THE EXODUS
The advertising industry is facing a severe people crunch as the bright are being lured away. This, discover the agencies, is actually their own doing.
There’s a new job function in ad agencies today that would have been a joke even five years back: the human resource department. Time was when the advertising industry was the coolest place to park your creative ponytail. But the last five years have witnessed a gradual decline in the quality of people who are attracted to this business. This trend is now picking up pace and it has agency heads running helter-skelter to save a complete erosion.
Suddenly they are realizing the significance of doing what marketing companies have done for decades. Work on retaining the right people. Now agencies like O&M have full fledged HR departments. Others like Bates Enterprise are undergoing structural changes to accommodate people and their ambitions while those like Grey are hiring people from technical backgrounds to support the creative function.
So why has all this happened?
First the pull: A lot of more lucrative avenues that offer equal creative satisfaction have opened up for the creative people. TV has opened up an entire new world. Apart from that feature films, film production, radio, Internet gaming are attractive avenues.
Those in account management and planning are lured to cross over to the clients’ side. This year apparently three fourths of the graduates from MICA, India’s first advertising school opted for marketing assignments.
“Agencies have brought this plight upon themselves,” says Preeti Vyas Gianetti, CEO, Vyas Gianetti Creatives. Once upon a time, in the glorious 15-per cent agency commission days, the industry rewarded talent generously. But agencies have been undercutting each other to grab business. This has put a tremendous pressure on the bottom line and hence there is little room to increase salaries.
Subhash Kamath, CEO, Bates Enterprise, feels that “The blame is squarely on the shoulders of the industry heads. We have spent no time in making the profession attractive to youngsters.” Nurturing and training talent have been alien terms to the industry and no one thought that such a time would come where people would need to be told why they should come to advertising.
And then there is the new generation. “They prefer to explore the Amazon than build a monument”, explains Kamath. Both are exciting roads to success but the fresh talent is far more adventurous and comfortable with professional risk. Loyalty to an organization is no virtue. They work hard but expect fulfillment earlier than the previous generations. They are not afraid or embarrassed to ask for more money or a higher designation. It is for the heads to understand the new value system and show them that they care.
And they have identified the solution. First: Bring back the passion with good quality mentoring. Also reward talent. Grey has started giving away monthly and even weekly prizes to good work besides the annual recognitions. Singh sees a drop in attrition with such initiatives.
Two, agencies have started taking training and nurturing more seriously, not the old way but in the new format of talent management. If the industry is not naturally attracting the people it needs it has to learn to hunt better. Agencies like Grey for instance are looking at fresh graduates from top end colleges like St Stephen’s.
Three: A lesson can be learnt from marketing companies such as Unilever that has deconstructed the brand management structure according to skill sets in the innovation and activation areas. Agencies need to learn this quickly to accommodate young ambition.
Traditional skill-based training now needs to be complemented by attitude-based training. It becomes essential when people have to work in groups at a short notice if for instance a 360-degree solution has to be presented to a client. Typically then people are pulled out to form a group for a short term. Success now will depend on not the traditional team building skills but managing a coalition. “If you’ve 12 days to complete a project how do you bring together a group than can quickly adapt and present a solution is key to success today”, explains Kamath.
Nirvik Singh, CEO, Grey has initiated a process of hiring talent from outside the creative fields. The most prominent recruit has been Brinda Gupta who heads the Deutsche Bank account and comes with years of experience in banking communication. “Now my people can talk the client’s language and we have the ear of the top guns at agency meetings than earlier.”
Says Kalpana Rao, HR Head, O&M, “People issues are being addressed far more consciously by the top management.” Earlier training budgets lapsed, unused. Now O&M spends 1.5 per cent of its revenues towards it. Attrition hasn’t gone down but hasn’t gone up either. “Our employee satisfaction surveys are getting the same response as our other global offices”, says Rao.
The agencies are moving fast now. Chances are the damage will be curtailed before the slip starts showing.
(This article appeared as the lead in Billboard, the weekly advertising and marketing page in Hindstan Times in June `06)
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
INTERVIEW: PREETI VYAS GIANNETTI
THE WARRIOR PRINCESS
She runs the only independent ad agency in the top notch. Her revenues surpass those of some of the internationally affiliated names. But she's mad at the industry for lowering the creative bar
Dressed in a calming, cerulean blue, Preeti Vyas Giannetti could easily pass off for a counsellor or a teacher. Who she is however, is India's only woman ad agency founder and owner in the top rungs, reminiscent of Tara Sinha in the good old days of Indian advertising. An NID graduate, she runs her 60-strong agency, Vyas Giannetti Creative, fiercely independently. She is recognized for her work internationally. She has only recently been on the jury of the international awards in Sri Lanka and is, at this moment judging at Cannes.
Besides all this, she is unafraid to air her views on issues on the underbelly of the ad world
Her take ...
On Indian ad awards
They are fake. 95 per cent of the work is done for awards. In the early `90s we yet entered the work that was actually used and that is fulfilling. We are trying to fool everyone including ourselves.
The toll this takes
Four months of an agency's work and over Rs 20 lakh would go into participating in a Goafest-like event. No small agency can afford that. So the awards are skewed in favour of the big and the powerful and remain a rich man's game.
On the other hand, creative talent makes its decisions of job switching based on how many awards an agency participates in. Fifteen minutes of fame has eroded both the practice of meticulous learning in the new generation as well as the feeling of ownership of work as they go hopping jobs every season. Employers on their part also don't work towards creating this feeling In the strategic side of the business, the loss of talent is even greater as people switch over to the clients' side.
Clients
Clients are happy to win awards definitely but are certainly not driven by them. So business is not hampered whether you enter awards or not. While most top end agencies are driven by servicing the old, stodgy clients the real action is happening with young entrepreneurs or young scions of old businesses interested in re-inventing the business. This is fantastic for an agency like ours.
So should awards be a no-no?
Not if they are fair and really showcase the best work. I was recently on the Sri Lankan international awards jury. They had such an award for the first time and the jury came from all over. The most creative from countries like Thailand, Malaysia, U.K. and Singapore were there. It was a humbling experience.
Visual Communication.
My view on this has been media unspecific. I have always exposed brands to the potential consumer wherever strategic, whether it is POP work or say an annual report. I have done a lot of work in corporate brand building, media brand designing (ver 20 publications). I have done music video as and TV programming. I have believed in 360 degree communication for a long while. But I am yet labeled as a designer/ boutique agency. VGC's revenues this year touched US$ 20 million. I understand this is more than the revenues of some well-recognised agencies that are part of global networks.
