From the desk of Strategic Resources For any query, discussion or feedback, please contact Pavan Chandra, Head of Strategic Resources at pchandra@zenithoptimediaindia.com, +91-124-4195100. Office Address: 10th Floor, Vatika Tower, Block-B, Sector 54 Gurgaon -122002, Haryana, India.

Volume: IX

December, 2007

In these hyper charged times where news comes in as fast as it becomes outdated, we need a source that can keep track of what matters to us. At ZenithOptimedia we have created Wavelength to apprise all of us of the happenings in three areas i.e. 1. Trends in Digital, Retail, OOH, BRIC, Consumers and the International Advertising 2. Media & Advertising Research 3. Environment

Also included here are innovations and news that ZenithOptimedia is making across its network globally, under three sections 1. ZO Zone 2. Fast Forward 3. Touchpoints.

Simply click on any of the sections on our snazzy control panel and you will have the latest updates at your fingertips. Wavelength will reach you in the first week of every month so that you have information that leads to insights.

Drop in a mail at pchandra@zenithoptimediaindia.com with your suggestions and comments.

 

Emerging Trends: Digital

 

01. India witnessing increased digital infrastructure penetration of broadband and mobile networks – Nov 24

According to 'Entertainment and Media: India going Digital', a report released by FICCI along with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), India is currently witnessing a trend of increased digital infrastructure penetration of broadband and mobile networks. This has made broadcasting, streaming, and downloading digitised content possible from diverse platforms with a variety of devices. Consequently, greater opportunities have been created for content providers in India to monetise their content across various digital media and devices. The study further revealed that broadcasters are entering into strategic alliances with digital networking companies and teaming up with Internet companies and wireless providers to stream programming, both over the Internet and mobile devices. 

 

Source: Exchange4media

 

 

Emerging Trends: Retail

 

02. Kirana stores to remain important part of Indian retail – Nov 13

According to Rajeev Karwal, director, Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a start-up venture that provides management capital for micro and small and medium enterprises, local groceries or ‘kirana’ stores will continue to survive despite the growing big format retailers. Small retailers score over bigger ones by providing home deliveries and granting credit. He also said that while international retailers operate at a margin of 30%, Indian retailers have to operate with low margins of between 4 and 8% only. This along with high expenditure on infrastructure, electricity, training, technology, security, and advertisement add to low operating margins.

 

Source: The Hindu Business Line  

 

 

Emerging Trends: OOH

 

03. Indian OOH media spending on the upswing – Nov 06

According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers’ report, the Indian Out Of Home (OOH market), currently valued at Rs 1,000 crore, is expected to grow to Rs 2,150 crore by 2010 at a growth rate of 17% per annum. According to Sanjay Pareek, president, Percept Out-of-Home, OOH accounts for 5-7% of the total media spending and is growing at over 15%. This growth can be attributed to the FMCG segment, which is using outdoor media to target rural audience (micro markets). The emergence of super markets, hypermarkets and specialty stores has also added to the growth of the medium.        

 

Source: Business Standard

 

 

Emerging Trends: Others

 

04. Non-traditional media spend to increase – Nov 21

According to a study by Lintas Integrated Marketing Action Group (IMAG), by 2008, below-the-line advertising spends will equal print & TV advertising. This means that the ratio of traditional advertising versus non-traditional media such as activation, digital marketing, out-of-home advertising, and events, will be 50:50. The study also reflects that though advertisers are keen to spend on activation (ground events, sampling) and digital marketing, they do not find enough help.  

 

Source: Business Standard

 

 

05. Travel industry usage of mobile advertising to triple in five years – Nov 18

According to global market research analysis agency 'Euromonitor', as more and more mobile handsets become internet-enabled, the opportunity to market destinations to Indian mobile users for the travel industry will increase three times in the next five years. Indian Railways has already introduced the facility of booking tickets through SMS and many airlines are also expected to follow suit.

 

Source: Press Trust of India Limited

 

 

06. Advertisers yet to use social networking sites as revenue-earning medium – Nov 13

According to a report by consulting firm JuxtConsult, social networking sites account for 44% of the country’s Internet traffic. However, advertisers have not yet started using them as a revenue-earning medium. According to industry sources, social networking sites need to build a strong user base and give users an uninterrupted experience for two to three years to drive revenues. According to the advertisers, though social networking sites do not directly generate revenues, they are good mediums to influence decisions. According to Gulrez Alam, group head, Paid Search, Communicate2, a paid-search marketing company, “Social media sites will soon have alternative revenue generating tactics that will help influence the user without intruding on the experience, that’s the way ahead.”         

 

Source: Mint

 

 

07. Indian brands launching CSR campaigns online – Oct 29

Corporate social responsibility is becoming more interactive with Indian brands effectively creating two-way online interactions with customers on socially relevant issues. Tata Tea has tied up with the ‘Jaago India’ mission and has been running a campaign with the tag line 'Jaago re' to create a sense of awakening. HSBC has created its own website, yoursolutions.co.in, for discussing cultural and environmental issues. The companies upload original videos on their site regarding the issues. According to C.V.S Sharma, senior vice-president and director, Arc Worldwide, “The Internet is a fantastic medium for social campaigns. It helps in building cause-related awareness in a way which cannot happen in typical advertising.”

 

Source: Agencyfaqs

 

 

08. Mobile advertising might grow at 200% a year – Nov 12

The expanding mobile phone user base in India is giving telemarketers the opportunity to reach well-defined target audiences among the masses, and especially the Indian youth, through mobile advertising. Mahesh Prasad, president, Applications, Solutions and Content group, Reliance Communications, estimates the present Indian mobile advertising market at Rs 50 crore, and believes that the market has the potential to grow at 200% a year. He also adds that the availability of high-end handsets supporting GPRS will help mobile advertising to grow considerably in the coming years. According to Suresh Narasimha, CEO of Bangalore-based Telibrahma Convergent Communications, the global mobile advertising industry is expected to reach $11 billion in 2009 and India should account for more than 1% of this overall value chain.

