Tag: The Anchor

By Prashant Panday, CEO and Executive Director, ENIL (Radio Mirchi)

 

There is just one simple thing the government must do to release the animal spirits of the radio medium. Get out of the deep freeze!

 

The deep freeze is apparent. The Phase-3 policy of radio reforms was announced in July 2011. It’s already been 14 months and there is not even a mention of when the auctions will take place. In contrast, the Phase-2 auctions were conducted within six months of the policy announcement in 2006.

 

There have been no auctions since Jan 2006. In the last seven years, every other medium has grown dramatically, but radio is stuck in the past. On the one hand we have a strong and vibrant economy (yes yes….even now!) and on the other hand, our major metros offer only 4-9 private FM stations. How is this incongruity justifiable? Why should people of Mumbai and Delhi have to look towards Colombo and Manila to understand how powerful and entertaining radio can be?

 

There is one other crucial thing the government must do before Phase-3 auctions to change the face of radio. It must accept the recommendations of TRAI and reduce the “separation” between two adjoining FM channels from the present 800 Khz to 400 Khz. This one single initiative will help double the number of channels in every city. With so many channels available and with broadcasters being allowed to operate multiple channels, there is bound to be an increase in programming variety. I cannot understand why the great cities of Mumbai and Delhi cannot have dedicated retro channels, or regional language ones or news and talk ones or sports ones…..or why they cannot segment the contemporary music they play now into narrower and more homogeneous genres? With more programming variety, listeners will be a happy lot. Maybe they will even vote the government back to power! The government itself will avoid another allegation of a scam because it will increase its own license fees by an estimated Rs 1500 crores or so by doing so. In short, there is no argument against accepting TRAI’s recommendations.

 

When radio is truly reformed as explained above, its importance will grow. Today, FM accounts for just 4.5% of the advertising spend in the country. That number could rise to 7-8% in a few years time. With growing distances and car populations, radio is already the primary medium for millions of people. I know a lot of people who spend more time listening to radio than watching TV. Now….if more channels could be made available…..radio could also become as big as TV!

By Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors

 

Rather than big idea, I would want to term them as big challenges. The satellite industry has been around for two decades now and I am happy to have been a part of this journey for so long. But I have also been able to witness a lot of developments in the industry during these years. From a few channels earlier, we now have over 500+ channels. In the process, a lot of growth has happened by default than by design. It has been a case of trial-and-error as there was no history to lean back on. Almost everybody has tried new things which have mushroomed and grown over the years. The ride has been both good and bad. Good because the industry has grown real fast, thereby providing employment to thousands of people etc.

 

On the other hand, we were also the most unregulated industry and that led to fast growth. This wouldn’t have been the case if we had been regulated because entrepreneurship would have been killed. Also, it has left a lot of broadcasters bleeding. Today, only a few players are making money while the rest are incurring losses. Hopefully, digitization will change all that as it is a step in the right direction.

 

But there is no magic wand; it will happen over a course of time. So the real challenges for the broadcasting industry are: firstly, how do you reinvent yourself? For example, there is a herd mentality in programming. How you break that monopoly is a challenge. On the programming front, I foresee two big challenges. One is spiralling cost because the cost of artistes is going up and very few people are investing in new talent. On the movie acquisition front, the costs have multiplied multi-fold. So somewhere, the industry needs to come together in terms of finding synergies in certain areas where you can control costs. For example, movie acquisitions. Today, all top four GECs are party to driving the prices up. So we need to work together to find a solution that benefits all.

 

As for advertising sales, while we keep talking that the universe has grown 4-5 times in the last few years the yield hasn’t gone up – ad spot rates haven’t gone up. That’s a big challenge that needs to be addressed. And I do not foresee this issue being addressed unless the supply-demand issue is addressed. I may sound politically incorrect out here but the fact is that we need to regulate the total inventory on a television channel. One reason for this was because there was a huge carriage fee with advertising rates not going up… the only way they were going to grow was by increasing ad inventory. If it is done in a planned and phased manner, it will be very good for the industry in the long run. The industry needs to set itself a Sunset Date so as to bring down the inventory that’s there on television. So instead of 20 minutes, a 10+2 minutes may be a good benchmark. As, unless the supply-demand rates change, the ad rates cannot go up. This is a big challenge but one that is doable.

 

I feel a part of the issue will get addressed with digitization and with revenue stream from distribution; it will ease the pressure a bit on the advertising front. Once the balance sheet starts looking better there will be a little more investment that will go into content.

 

Another thing is content differentiation. What happens is when you are successful your appetite for taking risks becomes less. In India, in the fiction shows, the seasons are canned to a large extent which is a big challenge on the team that is involved. At Colors, we are trying to set a new model where we will be launching Season 2 of Na Bole Tum… which will run till a stipulated timeframe only. If it is successful we won’t extend the days but will announce a new Season 3 later. We are hoping this will be a game-changer for us in the future. A similar approach is being given to our other show 24, where we will be doing only Season 1 for now. We may do other seasons based on its success. If we are able to bring some kind of standard practice in the system then we may see things changing as we move ahead.

 

A lot of other avenues that were not available earlier like content on mobile etc will start opening up in a big way with 4G. Broadcasters will increasingly be looking up to digital to bring in more viewers and also revenue for the network.

 

By Rahul Kansal, Executive President, Bennett, Coleman and Co Ltd

 

Newspapers should be able to engage readers in a variety of ways and should stimulate all the senses of their consumers. What I mean is that print has been largely restricted to having a one-dimensional appeal where one plays only with visual elements. But what really is stopping us from taking advantage of the technological advances and say, adding an audio element to the medium?