Making up for loss of a global network backing
We are a part of the global Independent Agencies' Network, the only Indian agency in it. The Network helps us access insight into consumers in member countries, reach, global; knowledge based skill set and new business opportunities without selling out.
The state of the industry today
Some agencies are clearly very top or middle heavy with poor traffic management. Clearly the industry is facing a big management issue. The productivity levels are low and the quality even lower. It is the client who's leading the way and we are reacting. We've stopped being pro-active a long while back.
We are safe riders today. The entrepreneurial spirit is missing. So we witness an outgo of disillusioned people. Inflated egos, salaries and pompous designations rule but what we need is path-breaking work to put the vibrancy back and make advertising the adventure it is supposed to be.
My contribution
We try to keep the bar higher and work for clients who will give us the opportunity. Of course we need billing but creative satisfaction is not compromised.
(This interview appeared as the lead in Billboard, the weekly advertising and marketing features page in Hindustan Times in June `06)
THE WARRIOR PRINCESS
She runs the only independent ad agency in the top notch. Her revenues surpass those of some of the internationally affiliated names. But she's mad at the industry for lowering the creative bar
Dressed in a calming, cerulean blue, Preeti Vyas Giannetti could easily pass off for a counsellor or a teacher. Who she is however, is India's only woman ad agency founder and owner in the top rungs, reminiscent of Tara Sinha in the good old days of Indian advertising. An NID graduate, she runs her 60-strong agency, Vyas Giannetti Creative, fiercely independently. She is recognized for her work internationally. She has only recently been on the jury of the international awards in Sri Lanka and is, at this moment judging at Cannes.
Besides all this, she is unafraid to air her views on issues on the underbelly of the ad world
Her take ...
On Indian ad awards
They are fake. 95 per cent of the work is done for awards. In the early `90s we yet entered the work that was actually used and that is fulfilling. We are trying to fool everyone including ourselves.
The toll this takes
Four months of an agency's work and over Rs 20 lakh would go into participating in a Goafest-like event. No small agency can afford that. So the awards are skewed in favour of the big and the powerful and remain a rich man's game.
On the other hand, creative talent makes its decisions of job switching based on how many awards an agency participates in. Fifteen minutes of fame has eroded both the practice of meticulous learning in the new generation as well as the feeling of ownership of work as they go hopping jobs every season. Employers on their part also don't work towards creating this feeling In the strategic side of the business, the loss of talent is even greater as people switch over to the clients' side.
Clients
Clients are happy to win awards definitely but are certainly not driven by them. So business is not hampered whether you enter awards or not. While most top end agencies are driven by servicing the old, stodgy clients the real action is happening with young entrepreneurs or young scions of old businesses interested in re-inventing the business. This is fantastic for an agency like ours.
So should awards be a no-no?
Not if they are fair and really showcase the best work. I was recently on the Sri Lankan international awards jury. They had such an award for the first time and the jury came from all over. The most creative from countries like Thailand, Malaysia, U.K. and Singapore were there. It was a humbling experience.
Visual Communication.
My view on this has been media unspecific. I have always exposed brands to the potential consumer wherever strategic, whether it is POP work or say an annual report. I have done a lot of work in corporate brand building, media brand designing (ver 20 publications). I have done music video as and TV programming. I have believed in 360 degree communication for a long while. But I am yet labeled as a designer/ boutique agency. VGC's revenues this year touched US$ 20 million. I understand this is more than the revenues of some well-recognised agencies that are part of global networks.
Making up for loss of a global network backing
We are a part of the global Independent Agencies' Network, the only Indian agency in it. The Network helps us access insight into consumers in member countries, reach, global; knowledge based skill set and new business opportunities without selling out.
The state of the industry today
Some agencies are clearly very top or middle heavy with poor traffic management. Clearly the industry is facing a big management issue. The productivity levels are low and the quality even lower. It is the client who's leading the way and we are reacting. We've stopped being pro-active a long while back.
We are safe riders today. The entrepreneurial spirit is missing. So we witness an outgo of disillusioned people. Inflated egos, salaries and pompous designations rule but what we need is path-breaking work to put the vibrancy back and make advertising the adventure it is supposed to be.
My contribution
We try to keep the bar higher and work for clients who will give us the opportunity. Of course we need billing but creative satisfaction is not compromised.
(This interview appeared as the lead in Billboard, the weekly advertising and marketing features page in Hindustan Times in June `06)
THE IMAGINARY LINE
The line that divided advertising into mainstream and below-the-line was drawn in magic ink. It is fast disappearing as clients force the industry out of its medieval mindset.
As you start eating your favourite dish at a restaurant, a message tries to raise its head out of the bottom of the plate. As the dish gets emptier, you can read better, "There are X number of people dying of hunger every month. Don't waste your food."
The message hits the gut at the perfect moment. You aren't going to forget that in a hurry. So does the medium – the plate become the mainstay for this client? It probably did what no TV commercial and certainly no print ad could have done, because it met the consumer where he would be the most receptive.
As communication needs to get more encompassing and sophisticated, it is becoming more imperative to use and even create more media options to deliver brand solutions. Until yesterday, below the line was a euphemism for below the belt. It was any form of communication that was not traditionally media commission-linked and that a metal hungry creative person of yesteryears wouldn't touch with a bargepole.
But no Indian agency can ignore the call any more. Every one of them is creating separate divisions to handle different areas of brand communication including out-of-home advertising, events, promotions, digital media buying.
While some may have been a little faster than the others largely the demand came from the client. Says Ranjeetha Menon, head, Ogilvy One, "Clients have been asking for 360 degree communication." The process has been largely led by international corporations like Citibank, IBM and Ford, the new generation Indian entrepreneurs or old-time companies that are being turned around by their foreign educated scions.
Says Cajetan Vaz, national; creative director, Everest, "Now it is for us to evangelise and offer solutions to our clients that are media independent." Soumitra S Bhattacharyya, CEO, MOMS, Madison's Outdoor arm, further explains that "With media fragmentation it is critical to have touch point communication which reduces wastage and hits your target group directly".
Vasant Jante, Publisher, POP and Outdoor advertising says that "Marketers realise that a combination of mediums will make the best impact. And everything, every space –washrooms, lifts, malls, mirrors- is being explored as a medium to give a brand maximum exposure to the target group. Jante instituted The Outdoor Advertising Awards last year marking the recognition of the medium as mainstream.
So the change is coming surely and fast enough both in the mindset of agencies and consequently the services they offer. O&M only recently appointed Pratap Bose, the man who led its outdoor business, as CEO. Every agency is setting up divisions with dedicated staff for them and increasingly more experienced people are heading them.