 

Source: The Hindu Business Line

 

 

09. Online travel sites offering rewards to retail customers – Oct 29

According to eMarketer, the online travel industry, valued at Rs 5,500 crore in 2006-07, is the largest contributor to e-commerce in India and is expected to grow by 30% over the current fiscal year (April 07–March 08). However, the industry is facing low customer retention and has thereby come up with reward schemes to retain clients. For instance, MakeMyTrip.com has initiated a loyalty programme called ‘i-Mint’ in association with companies that include Airtel, ICICI, Lifestyle and HPCL. Whenever a customer makes a transaction with any of these companies, he gets some points, a pool of which he can redeem later on purchases on MakeMyTrip. Yatra.com also has two reward programs for its loyal customers. One includes loyalty points awarded to customers on each purchase from Yatra, while the other offers freebies to customers through a Barclay Bank Card.   

 

Source: Agencyfaqs

 

Emerging Trends: International

 

10. US total discretionary income reached $1.7 trillion in 2006– Nov 23

According to a report by The Conference Board, nearly 73 million US households now have discretionary (spendable) income, up from about 57 million in 2002. Total discretionary income in the US topped $1.7 trillion in 2006, with the household average at $24,335. The proportion of the US population with discretionary income has increased to nearly 64%, up from 52% in 2002. 

 

Source: Centre For Media Research

 

 

11. Word of mouth marketing growing through social networking sites – Nov 21

According to Nielsen Online research brief on the trust placed in word of mouth marketing through social networking sites and blogs in the US, MySpace.com had 58.8 million unique visitors in October 2007, growing 19% over October 2006. Myspace.com is followed by facebook, which had 19.5 million unique visitors, an increase of 125% over October 2006.

 

Source: Centre For Media Research

 

 

12. Teens and young adults use mobile phones for social networking – Nov 19

The mobile channel remains one of the most powerful tools for brands and companies for marketing and advertising, according to 'Mobile Attitude and Usage Study' conducted by Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and Synovate. The study found that 54% teens and young adults (13-24 years) use text messaging more than any other demographic for social networking. The study further revealed that sweepstakes and voting campaigns were the most widely used types of mobile marketing.

 

Source: Exchange4media

 

 

13. US teens prefer shopping at stores to catalogue and online – Nov 16

According to the 'Teen Topix Study' by OTX (Online Testing eXchange), a global consumer research and consulting firm, 95% of teens chose shopping at stores and malls, over catalogue and online. However, 65% of teens said they use the Internet to find out about new, 'cool' products, friends come in a close second at 62%, and 54% of teens find about new products from commercials on TV. The study also found that holiday shopping remains a social experience as 84% of teens said they will shop with others, while 16% will shop alone, and 74% prefer to shop with their friends, versus 26% who said they would rather shop with their parents.   

 

Source: PR Newswire

 

 

14. Shortening attention span of consumers posing a challenge to marketers – Nov 06

According to a survey by Burst Media, an online media and technology company, internet users are multitasking and incorporating different and new media types into an interconnected experience. The study found that over four-fifths (82.4%) of respondents are involved with another media, activity, or device while online. Among these multi-taskers, nearly one-quarter (23.6%) are “super-taskers” juggling four or more tasks while online. Watching television (58.3%) is the most common offline activity connected with Internet consumption. The consumer’s attention span is fragmented, whether doing work, talking on the phone, listening to the radio or playing video games, consumers are simultaneously pulling information from an array of sources. Therefore, the implication for marketers is to concurrently direct ad dollars into an array of media choices to capture this fragmented attention.   

 

Source: Business Wire

 

 

15. Experiential marketing gaining momentum – Nov 05

With the changing media landscape, experiential marketing—the methodology of engaging consumers with brands in personal and memorable ways—is quickly gaining strength as the most effective marketing approach. According to Erik Hauser, founder and director of the Experiential Marketing Forum (EMF), “Experiential marketing is fast becoming the clear differentiator for success in both the advertising industry and with its customers; it’s the methodology of choice for smart marketers in a fragmented marketplace going through seismic changes.”         

 

Source: Business Wire

 

 

16. Television still popular among viewers for watching their favourite shows – Nov 02

According to a Nielsen report, television tuning during the 2006-2007 television year (9/18/06-9/23/07) remained at the record levels set in 2006, while the number of homes with Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) more than doubled.  The total average time a household had a TV set tuned during the 2006-2007 television year was 8 hours and 14 minutes per day and the average amount of television watched by individual viewers dipped by 1 minute per day to 4 hours and 34 minutes. According to Patricia McDonough, senior vice president, Planning Policy & Analysis at Nielsen Media Research, "Though there are numerous screens competing for time and attention, as well as consumer devices providing new ways for viewers to watch their favorite shows, the results of this study demonstrate that tuning to traditional television remains strong."

 

Source: Centre For Media Research  

 

 

17. Social media and conversational marketing to outpace traditional marketing by 2012 – Oct 31

According to a study by TWI Surveys, Inc. on Behalf of Society for New Communications Research, social media and conversational marketing will outpace that of traditional marketing by 2012. The study further revealed that social media adoption though at a nascent stage, will grow significantly in 2008-2012 period. Nearly 57% of respondents reported that in 5 years time, what they spend on conversational marketing will be greater than that of traditional marketing.

 

Source: Centre For Media Research

 

 

18. Advertisements telling story about the brand are more engaging – Oct 29

According to a study ‘On the Road to a New Effectiveness Model’ by The Advertising Research Foundation and American Association of Advertising Agencies, advertisements that tell a branding story work better than ads that focus on product positioning. However, Bill Cook, ARF senior vice president-research and standards said that for storytelling ads to be truly effective, the plots need to tie in to a positive brand message. 

