Tag: MxMIndia Annual

Not a child’s play

By Amin Lakhani

While much advertising is aimed at a broad spectrum of children, it should be recognized that there are wide differences in cognitive and emotional development between younger and older children. Kids can be segmented into three distinct age-groups defined by the way they communicate with their parents and the world at large. Babies & Toddlers (0-2 years) use distinct crying patterns to indicate whether they are hungry, in pain or just need plain attention.

Pre-schoolers (3-5 years) meanwhile begin talking and forming complex sentences, the magical words “No” & “Why” become firm part of their vocabulary and like to be involved in decision making. This gives them a sense of being a “Big Kid”. School Age kids (6-11 years) are purposeful, thinking in advance what they want and often have a plan on how to get it. At this stage they also start getting rebellious, often questioning or criticizing their parents. They do not like being treated in a manner they think is “babyish”.

They also tailor their communication to their surroundings. In a country like India, with complex regional and socio-economic diversities; conversations that marketers want to have with these segments often become tricky. While children strongly influence brand choice for many high price family purchases, a one-target marketing strategy may no longer be enough. Consider one strategy that appeals to children, another that appeals to children and their parents, and a third that focuses just on adults.

The truth about kids and social media

By Sanjay Mehta

Everyone seems to be getting on to social media – young men and women, middle-aged persons, senior citizens, teenagers…yes, just about everyone.

But what about kids? Would one consider them to be active on social media? From a brand’s point of view, is the kids’ market still elusive, where social media is concerned? Or are there opportunities that exist for brands? Let’s try and understand this intersection of kids and social media! There are four defining factors at play here:

1. The device: Social Media is no more accessed only from desktop computers. We are seeing enough statistics to show how there is increasing usage of social media, from mobile devices. While this phenomenon is strongly validated for on-the-move adults, how it impacts kids, is by way of the tablet device! The iPad, for example.

It is a fact that kids take to the iPad very easily, and seem to figure out the controls and the mechanisms, including the swipes and the pinches and what not. And that marks the beginning for them to access for example, content on YouTube.

Children pay more attention to adverts than adults, particularly when they include jingles, cartoons, humour, and elements borrowed from popular culture. This generation is internet-savvy, and can appreciate interactive campaigns. Kids hate to be sold to, but love to be respected. They want to be listened to, heard and understood. Spend time with them, listen to them talk, discover how they dream…

This is critical given that a significant chunk of these children will be digital natives. While many classic marketing approaches will still apply, interactive communication means that future campaigns are likely to run in real time. Flexibility to change direction, media, tools and message will be key. Teams of marketers will need to operate 24/7, constantly monitoring their marketplace.

So if it’s a Chhota Bheem video that appeals to the kid, parents are comfortable to set it up for the kid on the iPad, and let him be engaged on it. What happens next? There would be advertising placed within the video content there, and which also the kid sees, and gets attracted to. It would not be a surprise if the kid starts demanding the particular candy or the specific toy that might have been featured in that video!

2. The content: We must understand that social media is not just about engaging on Facebook or tweeting or blogging. If those were the cases, then perhaps the kids are a certain distance away from participating here. A particular behavior demography on social media is also called being a ‘consumer’ - a consumer of content. And they too count, who consume such social media content, and are in turn, influenced by it.

This is exactly where kids come in. There are many content producers that are delivering exciting content, both educational and entertaining, for kids, and by consuming such content, there is participation from the kids, in this space.

3. The parent as a conduit to the kid: When it comes to products and services for kids, it is not necessarily the kids who are looking for it, finding it, interacting around it, engaging around it, etc. There are a lot of parents who lean on to this medium, in order to become well, ‘better parents’.

And most certainly, via the parents, there is large- scale influence of the media, on to the kids. In terms of choices that are made, finally, for the kids! It is clear then, that kids are also getting increasingly ensnared into the world of social media, and brands would want to keep this in mind, as they plan their strategies.

‘Design is an important strategic tool that’s making a difference’

By Rajesh Kejriwal

The one thing we hear everyone say is – let’s create a great social brand. But somehow, the thing everyone tends to forget is that brands inherently are neither social nor emotional – human beings are. People use their emotional quotient to engage with brands and not vice-versa.

And this is where design and traditional advertising defers. While advertising agencies are working to get the message across by creating campaigns and activations, designers work on connecting brands to people by understanding needs and expression. Design becomes especially important in making this connection especially when speaking to the youth. And youth here, today is represented by psychographic rather than a demographic.

Because, looking inwards to tell a story is a limiting approach. Designers inherently conceptualize basis the audience, their behaviour and needs – joining in the conversation rather than trying to create a new one. Young minds are restless, they are simply not interested in the world of tactical buzzwords and marketing jargon. They spend their time ignoring you, your campaigns and activations, discounts and incredible two-for-one offers. And this is where design becomes pivotal.

PR, a big influential medium for the youth

By Hemant Kenkre

Until the early eighties, I don’t think there was an audience segment called the ‘youth.’ That was till the birth of one of the most iconic brands in entertainment, Music Television (MTV). The first channel in the ‘music’ genre actually created the segment from a marketing perspective. Apart from on- air promos, the biggest marketing tool used by MTV was Public Relations.

From the ‘I Want My MTV’ campaign in the United States to the MTV VJ Hunt in India, the youth were kept engaged having constant conversations on and off-air with the channel that understood them best. From MTV and [V] to Coca-Cola and Pepsi, youth brands have used PR and Communications to effectively connect with the Indian youth. From campaigns around cricket, films and music to pro-social initiatives (CSR) pertaining to health issues and education, brands have continued to attract young people from all walks of life irrespective of social backgrounds.