Those days when agencies would create advertising for print and the same artwork was used outdoors are fast disappearing into the horizon. Today, the agencies create advertising specifically for outdoor and OOH mediums. Finally, design is getting more weight.
The change in the remuneration system from being commission based to fee based also supports the rounded servicing that is today's news. Earlier, everything outside of traditional media commission-led work like say hoardings would be done but the agency never got a cut out of it.
The learning is fast as increasingly business depends on it. "We choose to be media-independent" says Vaz. Right now, says Menon, we are in a stage where we are looking at direct marketing not as just a channel but need to map out the customer journey and understand their purchase patterns.
Vaz clearly outlines that his agency's focus this year is to deepen its understanding of digital media. Menon says that digital marketing is where she will focus as technology gains ground and digital media (Internet and Interactivity) lead growth. The integration of digital media-. TV, radio, online, mobile telephony, digital outdoor all converging in one handset or desktop is the future. The communication opportunities are mind-boggling. I'd love to dive in, says Vaz.
Internationally, the ratio stands at 50:50. Here it is 80:20 in favour of mainstream. While TV and print have stopped growing internationally in India they are yet to be saturated. But the trend will be first arrested and then probably reversed. Sectors like banking, insurance, hotels, airlines, automobiles, IT, have made the shift globally and it follows here.
(This article appeared as the lead in Billboard, the weekly advertising and marketing page of Hindustan Times in May `06)
The line that divided advertising into mainstream and below-the-line was drawn in magic ink. It is fast disappearing as clients force the industry out of its medieval mindset.
As you start eating your favourite dish at a restaurant, a message tries to raise its head out of the bottom of the plate. As the dish gets emptier, you can read better, "There are X number of people dying of hunger every month. Don't waste your food."
The message hits the gut at the perfect moment. You aren't going to forget that in a hurry. So does the medium – the plate become the mainstay for this client? It probably did what no TV commercial and certainly no print ad could have done, because it met the consumer where he would be the most receptive.
As communication needs to get more encompassing and sophisticated, it is becoming more imperative to use and even create more media options to deliver brand solutions. Until yesterday, below the line was a euphemism for below the belt. It was any form of communication that was not traditionally media commission-linked and that a metal hungry creative person of yesteryears wouldn't touch with a bargepole.
But no Indian agency can ignore the call any more. Every one of them is creating separate divisions to handle different areas of brand communication including out-of-home advertising, events, promotions, digital media buying.
While some may have been a little faster than the others largely the demand came from the client. Says Ranjeetha Menon, head, Ogilvy One, "Clients have been asking for 360 degree communication." The process has been largely led by international corporations like Citibank, IBM and Ford, the new generation Indian entrepreneurs or old-time companies that are being turned around by their foreign educated scions.
Says Cajetan Vaz, national; creative director, Everest, "Now it is for us to evangelise and offer solutions to our clients that are media independent." Soumitra S Bhattacharyya, CEO, MOMS, Madison's Outdoor arm, further explains that "With media fragmentation it is critical to have touch point communication which reduces wastage and hits your target group directly".
Vasant Jante, Publisher, POP and Outdoor advertising says that "Marketers realise that a combination of mediums will make the best impact. And everything, every space –washrooms, lifts, malls, mirrors- is being explored as a medium to give a brand maximum exposure to the target group. Jante instituted The Outdoor Advertising Awards last year marking the recognition of the medium as mainstream.
So the change is coming surely and fast enough both in the mindset of agencies and consequently the services they offer. O&M only recently appointed Pratap Bose, the man who led its outdoor business, as CEO. Every agency is setting up divisions with dedicated staff for them and increasingly more experienced people are heading them.
Those days when agencies would create advertising for print and the same artwork was used outdoors are fast disappearing into the horizon. Today, the agencies create advertising specifically for outdoor and OOH mediums. Finally, design is getting more weight.
The change in the remuneration system from being commission based to fee based also supports the rounded servicing that is today's news. Earlier, everything outside of traditional media commission-led work like say hoardings would be done but the agency never got a cut out of it.
The learning is fast as increasingly business depends on it. "We choose to be media-independent" says Vaz. Right now, says Menon, we are in a stage where we are looking at direct marketing not as just a channel but need to map out the customer journey and understand their purchase patterns.
Vaz clearly outlines that his agency's focus this year is to deepen its understanding of digital media. Menon says that digital marketing is where she will focus as technology gains ground and digital media (Internet and Interactivity) lead growth. The integration of digital media-. TV, radio, online, mobile telephony, digital outdoor all converging in one handset or desktop is the future. The communication opportunities are mind-boggling. I'd love to dive in, says Vaz.
Internationally, the ratio stands at 50:50. Here it is 80:20 in favour of mainstream. While TV and print have stopped growing internationally in India they are yet to be saturated. But the trend will be first arrested and then probably reversed. Sectors like banking, insurance, hotels, airlines, automobiles, IT, have made the shift globally and it follows here.
(This article appeared as the lead in Billboard, the weekly advertising and marketing page of Hindustan Times in May `06)
THE SECOND COMING
After a big hit about a decade back, financial advertising agencies are making a strong comeback over the past year. They rise from the ashes with lessons well-learnt.
They have a more glorious past than a present. In the heady days of the stock market boom in the early `90s, a clutch of small-time advertising agencies made hay, specializing in what came to be known as financial advertising.
This was a bit of a misnomer because what they did involved little advertising. Financial ads were essentially SEBI-approved straitjacketed formats where information about Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) had to be displayed. They had to follow strict norms. Most IPOs came from unknown companies that were cashing on the boom. There was no brand building, strategizing or creatives. But there was certainly an expertise involved. These six agencies-Pressman, Sobhagya, Concept, Clea, Adfactors, Percept along with smaller ones like Imageads- knew what it took to deliver a successful IPO. They knew the merchant bankers- the chaps who would tell the corporations which agency to use. They also had networked with brokers, analysts and the business media to get the best possible coverage and reach to potential consumers. "No brand building, creative agency could match this expertise", says Vinod Nair of Clea PR.
In `95 these six agencies shared nearly Rs 1500 crore of business. Besides, the Six were kings of all they surveyed. Unlike for brand work where agencies have to pitch and hope they'll be the chosen ones, here clients came to them. There was no negotiation, no bargaining because the job had to be done right the first time. There was no time and certainly no room for mistakes. And there was that wonderful caveat that worked beautifully for both sides- SEBI rules allowed seven per cent of the issue amount to be spent on advertising and promotions. So a company wanting to raise Rs 100 crore could easily spend Rs 7 crore in a month or so to build its image. The money would eventually go from the public money collected. Neither the client nor the agency took the hit. Also, if the issue was oversubscribed by say ten times, common in those days, the client had Rs 900 crore of extra collection to be returned over 45 days. At 1.5 per cent bank interest he pocketed a cool Rs 20 crore before he returned the funds, all within legal limits. So the agency was never questioned on expenses as every issue was oversubscribed and the Six basked in unprecedented growth.
