MxMIndia

Tag: Sam Balsara

  • After having lost the Agency of the Year title last year, the now 9-time winner wins big. Madison was second in the rankings

    It’s Mindshare on the Top again.

    A jubilant Mindshare team. Picture by Abhinav Kocharekar, Courtesy DNA

     

     

    When Ravi Rao, Leader, Mindshare South Asia spoke to MxMIndia on the eve of his departure to Dubai as Chief Client Officer – MENA in April, we asked him if he considered the agency’s loss at the Emvies last year, as a low during his stint. He said it was just a “momentary despair in the longest winning streak of Mindshare; we will continue to haunt others, year after year”. At the Emvies 2015 on Friday, Mindshare grabbed the title of Agency of the Year with five Gold, eight Silver and 17 Bronze metals. The now nine-time winner had its entire team in attendance, including COO Mindshare Asia Pacific Gowthaman Ragothaman and Prasanth (‘PK’) Kumar, who took over from Rao in March this year and had earlier said he was confident of winning the Agency of the Year crown this time. “There’s been lots of great work in the last year that Mindshare has done across clients, and a lot of effort into bringing in diversified and other business categories,” he had said. Friday’s win, however, left him cheering out loud for his team. “The voice is gone, but the action is full on,”  he said. (See Emvies points tally table here)

     

    Even though Maxus lost its last year’s glory to older sibling Mindshare, MD, Kartik Sharma was unfazed. “Whenever we’ve won or lost, our focus has always been our clients,” he said. “We’re very happy with the quality of work we’ve done. We’ve got quite a lot of clients in last two or three years and we continue to do some interesting work with them. He added: “Our focus has been more digital and analytics for the last couple of years. And today, if you saw the kind of awards that we’ve won, they had a layer of either of the two. But there’s always scope for improvement, and we’ll work on that.” Maxus was third in the pecking order of agencies, while Lodestar UM was at No. 4.

     

    Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World, whose agency was the first runner-up for the title of Agency of the Year, also said he was happy with his agency’s performance which was their best so far at the Emvies. Madison took home six Gold, four Silver and nine Bronze metals.

     

    Meanwhile, Tata Sky was conferred with the Client of the Year award, with Procter & Gamble India the first runners-up and Marico, a close third.

     

    Emvies 2015 launched a new category too, Media Partner of the Year, which was conferred on partners across various media. While the award for TV was won by Pogo, The Times of India walked away with the award in the print category. In the cinema category, it was won by Rohit Shetty’s Film Production house, in radio it was Big FM, while Torrent Sites and Google Ecosystem received the award in the digital segment.

     

    This year’s edition was the 15th of the Emvies. And Punitha Arumugam, Chairperson of the Emvies’ Committee and a senior media specialist herself, said it was the best she had seen so far. “The highlight this year was the fact that we started the process of online entries,” she said. “Secondly, we started including media owners in the Emvies because earlier we had only media agencies; then moved to media agencies plus client, and now from client to media owners. It’s been very exciting for us.” Since she’s not a part of a media agency any more, we asked Arumugam to trend-spot and tell us what she thinks of the way the media business is going, given the Emvies showing this year. “What we see is that digital probably gets the highest number of entries, and also the highest growth in terms of the number of entries year-to-year,” she said. “You’re seeing a genuine shift to digital. Even in offline media entries, for example, you get to see a lot more digital as a part of the whole product.”

     

    Another change that has taken place over the years, according to her, is in the field of data analytics and research, as evidenced from the number of entries going up and the amount of focus that agencies are putting on this.

     

    Arumugam was bullish about the spends on digital increasing with time since all agencies are now incorporating digital in various ways and moving towards it, even if at a slow pace. “While clients may be spending 10-15 per cent [of their budget] on digital, when you walk into any office, 80 per cent of the conversation is about online. Hopefully, the budgets will follow the conversations very soon,” she said, as celebratory cheers, accompanied by the beating of dholaks, took over the venue to get the party going.