Today, PR campaigns targeted at the youth have moved from traditional platforms into the digital domain. Not just brands but even political parties have realised that having conversations on social media has a huge impact on their reputations. Case in point being the Aam Admi Party which has been holding the attention of young Indians, who have catapulted maverick crusaders into a position of power in less than three months.

A well designed brand and product experience represents more than just its USP and IP. Far from a flurry of numbers and excel sheets – the brand becomes the experience. It is the single opportunity to stand for something – something that’s relevant to the audience. Design cannot be dumped into one mass of an all encompassing entity. Rather it is the specialities that make the difference. Right from crafting the story of your brand, the values it represents, the tone of voice it uses to converse, the typography it uses to speak, the colours it uses to attract and so on.

Designers and design practices bring precision and coherence to a brand. And this is true for a variety of brands. Innocent don’t just make smoothies and Google is not just code. And in India too, brands like Indigo and Fastrack represent an attitude that reflects the youth of our country. These brands are all having a more evolved conversation with the youth by using design across sections to really hide what needs to be hidden and leave what’s unsaid to the imagination.

Design is an important strategic tool that’s making a difference. And it is not because design is ‘cool’ but, rather because of who designers are – young at heart, rebellious, inherently experimental and great storytellers. But don’t take it for granted because in truth while everything is designed only a few things are designed well.

The right ‘message’ (the fulcrum around which a PR campaign revolves) of removing corruption started two years ago when lakhs of young Indians rallied around a diminutive ex-serviceman who has become a national icon from relative obscurity. The PR campaign that used the basic fundamentals of PR- selective and targeted messaging, timely news releases, high profile spokespersons and celebrity brand ambassadors struck the right cord with the young voter.

The journey that started in 2011 from the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi to the seat of power in the nation’s capital is a classic example of the role that PR and communications can play in building reputations and creating mind space with Generation Next – the Indian youth!

‘If properly used, mobile can be invaluable to a marketer’

By Lloyd Mathias

Mobile, unlike most media is not a gender specific medium. It is equally effective across genders and geographies. It is a medium all set for the big leap. Key reasons mobile is emerging as a relevant medium are:

1. It is an always on device. On 24X7. A mobile is with a person all the time – even at his bedside when asleep. It is not used sporadically like other media. It enables marketers to deliver their message at the most relevant time.

2. It is an extremely personal medium. As a one-on-one medium, an advertiser can connect with his target audience individually. Availability of demographic and psychographic profiles of the target persons makes targeting very sharp and focused – to the extent that smart advertisers can even address the target audience by name. Properly mined marketers not only know the demographics but also other variables like usage patterns, location, and other lifestylye choices.

3. The reach of the mobile among Indias consumtpion class is unvrivalled. Today at over 850 million users – even discounting for duplication is ahead of most other media. However, must concede that television is still ahead on impact given the nature of audio visual media – and poor levels of literacy.

An ‘Organised Chaos’ strategy would augur well for brands

By Sudhir Nair

It is difficult to summarise or prioritise what I one should do for brand loyalty. While brands do have products that cater to men and women individually; brand loyalty is a universal challenge. In today’s day and age, rather digital age, a consumer is the most tortured soul. Tortured by brands, by the choices he has, due to the decisions he has to make, peer pressure, family pressure…and whatever else. This is unlikely to change. In fact, the clutter is just going to increase. Not just in terms of brands, but also in terms of different digital assets/technologies consumers will adopt. In simple terms it will be absolute chaos.

While I was trying to understand what chaos means in advertising and what it means specifically in digital, I thought of the “Chaos Theory”.

Chaos: When the present determines the future, but the approximate present does not approximately determine the future. (Edward Lorenz)

It also is an apt definition of where the digital world is headed or will be. A state of perpetual beta.

In this rather chaotic scenario; brands will find it increasingly difficult to grab the consumers attention, build/retain loyalty, engage with them, have conversations, be forgiven, increase awareness, build consideration, anticipate, transact… etc.

4. It can and should be used for contextual messaging. Relevant advertising and marketing messages can be delivered at relevant time. Geographically relevant messages are gaining in popularity – they deliver desired results for the marketers. A shopping related message while entering a mall is relevant to the receiver of the message, and hence welcomed.

5. Last, but not the least, one can also transact on the mobile especially if it’s a smart phone. It is convenient and one can book last minute tickets etc via mobile.

Hence, properly used a mobile can be invaluable to a marketer.

The medium does not have a gender skew, and it is an equally effective medium for men and women. While in lower SECs, penetration of phones among men may be higher than women right now, women’s use of phones is on the rise. In higher SECs there is already parity in phone usage.

If we speak specifically of benefits for women, mobile is an empowering tool for women. It provides heightened awareness in terms of security and among smart phone users the location based apps help. There also are many mobile apps that make shopping an even more pleasurable affair for women (and men!)- and helps them in making more informed choices. An interesting example here would be uploading one’s picture, and checking out which outfit or colour suits one the best.

Hence, what could possibly work is an “Organised Chaos” strategy.

Organised Chaos – is a planned way of putting some method in the madness and expose consumers to different levels of communications. It is in by no means intended to be linear; it cannot be. These are well planned/orchestrated communication patterns.

How can you organise chaos? There are 10 different key points I have mentioned, a combination of these should ideally work across all digital touch points; including social.