Then came the fall. The markets collapsed and the IPO business dried up as fast as it had blossomed. The Six were suddenly virtually out of business, saddled with staff and infrastructure. And they had no other advertising expertise to go seek brand-building business.
Some realized that the talent they had was actually public relations. Little wonder then, that agencies like Percept, Adfactors and Clea went the whole hog into PR. At one point, this activity supported the entire structure. The biggest success story amongst all was however Percept. Senior founder Harinder Singh- once remembered most for displaying Pooja Bhatt's best assets to draw people to an IPO- diversified rapidly into all directions- events, celebrity management, branding agencies, below-the-line services etc- to create an empire that is today valuated at Rs 2000 crore.
Pressman, Concept and Sobhagya went the PSU route getting empanneled on companies like MTNL and BSNL. Today as these corporates increase advertising, they are growing.
Mercantile shut down. Imageads sold out to Percept. Those who survived comfortably was say Canco. Says Ramesh Narayan, founder, "We took IPO business of existing clients but never pitched for IPO business alone."
However these agencies remained the pariahs of the advertising industry. They were for instance never allowed membership in the AAAI. At one point the AAAI asked to see the books of accounts of members and that was instrumental in shooing away some financial agencies that were already members. An ex-president of AAAI says that they were unscrupulous and the AAAI wanted to stand for ethical standards.
Today, a second wind has blown into their once-tattered sails. They are quietly re-surfacing as the IPO-financial advertising market is once again looking up. The financial ad business is around Rs 300 crore already. It is expected to go to Rs1000 crore. Everyone knows those days will not return. But the same crop of agencies are at it again, returning to do what they know best. But this time round, they are cautious and keeping the other fires burning as well. Agencies like say Concept are doing both corporate and financial advertising for clients like Air Deccan. Says Naren Suchanti of Concept, “Half our business comes from corporate advertising.”
While the MNC ad agencies look down upon this bunch, the fact is that they all tried to set up financial advertising divisions but failed. Luckily for them, clients did not share this sentiment even though the cloud of being just financial advertisers has yet to be completely lifted. The agencies in themselves may be bruised but are all grown up.
(This article appeared as the lead in Billboard the weekly advertising and marketing features page of Hindustan Times in May `06)
After a big hit about a decade back, financial advertising agencies are making a strong comeback over the past year. They rise from the ashes with lessons well-learnt.
They have a more glorious past than a present. In the heady days of the stock market boom in the early `90s, a clutch of small-time advertising agencies made hay, specializing in what came to be known as financial advertising.
This was a bit of a misnomer because what they did involved little advertising. Financial ads were essentially SEBI-approved straitjacketed formats where information about Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) had to be displayed. They had to follow strict norms. Most IPOs came from unknown companies that were cashing on the boom. There was no brand building, strategizing or creatives. But there was certainly an expertise involved. These six agencies-Pressman, Sobhagya, Concept, Clea, Adfactors, Percept along with smaller ones like Imageads- knew what it took to deliver a successful IPO. They knew the merchant bankers- the chaps who would tell the corporations which agency to use. They also had networked with brokers, analysts and the business media to get the best possible coverage and reach to potential consumers. "No brand building, creative agency could match this expertise", says Vinod Nair of Clea PR.
In `95 these six agencies shared nearly Rs 1500 crore of business. Besides, the Six were kings of all they surveyed. Unlike for brand work where agencies have to pitch and hope they'll be the chosen ones, here clients came to them. There was no negotiation, no bargaining because the job had to be done right the first time. There was no time and certainly no room for mistakes. And there was that wonderful caveat that worked beautifully for both sides- SEBI rules allowed seven per cent of the issue amount to be spent on advertising and promotions. So a company wanting to raise Rs 100 crore could easily spend Rs 7 crore in a month or so to build its image. The money would eventually go from the public money collected. Neither the client nor the agency took the hit. Also, if the issue was oversubscribed by say ten times, common in those days, the client had Rs 900 crore of extra collection to be returned over 45 days. At 1.5 per cent bank interest he pocketed a cool Rs 20 crore before he returned the funds, all within legal limits. So the agency was never questioned on expenses as every issue was oversubscribed and the Six basked in unprecedented growth.
Then came the fall. The markets collapsed and the IPO business dried up as fast as it had blossomed. The Six were suddenly virtually out of business, saddled with staff and infrastructure. And they had no other advertising expertise to go seek brand-building business.
Some realized that the talent they had was actually public relations. Little wonder then, that agencies like Percept, Adfactors and Clea went the whole hog into PR. At one point, this activity supported the entire structure. The biggest success story amongst all was however Percept. Senior founder Harinder Singh- once remembered most for displaying Pooja Bhatt's best assets to draw people to an IPO- diversified rapidly into all directions- events, celebrity management, branding agencies, below-the-line services etc- to create an empire that is today valuated at Rs 2000 crore.
Pressman, Concept and Sobhagya went the PSU route getting empanneled on companies like MTNL and BSNL. Today as these corporates increase advertising, they are growing.
Mercantile shut down. Imageads sold out to Percept. Those who survived comfortably was say Canco. Says Ramesh Narayan, founder, "We took IPO business of existing clients but never pitched for IPO business alone."
However these agencies remained the pariahs of the advertising industry. They were for instance never allowed membership in the AAAI. At one point the AAAI asked to see the books of accounts of members and that was instrumental in shooing away some financial agencies that were already members. An ex-president of AAAI says that they were unscrupulous and the AAAI wanted to stand for ethical standards.
Today, a second wind has blown into their once-tattered sails. They are quietly re-surfacing as the IPO-financial advertising market is once again looking up. The financial ad business is around Rs 300 crore already. It is expected to go to Rs1000 crore. Everyone knows those days will not return. But the same crop of agencies are at it again, returning to do what they know best. But this time round, they are cautious and keeping the other fires burning as well. Agencies like say Concept are doing both corporate and financial advertising for clients like Air Deccan. Says Naren Suchanti of Concept, “Half our business comes from corporate advertising.”
While the MNC ad agencies look down upon this bunch, the fact is that they all tried to set up financial advertising divisions but failed. Luckily for them, clients did not share this sentiment even though the cloud of being just financial advertisers has yet to be completely lifted. The agencies in themselves may be bruised but are all grown up.
