Zenith Optimedia
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: XI February, 2008

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In these hyper charged times where news comes in as fast as it becomes outdated, we need a source that can keep track of what matters to us.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: Consumer

 

01. IMRB Consumer Portrait 2008 – Jan 23

IMRB Consumer Portrait 2008: Understanding the new age consumer, organized by the Indian Market Research Bureau, showcased the following:

·         With changing consumerism in India, experts laid emphasis on contextual and localised communication.

·         The urban customer has been considered more value conscious and is ready to pay more for better quality products and services.

·         The growth in consumer spending has overtaken the GDP growth for the first time. Indian consumers are spending more out of home – on lifestyle products, events and entertainment – and this trend is expected to stay for long.

·         Small towns and cities are contributing to most of India’s growth. Media and marketing communication fueled the change in consumerism in India.

 

Source: Exchange4media

 

 

02. 91% Indians voted value for money as the most important criterion in choosing a grocery shop – Jan 09

According to a global online survey conducted by ACNielsen, value for money is the most important criterion for Indian consumers while choosing a grocery shop. The survey, conducted in 2007, interviewed 26,486 Internet users in 47 markets in Europe, the Asia Pacific, the US and West Asia on factors that influenced their choice of grocery store. Nearly 91% of the Indians voted for value for money as the leading criterion, with high-quality brands and products (79%) as the second-most important attribute in a grocery store, followed by location (54%) and parking space (54%). The survey revealed that price; promotions and perceptions are the most influential factors in helping consumers arrive at a perception of value. Indians associate those stores with value for money that offer cheaper products and discounts, and run regular promotions (79%).

 

Source: Agencyfaqs


 

Emerging Trends: Digital

 

03. Indian e-commerce market to expand to Rs 2,300 cr – Jan 22

According to a study conducted by Globsyn Group, an IT education company, the number of internet users that indulged in e-commerce (3.85 crore at the end of 2007), is expected to touch over 5 crore by the end March 2008. The study further stated that by the end of 2007-08, the Indian e-commerce market would go up to over Rs2,300 crore from Rs1,180 crore recorded at the end of 2007.   

 

Source: The Press Trust of India Limited

 

 

04. India Digital Summit 2008 – (Jan 11-14) 

The two-day Indian Digital Summit 2008, jointly organised by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Department of Information Technology, commenced on January 10 in Delhi. The major highlights of the summit were as follows:

·         Mark Read, Director- Strategy, WPP, and CEO, WPP Digital UK highlighted the vast growth potential in digital media and anticipated that global ad spends on digital media will double by 2010.

·        V Ramani, co-founder and vice-chairman, Connecturf, highlighted the problems with digital media and mentioned that the audience for digital advertising is fragmented and there is low penetration among women, teenagers, and language consumers.

·         During the keynote address for the session ‘Empowerment of the user and humanisation of the online world,’ Ashish Kashyap, CEO, Ibibo, said that the concept of privacy has not registered into Indian minds.

·        Dan Neary, VP-Emerging Markets, eBay Singapore, said, “There is an emergence of Generation Y, as it is the first generation of digital age, including laptops and iPods. This generation is interacting with each other through social networking and SMS. This generation is using the Internet more than television and is hugely influenced by the Internet.”

·        The session focused on the topic ‘Evolution and future of search marketing’ and ‘Games – The center of future entertainment’; stressed upon the fact that India is rapidly gaining the reputation of being the future destination for digital marketing. Though search marketing in India is still at a nascent stage, it is set to witness tremendous growth in the near future.

 

Source: Exchange4media; Exchange4media; Exchange4media; Exchange4media

 

 

Emerging Trends: Retail

 

 

05. Home shopping TV channel to be launched soon – Jan 21

A 24-hour home shopping television channel will be launched soon. According to Sundeep Malhotra, CEO of Homeshop18, a Network18 group venture, the first Indian shopping television channel will be launched by March 2008. The channel will focus on providing quality and branded products in an interactive format. The 24x7 shopping channel will target 550 million cable television viewers from 2,000 cities across the country. The channel has partnered with 150 brands and has more than 15,000 products to offer. According to the industry reports, virtual retail market has evolved over the years through platforms such as telephone shopping, catalogue shopping, and internet shopping.

 

Source: The Press Trust of India Limited

 

 

Emerging Trends: Others

 

06. Online advertising market to grow to Rs 2,250 crore in 2009 – Jan 09

The Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) estimates that the Rs 450-crore online advertising market is likely to grow to Rs 2,250 crore in 2009. As Internet populace crosses the 42-million mark, advertisers seek great potential in online advertising, which is less than 10% of companies’ overall corporate ad budgets. Focused targeting and performance-based orientation have helped online marketing grow exponentially.  A 2007 report by the software industry association group Nasscom estimates that the number of broadband subscribers, currently 1 million, will grow to be 20 million and the total number of Internet users will grow to 100 million by 2010.

 

Source: Agencyfaqs

 

 

07. Spoofs in advertising have taken off again – Jan 08

Spoofs are meant to drive in the fun element, and they do attract eyeballs. On several occasions in the past, those brands that have resorted to making spoofs on their competition have been fairly successful in grabbing attention, at least for a short span. With the recent release of the Kurkure Xtreme and Kinetic Flyte commercials, it seems that the trend of spoofs in advertising has taken off again.

 

Source: Exchange4media

 

 

08. Marketers in India considering Bluetooth marketing to send out messages to consumers – Jan 03

Marketers in India, who are still struggling with mobile marketing and its various forms, are now considering Bluetooth marketing, or Bluecast, a technology by which messages can be sent out wirelessly to mobile handsets that are in close proximity. Bluecasts allow brands to connect with their target audience based on a certain location. Branded content such as games, songs or videos created around the brand can be pushed by the marketers through Bluetooth for download at no cost. Brands can also conduct contests via Bluetooth by giving mobile coupons (m-coupons).