 

Source: Mediapost

 

 

19. Online search, a powerful tool for CPG branding – Oct 26

The study, conducted by comScore, Inc. in partnership with Procter & Gamble, Yahoo! and the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization found that consumer packaged goods categories demonstrated the power of online search in supporting branding, as well as building traffic. The categories studied were baby care, personal care, home care and packaged food. The study found that a majority of US consumers visited Web sites for CPG products and a significant percentage of consumers do arrive at the CPG sites via search. Nearly 64% of searchers, versus 44% of non-searchers, reported visiting sites for purposes of getting help with their purchase decisions (including getting/comparing products and finding where to buy a product locally) where as viewing companies' official Web sites was cited as a purpose by 29% of searchers and 22% of non-searchers. However, for special product offers and promotion related knowledge, 59% of non-searchers visit the sites as compared to 47% of searchers.

 

Source: Mediapost

 

 

20. Interactive marketing spending to grow - Oct 26

According to a Forrester report, interactive marketing spending in the US will reach $61 billion by 2012 with a CAGR of 27%. The interactive marketing, 8% of all ad spending, will grow to 18% of total ad budgets in five years. Other ad spending such as search marketing will grow at a CAGR of 26% to $25 billion by 2012. According to Forrester Research Principal Analyst Shar VanBoskirk, with firms continuing to make customer centricity a higher priority, separate marketing teams for managing separate channels will gradually merge into one interactive marketing team.

Source: Centre For Media Research

 

BRIC Zone - China

 

21. China to become largest broadband market in 2010 – Nov 23

According to the Ministry of Information and Industry (MII), there were over 50 million broadband users in China at the end of 2006; MII anticipates this number to exceed 100 million in 2010. The number will make China the largest broadband market in the world.   

 

Source: NewsTrak Daily

 

 

22. Retailers to study consumer spending behaviour to stay in the market – Nov 22

With a booming domestic market for multinational consumer companies and the rising middle class, the expectations of Chinese consumers from multinationals are increasingly augmenting. Hence, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group executives, companies must secure a marketing advantage through consumer insight and segmentation, and ensure lasting brand loyalty by developing superior product functionalities and emotional affiliations. According to “Winning the Hearts and Minds of China's Consumers" study by The Boston Consulting Group's Center for Consumer Insight – Asia, Chinese consumers try to know market prices and compare them across stores. They buy products on sale, shop at wholesale markets, buy off-season or defer a purchase until the price comes down. They also purchase products online and from catalogues, and buy substitutes if the resemblance to the real thing is good.      

 

Source: China Daily

 

 

23. China retail sales rose 18.1% year-on-year in October 2007– Nov 14

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, retail sales in October rose 18.1% year-on-year to 826.3 billion yuan. Reasons cited for this growth are China's equity market boom, higher inflation and strong income growth.  According to Goldman Sachs economist Yu Song, retail sales are expected to remain strong and will keep growing, supported by robust income growth.

 

Source: Xinhua Financial Network (XFN) News

 

 

24. China’s online ad market to grow – Nov 01    

According to an iResearch report, the total revenue of China's online advertising market reached RMB 1.08 billion ($145 million) in the second quarter of 2007, up 62.8% year-on-year and 32.4% quarter-on-quarter. Banner ads and paid searches accounted for nearly 74% of the total revenue from online advertising for the period. The report also revealed that rich media advertising, including the use of videos, flash and other multimedia content (which are still relatively new in the Chinese market), is developing rapidly. Total revenue from rich media advertising rose by 139.1% on an annual basis to RMB 120 million ($16.1 million) in the second quarter of 2007.    

 

Source: China Business Newswire

 

 

25. Chinese travellers prefer luxurious vacations overseas – Oct 30

According to a research by the Nielsen Company and Pacific Asia Travel Association, 37% Chinese travellers heading for overseas countries from China's three major cities choose to stay in four-star hotels, with another 10% selecting five-star hotels. This has boosted the luxury tour industry in overseas countries. According to Grace Pan, head of research with the Nielsen Company, Chinese consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and the travel industry needs to monitor changes and trends in their travel preferences, attitudes and perceptions.

Source: Shanghai Daily

 

BRIC Zone - Brazil

 

26. Brazil mobile phone users’ grew by 18.67% – Nov 19

According to the telecom regulatory body Anatel, Brazil's mobile phone users reached 114.69 million at the end of October 2007, rising 1.7% month-on-month. The mobile phone users in the country grew by 18.67% year-on-year in October 2007 compared to October 2006. According to Brazilian telecom research firm Portal Teleco, Brazil is expected to end 2007 with 120 million mobile phone subscribers, or a 20% year-on-year growth.

 

Source: Latin America News Digest

 

 

27. Brazil retail commerce sector’s sales rise 9.6% - Nov 12

The retail commerce sector’s sales during the first ten months of 2007 increased by 9.6% compared to those in the same period in 2006. This increase was a result of a 12.1% rise in the sales of specialized products (electric-electronic home appliances, vehicles and construction materials) during the January-October 2007 period over January-October 2006.

 

Source: Gazeta Mercantil News (Real Time)

 

BRIC Zone - Russia

 

28. Retail sales in Russia on the upswing – Nov 20

According to Renova Capital, the Russian retail market will grow 16.9% to $359 billion in 2007 from $307 billion in 2006. The main trends being seen in the Russian market are consolidation, growth in the share of retail, regional expansion, multi-format stores and control over profit margins.      

 

Source: Russia & CIS Business and Financial Newswire

 

 

29. Pay TV market in Russia to grow – Oct 26

According to industry analysts, the Russian pay TV market will grow with an annual revenue growth of 30% to 50%, and is expected to reach a value of $650million to $680 million in 2007. According to the analysts, the growth will come from increasing subscriber bases instead of rising average revenue per users (ARPU).