     

    A part of this report first appeared in dna of brands

     

  • Madison may have been runner-up at the Emvies 2015, but Chairman Sam Balsara was visibly content with his agency network's performance

    We’ve finally understood the awards code: Sam Balsara

    So near, but yet so far?

    On the contrary, it’s more like going from nowhere to somewhere. I’m personally delighted that we made it to the runners-up Emvie of The Year because the way it started, it was a little scary for us. It’s been a fantastic season for us on the whole. I think Madison has finally understood the awards code. We always knew we were very good at our work, but somewhere in our awards entries, something was lacking.

     

    You think sending entries from various Madison arms as one unit may have helped?

    In a way you could say that. We persuaded a lot of our people to give up on their tags. But I think our performance tonight has been better than it has ever been in the past. We’ve always been in the Top Three. But this time in the Emvies, we were at Number Two for the first time.

     

    What does an award like this mean for an agency which is well-known for its work?

    It doesn’t mean too much but also means a lot because it energises us and gladdens our heart to see that we’re being recognised. Unlike some other agencies, Madison won these awards for a large number of clients. What delights me is that we’re producing outstanding work, not for one or two clients, but we won today for Mondelez, Asian Paints, Marico and Godrej. For Cadbury, we had eight in the shortlist, and converted all eight. For Marico, we had 11 in the shortlist and converted eight. So our track record tonight has been rather good.

     

    Now the challenge is to maintain this pace…

    Yes, that indeed is a challenge but I think we’re up to it. We’re doing lots of things at Madison. In fact, as we speak, we’ve launched a massive programme called Madison Next. We flagged off one of the first big initiatives of Madison Next, which is a four-day programme on digital. There are about 75 people going through a four-day programme on adopting digital as a way of life.

     

  • The account will be handled out of the agency's Delhi office

    Madison Media wins OYO Rooms mandate

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madison Media Plus, a part of Madison Media Group has just announced the win of OYO Rooms. The account was won in a multi-agency pitch. The account will be handled out of the agency’s Delhi office.

     

    OYO Rooms is India’s largest branded network of hotels founded by young entrepreneur, 21-year-old Ritesh Agarwal. OYO Rooms currently operates in more than 100 Indian cities including Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Goa, Chennai, Kolkata and others. OYO is present in major metros, regional hubs, leisure destinations and pilgrimage towns. According to a research carried out by CB Insights for The New York Times, OYO Rooms is among the companies that may be the next start-up unicorns.The company is backed by investors like the Softbank Group, Lightspeed India, Sequoia Capital and Greenoaks Capital.

     

    Says Abhinav Sinha, Chief Operating Officer, OYO Rooms, on selecting Madison Media, “Madison is the biggest name in marketing communications and we are very proud to be associated with them. I am sure that under the able leadership of Mr. Sam Balsara, the Madison team will take OYO to new heights and we will soon be a household name. At OYO, we believe that everybody deserves an amazing experience when staying out of home, and, it is great that Madison will be taking OYO’s message to the people.”

     

    Sam Balsara

    Sam Balsara, Chairman & Managing Director, Madison World, “I am delighted that we have won this young but extremely promising business and are looking forward to help OYO Rooms become a household name in the country. It is really exciting to see such a young entrepreneur making a mark so early in life.”

     

  • Pitch-Madison Media Advertising Outlook revises its 2015 forecast upwards

    Adspend on TV grows sharply by 21%: Pitch Madison revised forecast

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Pitch-Madison Media Advertising Outlook has revised its forecast for 2015 upwards. Against the original forecast of 9.6% growth, projected in February 2015, the study has now revised its forecast upwards to 13.8% for the total advertising market. This upward revision is because of a steep increase in spends on TV during January-June 2015 period of  20.6%, a communiqué notes. This growth rate is likely to extend to the second half of the year too, resulting in a sharp growth in the TV advertising market of as high as 21%.  Such a high growth rate is unprecedented and has not been achieved in the last 5 years.

