By Meghna Sharma
In today’s world where there are plenty of brands for consumers to choose from, an in-depth knowledge about the target audience is as much as a necessity as breathing for any brand to become successful. Research now plays an increasingly important role in a brand’s lifeline.
Entertainment industry today is growing at a fast pace and with number of options available to the TG, the brands need to know what will make the TG choose them over others.
Ormax Media, a media & entertainment research and consulting firm, entered the industry four years ago (July 28, 2008) with a motto of helping brands understand and retain not only their target groups, but also help them grow in their respective fields.
| Clients Speak |
Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors
 - Raj Nayak
Ormax Media has opted for a very focused media research approach, which was a definite need gap for the industry, especially TV. Ormax has managed to capitalise on this opportunity with their innovative and robust tools specifically designed to cater to these needs. At Colors we have always had a research-oriented approach towards content development. In that context, we have been working with Ormax Media since the very beginning (interestingly both Colors and Ormax Media came into existence around the same time!).
It has been a fruitful association so far, and I would believe this to be true for both the parties. While working on some really interesting projects together, there has been a lot of learning that has enabled us to know our viewers even better. An effective promo creative measurement tool, which builds in the crazy timelines of the creative getting ready and it hitting on-air, is something which I feel is still a need gap at this point of time. Keeping in line with their record for building research tools which have catered to the needs of the industry, this is one area where we see tremendous potential for Ormax.
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Chandramohan Puppala, business head, Saam TV
Earlier, most of the companies used to rely on gut feelings or follow TAM to get an idea about what their audience wants. However, one couldn’t predict the change in trends or know their TG’s mindsets. It was a big challenge for channels, especially regional channels, to know their viewers. It was an even bigger challenge for regional channels, where Hindi was also the majority language. For instance, in Maharashtra, Hindi is also spoken by people. Also, in smaller markets, no matter how the sampling is done, choices differ from region to region. Hence, when research entered the entertainment industry, it helped channels to have a direct connect with the audience and guided them on how they can change their course to gain the most.
Ormax Media adapts very quickly to what the clients’ want and provide a customized research which enhances their role among their TG.
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Ashit Kukian, COO and president, Radio City
 - Ashit Kukian
For any industry today, research is an important element. However, it is important for an organization to be very clear about what they want as an end result. The brief we gave to Ormax and their own learnings have made it a win-win situation for both. The inputs we get from research are visible in the results. So, as the industry gets more mature, there is going to be a robust growth in the field of research as well.
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Jai Lala, principal partner, Mindshare
 - Jai Lala
Since there is no syndicated data available, there can be a lot of fangs to it, especially in the television industry. Take sports broadcasting for instance, there are a lot of ground partners, so it is a complicated process. Hence, research helps us to understand the market and how to maximize from an event. Last year, for IPL we had done a joint research with Ormax Media and it was quite fruitful for us.
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Atul Phadnis, founder and CEO, What’s On India
 - Atul Phadnis
Ormax Media is spearheaded by people like Shailesh Kapoor who have practical knowledge about channels. So, it gives the organization an uncanny ability to know what the key questions are which need to be answered. This helps them to not only know what a channel wants, but also how the research must be conducted. Also, the organization offers customized and structural services which have helped the industry grow.
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As the firm celebrates its four years of existence, MxMIndia spoke to the founders to get an insight on how research has evolved over the years and how the journey has been for Ormax Media so far…
- Vispy Doctor
“Till a few years ago, the phrase ‘consumer knowledge’, which is our prime derivable, wasn’t a common phenomenon. When we went to media clients in the entertainment space, for many of them research was a new thought. Â So, we had to explain how it could help them create better products which will help them grow,” recalled Vispy Doctor, founder and managing director, Ormax Media.
