns like Nagpur might take more time.

     

    Ashok Mansukhani, President, MSO Alliance

    Digitization has become a habit, and that is definitely good news. The consumers want the STB, doesn’t matter if it belongs to MSO or DTH operator. Of course, the markets in Phase II cities are more price sensitive than the Phase I cities. One also needs to understand that in the 42 cities that will be digitized by the end of Phase I and Phase II, a lot of people live in the slum areas. Hence, new packages will have to be announced on three price points: 100-150 Rs, 200-250 Rs and 300-350 Rs. The packages need to be tolerable to broadcaster, consumer and MSOs.

     

    My only request would be let us not bother too much about the date; we have achieved a big task. I am sure that out of 38 cities, 25 cities will meet the deadline but switch off pay channels in the cities that do not meet the deadline if you want faster progress. MIB has taken stricter stock of progress this time around.

     

    We MSOs have taken loan of about Rs 500 crore; no matter what we cannot afford to let digitization fail. I foresee that in the coming months, prepaid will gain more prominence as mode of payment.

     

    P Mohan, President, Karnataka Cable TV Chamber of Commerce

    I do not agree with the figures. The digitized homes are close to 35-40 percent in Bangalore. The national MSOs are focusing on meeting the supply for Phase I, only then would they concentrate on Phase II. We have been asking for boxes for more than four months, and even if they offer us STBs now, installation takes time. How are we supposed to install, offer packages, explain the packages to each customer is so less time when the deadline is approaching fast?

     

    We are not against digitization. It was in 2002 that we had proposed DAS. Today, MSOs, broadcasters and DTH operators have formed one group. And LCOs are not even asked or consulted.

     

    Bangalore has many additional TV homes. And the homes which installed digital boxes 4-5 years ago are today asking for replacements. The quality of STBs and the technology they support is also a concern.

     

    Mukund Babaji Pednekar, Distributor, Hathway cable at Thakurli, Dombivli & Kopar

    Digitization is happening at a smooth pace in our area, and we are positive of meeting the deadline. We have no problems or concerns regarding digitization. The consumer is aware and knows how they will benefit with digitization. Yes, the prices of STBs was Rs 600 when we ordered it two months ago and now it has increased to Rs 999. But thankfully, we do not need boxes as of now.

     

    Man Jit Singh, President, IBF

    The consumers are aware, the communication is reaching them. As broadcaster, we are aware that there will be a short-term reduction in profitability but we are positive that going forward, thanks to digitization, the ratio of our revenues from advertisements and subscription will be 50:50. The stakeholders have worked together, and are facilitating dialogue all across. With transparent systems in place, the industry will only progress. The numbers are impressive, and hopefully we will meet the deadline.

     

    Uday Kumar Varma, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

    We stand by our figures. The figures have been collated with industry feedback. We have not come across any negatives regarding meeting the deadline. Yes, some issues will obviously crop up but are sure to get resolved as well. Of course one issue leads to another: complete opaqueness, incomplete subscriber data etc will a little time to solve.

     

    My own understanding is that digital cable is a better platform than DTH as it can provide other services as well. In the long run, common sense suggests that digital cable will see a bigger comeback.

     

    Regarding the carrying capacity of STB, I am sure that domestic industry associations will step up to meet demands.

     

     

  • It's the season for seminars and conclaves. While a fair bit of time, money and energy is spent on these events, but are they really worth one's while?

    MxM Mondays: How useful are conferences?

     

    By Johnson Napier

     

    It’s that time of the year when honchos and executives across industry domains squeeze out time from their schedules to catch up on trends and events. It’s the season for conferences and all-day seminars, especially for folk from Media. After the Indian Magazine Congress 2013 that was held a fortnight ago, delegates will fill the halls at Hotel Renaissance, Powai for FICCI Frames 2013.

     

    But while conclaves and industry gatherings do serve a purpose, there have been questions about the quality of discussions and relevance of topics, and whether they have brought about any impact or change. The lack of new ideas at these dos also bothers those who attend the events with the hope of getting something more.

     

    MxMIndia asked industrywallahs what they think of conferences and whether more needs to be done in terms of relevance and generation of new ideas.