 

Source: Prime-TASS News (Russia)

 

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Media & Advertising Research Watch

 

30. Media industry poised for major growth – Nov 23 

According to ‘The New Economics of Indian Film Industry: Creativity and Transformation’, a report by CCI-A.T. Kearney, the Indian media and entertainment industry is poised to grow at a CAGR of 18% to reach $25 billion (Rs. 1 trillion) by 2011 from the existing size of $11 billion (Rs. 450 billion). The report has further recommended the need for a dedicated regulator to monitor the way the media industry structure takes shape. The report has suggested that the government should create opportunities to nurture talent by increasing awareness on the potential career opportunities and offering courses on various aspects of the creative industry. The report has also demanded a unified tax regime for the entire country and a trade-off analysis at the industry level to reduce the entertainment tax.

 

Source: The Hindu

 

 

31. Mobile advertising emerging as the biggest competitor to Internet advertising – Oct 29 

According to a study by global analysis firm Thomas Weisel International, mobile advertising in India is emerging as the biggest competitor to Internet advertising. Though the market value of online mobile advertising (nearly Rs 0.6 crore) is negligible compared to that of Internet advertising (nearly Rs 30 crore); advantages such as providing customised or personalised advertisements to target groups give mobile advertising an edge over Internet advertising. Meridian Mobile CEO Rajiv Khanna considers that the faster penetration of cell phones than that of personal computers will also result in huge opportunities for mobile advertisers. The emergence of high-end handsets and portable devices will contribute to this trend.

 

Source: Agencyfaqs

 

AdEx Findings

 

32. OTC sector advertising during January-September 2007  

For the period of Jan-Sep ’07, print advertising by the OTC (Over the Counter) sector grew by 9% over that in Jan-Sep ’06. During the same period, a 12% year-on-year growth was observed in the ad volumes of the OTC sector on TV.

 

Source: indiantelevision.com; Exchange4media

 

 

33. TV and Print Ad volumes of loans during January-September 2007

In Jan-Sep’07, TV and print ad volumes of loans dropped by 13% and 25% respectively, from those in Jan-Sep ’06. 

 

Source: Indiantelevision.com, Exchange4media   

 

 

34. Sales promotion ads in print during January-September 2007

Sales promotion ads held an 18% share of print advertising volumes during Jan-Sept '07. Price promotions and multiple promotions together accounted for a 52% share of total sales promotion in print. Sales promotion ad campaigns were utilized the maximum by Maruti Suzuki Ltd., which was the number one advertiser.

 

Source: Exchange4media

 

 

35. Print advertising during January-September 2007

For the period of Jan-Sep ’07, overall print ad volumes rose by 1.6% over those in Jan-Sep ’06. Print promotions of radio channels recorded a growth of 104%, whereas those of TV channels saw a drop of 1% during the same period. 

 

Source: Exchange4media; Exchange4media 

 

 

36. TV advertising during January-September 2007

For the period of Jan-Sep ’07, overall TV ad volumes rose by 33% over those in Jan-Sep ’06. Radio promotions and print publication promotions on television rose by 314% and 66%, respectively, during this period.    

 

Source: indiantelevision.com; indiantelevision.com

 

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Environment Watch

Regulation

 

37. Self-regulatory guidelines issued by ASCI for food and beverage advertisers – Nov 24

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has framed self-regulation guidelines on the advertising of food and beverages and will make them applicable from January 1, 2008. The guidelines have been framed with the objective of observing caution and care while promoting products containing high fat/sugar/salt, directed at children below the age of 13 years. The guidelines also say that advertisements should not mislead consumers into believing that the consumption of the advertised product directly results in positive changes in intelligence, physical ability or exceptional recognition.

 

Source: Times of India

 

 

38. Cable TV consumers to have itemized bill – Nov 20

In a move to usher transparency in the cable television segment in metros, TRAI has asked all multi-system operators (MSOs) and cable operators to provide itemised bills to metro subscribers. Through this move, the cable bill will have details such as the price of each pay channel, bouquet, and set-top box rental in CAS areas.

 

Source: The Economic Times

 

 

39. Government announces guidelines for 3G policy – Nov 13

On November 12, 2007, the government announced that all the radio frequencies offering third generation (3G) services would be sold through an auction process, where all telcos – existing operators, licence holders and new international players – would all be allowed to bid. This policy enables mobile users in India access to high-end data applications on their mobiles, including high-speed interactive gaming and Internet access, video conferencing, video streaming and various other multimedia features. Telecom minister A Raja also unveiled the guidelines for wireless broadband services (also called WiMax services) said that this platform would help increase broadband penetration in the country. 

 

Source: The Economic Times

 

 

40. New guidelines for community radio operators by I&B – Nov 07

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued guidelines that allowed the existing community radio stations and operators to air limited advertising and local news. The maximum duration of such advertising has been restricted to five minutes per hour of broadcast. As per the new guidelines, the permission of airing limited advertising and local news will be for a period of five years instead of three years allowed under the old norms. All the existing community radio operators who want to migrate to the new policy guidelines will have to sign a revised Grant of Permission Agreement (GOPA) with the Ministry.    

 

Source: The Press Trust Of India Limited

 

 

Environment Watch: Advertising & Media

New Media

41. Shyam Radio launches IPTV– Oct 27

Shyam Radio, the first online Tamil radio from Chennai, has launched an online Tamil TV, Shyamtv.com. Shyam IPTV is currently webcasting clippings and songs, and plans to offer entertainment programs such as those on regular TV channels. Shyam IPTV targets the overseas and the non-Tamil TV channel zones.   

 

Source: Exchange4media

 

Television

42. Prasar Bharati to roll out HDTV by 2010 – Nov 17 

Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati plans to introduce HDTV in the country by 2010, when viewers would be able to watch the Commonwealth Games in the high-definition mode. The broadcaster is expected to soon launch high-definition TV (HDTV) services on an experimental basis to consider its financial viability. The Central government is also looking at formulating a policy framework to introduce and promote HDTV. HDTV is a digital television broadcasting system with greater resolution than traditional television signals.

