MxMIndia

Tag: Spatial Access

  • He takes charge after Geetanjali Bhattacharji left Spatial as CEO to join Discovery Communications

    Spatial Access appoints Vineet Sodhani as CEO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Vineet Sodhani

    Spatial Access has appointed Vineet Sodhani as CEO. He takes charge after Geetanjali Bhattacharji left Spatial as CEO to join Discovery Communications.

     

    Said Meenakshi Menon, Co-Founder and Chairperson, Spatial Access on the appointment: “As media moves into a new era of complexity, Spatial Access, under its new leadership, will simplify it for its clients with custom solutions, many of which will be first time in the industry! With Vineet’s strong background in research and strategy, we will provide valuable insights, a lot of it in public domain, so that the industry gets more value.”

     

    Sodhani was on a sabbatical since April 2017 before which he worked with Times Television. He has also worked with Starcom Mediavest, Hansa Research. AC Nielsen and ORG-MARG. In 2012 he co-authored Guide to Indian Markets and is presently working on his second book.

     

    “I am excited to join Spatial Access to create an even more dynamic and vibrant organisation,” said  Sodhani, CEO, Spatial Access. “Spatial Access has that rare combination of a great customer and knowledge base. This strength will be used to drive value for every rupee spent on advertising, be it ATL, BTL or digital. We will raise some critical questions, for example, transparency, ROI and wastage. This may raise eyebrows as well as tempers, but if it results in improving benchmarks, we will feel we have delivered value to our clients.”

  • The number of ads depicting women in a positive light are increasing, but which ones are the best? Meenakshi Menon & AL Sharada discuss…

    So which ads are most gender-sensitive?

     

    The image of the women in Indian advertising, is changing. From wife/mother/homemaker earlier, she is now career person/influencer/decision maker as well, which is a more accurate reflection of society. But it is still only a handful of ads that have gone a step further to bend gender stereotypes and show men taking on the roles traditionally played by women in a household. Gender sensitivity in advertising is still some way off, but the new, empowered woman in today’s creatives, shows it isn’t that far down the road either. Meenakshi Menon, Founder, Spatial Access, and AL Sharada, Director of Population First speak about how today’s ads have come a long way and pick their favourite TVCs…

     

    Do you think advertising is more gender-sensitive today than ever before

    Meenakshi Menon: I think the biggest problem with advertising today is that it lives in cuckoo land. You see the people in ads that you would never come across in the street. And the way advertising portrays women has also historically been a problem. But I think recently, one has seen a positive change.

     

    AL Sharada: There has been a visible change in the last two or three years, perhaps as a reaction from younger women and men against gender stereotyping and gender violence. Also, more women today are influencing and being actively involved in purchase decisions. There is more participation of women in the workforce, so obviously advertising can no longer ignore them. I don’t think it is being done because of social or altruistic reasons but it [has become] an important issue for [marketers]. Particularly with digital media, they are able to explore these issues in a more elaborate way.

     

    Menon: Now that you mention digital media, I think a lot of advertisers today are concerned about the gender issue not because they are genuinely concerned, but because digital and social media will immediately pounce on somebody if they are seen to step out of line. So thank god for social media.

     

    And would you say that gender-sensitive ads can really change social beliefs and improve the lot of women in the country?

    Menon: It’s a popular myth that advertising reflects the reality of life. So if wives are being beaten up in the privacy of their homes, should they then also be beaten up in the public arena of television? This is such a stupid argument. But as practitioners of advertising, if we believe that because of our creative work people go out and buy one brand rather than another, then it is our responsibility to not just reflect society, but actually guide society as well.

     

    At Population First, you’ve been doing a lot of activities to educate advertising people. Do you think you have been successful?

    Sharada: It really had a lot of impact in the sense that the [feedback] we received from the senior-most leaders in the industry was amazing. And that makes me very optimistic and hopeful that we will be able to take this agenda forward. Particularly, if you look at the fact that an ad is instituted for gender sensitivity this year means a lot because the industry is recognising gender-sensitivity as an intrinsic value for good communication.

     

    So let’s talk about the ads that you find worthwhile, sensitive and ‘right’…

    Menon : I’ve been very impressed with Ariel’s Share the Load ad. Everytime I see it, I want all the men that I know, to see it too. Today it is becoming increasingly fashionable for men to cook, but it’s not fashionable to do laundry. Everywhere across the developed world, laundry is seen as a chore for the individual — men and women do their own laundry. What I really like about it is that it’s the father saying, with regret, that he did not help his wife, or [pay heed] when his daughter was playing house while his son was playing cricket.