 

Source: Agencyfaqs

 

 

09. Mobile advergaming gradually catching advertisers eye – Jan 03

Advertisers are progressively building mobile advergames to get consumer attention. Mobile advergames are being preferred because of their interactivity and addictiveness. Through registration, games are used to collect consumer information, whereas consumers interact with the brand for a longer time. The addictiveness of the game is the key. This is because the amount of time spent on playing the game is perceived as aiding higher brand recall and cuts through clutter in delivering the brand message. According to Jump Games, a Reliance Entertainment venture, mobile advergaming is the fastest growing segment of the gaming industry. Worldwide, it is expected to generate $9.34 billion by the end of 2008, while the Indian industry is expected to raise revenue of $150 million by 2009.      

 

Source: Business Line (The Hindu)

 

 

10. SMS usage in India dipped in Q4’07 – Jan 03, Jan 01

According to the latest data from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), SMS usage has dipped by 11% for GSM players and 15% for CDMA-based operators in Q4 ‘07. During the same period, minutes of cellular usage per subscriber have also fallen. Contrary to the trend observed in the past, minutes of cellular usage per subscriber (for GSM telcos) have declined by 2.94% from 476 minutes in June 2007 to 462 in September 2007. An executive from a telecom company said that the decline could be linked to the revision in SMS tariffs by several GSM service providers over the past few months. However, the country's wireless telecom segment continued to boom with a growth rate of 13%, adding 24.15 million subscribers and clocking a tele-density of 21.87 %.

 

Source: The Economic Times, United News of India

 

 

11. Agency heads optimistic about the emergence of India as an advertising hub in Asia – Dec 30

For the Indian advertising industry, 2008 is expected to bring better prospects. The popularity of online advertising is expected to increase. The biggest ad spenders in 2008 are clearly going to be service providers, rather than the conventional product manufacturers. Agency heads are optimistic about the emergence of India as an advertising hub in Asia. While conventional advertising grew by approximately 10% in 2007, it is expected to grow at 15% in 2008. In 2007, below-the-line and non-advertising divisions enjoyed much higher growth – between 25-30%. Industry experts agree that marketing services will grow faster than advertising and the talent crunch will continue to persist.

 

Source: Business Standard

 

 

12. Indian advertisers adopting different strategies to widen customer base – Dec 27

Indian advertisers are increasingly adopting different strategies to increase user base to improve the sales and market share. For example, the advertisements for chocolates, which showed elderly people consuming chocolate, were an attempt to sell these products to customer segments other than kids. In addition to promoting the product in new segments, line extension is another tool that is being used in a big way to expand the customer base. L’Oreal, to enter the male grooming segment which is expected to be Rs800-1,100 crore, has launched Men Expert, promoting it through advertising in select magazines. However, companies need to be sensitive about the impact of targeting additional segments. For example, it may be damaging, especially, if in the process of expanding its customer base, a premier brand is targeted at the aspiring middle-class also.  

 

Source:  Business Line (The Hindu)

 


 

Emerging Trends: International

 

13. In-stream video ads are intrusive – Jan 23

According to a Burst Media research report; approximately 78% of the surveyed respondents say in-stream ads in online videos are intrusive. According to the December online survey, conducted among 2,600 adult Web users, 50% say ads in video content disrupt their Web surfing experience. 53.1% of female respondents said that advertisements in video content disrupted their Web surfing experience, compared to 48.1% of male respondents. A little more than half of the respondents stop watching an online video once they encounter an in-stream advertisement. Additionally, 15.3% of respondents report that they immediately leave the Web site on encountering an in-stream advertisement in an online video.

 

Source: Media Post Publications

 

 

14. Video-sharing Web site audience doubles in a year – Jan 22

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 48% internet users have been to video-sharing sites such as YouTube. The daily traffic to such sites, on a typical day, has doubled in the past year. The basic findings in a national phone survey show the following:

·          In December 2006, 33% internet users said that they had visited such sites. This represents a year-on-year growth of more than 45%.

·          15% respondents said that they had used a video-sharing site the day before they were contacted for the survey. A year ago, only 8% had visited such sites the previous day.

 

Source: Centre for Media Research

 

 

15. Traditional one-way advertising no longer good enough for consumers – Jan 18

In today's environment, where independent information about a product from independent sources, is plentiful, traditional one-way messages to consumers no longer work. The internet has changed the way consumers receive information about products and the companies that provide the information. The message provided by conventional advertising has declined in value to consumers, who even question its trustworthiness. The traditional one-way advertising, such as examples one can find on TV or in print publications and even banner ads on a Web page, is no longer playing an important role in communicating product information to consumers.

 

Source: Business Week

 

 

16. The US measured advertising spend projected to increase by 4.2% in 2008 – Jan 17

According to the full-year forecast by TNS Media Intelligence, the total US measured advertising spend is projected to increase by 4.2% in 2008. Measured expenditures are expected to grow by 3.6 % in H1 ’08, followed by a gain of 4.7 % in H1 ‘08. The report states that internet display advertising is expected to continue growing at double-digit rates in 2008, with Spot TV, Spanish Language Media, Outdoor and Cable Network TV also exceeding the overall market average. Consumer Magazines and Network TV are projected to post small gains compared to 2007, while the advertisement expenditure through business-to-business magazines and newspapers is expected to decline.