(This article appeared as the lead in Billboard the weekly advertising and marketing features page of Hindustan Times in May `06)
THE ADVERTISING OF POLITICS
Political advertising is getting smarter as national parties go to professional agencies for the parliamentary elections. But for the forthcoming state elections innovative, promotional activity will woo the voter.
"Labour isn't working. Britain 's better off with the Tories". This was the advertising campaign that not only made Margaret Thatcher's fortunes in 1978 but also of Saatchi & Saatchi, the ad agency that created it. The campaign's success also marked the entry of professional agencies into the world of British politics.
In India we saw the emergence of similar professional work in the general elections of `04. But now as four states- Tamil Nadu, West Bengal , Kerala and Assam- go in for Assembly elections- the slant is clearly towards below the line promotion instead of mass media based brand development.
The `04 elections clearly proved that the party with less mass media –Congress spent a fraction of the BJP -actually won the elections. This election saw a never-before ad spend. NDTV hiked its 10-second rates from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000. Star News signed up advertising worth Rs 18.7 crore. The India Shining campaign that the ruling NDA government commissioned had official sanction of Rs 100 crore. A figure, five times that floated in the parliament when BJP was accused of using public money for self-promotion.
The Congress' victory however seemed to prove that elections are events and promotions have to be based on relevant, local issues. Says N.S. Rajan of Sampark that did the PR work for the Congress in `04 in Maharashtra , " Issues are very local and change from district to district, city to city. Hoardings, cutouts and other promotional activity rule.”
The parties this time round are then clearly turning to localized promotions. These promotions are as always fascinating in their innovation, low costs and local relevance. So with the EC strictly enforcing its clean walls regime in West Bengal, CPM candidate Kanti Ganguly's team has reached out to the skies, quite literally. Three thousand kites took off on the campaign trail last week with his message emblazoned. The strings were later cut off so that they could land all over the constituency. Kites are a favourite in this region. Complementing the aerial effort, sixty boats took off Denkal Ghat with sloganeering party workers. Hats, umbrellas, T-shirts and vests are the latest political merchandise.
In Tamil Nadu the public can't wait to see the end of the election so that they can return to watching their favourite TV programs. No, they aren't exactly bewitched by their leaders. But the contestants have invaded even prime time TV with their messages. On Tamil New year Sun TV ran a two-hour poet's meet anchored by DMK president M. Karunanidhi. He spewed verse and venom on rival Jayalalithaa. Rival Jaya TV ran and re-ran an hour-long interview with Jayalalithaa who spoke of her trials and tribulations.
In the meanwhile the anti-Hindi party, DMK's candidate from Erode, N.K.K.P. Raja started distributing pamphlets in Hindi with its "rising sun" symbol and pictures of the party stalwarts to win over the growing North Indian population. Chief rival, AIADMK capitalized on it immediately. Its Hindi support group, Sangam, copied the pamphlets. AIADMK also got film stars led by Simran out to campaign.
In Kerala folk theatre is the means of the opposition to hit out at Neelalohithadasan Nadar. Accused of sexual harassment and denied a ticket by the LDF, the play shows Draupadi's modesty being molested by Dushasan who has a face resembling none else but Nadar. Cheeky graffiti and caustic poster of his infamous exploits cover public spaces in Kovalam.
In a country where 80 per cent of rural households have yet to afford a black and white TV set and 70 per cent even a transistor, broadcast media doesn't seem the answer. BJP used TV extensively for its India Shining campaign and later, direct party advertising while Congress barely tapped TV. But Congress used the print medium extensively, accounting for half the print advertising volumes with BJP a distant second according to TAM data.
BJP leader, Nitin Gadkari said categorically that the BJP doesn’t have money to advertise this time. Given the disparity, a centralized branding probably has little meaning. The local candidate’s moves will work the best.
BOX
The India Shining campaign flagged off big time political advertising in 2004 though the then NDA government insisted it was only a statement of how India had fared and not tom-tomming BJP’s achievements.
The agency, Grey Worldwide did the campaign after an earlier one by Rediffusion. This was however the more successful one that has gone down in public memory.
Laloo Prasad Yadav also similarly was accused of using public money by advertising the achievements of the railways in pre-poll time.
For the first time in Maharashtra , Congress used a professional PR agency. Insiders say they spent Rs five crore for the exercise.
In 2004 advertising started with 90 per cent directed towards belittling the opposition. It ended with most ads of self praise by all parties.
(This article appeared in April `06 in Billboard, the weekly advertising page in the Hindustan Times)
Political advertising is getting smarter as national parties go to professional agencies for the parliamentary elections. But for the forthcoming state elections innovative, promotional activity will woo the voter.
"Labour isn't working. Britain 's better off with the Tories". This was the advertising campaign that not only made Margaret Thatcher's fortunes in 1978 but also of Saatchi & Saatchi, the ad agency that created it. The campaign's success also marked the entry of professional agencies into the world of British politics.
In India we saw the emergence of similar professional work in the general elections of `04. But now as four states- Tamil Nadu, West Bengal , Kerala and Assam- go in for Assembly elections- the slant is clearly towards below the line promotion instead of mass media based brand development.
The `04 elections clearly proved that the party with less mass media –Congress spent a fraction of the BJP -actually won the elections. This election saw a never-before ad spend. NDTV hiked its 10-second rates from Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000. Star News signed up advertising worth Rs 18.7 crore. The India Shining campaign that the ruling NDA government commissioned had official sanction of Rs 100 crore. A figure, five times that floated in the parliament when BJP was accused of using public money for self-promotion.
The Congress' victory however seemed to prove that elections are events and promotions have to be based on relevant, local issues. Says N.S. Rajan of Sampark that did the PR work for the Congress in `04 in Maharashtra , " Issues are very local and change from district to district, city to city. Hoardings, cutouts and other promotional activity rule.”
The parties this time round are then clearly turning to localized promotions. These promotions are as always fascinating in their innovation, low costs and local relevance. So with the EC strictly enforcing its clean walls regime in West Bengal, CPM candidate Kanti Ganguly's team has reached out to the skies, quite literally. Three thousand kites took off on the campaign trail last week with his message emblazoned. The strings were later cut off so that they could land all over the constituency. Kites are a favourite in this region. Complementing the aerial effort, sixty boats took off Denkal Ghat with sloganeering party workers. Hats, umbrellas, T-shirts and vests are the latest political merchandise.
In Tamil Nadu the public can't wait to see the end of the election so that they can return to watching their favourite TV programs. No, they aren't exactly bewitched by their leaders. But the contestants have invaded even prime time TV with their messages. On Tamil New year Sun TV ran a two-hour poet's meet anchored by DMK president M. Karunanidhi. He spewed verse and venom on rival Jayalalithaa. Rival Jaya TV ran and re-ran an hour-long interview with Jayalalithaa who spoke of her trials and tribulations.