     

    Sharada: I totally agree, because in all our campaigns, we see that if you don’t change the family, you can’t change society. The balance between the father and mother is [shown as] unequal and this gets perpetuated through generations. This ad actually talks about the whole gendering process that happens in the family, where the girl is given a tea set to play with, while a boy is given a cricket ball, and how that builds up all the associated roles and responsibilities, which are not equal.

     

    What other ads would you list among the Top 3 or 5 on gender sensitivity

    Sharada: I think the Titan Raga ad is good because it talks about the right of the woman to have a career, and also subtly and effectively shows the attitude of a man when he wonders how he can be without a job…

     

    Menon: Another ad I thought interesting was the Biba arranged marriages one, where a hackneyed, traditional situation – of a boy’s family coming to see the girl – is [turned on its head] when the boy says, ‘Give me 10 days, and I will learn to cook something for you’. I thought that was really amazing.

     

    Sharada: There are two or three ads that challenge the gender stereotypes of a man. One of them is the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, where they show the man spending time with his daughter, taking her for her performance, taking her out for a meal and then, because he has to get back to work, he takes her to his office. The work-life balance we see in this ad, is usually associated with women, but here a man is seen striking that work-home balance. Another ad I like, which is similar, is the Raymonds one where a man opts to stay home to look after the child while the woman goes to work. We really need to question the ‘macho’ image of men, and bring in new and more socially-acceptable images of them. I also like the Myntra ad where a woman decides to leave the job [because her boss has promoted someone else over her because she is pregnant]. It addresses a very important issue of gender discrimination in the workplace and it was significant that they had a woman boss in the ad…

     

    Any message for marketers and the creative fraternity on producing gender-sensitive advertising?

    Menon: One way to distinguish advertising that is gender sensitive from advertising that is gender offensive, is for [a male] creative director to ask himself if he would be okay with an ad that portrayed his wife or mother in a similar way. If he uses that as a filter, then you might find more people saying this is ok, and that is not. We need to educate people on how they can tell whether something is gender sensitive or not.

     

    Sharada: There are four or five points which you should keep in mind when you are creating an advertisement. You should give equal space and an equal role to both men and women. I find many youth brands doing that, having an equal number of young men and women in the ads. Second, the way they are addressed and spoken to in the ad, is also very important. Third is to keep this in mind: Are you promoting certain stereotypes because they are comfortable and accepted, and will not cause hassles, or are you reflecting the reality? If you keep these things in mind, I think you can avoid being gender insensitive in your communication.

     

    Menon: Frankly, I think that we have seen a lot of gender-sensitive advertising today because more and more marketers are concerned about consumer backlash. Because of social media, it is very easy to point out something that is offensive. And yes, this trend is not limited to the urban areas alone.

     

    A part of this discussion appeared in BrandStand on Zee Business on March 5 and 6. Catch it on YouTube at http://bit.ly/BStand05Mar16. This story first appeared in dna of brands on March 7, 2016.

     

  • Adworld veterans Lynn de Souza and Meenakshi Menon have come together to launch a new company called Social Access

    Lynn de Souza & Meenakshi Menon launch Social Access

    By A Correspondent

     

    Lynn de Souza
    Meenakshi Menon

    With decades of experience in the industry, Lynn de Souza and Meenakshi Menon have come together to launch a new company called Social Access.

     

    The company will use strategic communication and creative ideas to re-orient society towards the social sector by building channels among the four key players – NGOs, Corporates, government bodies and the society.

     

    The venture, applauded by counterparts from the industry and others, was announced by Ms de Souza on February 5 on her Facebook page. The movement as described by them is open to everyone and anyone can join it. “We’ll soon have an event to formerly announce the launch as well as to discuss the core idea and plan behind it,” said Ms de Souza.

     

    Lynn de Souza had quit Lintas Media Group as Chairman and CEO last year. Meenakshi Menon is the founder and chairperson of Spatial Access.

     

  • Spatial Access turned eight yesterday. Meenakshi Madhvani, Founder & Chairperson of Spatial Access, is ecstatic and philosophical at the same time.

    Happy 8th birthday, Spatial Access

    By A Correspondent

    Spatial Access turned eight yesterday. From a team of four eight years back, it is now 30 members  strong, and has more than 120 clients – most of them in India, but some in South Asia as well. Meenakshi Madhvani, Founder & Chairperson of Spatial Access, is ecstatic and philosophical at the same time, “It is not yet time to retire.  I still have many more years to go, but it is now time to do things slightly differently. It is the eighth birthday of Spatial Access, and time for reinvention.”