 

Source: Centre for Media Research

 

 

17. Most of the teens using the internet, treat it as a venue for social interaction – Jan 11

The Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that 93% teens (ages 12-17) use the internet, and most of them are treating it as a venue for social interaction – a place where they can share creations, tell stories and interact with others. 64% teens with internet access have participated in one or more of a wide range of content-creating activities on the internet, up from 57% of teens in a similar survey at the end of 2004. 47% of online teens have posted photos where others can see them, and 89% of those teens who post photos say that people comment on the images at least "some of the time." Many teens, however, limit access to the content they share. 28% of the entire teen population constitutes super-communicators (teens who have a host of technology options for dealing with family and friends, including traditional landline phones, cell phones, social network sites, instant messaging, and email), and they are more likely to be older girls.

 

Source: Centre for Media Research

 

 

18. Out-of-home video seeks captive audiences – Jan 08

Summarized by Ben Macklin, Senior Analyst at eMarketer, a PQMedia benchmark study finds that outdoor advertising is taking advantage of digital, video and wireless technologies to become the largest component of the "alternative" out-of-home advertising sector. Similar to narrowcasting, the out-of-home video content and advertising is distributed to captive audiences in retail outlets, transit vehicles, office buildings, shopping malls, theatres, bars and restaurants, gas stations, hotels and gyms.

eMarketer’s forecast for out-of-home video advertising spend in the US is as follows:

Year

Ad Spend ($ billion)

2008

1.5

2009

1.8

2010

2.1

2011

2.3


Source: Centre for Media Research

 

 

19. World ad spending to grow faster than the US in 2008 – Jan 03

According to a new study from GroupM, US advertising expenditure is expected to increase by 3.7%, to reach $1,68.6 billion in 2008. Worldwide spending is expected to go up by 6.8%, to reach $479 billion in 2008. GroupM Futures Director Adam Smith reported that 5% of global ad investment is expected to shift from developed to emerging economies in 2008, the largest shift ever recorded. The 2008 spending expectations largely reflect the Olympics and the US election, says the report.

 

Source: Centre for Media Research

 

 

20. The US graphical ad market to hit $8.6 billion in 2008 - Jan 03

JP Morgan forecasted the US graphical (online display) ad market to hit nearly $8.6 billion in 2008, representing a 20% increase over 2007.  Yahoo! is expected to be the market leader in 2008, with a 10% share of the $20 billion global graphical ad market. MSN is slated to snag approximately 7.2% of the market, while AOL and CNET will own approximately 5% and 2% of the global display market, respectively.

 

Source: Media Post Publications

 

 

21. Top Marketing Trends for 2008 – Jan 02

According to the first annual survey of top marketing trends for 2008 (among 1,700 Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG) members), conducted by Anderson Analytics, key trends for 2008 were found to be:

·       Marketing basics (60% "Very Important"), which include specific concepts such as customer satisfaction, customer retention, segmentation, brand loyalty and ROI were of greatest interest.

·         Search Engine Optimization (42%) had a relatively wide appeal across marketers in all fields.

·         "Green Marketing" (32%) was another important emerging concept, and was identified as the trendiest marketing buzzword.

·        On global issues, 52% viewed China as the region with the best future opportunity, India as a distant second at 20%. Few marketers saw other regions, such as Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Latin America as comparable opportunities.

·        77% of marketers reported that their companies do not off-shore any part of the marketing function.

·        With regard to the most important customer demographics, senior marketing executives rank Baby Boomers highest with 88%, ranking them as either very important or somewhat important. Baby Boomers are followed by Gen X (86%), Hispanics (86%), Women (85%) and Gen Y (84%) as preferred customer target groups.

 

Source: Centre for Media Research

 

 

22. A 48% increase in local online ad spending anticipated in 2008– Jan 01

According to a newly released Borrell Associates study on the 2008 outlook for local online advertising, a 48% increase in local online ad spending is anticipated in 2008, bringing it to $12.6 billion. Local search advertising will more than double to reach $5 billion, while locally placed online video advertising will triple, to almost $1.3 billion in 2008. However, 2008 will be challenging for local media companies trying to market on the Web. There is increasing evidence, says the report, to support the idea that a greater investment in an independent online sales force will be necessary to continue the growth these properties have enjoyed for the past few years. Key advertising segments for 2008 will continue to be the "Big 3" classified categories of automotive, recruitment and real estate.

 

Source: Centre for Media Research

 

 

23. Convenient return process critical in retaining shoppers – Dec 31

According to the fifth annual consumer returns survey, commissioned by Newgistics Inc. and conducted by Harris Interactive, 90% of direct shoppers said that a convenient returns policy is important to encourage them to shop with a new or unknown online or catalogue retailer. 68% said the ability to make a return from home was very important, when deciding whether to shop with an online or catalogue retailer. 69% of direct shoppers said that they are not likely to shop again with a direct retailer, if the return process is inconvenient.

 

Source: Centre for Media Research

 

 

24. Teen and Tween media behaviour differs – Dec 28

‘Kids on the Go: Mobile Usage by US Teens and Tweens,’ a study on the mobile media and cross media behaviour of US ‘Tweens’ (ages 8-12), by The Nielsen Company, had the following findings:

·        5% of tweens access the internet over their phone each month, while 41% of tween mobile internet users say that they do so while commuting.

·        26% of tween mobile internet users say that they access the web while at a friend's house, while 17% say that they do so at social events.

·         Tweens spend less time surfing the internet than their teen counterparts.

·        According to the report, young mobile users are also turning to their phones for in-home entertainment.

 

Source: Centre for Media Research

 

 

25. Hispanic consumers more fascinated with email marketing – Dec 26

Hispanics welcome e-mail communication from companies they know up to 11 times a month, while non-Hispanic consumers tolerate such emails only up to 7.4 times a month, according to new research from Mintel Comperemedia.