Over four years, Ormax Media has worked with 76 leading media and entertainment brands as business partners. In the first year, it focused on television, and GECs in particular. In the second year, the focus was expanded to other television genres as well as radio. In the third year, Bollywood became the priority. And now, at the end of the fourth year, the organization is set to offer unique and relevant offerings.
- Shailesh Kapoor
Elaborating on Ormax’s four years, Shailesh Kapoor, CEO said: “The first four years of Ormax Media have been very eventful and successful. We have received great support from the media & entertainment industry, especially in our endeavour to create unique research products and approach entertainment research in ways that are unconventional and challenging, but also result oriented.”
Growth matters
The entertainment industry has its pros and cons and one of the biggest ‘cons’ of the industry is that it comes with a fairly low success rate – as low as 15 per cent. Therefore, the organization hopes to help the industry increase its success rate, even if by a small percentage.
“Since we have been able to explain it to our clients, they have appreciated and accepted the concept of research. Hence, our growth has been fairly steep, and I can say that we are growing at a fairly high rate of 75-80 per cent, as we add more and more partners in our kitty,” said Mr Doctor.
According to Mr Kapoor, the television industry has its cyclical changes, but is in a fairly stable state, vis-a-vis what it would have been 5-6 years ago. However, he does add that the definition of “stable” in television is very different from that in packaged goods and other sectors.
As for the film industry, it is in an evolution stage, much like what the TV industry was in the late 90s and early 2000s. And one can see exciting times ahead for Bollywood, especially in research, where it has seen growing acceptance year-on-year.
As far as Radio is concerned, it hinges a lot on the Phase 3 licenses. “Media & entertainment is a growing business, and research will continue to become more and more important as the market matures. We are all set for the challenges ahead,” Mr Kapoor added.
Procedure: Easy or difficult?
The organization offers a number of research products for various sectors of the entertainment industry. The list includes broadcast television networks, radio networks, film studios, newspapers, media agencies, DTH service providers, digital entertainment companies and production houses.
So, when asked how difficult or easy the research procedure is for each variant, Mr Kapoor explained: “The larger GECs are the easier ones, as they are far more professional and they understand the value of research. Whereas in the more touchy-feely areas like films and creative companies, it becomes a little difficult as it is more about sentiments. However, it is difficult to rate them as it might be easier to work for a GEC, it might be more interesting for a film.”
He added: “As a good service company, it becomes our job to orient ourselves to the client’s needs, but without compromising on the research rigor and correctness. That’s the balance that may be easy or tough. But it’s a part of our job.”
A correct sample size plays is essential for any research to become successful and come out with results which will benefit the researcher. So how does the organization choose its sample?
“For every client, the TG might different so we have to be careful about what attributes are they looking for in a sample size. For example, for a serial, it might be cultural overtones. So, how that serial is perceived in a city like Mumbai will be very different from how it is perceived in a small town like Indore. And if we are able to find this difference and collate preferences, it will help the channels,” explained Mr Doctor.
Expansion plans
The organization’s focus is to consolidate through new clients and repeat business. It now has 21 products for various sectors and plans to entirely focus on these products and getting them to become bigger and better in their own right. Also, it plans to target media agencies and advertisers through products like Celebritix, which was launched on July 25.
“I’m often told that whichever channel you go to, Ormax gets mentioned in conversations consistently. We have a young team which made this happen. Four years ago, I would have bargained for much lesser. But again, this is only the start, and we know that we can achieve a lot more than what we have so far…” said Mr Kapoor.
Ormax Media, leading consumer knowledge company specializing in media and entertainment insights, has announced the launch of its yearend report ‘Front Page 2012 – A Media & Entertainment Review’. Front Page 2012 will cover the highlights of the eventful year of 2012, across 51 categories based on television and film industries. All the results in Front Page 2012 will be based exclusively on viewer research conducted by Ormax Media. The report is scheduled for launch in the second part of January. MxMIndia is exclusive media partner for Front Page 2012. Watch this space for exclusive coverage on the findings over the next few weeks.