     

    Madison Media has not revised its forecast for Print, Radio, Cinema, Outdoor or Digital, which were earlier projected to grow as per table alongside, since it does not anticipate any major change in the growth rate projected, although actual growth rates for these media too may be marginally higher than the originally projected growth rates.

     

    Pitch Madison Media Advertising Outlook – 2015 Revised
     

    Original Growth Forecast 2015

    Revised Growth Forecast 2015 
    Television

    10%

    21%
    Print

    5%

    5%
    Radio

    6%

    6%
    Cinema

    9%

    9%
    Outdoor

    6%

    6%
    Digital

    29%

    29%
    Total

    9.6%

    13.8%
    Total Market Value

    Rs. 40,658 crore

    Rs. 42,234 crore

     

    The increase in the  advertising market from earlier projected 9.6% to 13.8% for full year and for TV advertising from earlier 10% to 21% for the full year, will result in the total market reaching Rs. 42,234 crore in 2015.

     

    Says Sam Balsara, Chairman Madison World, “If BJP promised Achhe din to all Indians, they have certainly arrived for the Indian Television Industry. A 21% growth coming on the back of a 14% growth in 2014 and without the Elections is quite unprecedented and shows the optimistic outlook of industry in Indian markets and the aggressive stance they are willing to take to protect and grow their market share. The growth is also significant in the light of growing conversations around Digital.”

     

    Highlights of advertising spending on TV in the period January-June 2015:

    TV spends have increased by 21% in H1’15 with total revenue of  Rs. 8200 crore as against Rs. 6800  crore in H1’14.

    a. The main categories who have fuelled the overall growth in H1’15 are E-commerce (+70%), Automobiles (+55%) and FMCG (13%). HH Durables and BFSI categories also increased their ad spends by more than 45%. FMCG has been largest contributor in absolute terms contributing as much as Rs. 4,200 crore and accounts for 51% of the total TV spend. E-Commerce players grew by 70% and now account for 6% of the market.

    b. Total FCT volume across all genres/channels has increased by 14%. FCT of SD channels increased by 11% and HD channels by 224%.

    c. Overall FCT of SD feed on Hindi Mass Genres (GEC + Movies) has increased by 8% comparing like to like channels.

    d. Many channels have telecast more than 12 mins/hr of FCT across all leading channels resulting in increase in ad revenue.

    e. New channel launches in Hindi Mass Genres (Sony Max2, Epic & TV, Sony Pal, Zindagi) from existing bouquets and spends on HD channels also resulted in a hike in advertising revenues.

    f. ICC Cricket world Cup, IPL, Delhi State Elections also contributed to the overall growth in H1’15.

    g. Finally, in H1’15 TV is the largest contributor to the total advertising pie with a share of 40% as compared to 38% in 2014.

     

  • Post their individual presentations there will be a panel discussion with the four luminaries to be moderated by Madison’s Sam Balsara

    Sam Balsara to moderate panel at Media Review

    By A Correspondent

     

    The AdAsia Road Show and Media Review will be held on Tuesday, 21st July, 2015 at 6 pm at the Imperial Hall, 8th Floor, Palladium Hotel, Lower Parel, Mumbai.

     

    The Advertising Club has lined up four industry stalwarts Shashi Sinha, Meenakshi Menon, PunithaArumugam& Pradeep Dwivedi to present the Media Review.  Each speaker will present for 20 minutes. The title of the talk is “Is Anyone Listening?:  How Did Ad and Media Industry Combat The Challenge Of Continuous Partial Attention of Audiences.”

     

    Post their individual presentations there will be a panel discussion with the four luminaries to be moderated by Madison’s Sam Balsara.

     

    Besides the Media Review, a delegation from Taipei is flown in to present the AdAsia Roadshow and the Advertising Club will also handover the travel package, they have lined up with “Kesari” as Travel Partner for the convention and an exciting destination as an Add-on-trip.