    The company is not only reinventing the services it offers but also the identity of the company. Says Ms Madhvani, “The new logo reflects who we are and what we stand for. Spatial Access is in business of audit, advisory and analytics. Our logo is fluid and mobile – growing as we grow .The small red part in the logo indicates seed – which is now growing. In spite of the growth our DNA of accountability remains intact.”

    Ms Madhvani believes that optimum value from media and marketing spends can be obtained by ‘nurturing the concept of accountability and transparency by all key constituents.’

    Talking of Spatial Access’s presence in overseas markets, Ms Madhvani states, “We are creating the first Indian translational in communication and audit space. We already have operations in Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. We are doing sophisticated and highly complicated work, and have knowledge and proprietary technology. We can benefit global advertisers in the similar fashion as we are benefitting Indian advertisers. For the multinationals we can provide a seamless product experience.”  She adds, “Over the last three years, our Singapore Spatial Access has worked with the objective of finding out if there is any wastage in media and marketing spends– and if there is, can it be reduced and how?”

    Operations at Spatial Access have been divided in three SBUs –

    SA1 – Media and analytics business headed by  Nikhil Rangnekar

    SA 2 – Marketing Services headed by Geetanjali Bhattacharji

    SA 3 – Media & International (the media audit @ Spatial Access) headed by Harsha Joshi

    Talking about SA 1,Media and Analytics, Mr Rangnekar said, “It is important to understand how much of media money is being wasted and what can I do to minimise that wastage.”

    As per him wastage in media can be due to multiple reasons. Among them:

    1. Faulty objective setting – Am I buying more GRPs, secondage than needed to achieve my reach/frequency objectives?
    2. Lack of rigour in the plan: is the agency optimising my plans to give me the desired reach and frequency in the lowest possible GRPs/investments?
    3. Suboptimal channel mix based on favouritism – identify redundant media vehicles and make recommendations.

    Mr Rangnekar also stresses that 360-degree media should be used based on need, and not because of the feel-good factor. He believes that media mix should never be predecided or based on favouritism.

    Audit is needed not only in strategy and planning, but also in the implementations: one needs to understand whether implementation is it in line with strategy? Are there any gaps? He says, “We go back to the client with advise on how to improve implementation. Agencies need to look at us as their partners and not enemies.”

    He believes that things are changing, and marketers are keener to experiment now than they were earlier. Marketers need to question ‘How should I change my mix to improve my RoI.’ Things are definitely changing with econometric modelling.”

    Reflecting on the increasing need for Marketing services audits  (SA2) Ms Bhattacharji says, “In an advertising lacking in metrics for ‘nonmedia’ investments, marketing services audits bring measurability to the effectiveness of print and film production, PR, events and activation…The production of television commercials, marketing collateral and retail signage occupy a large share if marketing investments. However, in absence of industry-metrics, accountability is often compromised.”

    As per her BTL is now 35 to 40% of investment – and hence the need for measurement is increasingly being felt.

    She stresses that need is not to just create accountability but also appropriate measurement matrix. She expresses, “Spatial Access with its domain expertise can be the bridge to ensure that marketers get what they ask for. As validation process for quality is not in place with quite a few marketing companies – marketing audit becomes all the more important.”

    She stresses that measurement should not be based only on cost, but also resource requirement.

    Making a special mention of PR, Ms Bhattacharji states, “PR can deliver, and be controlled in the similar fashion as advertising.  Size of the release and space value does no matter. Spatial access with its revolutionary tools Prowls and PRIZARD can measure effectiveness of PR.” She adds that brand imagery needs to come across via brand vocabulary.

    Ms Harsha joshi concludes by expressing the need for media audit to measure efficiency and accountability (SA3). She states, “Media spends are growing at about 14% annually. Efficiency and accountability are key for CMOs, CFOs and CPOs across categories.”

    She points a number of reasons for media audit among them:

    1. The standalone price comparison: An advertiser should avoid being the most expensive advertiser in its category by getting its media buying performance audited
    2. Cost benchmarking through comparison to a pool of comparable data, comparison to year on year efficiencies or comparison to actual market data

    Performance of a media plan, as per her, should be based on Spends filter, Deal construct filter and Target audience filter

    Says Ms Joshi, “Though the need for media audit is being felt by 40% of marketers in India as of 2010, global average is 80 percent, and more Indian marketers need to realise the value of media audit.”

    Spatial Access is ready with a new identity, energy and reengineering – objective, as Ms Madhvani states is, “to cover new areas and address old concerns”.