 

Source: Media Post Publications

 

BRIC Zone - China

 

26. Retail sales in China increased by 16.8% in 2007 – Jan 24

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), retail sales in China amounted to RMB 8.9 trillion ($1.234 trillion) in 2007, 16.8% y-o-y, with the growth rate expanding 3.1% points from that of 2006. The y-o-y retail sales in urban areas during 2007 rose by 17.2% to reach RMB 6.04 trillion ($835.41 billion), with the growth rate 2.9% points higher than the growth rate of 2006. Retail sales in rural areas increased by 15.8% on an annual basis, to hit 2.9 trillion ($398.34 billion). The growth rate was up 3.2% from that of 2006.  

 

Source: China Business Newswire

 

 

27. China's Internet market to hit 164 billion yuan in 2008 – Jan 22

According to the estimates of CCID Consulting, a leading market consultant:

·        China's Internet market is expected to reach 164 billion yuan in 2008, representing a   y-o-y increase of 40%.

·        "Online games and e-commerce are the major driving forces of the impressive growth," explained Tan Bin, a senior expert with the company.

·        The online game market grew by 74.6% y-o-y to reach 11.4 billion yuan in 2007, and is expected to reach 18.7 billion yuan in 2008.

·        China's e-commerce market was valued at 18 billion yuan in 2007, representing an increase of 68.9%. The market value is expected to increase further by 65% in 2008.  

 

Source: Xinhua News Agency

 

 

28. China’s online ad market poised to grow big by 2011 – Jan 21, Dec 26

According to the report published by China's official Internet data provider, the DCCI (Data Center of China Internet):

·         China's online advertising industry generated revenue of RMB 7.68 billion ($1.06 billion) in 2007 – up 54.2% y-o-y – and significantly influences consumer choices in the country.

·         50% Chinese Internet users were exposed to online ads through Internet portals. Professional Web sites and online instant chatting tools were two other channels of exposure.   

·         Revenue increase was driven by increased awareness among brand owners – regarding the importance of online advertising and its influence on consumer purchases.

·         Another set of forecasts by Analysys International, a Chinese, Internet-based business information service provider of technology, media and telecom (TMT) industry, stated the following:

·         The Chinese online advertising market will reach CNY 27.1 billion by 2011, growing at a CAGR of 39.52%.

·        Factors, including the rise in the number of online advertisers, entry of innovative business modes, diversified platforms of online ads, and inter-pervasion among the tech services such as portals, search engines and the Internet, will promote the development of Chinese internet market.

·         However, issues such as imperfect evaluation systems for online ads, fierce competition, and appearance of other new media and digital media, will hinder the development of the market.

 

Source: SinoCast China Business Daily News, China Business Newswire

 

 

29. Rise in Internet consumption and user base in China – Jan 09

According to the 'Netguide 2008' survey, conducted by the Data Centre of the China Internet, China's Internet consumption reached 398.8 billion Yuan ($53.89 billion) in 2007, and is expected to rise by 45.8% in 2008. In a similar report issued by China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) Internet Development and Research Department, China's number of Internet users rose to 210 million at the end of 2007, from 137 million users at the end of 2006. The report added that total number of internet users in China will hit 285 million by the end of 2008, overtaking the US, which has the largest number of Internet users in the world.

 

Source: Press Trust of India, China Industry Daily News, Dow Jones Chinese Financial Wire


BRIC Zone - Brazil

 

30. Retail sales grew 9.6% in 2007 – Jan 21

According to the Serasa Commerce Activity Indicator, the sales volume of the Brazilian retail sector rose 9.6% in 2007, compared to 2006. Sales of specialized retail shops grew 12.3% in 2007 compared to 2006. Sales of hypermarkets, supermarkets and food & beverage retailers rose by 6.6% during the same period.

 

Source: Gazeta Mercantil Invest News

 

 

31. Consumer product companies rushing back to Brazil – Dec 31

Rising living standards of the middle and upper classes – representing 25% of all households, compared to 9% of all households in 2003 – have made consumer product companies rush back to Brazil.  In dollar terms, household income expanded 18% per year from 2003 to 2007. During the same period, households earning more than $35,000 per year grew a whopping 159% per annum as 3.2 million households lifted themselves into this affluent income stratum. By 2007-end, over 12.5 million Brazilian households earned more than $15,000, which is considered the threshold of middle class.

 

Source: InfoAmericas (Latin America)

 

 

Media & Advertising Research Watch

 

32. Lintas Media Guide 2008 – Jan 21, Jan18

Lintas Media Group released the Media Guide 2008, which analyses the penetration and reach of different media of communication. Following are the key learnings from the media guide

·         Television had the highest penetration in urban areas, reaching 75% of the urban population in 2007. The print medium came second with 35%, followed by radio with 20% and cinema with an approximately 12% penetration. In urban India, TV reached 75% of males and 74% of females.

·         In rural India, television had the highest reach with a country-wide penetration of only 38% in the country. Radio reached 18% of the rural population, followed by print with 15% and cinema with a mere 5%. In terms of gender, TV reached 39% of men and 35% of women in rural areas.

·         The year 2007 witnessed an increase in the total number of TV channels and print publications, which together constituted 88.48% of the total advertising expenditure of Rs 17,356 crore in 2007.

·         TV revenues dropped by 1% and ad revenues for the medium were Rs 6,766 crore. In the print medium, magazine advertising and newspaper advertising recorded 32% and 22% year-on-year growth, respectively. Because of the decline in ad spends on television, the total ad spends of all the top advertisers, for both TV and print, also showed a downward trend.