1. Know your consumer: Listen, learn and most importantly remember

2. Communicate: It cannot be campaign to campaign or a new product launch

3. Define touch points: Know what is irrelevant

4. Create patterns of communication: Not for the brand or product but for the consumer

5. Data visualisation: Don’t just visualise data, visualise messaging

6. Real-time messaging: These patterns are dynamic

7. Story telling patterns: Inspire, surprise and flirt

8. Everything is an opportunity, including a crisis

9. In crisis identify pigeons

10. End with consumer(s).

Change is in the air, but similarity prevails too

By Ajay Kakar

Historically, we have noticed that financial decisions have been predominantly been taken by men and in recent years when we talk of women increasing in numbers as professionals and financial independence, not much has changed. In absolute terms, the number of women taking independent financial decisions may have grown, but in percentage terms, there is no growth. And that absolute number, even if it’s small, the financial institutions are eager to catch them young and can expect loyalty for a life time. I do not want to make any sweeping statements.

But, the reality and dichotomy is that even in the case of working women where they have blossomed as professionals, money is largely being handled by either the husband or being advised by the father. In professional terms too, if there are distributors or if when women are seeking financial advice, these professionals or agents too are largely men. We can say that if men were just handling their money 10 years ago, they are handling the women’s money too today.

When it comes to decisions like buying a property or a car, or investing in gold, it’s a family decision, unlike 10 years ago. Women have become initiators, and contributors, but ultimately when it comes to casting vote, it’s with the men. So men are involving women too in key financial decisions. They are more inclusive now.

An insight into the Indian traveller’s mind…

By Manish Kalra

Over the years, the Indian traveller has undergone a slow but sure metamorphosis. India has the largest youth population compared to anywhere in the world. With disposable income and the desire to explore newer destinations, increasing number of young Indians have taken to travel. They want to explore the world and are willing to pay for leisure services. Technology too has played a great role in how Indians choose to see the world.

It has not only changed the way travel is distributed but has also affected the way travellers experience it. Increased internet penetration and affordable mobile computing have made technology a key aspect of consumer’s buying behavior. Online travel companies need to realise that though their business is online, there are a significant number of customers who are offline.

Hence, the next phase of growth will come from an audience who currently consumes media offline. Optimizing our marketing mix in this scenario is fairly challenging and a very dynamic process. We keep a very close watch on our performance (RoI) across channels and are very agile with our moves. We follow the consumer in his day to day activity across mediums – TV, print, online (FB, Twitter, Youtube, blogs, etc). Thus, we plan our media mix keeping consumer behavior in mind. We also do specific advertising for people who access social media on mobile.

But either way, it is an influencer-driven category. The influencer could be the immediate surroundings or a financial advisor distributor who is largely a male for both men and women. Men today, like 10 years ago, believe in financial security, so savings instruments like savings account, fixed deposits, recurring deposits, postal savings are still popular as they were then and are still considered to be safe bets. I am talking mass and not just about the metro man. When it comes to mass, the person is still a simpleton. Just look at it this way. When should one invest in a share market or mutual fund – when it is going up or going down? It should be when it’s down so that they can book profits when it’s up.

But the reality for the Indian male still is that they start pulling out money when the market is falling. They do not want to erode their principal amount. Having said that, the other reality is equally harsh whereby there is only 44 per cent penetration of banks and just two per cent penetration of shares. So a large population doesn’t even know that there is a mutual fund. Mutual fund for them still is equity linked. They don’t know the differences that there are diversified funds, balanced funds and debt funds, and that the last would give better returns than traditional saving accounts and is largely safe.

We have seen that traditional mediums like TV are very effective in expanding the overall online travel market. This enhances a brand’s reach in tier II and III cities, and influence the people there to transact online. While we witness more and more Indian travellers getting comfortable with researching and booking online, there are still a lot of customers who are apprehensive about online payments. A recent survey by MakeMyTrip reveals that payment/ data security continues to be the No.1 concern-area for a majority of Indian travellers when booking a hotel online.

We offer secure payment options to make the travel-buying experience convenient and safe, but as the survey shows, more needs to be done to educate the traveller on how to determine that their online transaction is being conducted in a safe and secure ecosystem. Digital advertising is real-time and actionable. However, brand-building is still something that is established through offline campaigns. Even with digital natives, the consumption of content has moved across different screens today.

So we experiment a lot with how we serve content to our customer based on their media consumption habits and travel requirements. Ensuring consistency of service-experience for the ever-growing number of travellers who book through MakeMyTrip is another area that we are focused on. We strongly believe that prospects for the online travel industry in India are growing each day. With newer technologies and platforms being introduced rapidly, the need of the hour is to build products and offer services that make the travelresearching and buying process more engaging, seamless and convenient.

– This article was written by Manish Kalra while he was Head Marketing, Makemytrip.com.

The Internet of everything, the genius of everyone

By Puneet Johar

It seems not too long back, maybe a decade I or so that we read articles prophesying that content and commerce consumption were poised to change. Connected devices and handhelds would be the future of content consumption. The world was divided into the believers, cynics and people in between.

It did seem a bit far-fetched, especially when we were living in a world where digital content meant a SMS alert. There were people attempting to put content on handheld devices but it was clunky. We were looking towards giants like Nokia and Ericsson to change the way content is fundamentally consumed and make all the prophecies come true.

What was not obvious was that the virtuous circle of disruption in the southern region of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California that was becoming bigger with each passing day would influence and change our lives forever in the way we consume content and make every prophecy come true. And, then, stretch it further to unimagined proportions.