 

Or we can even look at stimulating a sense of smell in the print medium. I am not saying that such experiments are not happening but they are few and far between and the need is to increase the frequency of such innovations that will help develop better engagement with our readers.

 

By Vikram Sakhuja, Global CEO, Maxus

 

My big idea for Hindi GEC TV media to leapfrog is to go FTA (free to air).

 

I am more optimistic than ever before that digitization will be a reality. And that will mean, by definition, reduced individual channel reach because of the consumer opt-in that is required. We will find that consumers will pay, even premiums, for exclusive content, be it movies, live sport, hot events or speciality genre content.

 

But I believe that general entertainment will have more success if they play the undifferentiated reach game and keep advertising as their sole revenue model.

 

By Jaideep Shergill, CEO, MSL India

 

As the nature of marketing communication shifts decisively from hardsell to engagement, content marketing is becoming a powerful tool for brands to build relationships with customers. Many brands are investing in brand publishing, engaging agencies or building content teams of their own.

 

Marketers are also using content instead of television/print/online ads to sell products. While it may not have a direct-line relationship with the achievement of sales goals, it’s the key to capturing attention. Most marketers understand this and are transforming their marketing campaigns accordingly. Brand publishing, have no doubt, is exploding.

 

Chris Weinfeld, of BlueGrass Interactive, has been quoted as saying: “Companies are now caring about putting out content that people want to read… Instead of just investing in their blog and blogging strategies, they’re investing in content people will want to share. Even if it’s not directly related to selling something, it’s still branding.” BlueGrass is an interactive solutions firm based in the US.

 

Hence, it’s clear that companies are using content for a variety of functions – from brand awareness to generating leads and increasing brand loyalty.

 

To achieve all of this, you must tell a good brand story. It’s the differentiator in the competition for customers’ eyes and ears.

 

Take the ‘Kony 2012’ campaign. It was the compelling story told by the non-profit Invisible Children about the atrocities committed by Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony that got people involved. Millions of dollars were donated to the campaign to bring him to trial and the world became aware of the internal strife in Uganda.

 

Here are three things to remember when rolling out a content strategy:

 

• Give up control, create a connection: The audience is your consumer and your advocate; let it drive your content. Design content for your audience, allow it to be shared and let it lead to a conversation based on mutual interests.
• Identify the target: Any marketing exercise requires a well-defined audience; so does a content campaign. You can use demographics (income, age, geography) as well as behaviour (goals, purchase patterns). Usually, for new brands, it’s about building the audience, while for established brands it is about keeping an existing one engaged.
• Adapt the message: In any conversation, listening is the key. A smart marketer will always note what consumers want and evolve the conversation accordingly.

 

 

 

As you read this, it’s likely that your competitors are investing in content marketing. It’s time for you to do so too.

 

By Sanjay Trehan, Head, MSN India

 

Few would disagree with Mahatma Gandhi’s observation that the soul of India lives in its villages. It therefore stands to reason that any digital revolution in the country must transcend the metros and reach its heartland. To be really meaningful, the ‘One Big Idea’ that could potentially change the face of the digital industry in India must reach people with the kind of content that makes a difference to their lives (Hyperlocal), in a language that they understand (Vernacular) and on a device that is personal as well as ubiquitous (Mobile). But is that enough?

 

To be really powerful in today’s digital ecosystem, an idea must also co-opt the community into the creative process (Social). It does not take a lot of crystal gazing to arrive at this conclusion. Here are some data points for you to consider. India’s mobile phone subscriber base now exceeds 900 million, and according to a 2011 JuxtConsult study, two-third of all mobile users in India are educated completely in ‘vernacular’ languages. The number of active Facebook users in India has grown to 65 million, an eight-fold jump in just two years. Apparently 30 per cent of these users are mobile-only! Any Big Idea born from the union of these titanic trends is bound to gain countrywide traction. So, in the new paradigm, the magic mantra of SoLoMo needs to be complemented with La as in languages to ride the crest of an empowering Internet revolution in India. Seamless convergence along with device and platform agnosticism will be the key to success.

 

All it needs is a spark to set this heady mix alight. And if any of the MxM readers think they have it in them, I will be more than happy to engage with them.

 

By Sam Balsara, Chairman & Managing Director, Madison World

 

From an advertiser’s perspective, the one idea that I would like to propose to advertisers who use TV heavily is to supplement their ad spends in TV, with some spends in at least one other medium – either print, radio, outdoor or digital – if not a couple.

 

There is considerable merit in balancing quantitative data on reach, frequency, GRPs and CPRP with qualitative aspects on how the human mind responds to a stimulus, and our experience shows that in a majority of the cases where advertising copy quality is average, multimedia campaigns deliver far better on sales and brand KPIs than single media campaigns. In fact, brands will do the TV industry a huge favour by allocating 10-15% of their budgets to at least one other medium, because diverting a small portion to another medium in fact enhances the productivity of TV spends and results in higher budget for the medium for subsequent years.

 

Also, from a broadcaster’s perspective, media owners – especially from print and TV – to have a sustainable growth oriented revenue model, must have two streams of revenue:

 

i. From the reader or viewer and,

ii. Another from the advertiser.

 

Given the digitization initiative undertaken by the government, hopefully this aspect will be taken care of in the years to come.

 

1. All good things need to take a break. So, while the Anchor will exist, the content format will change

 

2. It’s not easy getting people to write the Anchor. Yes, it does require chasing several times.

 

3. A N Chorrea, our anytime anchor-writer, is on a holiday. So what if he has ‘anchor’ in his name… even he needs a break!

 

4. Starting tomorrow: Get set for the ‘One Big Ideas’ from industry captains… culled from the MxMIndia Annual 2012!