·         HUL, P&G and Reckitt Benckiser India were the top three advertisers, with total spends of Rs 1,045 crore, Rs 235 crore and Rs 227 crore, respectively.

 

Source: Agencyfaqs; Agencyfaqs

 

 

33. TAM Media Research – Jan 21, Jan 07, Dec 31

Highlights of the 2007 TAM Media Research:

·         For the C&S 4-14 in the Hindi speaking markets, all kids’ channels lost shares mid-2007 from May to August, with Cartoon Network, Pogo and Disney Channel seeing the most decline. However, post-August 2007, Cartoon Network and Hungama competed closely on top, with Nick coming at the number three position after beating Pogo.

·         For the C&S 15+ in the metros markets, Star Movies stayed on a high all year, followed closely by HBO. Pix was a clear number three in the year, though it gave HBO a tough competition in 3Q’07.

·         For the C&S ABC 15+ in the mix metros, AXN was the clear genre leader. The second place saw a tussle between Zee Café and Star World.

·         For the target C&S 15+ ABC in the six metros, Discovery was at the top position, with National Geographic Channel (NGC) and Animal Planet competing closely for the second spot. The History Channel (HC) picked up in the last quarter, enough to compete with the other channels. NDTV Good Times was introduced in 2007, which showed potential as a newcomer.

 

Source: Exchange4media, Exchange4media, Exchange4media

 

 

34. Print Advertising statistics in Jan-Nov’07 from AdEx India – Dec 28

The number of advertisers and brands on print grew by 2% and 36%, respectively, during Jan-Nov ’07, from Jan-Nov '05. During Jan-Nov ’07, English newspapers had the largest average ad size, followed by Kannada and Tamil newspapers. Hindi and other language newspapers had identical advertising volumes during weekdays and weekends. Dabur India Ltd used the highest number of innovative ad layouts on print during Jan-Nov ‘07. 'Independent Retailers' had the largest share of the sales promotion, i.e., 41%. Readymade Garments and Jewellery followed on 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

 

Source: Exchange4media

 

 

AdEx Findings

 

 

35. F&B sector print advertising during 2007 – Jan 11

Print advertising in the F&B (Food and Beverage) sector in 2007 grew by 2%, when compared to 2004. However, the print advertising fell by 8.1% in 2007, over 2006.

 

Source: Exchange4media

 

 

36. Print advertising of chocolates during January-September 2007 – Dec 24

Chocolate advertising on print saw a colossal growth of 134% in Jan-Nov ’07, over Jan-Nov ’06. Maximum advertising of chocolates was seen during the 4th quarters of 2005, 2006 and 2007.

 

Source: Exchange4media

 

 

37. Print advertising of consumer durables during 2007 – Jan 03

Consumer Durables saw a drop of 2% in print ad volumes during 2007, compared to the previous year. The advertising increased during ‘Diwali’ festival, in 2006 as well as 2007.

 

Source: Exchange4media

 

 

38. Insurance sector print advertising during 2007 – Jan 18

In the Insurance sector, though ‘Life Insurance’ contributed 76% of print advertising during 2007, ‘Life Insurance’ advertising dropped by 25% in 2007 compared to 2006.

 

Source: Exchange4media

 

 

Environment Watch

Regulation

 

39. Post-paid subscribers to get a hard copy of their mobile bills free of cost – Jan 24

Telecom regulator TRAI, today, mandated all service providers to provide a hard copy of the bill free of cost to its post-paid subscribers. The order would be effective from January 24th and applicable across all types of tariff plans of mobile – GSM and CDMA – and fixed line services.

 

Source: The Press Trust of India Limited

 

 

40. TRAI issues guidelines for Mobile TV – Jan 23

In the TRAI recommendations regarding guidelines for rolling out mobile television services to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, the choice of broadcasting technology has been left to the service providers, but it has to be recognized by an authorized body. Telecom operators with Unified Access Service License (UASL) and Cellular Mobile Telephone Service (CMTS) licensees will not require any further licence or permission for offering mobile television services on their own network using the frequency or spectrum already allotted to them. However, providing mobile television services through the broadcasting method will require a separate license. TRAI has fixed the limit of 74% of foreign direct investment (FDI) for mobile television services. It also fixed the tenure of the license for 10 years.

 

Source: Indo-Asian News Service

 

 

41. Telecom companies, ISPs, and cable operators to provide IPTV service without new license or fresh registration – Jan 06 and Jan 04

TRAI has recommended that telecom companies, Internet service providers (ISPs) and cable operators can provide Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service without getting a new license or getting registered afresh. IPTV is a new method of delivering and viewing TV programs using an IP network and high-speed broadband technology. It has recommended that the Bureau of Indian Standards can expedite standardization of IPTV set-top box specifications to help cable operators in designing their IPTV networks. Telecom service provider with IPTV services will show only the news channels approved by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

 

Source: The Hindu, United News of India

 

 

Environment Watch: Advertising & Media

New Media

 

42. Yahoo! launches Behavioural Targeting solution for advertisers in India – Jan 18

Yahoo! has launched its Behavioural Targeting solution for advertisers in India. This allows users to be tracked by the publisher or ad network across various websites and search engines. These users are then sent ads that cater to their interests.  According to Prashanth Mehta, vice-president, Monetisation, Yahoo! Emerging Markets, “Depending on the category, behavioural targeting can lead to click-through rates of campaigns from 35% to 120% compared to other forms of targeting.” He added that finance, telecommunications, travel and entertainment are some of the categories expected to benefit most from Yahoo! Behavioural Targeting.