     

  • Earlier, the media buying duties for the brand were with Havas Media

    Madison Media wins Media AOR of Shaadi.com

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madison Media Sigma has won the media mandate of Shaadi.com, one of the largest matchmaking portals in India. Madison Media Sigma was chosen after a multi-agency pitch. The account will be handled out of the agency’s Mumbai office and the estimated size of the account is Rs. 50 crores. Earlier, the media buying duties for the brand were with Havas Media.

     

    Shaadi.com, one of India’s best known brands and the world’s largest matchmaking service was founded with a simple objective – to help people find happiness. The company pioneered online matchmaking in 1996 and continues to lead this exciting category for more than a decade. By redefining the way Indian brides and grooms meet for marriage, Shaadi.com has created a world-renowned service that has touched over 30 million people.

     

    Says Aditya Save, Chief Marketing Officer, Shaadi.com on selecting Madison Media, “We believe that great marketing work requires able agency partnerships & hence are delighted to have Madison Media Sigma as our media partners. We are looking forward to working with them to do some innovative & disruptive media work.”

     

    Sam Balsara

    Sam Balsara, Chairman & Managing Director, Madison World said, “I am delighted that Shaadi.com has found Madison Media to be worthy of handling their unique business. We are thrilled to be associated with Shaadi.com. Matchmaking in itself is challenging and partnering with World’s No 1 Matchmaking Service is a big responsibility. With our strong experience of clutter-breaking, engaging communication campaigns across industries, we are confident of taking the brand to greater heights.”

     

    Madison Media Group has been on an account winning spree, having won a host of new businesses in 2015 including Snapdeal, Viber, Lenskart.com, Zivame.com, Metro Cash & Carry, Gaana.com, Cricbuzz.com, Amul Hosiery, DHFL and Bandhan Bank, amongst others.

     

  • Madison Media will now be the Media Agency of Snapdeal effective July 1, 2015 but work on the account will start almost immediately, informs a communique

    Madison Media snaps up Snapdeal wef July 1

    By A Correspondent [updated]

     

    Madison Media Plus, a part of Madison Media Group, has just announced the win of Snapdeal. The account – run by OMD – was won after a multi agency pitch. The account will be handled out of the agency’s Delhi office. Madison Media will now be the Media Agency of Snapdeal effective July 1, 2015 but work on the account will start almost immediately, informs a communiqué.

     

    Said Srinivas Murthy, Senior Vice President – Marketing, Snapdeal.com on selecting Madison Media, “We are very happy to have Madison partner with us on media going forward. They bring tremendous experience across categories, with learnings across multiple growth industries that can be leveraged for us. Madison is known for the high quality of media professionals and we look forward to them helping us drive our business to new heights.”

     

    Sam Balsara

    Added Sam Balsara, Chairman & Managing Director, Madison World, “I am delighted that Snapdeal after an exhaustive competitive review has found Madison Media to be worthy of handling this large and demanding account. Today Madison Media offers an unparalleled depth of leadership, with unmatched experience and expertise and this will be further strengthened with the joining of VikramSakhuja in a few months as Group CEO of Madison Media and OOH.”

     

    Madison Media Group has won a host of new businesses in 2015including Viber, Lenskart.com, Zivame.com, Metro Cash & Carry, Gaana.com, Cricbuzz.com, Amul Hosiery, DHFL, Bandhan Bank, amongst others. The gross billing of Madison Media Group is about Rs 3750 crore, adds the communiqué.

    As reported earlier, the digital mandate for Snapdeal has been bagged by GroupM arm Mindshare.

     

  • The Madison World Chairman and Managing Director talks on bringing Vikram Sakhuja on board, on no plans to retire & the oft-asked question on selling out

    No stake sale on cards: Sam Balsara

     

    Hours after announcing the news of Vikram Sakhuja coming on board as an equity partner and group CEO, Madison World Chairman and Managing Director Sam Balsara spoke on the announcement, his expectations from Sakhuja and rumours on stake sale in an interview with Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    This is by far the biggest news of the year in the world of media.  Formidable rivals and now bedfellows, in a sense.  So clearly there is no permanent rivalry, in business?