‘The ability to innovate will be a crucial determinant for TV brands’

By Rahul Johri

Mobile phones, the world wide web, apps, live chats – the Indian youth lives in a world filled with myriad choices of entertainment. When it comes to television, the audience has also evolved in terms of information and tastes. The new breed of TV viewers seeks content dealing with information and experiences that have a direct bearing on their lives and lifestyle. Evidently, no single channel can hope to be a one-stop shop for entertainment anymore. Only those channels that have a distinct proposition will thrive in this new order, and emerge as the most-preferred destinations for viewers.

Programming to viewers with diverse needs is a formidable task. Anticipating the trend of digitisation and demand of specialised content in the country, Discovery Networks expanded its footprint in India to eight specialised-content channels in five different languages. In addition, digitization brings in multiple benefits such as choice of multiple languages, interactive services – live pause and play, video gaming, tutorials etc offer viewers a choice to watch their favourite content at their own convenience.

In the world of smartphones, tablets and social media, while we attribute the richly deserved transformation to legends led by Steve Jobs, we cannot forget that the momentum that has been building for the past two decades led by the Silicon Valley is much larger than the force or thoughts of any one individual. Every prophecy that is now being made including the internet of everything could become a reality because fundamentally the genius of everyone connected has been unleashed.

If the prophecies today point to content being created and consumed everywhere where every object is a connected device then not believing it may just mean that we have lived the last two decades in denial. So I do believe it when people suggest that smartphones and tablets that we carry will be computing power that will connect and make every object a virtual or physical screen to interact with.

I do believe when people say that today’s devices and how we consume content could seem as archaic as the mobile phones from a decade back seem today. The legendary character Morpheus in The Matrix says, ‘Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?’ We are now in a world of nearly 7 billion dreams and all connected.

All these channels have created new and distinct viewer groups. Discovery Channel pioneered factual programming in the country and continues to introduce new formats like survival, adventure, exploration and journeys into the unknown, which has helped the channel strengthen its bond with the young viewers. Aiming to reach curious minds across territories, the channel has diversified in multiple languages. The channel’s India productions like Revealed: National Defence Academy, Revealed: Rashtrapati Bhawan and Everest: Indian Army Women Expedition has offered viewers rare glimpses of their own country.

Discovery Science is a cool and fun science channel for the enthusiasts. With ‘Question Everything’ to its core, the channel introduces novel ways of knowing and thinking about the natural and physical world we live in. Discovery Turbo is dedicated to young male audience who has passion for automobiles and mechanics.

A pioneer in lifestyle programming, TLC is a window to the world for the consumer who is aspirational and is on a quest for finer things in life, from travel to cuisine to everything that encompasses hi-life. Catering to audiences who have a refined choice in what they watch, Discovery Networks continues to bring refreshing genres and captivating formats. In an ever-changing television environment, the ability to innovate will be a crucial determinant of value for television brands.

Strategies to target women via OOH

By Sunder Hemrajani

Over the next five years, working women will drive an increase in earned income globally from $12.5 trillion to $18.5 trillion. In India itself, the income of the working women has more than doubled in the last decade. This has resulted in the greater role in decision-making both at work and home. 16 per cent of India’s Ultra HNIs are women. They are also driving the growth of the smartphone market, especially in developing economies. In terms of top searched categories by women on Google in India are apparel & accessories followed by food & drink, baby care, hair care & skin care.

Why OOH?

Women are spending more time outdoors

As per Kinetic’s Moving World-India research, Indians in urban cities spend an average of 9-10 hrs active time outdoor. Approx 35 per cent of women are participating in labour force in urban India. Media habits of working women are more in line with working men. They spend 2-3 hrs a day on commuting, shopping & leisure. Thus, outdoor is a natural medium of choice.

‘Fiction shows will continue to be the core strategy to engage Indian women’

By Nikhil Madhok

Before we get into analyzing the audience profile for Hindi GECs and how they will evolve or rather how channels can adapt to the changing audience profile, let us look into the notable trends of the year 2013.

In 2013, we saw content that not only entertained but also informed and educated viewers about issues affecting the country and the public at large. This wasn’t the case a few years ago. Yes, we did have shows that raised relevant issues, but did we see significant strides being taken in addressing issues? I don’t think so. Satyamev Jayate (launched in 2012), I would say, was a show that started proactively addressing issues in the country. And from thereon we began to see the trend becoming popular in 2013.

How do I see the GEC space evolve six years down the line? Six years down the line I see channels doing more of shows that spread awareness about issues and also contributing in terms of providing solutions. Six years down the line, I see women becoming more financially independent, taking their own decisions and raising their voices against wrongdoings.

OOH is refreshingly different & it is considered trustworthy

While women are heavy consumers of media, advertising fatigue is more common in women than men. Research has indicated twothirds dislike TV commercials, half of the target group changes radio stations during commercial breaks and 35 per cent find internet banners annoying. Outdoor finds favour amongst women as it is considered reliable and trustworthy.

OOH communicates values which are key drivers of purchase among Indian women

In India, women rate quality, price and innovation as three key drivers of brand loyalty. This can be leveraged in OOH which supports innovation to a higher degree than other media formats.

It pays

The stereotype of Indian women making purchase decisions solely on family needs and wants is no longer valid. The urban Indian woman is moving beyond traditional FMCG, and spending more on personal indulgences across categories like automobiles, durables, financial services & fashion/lifestyle. Almost 40 per cent like visiting malls and organized formats.