 

Source: Agencyfaqs

 

 

43. Airtel and Affle launch SMS2.0, a new, more advanced form of SMS – Dec 30

Airtel, along with Affle, a mobile media company, launched SMS2.0 – the world’s first upgrade to SMS. Airtel has become the first in India to offer this service to its 55 million customers. SMS2.0 enables an interactive and non-intrusive platform on the mobile phone that allows Airtel users to discover a host of relevant content services, along with enhanced messaging features.

 

Source: News Agency of Kashmir

 

Television

 

44. TV viewing to become more enjoyable with HITS – Jan 04

HITS is a satellite based platform for delivering multi-channel television signals in a digital form to cable operators across the country. The Telecom Regularity Authority of India (TRAI) had already forwarded its recommendation on HITS to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in October. According to the Joint Secretary for Information and Broadcasting, Zohra Chatterji, the new platform is expected to revolutionize cable operations throughout the country. TRAI Member (Broadcasting), R N Chaubey said cable operators will have to modernize their whole transmission setup to receive signals directly from the satellite.

 

Source: United News of India
 

Print

 

45. Filmfare to go German in February 2008 – Jan 21

Worldwide Media’s (WWM’s) publication, Filmfare, plans to launch its German monthly edition in February 2008 with an expected monthly circulation of 15,000 in Germany. The content of the German edition will be exactly the same as that of the Indian one. According to Harjeet Chhabra, general manager, Marketing, WWM, “There is a growing presence of Indian films and Indian stars in countries such as Germany, France, Holland, the US and the UK. Popularity is high, especially in Germany, France and Holland. Stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar and John Abraham are exceptionally popular. We are starting with Germany for our first international issue and if it’s successful, we might expand to more countries. Filmfare is likely to attract a host of local advertisers in Germany once the magazine is launched there.”

 

Source: Agencyfaqs

 

 

46. Outlook Group to launch ‘Outlook Profit’ by February end – Jan 18

Outlook Profit, the new magazine from the Outlook Group, is slated for launch by February-end.  The bi-monthly magazine will be targeted at investors who understand the business and are willing to spend huge amounts in stock market. Priced at Rs50. Outlook Profit is the third finance related magazine from the group after Outlook Money and Business Outlook.

 

Source: Exchange4media

 

 

47. Bhaskar group launches women-centric magazines – Jan 03, Dec 26

Dainik Bhaskar has launched Woman Bhaskar in Indore, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Raipur and Jodhpur, as a 1-2 page(s) special. It has been designed to cater to women’s ‘social identity needs’ and ‘personal fulfilment needs’ and targets the 24-45 age group in SEC AB. The group has also launched ‘She’, a fortnightly English magazine for women in markets such as Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. Priced at Rs5, the magazine comprises 52 colour pages, and targets the SEC AB women in the 18-35 age groups. According to Sanjeev Kotnala, Associate VP and National Head Communication, Bhaskar Group, ‘She’ is more in sync with the culture, tradition and environment of the Tier II towns and covers topics ranging from relationships, health, beauty, and food, with a larger emphasis on women’s rights to have polarity in emotions and outlook. 

 

Source: Exchange4media Mumbai Bureau; Exchange4media Mumbai Bureau

 

Radio

 

48. FM radio market ad revenue expected to be 6% of total ad revenue by 2010 – Dec 30

According to a report by Media Partners Asia (MPA), an international media research agency, the advertising revenue of India's FM radio market is expected to triple by the end of 2010, generating over Rs2,200 crore. The share of radio in overall advertising pie is expected to be 6% by 2010. By the end of 2007, 170-odd FM stations were on air, generating approximately Rs700 crore advertising revenue and commanding less than 4% of the Rs17,700 crore advertising industry. 

 

Source: Business Standard


 

Others

 

49. Uniform code for all media sought – Jan 09

The Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) organized an interactive meet with the members of the European Advertising Standard Alliance (EASA), led by Chairman Jean Pierre Teyssier, on January 4 in Mumbai. On July 31, 2007, ASCI became a member of EASA, the only global self-regulation organization (SRO) in advertising. The key concern was content and the treatment of commercials across the media. Former ASCI chairman and P&G chairman, Bharat Patel, recommended mandatory membership of ASCI for advertisers and advertising agencies, and proposed a uniform code of conduct for all media. Teyssier stressed the need for self and co-regulatory codes at a national level. He said that the "regimes should be formed in such a manner that they were acceptable by all stakeholders and provided effective enforcement".

 

Source: The Economic Times

 

 

50. Indian trains up for grabs for commercial publicity – Jan 06

Taking forward its idea to provide advertising space on tickets, platforms and trains, the railways ministry now plans to allow on-board branding of trains. This means companies will be allowed to place advertisements or "wrap" up the exterior of the train with vinyl sheets carrying ads. They will also be permitted to advertise inside compartments and put up plasma TV screens for the purpose. Uniform of the railway staff as well as the bed linen provided in trains can also be used for displaying corporate ads and logos. The annual cost of advertising will be Rs50 lakh and Rs1 crore for normal and premium trains respectively. According to a Railways ministry official, the main motive of the Railways in making this move is to generate additional revenue that, until now, had remained untapped and can be used to fund several of the Railways’ ambitious projects during 2008. JC Decaux, an outdoor advertising agency providing street furniture and illumination for billboards, etc., has been enlisted to provide logistics for this venture, a Rail Bhawan official said.