    Yes, that’s true. In today’s complex and uncertain world, one learns to collaborate and compete at the same time. Look at our relationship with WPP. We collaborate with them in Mediacom with our 51:49 partnership and our Madison Media competes  with their Group M at the same time. Telecom companies compete fiercely in the market place for data and voice but collaborate on Towers.

     

    We have of course seen you together several times, you would jointly host a media quiz some years back, so there’s clearly a fairly good relationship that both of you have had over the years?

    Yes, I know Vikram very closely for the last over 20 years, first as a client in P&G and Coke, then as a media partner in Star and finally as a worthy competitor in Group M. I have the highest respect for him as a professional. WPP recognised his exceptional talent and performance by choosing him to be elevated straight from Country Head to Global Head.

     

    I hope your readers appreciate that in my own small humble way I have done my bit to arrest Brain Drain. India has enough potential and can offer rich playing field to top notch Indian professionals. They need not seek greener pastures abroad. I first got Gautam Kiyawat  back from Singapore; now comes Vikram, back from NewYork!

     

    Apart from him captaining the ship, what exactly does Madison hope to achieve with Vikram Sakhuja on board? Any specific targets.

    You will be surprised , at Madison we are not so focussed on financial targets. Yes we work with budgets, but we understand that budgets are after all budgets. It allows our people to operate in a non-pressured environment which is essential in our creative communication field. Remember, we are not a public limited company and do not have to report quarterly profits. But over a long period of time, I can’t say I am unhappy with Madison’s financial performance. It could be much better. But it’s fine.

     

    With someone of Mr Sakhuja’s stature on board, do we see you spending lesser time on the media agency business and concentrate more on others?

    I don’t play golf, so I can’t retire! I hope to stay actively involved and useful to the Company and my clients, without getting into Vikram’s hair!

     

    This is a question you are asked several times over. But we keep hearing of talks between you and international giants for a possible stake sale. Are discussions still on or with this development, all of that will be on hold?

    NO. It is not on the cards. The media and our competition needs something to talk about, so they pick on us. We are fine with that. Any news is good news. We have generally proved most speculative reports to be untrue.

     

    A message to competition on clients on the all-new Madison (with Vikram Sakhuja as Group CEO and Equity Partner)?

    There’s enough opportunity for every competitor to survive and thrive. Let’s all collectively do a good job. That will make the pie grow.

     

    First appeared in dna of brands dated April 22, 2015

     

  • Yes! Vikram Sakhuja is joining Sam Balsara to take charge of the media agency empire plus the out-of-home business

    Now, Group CEO & Equity Partner, Madison Media

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s a question which everyone in the industry has been asking him and each other since October 2014 when the name of a new Global CEO of Maxus was announced.

     

    When we asked him then with the lyrics of a classic Bollywood song: Yeh kya hua, kaise hua, kyun huaaa, he replied in an equally filmi style: Main toh chala jidhar challe rasta – only in this case I have an idea of what the manzil is.

     

    The ‘manzil’ clearly is the global headquarters of Madison World in North Mumbai.

     

    We’re referring to the man you see in the picture: Vikram Sakhuja, inarguably one of the most powerful and well-known media agency professionals in the country today.

     

    He joins Madison Media as an equity partner. A short statement we received from the office Madison World Chairman and Managing Director Sam Balsara announced:  “Madison World is delighted to announce that Vikram Sakhuja is set to join the Madison Media Group including OOH as Partner and Group CEO. Vikram will be responsible for the Media and OOH business of Madison World and will work closely with Sam Balsara.”

     

    This has indeed been a coup of sorts. As a senior industryperson who has known both Balsara and Sakhuja from close quarters said: “Sam is one of the smartest and shrewdest mediaperson in the country. And he has proven that yet again by getting Vikram on board.”