 

Source: The Economic Times  

 

Print

 

43. Outlook Group to launch “People” magazine by mid 2008 – Nov 17

The Outlook Group has signed an agreement with American publisher Time Inc. to bring ‘People’ magazine to India by the end of first half of 2008. According to Maheshwer Peri, President & Publisher, Outlook Group, ‘People’ would be targeted at SEC AB, and would attract individuals having a taste of current affairs magazine such as Outlook or a film related magazine.

 

Source: Exchange4media

 

 

44. The Indian Magazine Congress (IMC) 2007 – (Oct 8-9)

The Indian Magazine Congress (IMC) 2007, held in Mumbai from 8-9 October, explored the Indian magazine journey to 2020, the strategies to engage readers and gauged the current rapid growth of business. The following points were highlighted in the conference:

·         With more media companies entering the magazine business, the Indian magazine industry has shown much progress in revenue earnings and readership.

·         With a saturated western market, international magazines are entering the Indian magazine market and have presented India with an opportunity to become one of the major markets for international players.

·         Attributes of the present Indian magazine industry include high adaptability and quality editorial.

·         There is a need to use digital technology to engage consumers.

·         Emphasis has been laid on mobile advertising revenue generation and on the importance of partnering with international publications for cost cutting and increasing effectiveness.

·         To reap maximum benefit, media firms have been recommended to pay attention to advertisers and to tapping the youth in the target readership group. 

 

Source: Exchange4media; Exchange4media; Exchange4media

 

 

Radio

 

45. RAM unveils data for Week 38-42 (Sep 09’07 – Oct 13 ‘07) - (Oct 31–Nov 06)

According to data released by Radio Audience Measurement (RAM), an independent division of TAM Media Research,  for the period between Week 38 - 42:

·          Radio listenership in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore was 65 lakhs, 74 lakhs, and 36 lakhs respectively.

·          Radio Mirchi, Red FM and BiG FM were market leaders in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, respectively.

·          The lowest target group (20-24 years) of the radio stations comprised nearly 16%, 15%, and 13% of listenership in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore respectively. In Delhi, the highest number of listeners (25%) fell in the age group of 24-35 years. In Mumbai (24%) and Bangalore (25%), the highest number of listeners fell in the age group of 45yrs+.

·          In all the three markets, the number of male listeners was higher compared to female listeners. The gap was the highest in Mumbai, where the male share was 57% of the total pie, followed by Delhi (56%) and Bangalore (53%).

·          RAM data also unveiled that 85% of radio listenership happens at home across Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore.

 

Source: Exchange4media; Exchange4media; Exchange4media

 

 

Others

 

46. Digital Signage Asia – (Nov 21-22)

During the ‘Digital Signage Asia 2007’ – the first expo and convention for the digitalised media industry held on Nov 21- 22 – industry experts gave the following insights:

·          Digital signage, which includes networks such as Plasma Monitors, LCD Monitors, CRT Monitors, Projection Displays, Kiosk, as a medium is relatively new in India, and has a promising future if treated in an appropriate manner by the media planners and advertisers.

·          As the market dynamics of in-store TV in India is completely different from that of other nations such as the US and Japan, emphasis has been made on making right investments in right directions such as in learning, co-creating content and more importantly, in creating an industry body that would look after the measurement metrics.

·          Digital signage can emerge as the medium that can bridge the gap between above the line (ATL) and below the line (BTL) activities. This is because of the cost efficiency of BTL and the feel of the ATL. Other factors that can make digital OOH a successful medium are its micro targeting ability, immediacy, selling by day part and interactivity.

 

Source: Exchange4media; Agencyfaqs

 

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Touch Points

 

Touchpoints is a unique tool for ZenithOptimedia clients that provide clear actionable metrics for all contact points used in marketing products and services.

 

For a detailed presentation on Touchpoints contact Mr. Pavan Chandra at pchandra@zenithoptimediaindia.com or call at +91-9899-3767-68
 

 

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ZO Zone

  

New Era of Reality Shows

Making Stars out of nobody seems like the key mantra the Mass Hindi Channels are employing today to secure a place in the TRP game. The rising popularity of the reality shows on television channels has added a new dimension to the production of TV programs. These shows give opportunities to the prodigies residing in the interiors of the country to showcase their talent.

Packed with adequate drama and pace these Reality/ Talent hunts gave television a much required face lift and a breather from the saas-bahu soaps. Thus playing on the Indian sentimentalities the shows became huge success.

2007  was  yet  again  packed  with  yet  another  Season  for  each  of  them.  Zee  Saregama  Challenge, Indian Idol 3, Star VOI all started in May 2007. Nach and JDJ started in September.

Zee’s Saregama stood out in the race with higher TVRs that VOI and Indian Idol

Out of all the Reality/ Talent Search, Zee Saregama Challenge 2007 garners maximum ratings with an average of rating of 4. Star’s VOI comes second with average rating of 3.

Saregama Grand Finale episode ended at rating of 7 TVRs.
 

 
Source: TAM TA: 4+ AB AA CnS, Period: 1st May-3rd Nov 2007, Market: HSM
 

However while evaluating Programme CPRPs, Star Voice of India proves to be more cost efficient in comparison to Saregama.  For  an  average  advertiser/client,  the  Grand  Finales  though  sold  at  an exorbitant rate always prove to be effective buys with the programme ratings doubling. For Zee the Grand Finale settled at a better CPRP than regular episodes.
 

 

In the case of Dance Shows the scenario is a little different, Friday’s for both the show is the day of performances the results of which are announced next day. In case of Nach Baliye Friday garners more ratings than Saturday; however Jhalak Dikh La Ja is able to maintain enough interest by way of strong drama and suspense even on the day of result announcement.