Brand advertisers need to target women consumers at or near point of sale to capture a larger share of their wallet, which can be achieved well through OOH media.

How to target women using OOH advertising?

> At airports:

:: Proportion of women travelers is increasing year on year. One of the best platforms to reach large number of high profile SEC A/A+ women under one roof – In Delhi / Mumbai airports nearly 30-40 per cent of the travelers are women.

:: No other one medium captures so many HNI women in one place!

:: It offers experiential formats and high dwell time. 60 per cent women say experiential marketing is more likely to lead to actual purchase. High dwell time enables women to evaluate brands more in depth.

>> Billboards/Street furniture: As more women hit the roads for work as well as leisure, targeted campaigns at outdoor large formats are ideal to captivate their attention on the move. According to Discovery’s Curiosity.com, while women absorb more information from the brand messages, they need to see the ad several times before being convinced to try the product or service! Hence high-frequency media like bus shelters are ideal to run women relevant brand campaigns. OOH presents a more cost-effective and targeted solution to clients, as opposed to TV or Print, as these have a wider reach but suffer from high spillover and high cost. In contrast, a high degree of localization that is possible in Outdoors, ensures that women are being reached at all important touch-points for them like retail/entertainment destinations or corporate complexes.

>> At transit: Metros are witnessing increasing footfalls. Proportion of women is growing as women perceive it to be a convenient and safe medium of transport. Hence great platform for brands to connect with young urban TG. Dedicated women’s coaches allow for exclusive targeting, and are emerging mediums for generating brand trials and sampling.

>> Digital OOH: Digital OOH is a medium which can fully capitalize on women’s innate ability to multi-task and engage. In India, outdoor spaces like the Delhi & Mumbai airports are heralding a digital revolution, which can become playgrounds for brands to reach women innovatively. For instance, use of facial recognition techniques to identify the gender and profile of viewers can help brands nicely target their core consumer groups.

There will be a rise in the number of working women, especially in tier 2 towns. They will become more conscious and more focused on having a successful career. That does not mean they will stop looking after their families. I think moving forward, women in India will increasingly perform dual roles – of being good professionals and also managing dayto- day household activities. Keeping this in mind, general entertainment channels will have to tweak their content strategies.

So that’s the trend I think will become prominent in the next six years. Fiction shows will continue to be the core strategy to engage Indian women, but channels must reflect the image of the contemporary modern women in their programming. That, to me, is critical in order to remain relevant to this TG.

Real entertainment quotient will be provided by reality formats, which tend to attract a lot of male audience. Going forward, for Hindi GECs, I see the ratio of men to women viewership continue to be around 55:45 in favour of women. From a content consumption point of view, audiences will move from the bigger screen to the smaller screen far more conveniently and their experience of consuming content on the smaller screen will improve with technology enhancements.

Having it your way with the family

By Colvyn Harris

While a lot could be said about the positive impact that a family manages to create on the life of a brand, it would be appropriate if we could first figure out how the definition of a family, especially a ‘happy’ family is changing.

A happy family

Good human and compassionate values lead to happiness. Another important element is that satisfaction comes from a ‘want’ state. You can have a very happy family with limited resources and you may have a family, which has everything but may not be as happy. Good middle-class core values keep a family united, and religious beliefs create happiness. A feeling that somebody like parents, are watching your actions, what you do, how you behave and manages to keep the family focused, together, close and hopefully happy.

Socio-economic reasons for changing family dynamics

Family dynamics are changing and there are two key reasons for it: one is aspirations and the second is keeping up with peers. What my neighbour has got, what he is doing, what has my friend got, what has my colleague got, creates a certain kind of peer pressure or competitive nature in people. This larger, bigger, better are new attributes where everybody wants more…like a thinner laptop, faster working phone, flashier car etc. These are very complex behavioural and intrinsic actions that people take based on what they see. Of course, these values are based on whether someone has the propensity to spend.

Rural vs. Urban life

Urban families live a city life which comes with its own set of opportunities and challenges. The type of community, living, working, commuting, aspirations are so very different because we live in this melting pot, we are a part of this wonderful golden so to speak rut. I met this Chinese taxi driver in New York once who said I stop working when my eyes close and when they open in the morning I am working. I think that pretty much articulates urban life – you get up, your entire grind is towards getting into office, and then there is the grind (which is a full day at work) and then the grind back home only to come back the next morning and start all over again.

‘Marketers better be honest to the consumer’

By Prasoon Joshi

Today, the definition of a happy family has definitely changed. To what extent, depends on the socio-economic strata of society you are talking about. If you ask a person in a village how family happiness has changed for him, it would be very different from middle India where I was brought up.

The biggest change is that society has become more individualistic and the joint family structure is gradually diminishing. We have not yet moved into an individualist society completely though. We are in a cusp where people are finding it difficult to be a collective society. The notion of self, my needs, my life, me, my achievements is increasingly becoming more important.

There is a flux of people to metros, big towns and cities. The happiness that people used to get from family has somewhat shifted from family to material things, and that is the first sign of a consumerist society.

Consumerism has tip-toed into our consciousness. We are willy-nilly going the western way, which is based on consumption. When your economic principles are changing, then your value system also changes gradually. It is not to say that the meaning of happiness has gone diagonally opposite of what it used to be – Indians still value inner happiness.

Rural vs. Urban

When you say development, it means different things to different people. In rural India, there are infrastructural issues like in many places there is no electricity, no roads etc. While on one side their basic infrastructural needs are being met now, they are also getting connected with the world at the same time, thanks to the way mobile phones have reached rural India. It is leapfrogging ahead and they are experiencing things faster than urban India did. Unlike urban India, they are not experiencing changes in phases.