     

    The move also silences naysayers that Sam Balsara would do well to sell his stake in Madison World to a worthy international conglomerate. Perhaps he still will, the senior industryperson we spoke to earlier told us. “This may well be a way of saying that, yes, we are privately held company, but are professionally run.”

     

    An alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta, Mr Sakhuja has over 28 years of experience across the media and marketing landscape.  He has worked with Proctor & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Star India and of course GroupM where he headed South Asia operations as CEO and later Global CEO of Maxus.

     

    Said Mr Balsara in a statement: “I am delighted to have Vikram come on board and partner us in  Madison. I know Vikram as a true blue professional, over the last 20 years, first as a client, then a media partner and finally as a formidable competitor.  I am confident that he will be able to contribute significantly to our clients’ business growth and success, by providing the right strategic direction, given his vast and rich experience”.

     

    Added Mr Sakhuja in the same statement:  “I am truly excited at the prospect of returning home to India and in an entrepreneurial capacity. It is also a privilege to now partner a person who initiated me into media in my Client days. Media has never been more exciting, and I look forward to further strengthening an already iconic Agency brand.”

     

    Gautam Kiyawat

    Meanwhile, Gautam Kiyawat, current Madison Media Group CEO has decided to relocate to Singapore for personal reasons.  Balsara said the following on his movement: “I would like to place on record Gautam’s substantial contribution to Madison Media in the three years that he has been with us, especially in the area of growing our people and working as a team. I thank Gautam for his contribution  and wish him all the best in his future endeavours”.

     

    Madison Media Group is among the Top 3 media agency groups in the country handling media planning and buying for clients including Godrej, Mondelez, ITC, Marico, McDonald’s, Raymond, Piramal Healthcare, TVS, Levis, Domino’s, BhartiAxa, Max Life Insurance, Asian Paints, Pidilite, Tata Salt, Acer, Lafarge Cement, Crompton Greaves, Times Television Network, Indian Oil, Enamor Lingerie, Gowardhan Dairy, Viber, Lenskart, Metro Cash and Carry, Café Coffee Day and many others.  The gross billing of Madison Media is about Rs 3000 crore.

     

    It’ll be interesting to see how Sakhuja as head of Madison Media takes on former employer GroupM and friend Shash Sinha IPG Mediabrands, both of who are formidable competitors.  As followers of the space, we couldn’t have asked for any better.

     

  • As India's economic growth firms up, Corporate India is demanding sharper insights, strategic partnerships and world-class execution

    Madison PR adds 45 new wins in 2014-15

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madison Public Relations has announced that 2014-15 has been yet another year of high growth for the agency. The agency has added 45 new marquee brands to its already formidable client roster.  The agency attributes its success to its innovative campaigns, digital PR, measurable business results and a strong work-life culture, where employees are encouraged to have fun at work, enabling high creativity and productivity.

     

    The agency with its focus on client delight, has established strong capability in the FMCG, Pharma, Hospitality, Luxury and Lifestyle segments and has been known for its long standing relationships with iconic brands and industry leaders such as Procter & Gamble, Britannia, Cafe Coffee Day, Godrej & Boyce, Levis, PUMA, GSK, Go Air, Apollo Health, HBO, Zee News and Lifestyle for many years.

     

    Sam Balsara
    Paresh Chaudhry

    Sam Balsara, Chairman & Managing Director, Madison World, said, “Increasingly more and more clients are wanting to augment their advertising spends through intelligent use of what the Public Relations discipline has to offer and I am glad that Madison PR has a cutting edge offering in this discipline which has registered substantial growth for the 3rd consecutive year.”

     

    Commenting on this year’s performance CEO, Paresh Chaudhry said, “As India’s economic growth firms up, Corporate India is demanding sharper insights, strategic partnerships and world-class execution. Increase in Digital innovation and engaging influencer- communication has led us to win National and International awards. I am extremely proud of my team’s deep commitment and passion to delight our clients. The year gone by has been a milestone in the journey of Madison PR with tremendous efforts being made in channelizing communications towards the digital route and the growth is a testament to Madison PR’s ability to address today’s dynamic client needs”.