While translating buying into planning on the genre, if we take similar investments on all the three Talent Hunts, VOI proves to be the most efficient for an average client.
 

 
Source: TAM TA: 4+AB AA CnS, Period June 2007, Market: HSM
 

In order to obtain best optimum planning results, combination of Star and Sony would prove to be the most efficient, while Zee and Sony also as an option does fairly well. On base reach of 5133 (Reach  ‘000s) by Star VOI, Sony gives an additional of 4527 (Reach’000s), while Zee only adds to 4146 (Reach  ‘000s).
 

 
 

Another reason that explains lower additional reach by Zee could be the fact that the      audience duplication between Zee and Star Plus is higher than Star Plus and Sony. This is also attributed to the  fact that content apart from the timing for Zee and Star programme is almost the same, while Sony  brings in some differentiated element being an acquired format of the Original (American Idol).
 

 

To conclude, reality shows are certainly a safe bet to plan on. So much so today all the big banner/ Directors from Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Yash Raj Movie to SRK Movies are being promoted through these programme.  Going  by  their  popularity  and  loyal  viewership  its  an  apt  way  to  reach  out  to  the audience and build an emotional connect. Also being primarily music and dance they give a perfect fit for Movie’s music to get incorporated.

 

So watch out for the upcoming grand finales:
 

 

The reality shows next line up is as follows:
 

 

 

Viewership Analysis of English Movie Channels
For the last 4 weeks (21st October 2007 – 17th November 2007)

 

Top 2 Programs Across English Movie Channels

Source: TAM

Period: 21st Oct – 17th Nov
Market: 1 Mn +
TG: 15-44, Sec – A, M, CS


 

Change In Channel Share 2007 vs 2006

 

 

Source: TAM

Period: 21st Oct – 17th Nov 2006
21st Oct – 17th Nov 2007
Market: 1 Mn +
TG: 15-44, Sec – A, M, CS

 

Top 5 Program Ratings Across Various Target Audiences   

 

Source: TAM

Period: 21st Oct – 17th Nov
Market: 1 Mn +
TG: 15-44, Sec – A, M, CS


 

Advertising Spend Analysis for cars and jeeps category for the Year 2005 & 2006

Cars and Jeeps
 

Monthly Media Expenditure

 

Source: IMRB & AC Nielson
(Reported Figures)

 

Cars and Jeeps Category – Brandwise spends

 

Source: IMRB & AC Nielson
(Reported Figures)
 

Medium Breakup

 

 

 

 

Source: IMRB & AC Nielson
(Reported Figures)
 

 

Genre Breakup

 

 

Source: IMRB & AC Nielson
(Reported Figures)
 

 

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Fast Forward

     Word of mouth – or ‘buzz’ – marketing

How important is word of mouth, and how does it spread?

Word of mouth, or buzz, simply refers to consumers talking about brands. It is one of the most important factors influencing consumers’ decisions to purchase products or services. New technologies like the internet have increased the speed at which buzz spreads, and the distance it travels, often in a public and trackable manner. The internet is also a rich source of information for those consumers – information catalysts – who are most likely to spread information about brands. These are the people you have to reach if you want to influence the buzz about your brand.

Art Maldoon (BzzAgent): A recent study showed that eight out of ten consumers are heavily influenced by word of mouth before making a purchase decision. Conversation and sharing information helps consumers navigate all the marketing they are exposed to.

Bruce Goerlich (ZenithOptimedia): Our proprietary Touchpoint research shows that recommendations – whether from a friend, family member or professional expert – are almost 90% of the time the top Touchpoint – the element that most influences consumers’ decisions. However, even though it’s the most influential element, it isn’t necessarily the one that happens the most. So the interesting thing is how to stimulate that word of mouth, so that it does.

Todd Lowe (MTV): It’s now more measurable and transparent.

Eric Peterson (Moxie): Word of mouth has always been part of the consumer purchase equation, it’s just it always used to be in person or over the phone. Now technologies like the internet have increased the scale and speed at which it propagates. People used to talk to the expert in their inner circle, but now you can reach out that anonymous yet friendly group of experts out on the web. It’s become a matter of scale: you’re no longer relying on just one person’s opinion. And as technology has become easier to use, it is graduating across all age groups.

Bruce Goerlich (ZenithOptimedia): From research that we see, 73% of brand conversations happen face to face, and about 17% happen on the phone. That’s not to say that there are not a lot of conversations on the internet, but the real power of the internet is to make in-depth information available much easier and much faster. What the academic research shows is that there’s a small group of people that are information catalysts, and what the internet has done is allowed them to get that information much faster and to a broader group of people. There are certain people who go to the internet, get that information, then and have face-to-face conversations.

Eric Peterson (Moxie): I think that’s going to vary a lot by category – there’s a lot of participation on travel websites, for example. But people who have always liked to be influential now have another source of information to become that authority.

Bruce Goerlich (ZenithOptimedia): There are two types of these information catalysts. There are the 13-18 year-olds, who love to talk about brands. They’re involved in media and technology more, they’re going out to fast-food restaurants, they’re involved in areas where there’s a lot of information and a lot of new things happening. That’s one target. The other target is the upper income, well-educated, middle aged people who are the social authorities in their towns and cities. They’re not necessarily the richest people in town, but they’re the social activists. They can be conservative or liberal, they’re on the PTA, they’re the respected people in their communities that other people turn to and ask questions and advice about. Those are the folks who are most likely to spread information about brands.

Art Maldoon (BzzAgent): We work with a broad range of consumers from age 18 to age 80 or older, who are our buzz agents. We’ve signed up 320,000 people, about 70% of whom are female, and who are commonly about 25 to 40 years old. We have a lot of moms who enjoy the interaction we generate between consumer and marketer.
 

How to generate good word of mouth?