The challenges of rural India have also been different – people in urban India cannot even imagine that somebody still gets water from a faraway place. We live in a very compartmentalised and disconnected world. On one hand, we are talking of having hundreds of channels where the number keeps increasing every day and on other, people are living in media dark ages in the same country.

Then I look at the juxtaposition of rural life. I have not lived there but I have been in many villages and in my view it is simpler, less complicated, one has fewer things to do and it is definitely not hurried. They have stress of a different kind – they have living stress, water, electricity, sanitation etc., though that is changing now.

It is not to say that people in rural areas do not chase dreams and aspirations. TV is a great window for anybody who lives a rural life to understand how we live in cities, which is why today the sachet packs of brands are being sold in rural areas – nothing prevents them from wanting a Sunsilk shampoo sachet or a Horlicks sachet. Distribution might be an issue but that will get resolved too.

From a collective to individualistic society

Individualism has been there since the time hedonism was invented. The time we live in makes it more pronounced. I do, I hope, I did, it is the ‘I’ word that drives the behaviour in all we do. It is a lot of self-credo and want for ‘myself ‘ and that is a big change.

When it comes to purchase decisions, people do seek approval but decision making is purely individualistic. You may want affirmation after you decide it, but by and large you pretty much decide it. As for the stories about my child influenced me to buy a red car or some other product, it is said so but I don’t really believe in that maxim.

Most challenging TG for marketers

Teens, in my view, are the most difficult to reach. They are at an age where they think they know everything but haven’t tested it yet. They have that rebellious spirit as well. Peer group pressure is maximised with this audience or market segment. They have aspirations, dreams, they want and every marketer is trying to reach them. They are definitely the most important audience segment.

Man’s role in changing family dynamics

Larger societal values drive them to perform and succeed, be it in a career or at home. The same motivations which drive anybody drive men as well – may be they are more ambitious, but here is where good family values make the difference as against the family values of a western world. In the Indian context, we believe in our duty towards family, towards career, towards children, towards marriage and more. As a result, there is lot more security in the Indian society. How people think in the western world is that at age of 16, 18 and 21, there are three rites of passage where you move out. Not so in the Indian society.

Advertising and changing consumer

To an extent, brands drive cultural change and we ride those cultural trends. It is like a cycle, a brand sets out a cultural nuance and then that becomes a trend which people ride. It continues till the next one comes along that inspires the next behaviour.

The power of social media

That is the future. I find it very instantaneous and effective. You can pinpoint it much better. The creation of the now famous Pink Chaddi brigade and the moral policing when they all donated their pink chaddis; or the Arab Spring or the recent Campa Cola Housing Society campaign and the sexual harassment campaign were highly effective. When targeted correctly, social media can be most impactful and effective. There are many such examples that show how it can fuel whatever cause it sets out to do. Having said that, the cause must be just and justified.

Mobile: the way forward

Mobile is specific, targeted, real time, geographic and relevant. Where the future development will take place is in the quality of messaging. Just tele-marketing, pushing out a banner, or a billboard, as is being done currently, would not suffice. Targeting would need to get more focused. For instance if I say Pizza, GPS would pick my location and show me the available outlets. But it should go beyond that – marketers would have to figure what can I do to entice a consumer to my brand v/s another? Or, perhaps it can get me to change my mind out of pizzas.

Changing consumer expectations & future readiness of marketers

Consumers would always be dynamically driven and a difficult-to-satisfy set of individuals. Brands and aspirations will drive them to expect more, to want more, and to spend more as their respective economic affluence grows. The richer you get and the better you do, you will continue to want more.

Are marketers future ready?

Marketers can be as future ready as they want to be. They are finally people taking decisions. Like there is no common man, there is no common marketer driving a purchase decision. For every brilliant marketer there is an equally not so brilliant one – so on average some will always be ahead of the curve driving change and others wondering what happened and that’s how case studies get built.

Family purchase decisions

The man and woman relationship and equation has got redefined in our society, more so in the urban areas. Earlier, man was the provider and woman used to take care of the house. Since the time women have come out and said, I do not need a provider – I need a relationship, it has changed. It has made her an equal stakeholder in the purchase decisions. Earlier children were kept at an arm’s length, they couldn’t look straight into their father’s eyes, forget about participating in purchase decisions. Today’s kids have much more say – in fact decisions even on buying a TV or refrigerator or what car the father drives sometimes are completely driven by their influence. As a society, we are becoming individualistic but the nuclear family purchase decisions are more collective today.

The most difficult TG to reach

Teenagers are the most difficult to reach as their media habits are very complex – they are on social media, telephone, they watch television. Though they are available, it is complex to be able to map their lives. I would say you still get appointment viewing for the housewife or the man of the house or children, but to get hold of a teenager is the most difficult part.

It is very important to reach them though. They experiment, and are emotional about the brand they want to associate themselves with. They are ready to spend money and most marketers and product categories want them. If you get them at that age, they will stick to your brand…they become your brand loyalists.

What holds the family together?

Today’s society is connected through festivals and special occasions. It is not that people are disconnected and are not interested in meeting their families and friends. They are so caught up with their life – life has become so tough that they are finding festivals and special occasions as a time to connect. Whether it is somebody’s birthday, anniversary or festivals, these have become much more serious interacting points than ever before. I think special occasions are keeping people together at least in metros and urban society.

