| 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outdated, we need a source that can keep track of what matters to us.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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