In the meanwhile the anti-Hindi party, DMK's candidate from Erode, N.K.K.P. Raja started distributing pamphlets in Hindi with its "rising sun" symbol and pictures of the party stalwarts to win over the growing North Indian population. Chief rival, AIADMK capitalized on it immediately. Its Hindi support group, Sangam, copied the pamphlets. AIADMK also got film stars led by Simran out to campaign.
In Kerala folk theatre is the means of the opposition to hit out at Neelalohithadasan Nadar. Accused of sexual harassment and denied a ticket by the LDF, the play shows Draupadi's modesty being molested by Dushasan who has a face resembling none else but Nadar. Cheeky graffiti and caustic poster of his infamous exploits cover public spaces in Kovalam.
In a country where 80 per cent of rural households have yet to afford a black and white TV set and 70 per cent even a transistor, broadcast media doesn't seem the answer. BJP used TV extensively for its India Shining campaign and later, direct party advertising while Congress barely tapped TV. But Congress used the print medium extensively, accounting for half the print advertising volumes with BJP a distant second according to TAM data.
BJP leader, Nitin Gadkari said categorically that the BJP doesn’t have money to advertise this time. Given the disparity, a centralized branding probably has little meaning. The local candidate’s moves will work the best.
BOX
The India Shining campaign flagged off big time political advertising in 2004 though the then NDA government insisted it was only a statement of how India had fared and not tom-tomming BJP’s achievements.
The agency, Grey Worldwide did the campaign after an earlier one by Rediffusion. This was however the more successful one that has gone down in public memory.
Laloo Prasad Yadav also similarly was accused of using public money by advertising the achievements of the railways in pre-poll time.
For the first time in Maharashtra , Congress used a professional PR agency. Insiders say they spent Rs five crore for the exercise.
In 2004 advertising started with 90 per cent directed towards belittling the opposition. It ended with most ads of self praise by all parties.
(This article appeared in April `06 in Billboard, the weekly advertising page in the Hindustan Times)
INDIA KYA CHAHATA HAI?
Films mirror the aspirations and therefore tastes of the people, believes the fast rising czar of the Indian retail sector. So he too looks at Bollywood for ideas.
“If Salaam Namaste has done well in a city then our stores will definitely do well”, says Kishore Biyani, head honcho, Pantaloon Retail India Ltd. Owner of two of India’s biggest retail successes, Big Bazaar and Pantaloon, Biyani follows unconventional research methods to identify potential markets.
There’s method in this apparent madness, however. He looks at successful Hindi films as mirroring the preferences and aspirations of the Indian people. So if such a film centred around a live-in relationship did well in a city it means its people are ready for and open to modern, urban ideas in every aspect of their lives. Hence, Biyani believes, that they are ready for stores like his that personify an urban, international experience.
There’s proof enough. He has been following the increasing urbanization of the Indian public again, through films. So while Dil Chahata Hai did well in only the major metros a few years back, Kal Ho Na Ho won in many more, smaller cities like Indore where incidentally Biyani went on to open his stores. Then came Bunty aur Babli which had a small town background but big town aspirations. Everyone in the company was made to watch it to understand the consumer.
And now, Salaam Namaste has surprised everyone including the film producers by being a hit in cities like Siliguri, Ranchi, Lucknow and Kanpur among many others. So expect the stores in these cities shortly. 27 cities
Biyani stands vindicated as he pooh poohs the traditional market research that corporates world over love. He uses some research but only to verify his own hypothesis. And so far it’s worked fine.
Other megatrends that Biyani is watching develop with the help of films and TV and music: That the youth bases its preferences on factors other than talent, probably looks and style as opposed to 35-40 year-old who vote for talent. Source-Indian Idol. That woman are taken more seriously if seen wearing sarees over any other garment. Source: A host of Indian films and TV. And that youngsters are getting more religious. Sale of devotional music and the presence of youth in Siddhi Vinayak and Tirupathi
(This article appeared on the front page in the Hindustan Times in January `06)
Films mirror the aspirations and therefore tastes of the people, believes the fast rising czar of the Indian retail sector. So he too looks at Bollywood for ideas.
“If Salaam Namaste has done well in a city then our stores will definitely do well”, says Kishore Biyani, head honcho, Pantaloon Retail India Ltd. Owner of two of India’s biggest retail successes, Big Bazaar and Pantaloon, Biyani follows unconventional research methods to identify potential markets.
There’s method in this apparent madness, however. He looks at successful Hindi films as mirroring the preferences and aspirations of the Indian people. So if such a film centred around a live-in relationship did well in a city it means its people are ready for and open to modern, urban ideas in every aspect of their lives. Hence, Biyani believes, that they are ready for stores like his that personify an urban, international experience.
There’s proof enough. He has been following the increasing urbanization of the Indian public again, through films. So while Dil Chahata Hai did well in only the major metros a few years back, Kal Ho Na Ho won in many more, smaller cities like Indore where incidentally Biyani went on to open his stores. Then came Bunty aur Babli which had a small town background but big town aspirations. Everyone in the company was made to watch it to understand the consumer.
And now, Salaam Namaste has surprised everyone including the film producers by being a hit in cities like Siliguri, Ranchi, Lucknow and Kanpur among many others. So expect the stores in these cities shortly. 27 cities
Biyani stands vindicated as he pooh poohs the traditional market research that corporates world over love. He uses some research but only to verify his own hypothesis. And so far it’s worked fine.
Other megatrends that Biyani is watching develop with the help of films and TV and music: That the youth bases its preferences on factors other than talent, probably looks and style as opposed to 35-40 year-old who vote for talent. Source-Indian Idol. That woman are taken more seriously if seen wearing sarees over any other garment. Source: A host of Indian films and TV. And that youngsters are getting more religious. Sale of devotional music and the presence of youth in Siddhi Vinayak and Tirupathi
(This article appeared on the front page in the Hindustan Times in January `06)
E-STRATEGY: BACK TO THE FUTURE
After a near-death experience, the internet is fast becoming an important marketing medium. And while e-strategy may not yet have the chairman's attention because of its small numbers, it will grow exponentially as net and mobile connectivity increases.
Harsh Mehta and Bina Mathias, both 20 are your regular kids in the college canteen. But they have experiences that are the envy of their friends. They both met Aamir Khan as a prize while gaming on a contest site. They were two of the three lakh youth that participated in a Coke "advergaming" show where you could virtually play the role of Aamir Khan in different mofussil avatars.