Selling indulgence

It is not easy to sell indulgence to Indians. An Indian consumer prefers not to call himself or herself indulgent, still there is some resistance to it. Barring a few categories, if you want to sell them pure indulgence they will be little wary of that. Unlike the western society where there is no guilt for buying for indulgence, here age-old guilt still exists. However, that is gradually changing. Luxury products have already started finding windows – earlier the cars would be just of functional use for family but today a person can go for a car which expresses his individuality.

Changing consumer expectations

Consumer is an emperor now, he is spoilt for choices and he/she is going to be more demanding and discerning. The consumer of today wants less faff and more of the real stuff. Your brand is going to be very closely scrutinized and your promises are going to be looked at very critically. The consumer will want answers from you, and would want you to be accountable for what you say in your advertising and what you promise through your products. Consumer is definitely going to discard brands which would not fulfil their promises, or are going to be fly-by-night, flimsy and shifty.

Also, a social/environmental consciousness about the brand and the company’s social and environmental standards/commitments is slowly coming in at least some consumer segments.

Marketers have to realize that they have to live up to the expectations of the consumer. Hyperbole has to be used very carefully in brand communication. Marketers better be honest to the consumer rather than promising the earth. As is said, ‘Good advertising kills a bad product faster’.

– (As told to Ritu Midha).

‘Kids are emerging as intelligent news consumers’

By Ritu Dhawan

Till sometime back, Hindi news used to be about a very 40+ kind of audience but with time it has steadily transformed into being a 25+ one with more youth getting engaged to the genre through infotainment. In the last few years, while kids have established themselves as biggest influencers in most categories of consumables, they seem to be emerging as intelligent news consumers as well.

In fact, these days there are times when they appear to be more informed than the adults. Even numbers (viewership) capture 10 per cent profiling for the 4-14 years age group. Yes, the involvement levels may not appear very high at the moment, but in certain events like Aarushi Murder Case, Mumbai Bomb blasts or even Elections, if you speak to kids these days, it is surprising to see the kind of information they flaunt with ease.

How can brands engage kids on digital media?

By Rajiv Dingra

According to a report by IAMAI, the internet population consists of 41 per cent of users that range from kids to teens in the age group of 8-21 years.

This, by any angle, is a significant base from the total active internet population which is now pegged at 169 million users. This means brands that target this age group now can look at digital to engage their audience.

The age group 8-13 is very different from 13-21.

One can clearly see how the 17-21 yearolds in India are present on Facebook, which seems to the primary platform for them to connect. Facebook ad targeting shows that there are 40 million users between the age of 13-21 on the platform.

This, as a trend, only indicates that to engage the mentioned age group may not require any additional efforts. Any new programming initiative to specifically tap the mentioned audience in the said cities has to be done basis an educated trade-off with the core news TG.

40 million is a huge number and definitely that makes Facebook a key platform for engaging the young kids and teens on this platform.

When one looks at Facebook, the 5 Cs that work when it comes to engagement are as follows:

1. Contests

2. Content (relevant to both brand and audience)

3. Campaigns (thematic campaigns that engage audience and gets them involved)

4. Crowd sourcing (young users are active and engage in sharing content as well)

5. Comics (bit strips is one such example )

Beyond Facebook, younger users are logging onto IM chat apps like Whatsapp. Engagement on platforms like Whatsapp and Wechat is not easy. One has to get a fixed number and also create multiple groups to engage audiences. One direct way may also be to do an alliance or sponsorship on the platform.

When it comes to younger audiences like 8-13 year olds and 13-21 year olds one can also look to engage them to mobile apps especially android and iOS. Lots of parents today buy low cost tablets for their kids to play on and games and engaging apps is definitely one way to reach this audience.

On the whole, there are some other new age platforms like Instagram and Vine that are growing globally among this TG group of kids, tweens and teens but in India these platforms are yet to catch on. Only time will tell if global platforms and trends start impacting the Indian market as well.

Engaging listeners intelligently

By Vineet Singh Hukmani

In a market where most players are more or less doing the same thing, differentiation becomes a game changer. It is with that thought process Radio One has identified a niche for itself, catering to a consumer profile in the 18+ segment. A set of consumers who are urbane, intelligent and educated listeners. About 13 million of them spread across seven metros.

These are people who consume English news, they’re active on social media, are regular tweeters etc. These are the people who look for intelligent content. We engage with them with rich content in the area of national and local happenings, sport, Hollywood, business, held together by great music.

And for each market, we have an understanding of our listeners and we engage with them accordingly, keeping the strategy of ‘intelligent content’ intact.

In Mumbai and Delhi, we cater to the English speaking global Mumbaikar and Delhite. In Bangalore and Pune, it is the cosmopolitan, Bollywood lover who we cater to. In Ahmedabad and Kolkata, we reach out to the refined retro-listener. In Chennai, it is the cool, English speaking Chennaiite.

 

Role of PR in establishing a brand for the youth of India

By Ameer Ismail

Much has been written about the youth of today. This is the age of technology that offers easy access to information and entertainment wherever you go. The youth are on the move, living fast paced lives and have many choices, living in a world that is without borders.

Marketers today are faced with a different set of challenges, which is how do they reach out to this ever evolving group of individuals and seek to capture their attention. As a society, we constantly change and evolve. The media landscape itself is a complex mix of channels that today span a wide array of mediums, print, electronic and digital. A lot of what we learn and imbibe is from our environment and the media.