     

    Anwesh Bose, Senior VP, DDB Mudra Max

    “Well, the ideas are there but the discussions are not well thought of. What happens at most conferences is that things get left at the discussion stage and it doesn’t go any further. There is no effort seen where it comes to implementing solutions. Also, most of the events are sponsor-driven and are not taken seriously. Even something like Goafest is more of a celebration thing than something that is followed at Cannes. So when organisers send out invites they should be serious about whom they are calling and what they intend to achieve by hosting such seminars.”

     

    Sanjeev Gupta, MD, Global Advertisers

    “The Indian media industry is at a nascent stage in comparison to western countries. We need to continuously improve our methods, approach and strategy. And for that, we need to have common platforms to discuss our challenges and difficulties with industry experts more often. Trade shows, exhibitions of new technology, conferences, workshops all have various topics to discuss including new trends and growth pattern of the industry. We would like to suggest that these conferences should be more interactive, touch new subjects and discuss data from an Indian perspective.

     

    “The numbers of media conferences in India are still very less, we need to organize more such events in future for the betterment of the industry. We would also like to suggest that we need to organize these shows in Tier II & Tier III cities to understand the needs of rural India.”

     

    Nisha Narayanan, Senior VP – Projects and Programming, 93.5 Red FM

    “Conferences are good platforms for germination of ideas and are good conversation builders. When industry leaders from media sit at a forum together, conversations that get built give fresher and newer perspective to issues being discussed. However it has a fair chance of being repetitive if the topics are the same and the policy has not changed.

     

    “For instance since 2006 of phase 2 of FM radio, the radio players have the same issues and regardless of the event, the same issues become rather boring to the audience. Now with phase 3, we hope to engage people with fresh concerns and celebrations.”

     

    Krishna Prasad, Editor-in-chief, Outlook

    “Trade conferences provide a legitimate forum for networking and schmoozing. But individuals and institutions which organize and take part in them need to jump out of the box of cliches if they have to fulfil their core mandate, which is presumably to inspire and throw new light. In other words, there needs to be more ‘disruption’, rather than everybody nodding their heads sagely between checking their phones and yawning. And there needs to be more intense questioning of the holy cows, rather than blind acceptance of their received and perceived wisdom.”

     

    Prema Sagar, Principal and Founder, Genesis Burson-Marsteller

    “Conferences in India, trade or otherwise, were deeply boring in the years gone by. In recent times, the subjects are more global in scope with local focus. Every expert, speaker and academician is happy to be part of conferences in India…. there are now better speakers with good content and articulation, there is more learning on new subjects, and networking is always a great takeaway. What needs to improve is better planning and execution of events, follow-up papers on subjects that provide further value to those attendees who value the ongoing engagement.”

     

     

    Srinivasan K Swamy, CMD, RK Swamy BBDO

    “Good conferences with a timely and focused theme and a set of good speakers are always relevant. Unfortunately we have too many of these undifferentiated ones. They all have the same topics discussed, the same speakers and more often the same audience! Also in many conferences there is too much selling by the speaker about his company, and that is a put-off for audiences.

     

    “Some introspection is needed before embarking on the next conference on three dimensions: Is the theme addressing the current and the immediate needs of the intended audience? Can we divide this theme into topics that can be looked at closely, multi-dimensionally? Can we get engaging speakers to address the chosen subjects – not something they can repackage from their earlier presentations?”

     

  • No, say publishers, rubbishing the recent IRS 2012 Q3 numbers and say that readership is in fact rising!

    MxM Mondays: Is magazine readership sliding?

     

    By Ananya Saha

     

    As magazine publishers are set to meet for the Indian Magazine Congress in Mumbai on February 14 and 15, the indifferent numbers posted by the latest findings of the Indian Readership Survey continue to mar what appears to be business as usual. According to the IRS 2012 Q3 figures, magazine readership is on the decline barring a few magazines that have gained AIR.