 

Source: United News of India

 

 

51. Consumer clubs in high schools to create awareness on consumer rights– Jan 04

Children are constantly exposed to consumer products, due to the ever-expanding market and a virtual flood of advertisements on the mass media. While there seems to be no mechanism to control the market or the children’s exposure to it, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution launched a scheme to start clubs in high schools to create awareness on consumer rights. In Karnataka, approximately 650 clubs in 16 districts have been functioning since mid-2007, under the centrally-funded scheme, with a grant of Rs10,000 to each school. Members of consumer clubs in schools had been educated on laws related to consumer rights, including Consumer Protection Act, Right to Information Act, Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, Essential Commodities Act and so on.

 

Source: The Hindu

 

 

52. 2007 saw I&B Ministry taking major policy initiatives for better information flow – Dec 31

Shri Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, initiated several policy and operational measures to smoothen the flow of information to the masses and facilitate better content on the electronic media. The major initiatives included Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity’s (DAVP’s) new advertisement policy, in which 50% of all DAVP advertisements in rupee terms had been sanctioned for big newspapers, 35% to medium newspapers and 15% to small publications. Advertisement quota allocated for English newspapers was 30% and 35% for Hindi and other languages each. Other initiatives included the commissioning of new FM radio station, the redraft of the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill and the implementation of conditional access system (CAS).

 

Source: Exchange4media

 

 

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
 

 

ZO Zone

  

Viewership Analysis of Info Channels for 4 weeks for the period of 30th December 2007 – 26th January 2008

 

Top 2 Programs Across Info Channels

Source: TAM

Period: 30th Dec2007 – 26th Jan 2008
Market: All India
TG: 25-44 Male AB CS



 

Change In Channel Share 2007 vs 2006

 

 

Source: TAM

Period: 30th Dec 2007– 26th Jan 2008
30th Dec 2006 – 26th Jan 2007
Market: All India
TG:25-44 Male AB CS

 

Top 5 Program Ratings Across Various Target Audiences   

 

Source: TAM

Period: 30th Dec 2007 – 26th Jan 2008
Market: All India
TG: 25-44 Male AB CS



 

Advertising Spend Analysis for Chocolate Category for the Year 2006 & 2007

Chocolate

 

Monthly Media Expenditure

 

   

Source: IMRB & AC Nielson
 (Down weighted Figures)

 

Chocolate Category – Brandwise spends

 

Source: IMRB & AC Nielson
 (Down weighted Figures)

 

Medium Breakup

 

 

 

Source: IMRB & AC Nielson
 (Down weighted Figures)

 

Genre Breakup

 

 

Source: IMRB & AC Nielson
 (Down Weighted Figures)
 

 

Fast Forward

   

Can the digital world teach old marketers new tricks?

 

Antony Young, Optimedia US, argues that marketers and their agencies need to
learn – and learn fast – from the digital world

 

THERE IS MUCH talk these days about the need to leverage digital more widely into companies’ marketing programmes. Marketers are streamlining their organisations to integrate their e-commerce or interactive marketing teams with the rest of the marketing department. Agencies are acquiring digital specialist agencies or building up their in-house digital divisions. And the likes of Google, Yahoo! and MSN are licking their lips in anticipation of further record revenue growth as online advertising budgets overtake national newspapers in importance (1).The world’s got digital fever and the industry is clamouring to understand and employ digital in its central marketing efforts. But this has an inference that mainstream marketing should still lead the overall effort. Rather than assume that traditional marketers who control 90% of the money today are the ones best placed to provide the leadership, perhaps we need to think about flipping this on its head. Much of the innovation in marketing
thinking in recent times has in fact been led by our digital colleagues. In this article I offer the view that marketers and their agencies should look for inspiration from the digital world. Traditional marketing is looking decidedly, well, traditional in comparison, and in urgent need of some modernising. I believe that the industry would be more effective if we threw out some of our existing practices and, instead, adopted the sort of marketing thinking and skills that digital marketers have championed over the last decade. Rather than integrating digital into our world, maybe we need to join theirs. Perhaps the digital cart should actually be the horse.

 

Traditional marketing isn’t  working
Need we remind ourselves that traditional marketing is not exactly in rude health. Marketing consultants Copernicus analysed over 500 marketing programmes for consumer and business-to-business products and services and found that 84 per cent of these programmes
failed to drive value for their organisations (2). Despite the maturity of our industry and sophistication of our measurements and tools, we are still doing no better than last-placed Watford in the Premiership. We need to rethink our approach beyond just marketing tactics and re-engineer our marketing functions. We think a lot of lessons can be learnt from our digital marketing peers. We offer up this view not as self-serving digital marketers with an agenda to take another dig at the establishment and in doing so declare the end of ‘traditional’ marketing; but as practitioners working with marketers who are struggling to reverse marketing’s poor hit rate which, the Copernicus marketing study shows. No one ever referred to television as analogue TV until it became apparent that digital TV had arrived and there was a need to switch our analogue TVs off. That is an analogy that we need to start applying to our thinking about marketing. In reality, digital marketing has repositioned traditional marketing. We are in danger of looking as outdated as the oversized box cluttering up the corner of our living room, alongside the sleeker and streamlined LCD screen that hangs on the wall. 

 

How digital marketing is finding solutions to traditional marketing issues

Let us explore some of the major challenges marketers are facing and compare how digital marketers have tackled analogue marketing issues.