I remember when MTV was launched in India, one saw the impact not only on music tastes but also on fashion. Today, primetime news and Arnab Goswami is the topic of conversation amongst teenagers as much as viewers of an older generation. One has to work to build relevance and work to youth in their current ecosystem. In this age, PR can play an important role in launching and establishing a brand. As a PR tool, one can use social media to start conversations and create a buzz around a brand prior to launch.

Two years back, we went international in Mumbai and Delhi with the thought that every player was doing the same thing (playing Bollywood music). Every station sounded the same, and it still does – but we are the clear differentiators.

We added premiumness to our station. We initiated intelligent conversations with our listeners and took on to social media in a big way. We have created many circles of intelligent audiences and all our efforts currently are towards amplifying these circles of intelligent audiences.

We do have a lot of listenership coming from teenagers and young professionals who follow international music. Our TG, particularly in Mumbai and Delhi are aware of the latest trends in international music. And we offer them the latest and the best in international music.

It’s not that we’re not doing Bollywood at all. We do Bollywood to engage our listeners, but we do it more smartly and intelligently than other players. Our RJs are different in the way they talk, what they talk and how they engage the listeners. They are more classy and far more relevant to an urban audience. Advertisers have recognised our core differentiation which is evident from the number of brands that have advertised with us in the past two years.

Social networks are core to the lifespace of this group. Once the brand is ready to enter the market, traditional PR methods take over, media relations is used effectively to build awareness around the brand and the core proposition. The process of planning of a flow of information and stories to the media can sustain this awareness over a period of time.

Brands such as Red Bull have appealed to this target segment by associating with the core proposition and connected with its consumer by creating the right kind of buzz. Sampling the brand at high profile events and venues automatically gave them the right association and visibility. Once the brand awareness was established, they moved on to platforms like racing, extreme sporting events etc. which have become synonymous with the brand and built a loyal customer base across the globe.

Youth today, are also interested in brands that have social impact. Worldwide, there is a trend to buy products that are socially responsible and environmentally friendly. If a brand connects, this can only deepen if there is a purpose stated that resonates. The Suzlon PALS campaign started out as an advertising campaign but got vast credibility through PR and finally over a million sign-ups online in less than a three-month window.

Looking beyond fiction

By Sunil Kumaran

Like women are a critical segment for the Hindi General Entertainment channels, it isn’t very different in the case of regional entertainment. Even today, most women in tier 2 and tier 3 cities are housewives and spend a lot of time watching TV in afternoon and evening bands.

The working class women in non-metros are progressive, ambitious and willing to shoulder the family’s financial as well as social responsibilities. Combine these two set of audiences, it makes for a healthy chunk for broadcasters to look into.

It is therefore seen in large numbers that content on entertainment channels have a skew towards women. But, it is not necessarily true that women watch only fiction. That is a myth. Apart from fiction, women audiences also consume a lot of reality shows, crime, sitcoms and blockbuster movies. So one has to cater to them with the right mix.

We engage with women in the Hindi speaking markets both on-air and off-air. Onair, by introducing different kinds of shows and interactive formats. Off-TV, we do heavily promote our channels on the back of the radio network strength.

Brands need to respect the discerning woman consumer

By Oona Dhabar

Condé Nast India magazines (Vogue, GQ, Condé Nast Traveller and Architectural Digest) talk to the affluent audience across the country. Within our portfolio, Vogue is more focused on the woman though all our other titles also have a healthy mix of women readers.

Using the Vogue reader as a representative of the “Modern Indian magazine reader” here is how we see her.

The woman who engages and enjoys magazines like ours is an affluent, highly educated, independent and well-travelled woman. She has a mind of her own and is seen to be the leader or key influencer among her circle of friends. She is always in the know of things related to fashion and beauty and is therefore seen to be the leader in her group of friends and asked for advice and help. She wants to dress well, be stylish and puts a premium on all aspects of looking good, she is interested in both Indian and International fashion, beauty and trends and sees it as a seamless blend in her life.

Then you have the social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Mobile apps etc. These are opportunities one must look at – but the most critical thing for a regional channel is to maintain a local flavor. If your audience can’t relate to the content you’re putting up, there isn’t much marketing and promotional activities can do to bolster viewership or the channel’s growth.

Big Magic – Bihar and Jharkhand are doing very well as the local connect is there-we are deeply rooted in the culture and the little nuances of the market.

Coming back to women, a lot of advertising is geared towards this TG. Having said that, we are seeing a lot of viewership coming from the 15-35 year-old TG, which includes both male and female audiences. So one cannot single out women and develop a content strategy around them.

She enjoys her independence in many ways financially as we see more and more young women enter the work force, she is responsible for her own decisions as we see young women make their own choices whether about marriage or career choices and she is definitely in the driver’s seat when it comes to her life. She is extremely discerning and not willing to accept the sub-standard in any aspect of her life and brands and marketers needs to respect that.

She is sociable and enjoys life ‘queensize’, invests in looking and feeling good and is influenced by both Bollywood as well as Hollywood. She is happy to invest in herself while young and continues to do so once married and with kids versus her mother or grandmother who would often give up all for the family.

She is savvy about technology and embraces it fully, consuming media not only in print but also on her laptop, tablet and phone. Thus the best way for magazines to engage with this audience is across multimedia platforms – through good and relevant content in the magazine, interacting with her on social media platforms, being available to her through apps on her mobile devices and tablets, creating fun and fashionable events for her to attend like Fashion’s Night Out and lastly, setting the overall brand context through above-the-line promotions and more traditional below the line initiatives.