Consumers will naturally talk about the brands they like and good service they receive. A surprising story that resonates with the brand can ‘go viral’ as people pass it on to their friends and colleagues, emailing it and posting it to their blogs. But advertising can be a very effective way to stimulate conversations about brands. Word of mouth should be considered alongside all the other elements of marketing, not as a stand-alone discipline.

Eric Peterson (Moxie): Have a good product, have a good experience, and have good customer service, because all the buzz in the world isn’t going to help you if you don’t have those three things.

Art Maldoon (BzzAgent): It starts with a great product, and a great product experience. It’s imperative that you are open and transparent, so people don’t feel they are duped and not fully aware of what’s going on.

Mark Voysey (Cunning): Nine years ago, we did a piece of work that was regarded as a turning point in word of mouth. It was for FHM, where our brief was to encourage individuals to vote for the 100 sexiest women. We took an image of one of the contestants and, because the brief was about voting, we projected a 90 foot image of her half naked on the Houses of Parliament, arguably the ultimate voting institution in the world. We did that on a rainy Sunday night with one AP photographer and a project team of three people, and that has been seen by millions upon millions of people around the world and taught in four US universities. When we did it back then it was the second ever commercial projection. Projections are a dime a dozen now. We get asked about 20 times a year to do them, but they would mean nothing these days. So for us it’s about constantly reinventing the wheel, coming up with exciting new work that gets talked abut.

Todd Lowe (MTV): Mark’s FHM example is a great example in a couple of ways. The first person to market with a tactic has viral potential. That’s why it pays off to be on top of the latest tactics. But the reason why the FHM piece works is because there’s a story behind it. It’s not just anyone projecting anything on to any building, it’s that brand projecting that image on that location. And that goes back to the main part of our business, storytelling. What’s the story? The story is not just the image; it’s who did it, why they did it, what resulted from it.

Bruce Goerlich (ZenithOptimedia): About 63% of brand conversations are positive. If you have a good product or a good service, people are going to talk about it. The number one thing that stimulates conversations about brands television – seeing television ads, or seeing the product demonstrated on television – the next is the internet, then print. Having a multimedia strategy is critical in getting brands talked about. The content of that message has to be something new and information-rich, so that those people that like to talk about brands feel they have some inside information. Because people want to feel like they’re in the know, that they’ve got more information than others. And of course humour and sex sell as well, and get people to talk.

Art Maldoon (BzzAgent): We’re doing a campaign now for a computer for kids. We developed a guidebook for our agents for this computer, and we’ll send 10,000 of these computers to moms who have got kids, who will experiment with them in the marketplace. Along with the package will come coupons and perhaps stickers, pins and buttons to share. The agent who has volunteered to be part of the campaign gets the product and information about it sent to them, receives emails and surveys, submits reports to us, talks about it with their friends, family and colleagues. That agent will never forget the fact that they were part of this campaign. And they will tell this to the people in their network. 90% of the word of mouth is favourable. Think of what the experience would have been if instead of a package sent to you like a present, we gave you a US$5 coupon to buy the product in the store. A very different level of word of mouth and buzz gets created based on the experience you get.

Eric Peterson (Moxie): You’re not only  you’re giving them tips how best to experience and enjoy.

Bruce Goerlich (ZenithOptimedia): What I’m concerned about is that our clients don’t just think about buzz as something you do as a special event. People talk about the big brands because they’re big spenders on multimedia marketing, because they’re in newspapers, because they’re on the web, because they’re doing event marketing, because they are out-of-home. The generation of conversation has got to be in all these different kind of places.
 

Tracking buzz

Agencies and clients need to agree some measure by which they can track how successful the campaign has been. The measure will vary from campaign to campaign, depending on the client’s goals and how the campaign is conducted.

Damon Peirson (Zenith Media): People can do a buzz-generating campaign, and then half way through realise they need to measure it. The one thing we say upfront is that we should figure out something we can measure buzz by, whether it’s by website visits, or handing out flyers that people can scratch off and redeem. We’ve just finished a campaign where people who walked by a window triggered an interactive graphic that crashed to the other side of the building. We put a motion detector there to see how many times it was triggered, and how many times people stopped in front of it. The big question is, what is the client trying to get out of the campaign?

Todd Lowe (MTV): It depends on the campaign. Campaigns with digital elements have the kind of metric that you would expect from any digital programme. You get unique visits, time spent engaged on the site, page views, and so on. We don’t have a lot of requests for advanced tools like Technorati, Blogspot or Google Trends. But we’re going to go down that road.

Mark Voysey (Cunning): We go into the measurement part of any project in the same bespoke way that we develop creative. We worked with HSBC to produce something called ‘Live Theatre’, which was up here in Manhattan. A bank is not the most exciting of places, but because we juxtaposed that with beauty queens and sports fanatics jumping up and down throwing popcorn about on the high street, people stopped and it watched it, and talked about it later. The aim was simply to build buzz, without any targets up front. After ten days of activity there we created such a buzz that they trebled new account openings in that bank. So it became instantly quantifiable.

Art Maldoon (BzzAgent): We measure word of mouth for clients in three ways. First, we look at the propagation of word of mouth in terms of generations. Our buzz agents, who receive the initial product experience, are Generation Zero. The people they interact with will be Generation One, and the people Generation One interacts with are Generation Two. We generally stop our initial measurements at Generation Two, but a good campaign will always continue beyond them. Feedback from Generation One allows us to quantify the total reach the campaign achieves. On average each agent will lead to about 60 communications between Generation Zero and Generation Two.

Second, every agent reports back to us about their campaign experience, creating a very rich database for us. For example, for a recent campaign we received 15,000 research reports back from the field. Our clients can then tap into the database, and see how the product was received, whether it was available in the agent’s area, whether they liked the packaging, if they were able to use it, how well it worked. We can measure the insights that are generated in the field as well as the buzz. The third part is the overall impact. We can do tests and control campaigns in different markets to see how much we can affect direct sales, or coupon redemption rates. It starts to get a little more scientific, in ways that marketers expect to measure other types of media.