Increasingly, brand owners are recognizing the power of the internet to draw the 15-30 year age group. The internet as an advertising and marketing medium is going through a renaissance of sorts after the severe existential crisis until `03. Ad spends crawled from Rs 70 crore in 03-04 to Rs 90 crore the next year. This year big companies like L'Oreal, Philips, Samsung, AXN, Star TV, UTI Bank, will together spend Rs 125 crore. Meenakshi Madhvani, managing partner, Spatial Access, says it will grow by 50 per cent year on year.
This is a miniscule one per cent of the total industry ad spends of Rs 10,000 crore. What's significant is the numbers a small campaign costing Rs 10-12 lakh can draw. (LOOK AT BOX1). Advertisers realize that experimenting with the medium comes cheap, be it net campaigns or advergaming (gaming centred around your brand) or constructing “microsites” with limited life (as for new product or movie launches). Compare this to a TV campaign where a film costs about Rs 25 lakh while TV time would be Rs 1.5 crore.
The internet has a lot going for it. 1) This age group that has growing spending power and influence over daddy's wallet is difficult to track through traditional media. Madhvani says that reading habits are erratic in this age group and she is sure even TV hours have reduced in favour of net surfing.
2) Net usage is more definable. Evolving technology makes it increasingly easier to minutely track the preferences of the surfer. As soon as you log in, the server tracks you and knows exactly how much time you send mailing, searching chatting or browsing," says Alok Kejriwal, CEO, contest2win. Advertisers then can narrowcast their messages and avoid the wastage.
3) The medium allows for interim correction. You release three or four banners of your campaign and watch the response. Then you replace the unpopular with the most popular. In fact, the server does that automatically after it collates data while you sleep. But God help you if you get your TV campaign wrong!
4) It gives the consumer the controls and the opportunity to actively interact with the brand. So his response is immediately recorded. Besides, the feeling of privacy encourages him to share personal information. Finance companies like HSBC, Citibank could vouch for this.
5) It delivers quality numbers and time spent with a brand. Kejriwal says that an average advergame would draw about 70,000 people each of who would spend three to five minutes there exclusively.
"The smart advertisers are no longer looking at page views", explains Madhvani. They are fine-tuning their campaigns to reach out to the right customer profile. Sanjay Purohit , director, sales & marketing, Cadbury India says “The digi-media is clearly evolving as a critical touch point to reach, inform and influence consumers.”
Companies are interested in building brands on the web as on traditional media. Look at corporations like Samsung who have created sites to build a user community. The Samsung Fun Club member can download games and ring tones, get information on the latest products. Purohit says “considering the exciting current estimates of internet and mobile phone usership, our long-term e-strategy would be to optimize these media in terms of their direct impact on the actual purchase behaviour.”
The problem for the web remaining so small was simply the numbers. Till two years back you had fewer than 15 million people connected against say 250 million that could watch TV at home. Today nearly 40 million are connected. But in less than five years 100 million people, mostly in this age group, will be connected, even by a conservative estimate. As telecom companies push broadband connectivity and all-the-time live internet in all the telephone homes, the numbers will certainly swell.
The heavy users are already there for over an hour. And they are far from net fatigue. Ask the first successful retail e-shop like FabMall that had revenues of Rs 15 crore in three years' time. Or budget airlines like Air Deccan whose business model is centred on e-sales that saves you a chunk of the costs. Or even the Indian Railways that sells one crore tickets everyday. V. Sudhakar, CEO, FabMall, “While we remained niche in the early days, the net surfer has matured and this will lead to bigger e-business.”
The fact is that Indians love technology. And so, e-strategy is becoming a popular term amongst marketing managers. The HSBC spokesperson says, "E-channels have helped us achieve significant cost reductions and increasing revenues. It gives us an edge over competition by reaching the customer first and pinpoint target our communication." V.
Apart from the web e-strategy will also include mobile telephony for sales, advertising and promotions. Companies like Hutch, HSBC, Lifestyle are using it to announce their services, due payments and sales. Star India created the first “mobisodes” or mobile episodes of Star One’s highest rated comedy show, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. Hutch offered 25 “mobisodes” of popular Tamilian comedian, Crazy Mohan’s plays as a value added service. It plans to grow its list. Mobile promotions will grow to encompass varied usage. You will soon have mobile coupons to shop for discounts. Location Based Marketing (LBM) will allow marketers to offer you services- say like a Happy Hour discount at a bar close to where you are - as mobile technology tracks where you are.
The bigwigs in corner offices have yet to sit up and notice the potential of the medium. "But chief executives had better hear about it", says Madhvani, "as returns on investment in such targeted media is ten times higher than traditional media". The only way to go now is headlong into virtual success.
300 WORD SIDEBAR
SOME MEMORABLE CAMPAIGNS
# Nescafe: Nescafe stimulates your senses. The advergame involved jumbled words that had to be "stirred" back to form the right words. The three strengths of coffee were reflected in the words. It got one million responses in a month's time.
# Cadbury’s Pappu Pass Ho Gaya, Each successful candidate of the 6.5 million students who checked their Std XII results via Reliance SMS would receive his marks and a tag line saying Let’s celebrate with Cadbury’s Dairy Milk. Another contest on the microsite drew over 50,000 students.
# Garnier Fructis shampoo: The brand proposition was "five times stronger hair". The game created a virtual braid and you could come and add a knot and tie yourself to it. You could invite others to visit your knot. It got 125000 people over a month's time.
#AXN TV: For its crime show, Crime Scene Investigation, the advergame had a crime scene where you searched for clues to solve it. You could also get them SMSed if you couldn’t do it yourself. It got 50,000 people logging in.
# Aitraaz, a blockbuster Hindi film that premiered on Zee Cinema: The film is based on the Hollywood film, Disclosure that deals with seduction. A microsite secret-seduction.com invited people to send seductive messages declaring their feelings. The recipient had to go to the site to identify his or her secret admirer. This viral mail – a popular e-technique -got nearly 4000 people to the movie ad over just two days. Samsung used this to make people invite their friends to their new note PC. They reached out to five million potential consumers.
# DSP Merill Lynch's : Typically finance banners give you limited information. But DSPML’s Super Systematic Investment Planning product banner immediately calculated EMIs, returns on investment etc. Over 5.7 mn impressions were delivered & 1783 people opted to go ahead with the product. The microsite homepage generated over 30,000 page views
(This article appeared in the Sunday edition of Hindustan Times in May `06)
After a near-death experience, the internet is fast becoming an important marketing medium. And while e-strategy may not yet have the chairman's attention because of its small numbers, it will grow exponentially as net and mobile connectivity increases.