     

  • As a bank, it will have pan-India operations and meet the credit needs of different types of customers even as offering various savings products

    Madison wins media mandate of Bandhan Bank

    By A Correspondent

     

    Madison Media has won the mandate for the proposed Bandhan Bank Ltd in Kolkata.

     

    Bandhan Financial Services Ltd, a microfinance entity, was set up in 2001 to address the dual objective of poverty alleviation and women empowerment. Bandhan has been the talk of the banking and financing community having got an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to start banking operations. Currently, it operates in 22 Indian states through more than 2000 branches, run by 14,000 employees. It has a borrower base of 6.5 million. As a bank, it will have pan-India operations and meet the credit needs of different types of customers even as offering various savings products.

     

    Commenting on this development, C S Ghosh, Chairman and Managing Director, Bandhan said, “As we embark on this new journey, we need to reach out to new consumer across Indian states and we are confident that Madison will help us achieve our objective.”

     

    Sam Balsara

    Sam Balsara, CMD, Madison World said, “Bandhan’s accomplishments are truly remarkable and we are delighted to partner them in this exciting new phase in their life which will make them play an even more meaningful role in the Indian financial sector, changing lives of many millions.”

     

  • Expectedly, Star India has hiked World Cup 2015 ad rates after India's performance

    Star twinkles as India shines

     

    By Ravi Teja Sharma & Ratna Bhushan

     

    Star India, official broadcaster of the ongoing cricket World Cup, has lost no time in hiking ad rates for the tournament even further, riding on the two big wins India recorded and all-time high television viewership of the India-Pakistan match. Rates have shot up by almost 25-30% over the past two days, and are in the range of Rs 18 lakh to Rs 20 lakh for a 10-second ad spot, up from close to Rs 12 lakh, said two media buyers requesting anonymity.

     

    Sam Balsara, chairman and managing director at media buying group Madison World said it was usual for broadcasters to up rates on highly watched shows. “India’s performance has been unexpectedly good so far. So its natural to hike rates for any broadcaster,” he said. Media planners say rates may peak that of the last World Cup which India won.

     

    Anita Nayyar

    “The India show gives India more muscle to stick to its rates. Even if advertisers think the rates are too steep, they don’t have a choice,” said a marketing head of a top foods firm. “When the World Cup started, there was scepticism. In the last two matches India has done phenomenally well giving a lot of philip to the tournament. With viewership increasing, Star is increasing rates,” said Anita Nayyar, CEO of Havas Media, India and South Asia. She said there are clients who are waiting for quarters, semi-finals and finals to advertise as they know that people will watch these games irrespective of the Indian cricket team’s presence in the stages.

     

    Media buying firms say now even unconventional advertisers are looking to buy one-off spots, even at a premium, with India almost certain to reach the final league stages. Without specifying the rates, a Star India spokesperson said: “The pricing for the remaining matches is dynamic and depends on the inventory left. Most brands are interested in buying spots for a group of matches, therefore single game spots are sold at a premium.”

     

    Star claims it has over 100 advertisers on the tournament. “The final stage matches will definitely get Star a higher rate. With India doing well, they will get their desired rates for these few matches,” says Vinit Karnik, national director, sports and live events, at GroupM ESP.

     

    The India-Pakistan World Cup thriller on February 15 was watched by 288 million people in India – the most watched event in the country since the last World Cup final, according to data provided by World Cup Star India. In comparison, on the opening day of the World Cup, the Australia-England match was viewed by over 100 million people. The match, which India won convincingly by 76 runs, got a rating of 14.8 TVR among male viewers.

     

    With Star launching commentary on its regional channels, about 76% of the total viewership during the match came from regional and Hindi while the rest came from English, said Star. The India-Pakistan match had also created history on the digital front with Star India’s digital platforms garnering over 25 million views, the highest in the world for a single game.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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