Bruce Goerlich (ZenithOptimedia): It’s setting up a strategic discipline. It’s very good if you can come up with a tactical evaluation of a particular execution. All executions should have some specific measure of success. But then I think you have to raise it up to another level, which is consistently tracking word of mouth. You can do that through TalkTrack, or Blogspot or Google Trends or whatever. The third level is how word of mouth integrates into your overall communication campaign. If we just think of word of mouth as these one-off tactical executions, we’re really doing our client a disservice. We should really be thinking of it on a strategic level, which is that this is a communication channel we need to get the most from on an ongoing basis.
     

Responding to brand conversations

By paying attention to what people are saying about your brand, you can identify problems and address them. This can turn negative buzz into positive buzz – people who have been listened to and whose problems have been solved can feel better about a brand than people who have never had any problems at all.

Eric Peterson (Moxie): A lot of people focus on buzz as one-way, but you should always be monitoring it. Because whether or not you’re the catalyst for it or you’re participating in it, people are talking about you, sharing experiences with others. It’s a tremendous marketing tool, and you should be recycling that back in. You can turn a bad situation into a good one if you are attentive to people’s concerns and address them.

Art Maldoon (BzzAgent): For every agent that sends us feedback, we have a communications developer – a real human being – read and respond to that report. So when we get bad feedback about a product we have someone who can be there to move it into a more positive light. If an agent can’t find the product in store, we can tell them which stores to look in. If they misunderstood the intended use of the product, we can help them. A few years ago a shipment of coffee makers we sent out to the agents was defective, and some of them caught fire.

Through the agents we were able to track back the serial codes and identify that shipment, and reship them and send out apologies. The agents in the end felt they were served well because they understood what the problem was and that the manufacturers addressed it. If the underlying product is strong but there’s a misunderstanding in the marketplace, there are ways to modify that.

So if you’re doing a broad buzz campaign, what mechanisms do you put in place to troubleshoot in the event things don’t go as you expected? How can you insert yourself at any point and reframe what’s happening?

Todd Lowe (MTV): You should build flexibility into your process. You should decide in advance that you’re going to step in and optimise.

Bruce Goerlich (ZenithOptimedia): I think you need to do it all the time. I think any brand has to understand that people are talking about you all the time. You were talking about the power of the net. The power of the net is that comments can be distributed much more quickly. Brands need to be monitoring this and then adopt an attitude of quick response. So it’s not just when you have a particular event. Those conversations are happening all the time. Number one, have a good product, and number two, be responsive.
 

Pitfalls to Avoid

A new event or stunt is more likely to be talked about, but it also risks unexpected repercussions. It is important to understand the audience you want to reach, communicate with them honestly and transparently, and be mindful of how people outside your target audience might react to the story.

Damon Peirson (Zenith Media): To get buzz you have to be the first to come up with something, and it can be on the line between legal and illegal.

Mark Voysey (Cunning): Look at the Cartoon Network’s campaign for its Adult Swim strand. They put some cheap boxes around Boston, one was put in the wrong place and suddenly the bomb squad’s called in, part of Boston is shut down, and the story’s all over the world’s mainstream media.

Eric Peterson (Moxie): If you invite people to make videos about your brand, remember to look through the videos to screen some out before you publish them. We’ve had agencies who have tried to save face by saying they meant to let people make fun of the brand, but you need to have your infrastructure set up beforehand. Of course, it’s easy to say it in hindsight. You have to tip your hat to the folks who try it first, and thank them for teaching you some lessons that you won’t have to suffer through.

Bruce Goerlich (ZenithOptimedia): You need to understand your target. One advertiser with an older female target asked them to submit videos about an experience. After spending a million dollars they received three video submissions, one of which came from the agency. So you need to understand whether this type of event will appeal to the target. For a lot of categories this is hard – it’s a lot easier when you can put pretty girls on buildings.

Mark Voysey (Cunning): It’s not just about talking to the right people, it’s about talking to them in a genuine and authentic way. An example is the PSP launch, with the spray-painted graffiti ads, which got absolutely flamed on the gaming blogs. They thought it was totally disingenuous and false.
 

The future of word of mouth

As technology improves and is adopted throughout the population, more information will spread to more people more quickly. Marketers will be able to track conversations about their brands in more detail, and will be able to participate in these conversations more effectively. As this happens it will become an integral part of the marketing process.

Bruce Goerlich (ZenithOptimedia): What I hope will happen is that all brands will treat word of mouth as integral to marketing communication, and build it into their strategic process. So there’s an understanding you need to track it, both positive and negative, that you need to develop it. It’s not simply events, it’s an ongoing dialogue that’s happening with or without you, so you might as well join the conversation. It’s a conversation you need to continually have with your consumers.

Mark Voysey (Cunning): The technology is developing so quickly, I don’t think anyone can say where we’re going to be in five years time. But it’s going to be an even more democratic marketplace than the one we exist in at the moment. A fascinating area will be the use of social networking sites; sharing content among your peer group is going to be a big cultural change. Also, the technology will continue to spread through the different demographics.

Eric Peterson (Moxie): I think we’ll lose the ‘buzz’ out of buzz marketing, and it’ll all be looked at as marketing. As Bruce says, it’ll be part of the fabric and framework.

Todd Lowe (MTV): We’re going to get a better sense of who we should be talking to, and who they’re talking to. We’re going to see who our best catalysts are, and we’re going to talk to them in more meaningful ways.

Damon Peirson (Zenith Media): I think we’ll see a lot more 360 degree programmes, where we tie together what we’re doing with different media with word of mouth.

Art Maldoon (BzzAgent): As technology improves it will give marketers more and more detail about how these conversations are happening in accountable and forecastable ways, which makes this a legitimate form of marketing.

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