Harsh Mehta and Bina Mathias, both 20 are your regular kids in the college canteen. But they have experiences that are the envy of their friends. They both met Aamir Khan as a prize while gaming on a contest site. They were two of the three lakh youth that participated in a Coke "advergaming" show where you could virtually play the role of Aamir Khan in different mofussil avatars.
Increasingly, brand owners are recognizing the power of the internet to draw the 15-30 year age group. The internet as an advertising and marketing medium is going through a renaissance of sorts after the severe existential crisis until `03. Ad spends crawled from Rs 70 crore in 03-04 to Rs 90 crore the next year. This year big companies like L'Oreal, Philips, Samsung, AXN, Star TV, UTI Bank, will together spend Rs 125 crore. Meenakshi Madhvani, managing partner, Spatial Access, says it will grow by 50 per cent year on year.
This is a miniscule one per cent of the total industry ad spends of Rs 10,000 crore. What's significant is the numbers a small campaign costing Rs 10-12 lakh can draw. (LOOK AT BOX1). Advertisers realize that experimenting with the medium comes cheap, be it net campaigns or advergaming (gaming centred around your brand) or constructing “microsites” with limited life (as for new product or movie launches). Compare this to a TV campaign where a film costs about Rs 25 lakh while TV time would be Rs 1.5 crore.
The internet has a lot going for it. 1) This age group that has growing spending power and influence over daddy's wallet is difficult to track through traditional media. Madhvani says that reading habits are erratic in this age group and she is sure even TV hours have reduced in favour of net surfing.
2) Net usage is more definable. Evolving technology makes it increasingly easier to minutely track the preferences of the surfer. As soon as you log in, the server tracks you and knows exactly how much time you send mailing, searching chatting or browsing," says Alok Kejriwal, CEO, contest2win. Advertisers then can narrowcast their messages and avoid the wastage.
3) The medium allows for interim correction. You release three or four banners of your campaign and watch the response. Then you replace the unpopular with the most popular. In fact, the server does that automatically after it collates data while you sleep. But God help you if you get your TV campaign wrong!
4) It gives the consumer the controls and the opportunity to actively interact with the brand. So his response is immediately recorded. Besides, the feeling of privacy encourages him to share personal information. Finance companies like HSBC, Citibank could vouch for this.
5) It delivers quality numbers and time spent with a brand. Kejriwal says that an average advergame would draw about 70,000 people each of who would spend three to five minutes there exclusively.
"The smart advertisers are no longer looking at page views", explains Madhvani. They are fine-tuning their campaigns to reach out to the right customer profile. Sanjay Purohit , director, sales & marketing, Cadbury India says “The digi-media is clearly evolving as a critical touch point to reach, inform and influence consumers.”
Companies are interested in building brands on the web as on traditional media. Look at corporations like Samsung who have created sites to build a user community. The Samsung Fun Club member can download games and ring tones, get information on the latest products. Purohit says “considering the exciting current estimates of internet and mobile phone usership, our long-term e-strategy would be to optimize these media in terms of their direct impact on the actual purchase behaviour.”
The problem for the web remaining so small was simply the numbers. Till two years back you had fewer than 15 million people connected against say 250 million that could watch TV at home. Today nearly 40 million are connected. But in less than five years 100 million people, mostly in this age group, will be connected, even by a conservative estimate. As telecom companies push broadband connectivity and all-the-time live internet in all the telephone homes, the numbers will certainly swell.
The heavy users are already there for over an hour. And they are far from net fatigue. Ask the first successful retail e-shop like FabMall that had revenues of Rs 15 crore in three years' time. Or budget airlines like Air Deccan whose business model is centred on e-sales that saves you a chunk of the costs. Or even the Indian Railways that sells one crore tickets everyday. V. Sudhakar, CEO, FabMall, “While we remained niche in the early days, the net surfer has matured and this will lead to bigger e-business.”
The fact is that Indians love technology. And so, e-strategy is becoming a popular term amongst marketing managers. The HSBC spokesperson says, "E-channels have helped us achieve significant cost reductions and increasing revenues. It gives us an edge over competition by reaching the customer first and pinpoint target our communication." V.
Apart from the web e-strategy will also include mobile telephony for sales, advertising and promotions. Companies like Hutch, HSBC, Lifestyle are using it to announce their services, due payments and sales. Star India created the first “mobisodes” or mobile episodes of Star One’s highest rated comedy show, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. Hutch offered 25 “mobisodes” of popular Tamilian comedian, Crazy Mohan’s plays as a value added service. It plans to grow its list. Mobile promotions will grow to encompass varied usage. You will soon have mobile coupons to shop for discounts. Location Based Marketing (LBM) will allow marketers to offer you services- say like a Happy Hour discount at a bar close to where you are - as mobile technology tracks where you are.
The bigwigs in corner offices have yet to sit up and notice the potential of the medium. "But chief executives had better hear about it", says Madhvani, "as returns on investment in such targeted media is ten times higher than traditional media". The only way to go now is headlong into virtual success.
300 WORD SIDEBAR
SOME MEMORABLE CAMPAIGNS
# Nescafe: Nescafe stimulates your senses. The advergame involved jumbled words that had to be "stirred" back to form the right words. The three strengths of coffee were reflected in the words. It got one million responses in a month's time.
# Cadbury’s Pappu Pass Ho Gaya, Each successful candidate of the 6.5 million students who checked their Std XII results via Reliance SMS would receive his marks and a tag line saying Let’s celebrate with Cadbury’s Dairy Milk. Another contest on the microsite drew over 50,000 students.
# Garnier Fructis shampoo: The brand proposition was "five times stronger hair". The game created a virtual braid and you could come and add a knot and tie yourself to it. You could invite others to visit your knot. It got 125000 people over a month's time.
#AXN TV: For its crime show, Crime Scene Investigation, the advergame had a crime scene where you searched for clues to solve it. You could also get them SMSed if you couldn’t do it yourself. It got 50,000 people logging in.
# Aitraaz, a blockbuster Hindi film that premiered on Zee Cinema: The film is based on the Hollywood film, Disclosure that deals with seduction. A microsite secret-seduction.com invited people to send seductive messages declaring their feelings. The recipient had to go to the site to identify his or her secret admirer. This viral mail – a popular e-technique -got nearly 4000 people to the movie ad over just two days. Samsung used this to make people invite their friends to their new note PC. They reached out to five million potential consumers.
# DSP Merill Lynch's : Typically finance banners give you limited information. But DSPML’s Super Systematic Investment Planning product banner immediately calculated EMIs, returns on investment etc. Over 5.7 mn impressions were delivered & 1783 people opted to go ahead with the product. The microsite homepage generated over 30,000 page views
(This article appeared in the Sunday edition of Hindustan Times in May `06)
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