     

    Even as the Indian print industry continues to see new launches, the readership of magazines is sliding (including regional language, Hindi and English magazines), as recorded by the IRS. MxMIndia spoke to a cross-section of industry veterans about the Indian magazine industry, and the shape of things to come. In alphabetical order of their last names:

     

    Suresh Balakrishna, CEO, BPN

    Newspapers and television have taken over the space which was once occupied by magazines. Therefore, general news/interest magazines readership is on a decline. However, niche magazines which cater to a small but specific audience are doing well and will continue to do well. Even as we speak niche magazines on jewellery, garments, travel etc are being launched. And advertisers are interested in putting their money on them as they are leisure magazines and will get their message across to their target audience. Hence, the future of niche magazines is bright although other magazines will have to take a hit

     

     

    Mitrajit Bhattacharya, Publisher & President, Chitralekha Group

    A survey like IRS hardly does justice to a highly complex category like magazines. Magazines are heterogeneous in nature with skewed distribution, which is missed by a huge survey like IRS; or in simple words, IRS is not even designed to capture readership of magazines (particularly special interest or niche ones). There are concerns about certain genres of magazines facing difficulties in retaining loyalty among its audiences, but there is surely traction in the specialized space. How else can you justify launch of so many new titles every year? IRS is not a good measurement tool. It is a one-size-fits-all omnibus survey with no focus on skewed distribution of magazines.

     

    The industry is reorienting, specialised genres are doing great even if some traditional genres are threatened. Also the digital formats are doing well for all big magazine brands. I see further traction in this. Digital will complement the print formats in a great way and magazines will lead the space for their superior content and presentation.

     

    Varghese Chandy, Chief General Manager, Marketing Advertising Sales, Malayala Manorama

    The quarterly result or six-month readership data will not establish if readership is declining or not. The readership is dropping compared to a few years ago. What we need to understand is that the way a magazine is consumed or read is getting different. It is changing because online versions are available. The time will come that when you talk of magazine readership, you will actually have to add the online and offline (print) readership of the magazine, including tablets and mobile. That is what one should look at in the long run, whether you are able to retain readership through all possible formats. Unfortunately, we are not in position to capture this readership currently.

     

    The way readership is captured in India for the magazine is very newspaper-oriented. For the newspaper, the readership is concentrated is the catchment area that is near printing or publication centres. Magazines, on the other hand, are dispersed widely, and in most cases, nationally. Even the language magazines are dispersed beyond one geographical state where the language is read. Thus, the sample pickup for magazine and newspaper cannot be the same because of the wide dispersion. The present readership survey, and this is something all of us have been saying for some time, is not actually geared to capture the readership of the magazines; particularly the niche magazines and magazines that have specialized readership.

     

    That is why you see readership drop even in cases of English and general interest magazines. Some readership figures and drops should be seen as rationalization of numbers. There used to be a time when the readership of one copy was seen as 10 or 15, which is out of the question. Some of this rationalization is definitely happening.

     

    We need a much larger sample base for a magazine-focused readership survey.

     

    Ashish Pherwani, Partner, Advisory Services, M&E, Ernst & Young

    To measure the readership of magazines, a standard measure is used by IRS. It does not capture the online readership of magazines. Also, one needs to understand that readership is one of the ways that a magazine reaches the readers. The magazine is a brand that you (readers) believe in. The brand can reach their targeted audience via television, internet, tablet, event etc. Take the example of Femina: the brand is larger than a magazine and the database of customers that Femina is connected with is much bigger than its magazine readership. It is connected to readers via Facebook, social media, its website, events, and what not.

     

    IRS is the only currency, so it needs to be used. It does not measure the brand value. IRS is just one part of the brand and publishers need to take cognizance of that.

     

    Tarun Rai, CEO, World Wide Media and President, AIM

    Declining readership of magazines is a myth. Magazines like all media are going through dynamic changes. Yes, there are some genres of magazines which may be witnessing some decline but most others should actually be showing an increase. Our circulation numbers are going up. So many new magazines are being launched. That wouldn’t be the case if readership was going down.

     

    There are issues with the retail infrastructure of magazines. Getting our magazines to our readers is not easy and is expensive. However, our concern is more fair measurement. In its current form the IRS does not capture the reality of magazine readership. We have been in discussions with them and hope we will be able to get to a satisfactory solution soon.

     

    Rather than a decline, we see an increase in magazine readership, going forward. There are two reasons for this. On the one hand, with increasing disposable incomes and more choices, people are looking for quality content and expert advice which only magazines offer. On the other hand, digital devices are enabling magazines to take their content to a much larger number of people. And digital technology also allows magazine editors to enhance the reading experience. I believe that lifestyle and special interest magazines are the sunrise sector of Indian media.