 

Brand versus ROI

What is more important, brand or ROI? Marketers worry about the brand, CEOs worry about the profit. Digital marketers have been able to walk the tightrope between the two more consistently. Marketing ROI remains a pressure-cooker issue for marketing directors. A recent US study confirmed this, suggesting that chief marketers face increasing pressure from bottom-line-focused CEOs and demanding corporate boards to improve relevance, accountability and performance of their organisations (3). A similar survey again highlighted the importance of measuring return on investment on marketing spend, with a study of UK marketing directors/senior marketers citing measurement of marketing effectiveness as their primary challenge (4). The digital world has grabbed the ROI mantra. Interactive media have grown in popularity because of the metrics that they can use to track response, behaviour and actual sales. This has not necessarily just been a result of the availability of data: indeed one of the concerns we found in researching our book, Profitable Marketing Communications: A Guide to Marketing Return on Investment (5), was that marketers complained of too much data. We have observed the comfort with which digital marketers manage data. They have built their discipline on establishing the metrics at the outset of a campaign and tracking performance against their objectives. This has manifested itself beyond response campaigns
to brand campaigns. Metrics have quickly evolved from basic page views and click-through statistics to engagement and sales-effect metrics. Marketers became used to demanding better measurement from their digital agencies. In contrast, analogue marketing measures such as ad awareness and brand imagery appear soft in comparison and too often have very little line of sight to business outcomes.  Brands are about engaging consumers, and digital marketers have grasped this and found ways of backing it up with more meaningful and usable data – whether this is about tracking a user after they’ve been exposed to the advertising, or visited a site, or measuring the time they spend with an interactive marketing programme. Whatever the means, it shows a greater willingness to prove ROI and has left traditional marketing in the dust.

 

Comparison of analogue and digital marketing approaches

Analogue Marketing Digital Marketing
Brand first ROI first
Specialist agencies Integrated full service agencies
(creative, media, digital, CRM) (creative, media, DR all under one roof)
30-second spot creative All durations, sizes
Plan and execute Test and apply
Tracking Optimisation

 

Specialists versus full service
The evolution of marketing agency specialists (direct response, media, CRM, design, sponsorship, entertainment marketing, custom publishing, and so on) has the industry debating whether this has led to a sacrificing of integration. Digital agencies, with a few exceptions, have built their model on a fully integrated service. I have sat in debates where agencies and marketers have bemoanedthe good old days and advocated a return to full service. Well, it now seems, as far as the digital marketers are concerned, ‘full service’ is the future. Digital marketers appear to multi-task best. We expect digital people to have an opinion on the website, creative, research, brand and direct response activity and to join it all
up. Marketers would love their offline teams to work in that way. Imagine having your creative team at your ad agency, sitting alongside media, and adjusting their work based on response!

 

Campaign planning versus campaign optimisation
Digital marketers allow themselves the flexibility to tweak marketing communications in real time. If an idea fails, they can make adjustments along the way. 70% of the ‘planning’ for a digital marketing programme takes place after the first ‘spot’ appears, whereas in the analogue world 95% of the planning takes place before the first ad runs. The art of planning and developing campaigns in the analogue world is fast becoming outdated. Typical six-month lead times to develop consumer insights, plan copy and media strategies and then facilitate creative development and production is costly and time-consuming and doesn’t guarantee a home run. It also ensures that less time is dedicated to evaluating campaigns’ effect and building that learning into any meaningful actions. The new thinking advocated by digital marketers is to constantly test and reapply. This has also led to creating different models and cost structures for developing creative executions and content. We found in our research that more progressive marketers were paralleling the digital world by foregoing pre-testing and experimenting with testing ads ‘on air’; and by building up to 20% of their budgets into testing media and messaging.


Cutting out waste
The ability to segment targeting has been around ever since the publishing industry launched special-interest titles. This went through another phase when satellite and cable television expanded. However, the potential to cut waste or narrowly target through niche media and messaging never really got off the ground. The traditional marketing thinking of creating coverage and awareness took precedence over tightly targeting the messaging and cost. We continue to be locked into a media-buying currency of cost per thousand demographic audiences such as ‘All adults 18–34’. We rarely if ever see marketers employ different creative on, say, the Sci-Fi Channel versus MTV. Digital marketers have actually made this happen and they are getting results. Sure, this has been aided by the technology of serving ads to profiled targets. One need only look at the rise and rise of search advertising over the past few years to notice just how advertisers are flocking to make the most of a medium that – at long last – offers exact targeting and no wastage. However, it has been the digital marketing industry’s priority to exploit targeting ahead of cost and build the expertise to execute this, which is what we in general marketing need to develop further and build into our existing approach.

 

Engagement, interactivity and personalisation
It was only a few years ago that the internet was being written off as an advertising medium as agencies tried desperately to fit old-media logic into the new-media environment. Burger King’s ‘subservient chicken’ viral campaign in the US allowed 12 million surfers to type in commands to a man dressed in a chicken suit to reinforce its ‘have it your way’ proposition. Such campaigns are relatively cheap and easy to produce and, once a few people have enjoyed them, they will forward them into a friend’s inbox. This passes the baton to consumers to sustain a campaign’s momentum: if they like the idea enough, they will, offering proof, if it were needed, that it is not about how big marketing budgets are, but what their resources are and how they deploy them to best engage and interact with audiences. What was interesting about this campaign is that it was developed by Crispin Porter Bogusky, one of a new wave of ad agencies that is springing up in the US that has crossed the divide between traditional and digital communications. A number of US marketers are doing a lot more integrated traditional–digital thinking. Kia Motors’ current national TV campaign is focused on driving people to its website. It reasons that it will not be easy to convince the brandconscious car consumer about a littleknown car brand in a 30-second TV commercial; but that it is more likely to get success if it can engage them on the web, where all its potential customers are eventually likely to check it out. Kellogg’s is tagging its TV advertising to invite viewers to Google it for follow-up information. In a consumer era of engagement, interactivity and personalisation, marketers need to be able to apply our trade across all its disciplines, not just the digital channels. As the disciplines come together, there is a strong case that a digital idea might well be the central marketing idea. I am not convinced marketers are in place to do this consistently.

 

Constant reinvention
The appetite and pace of change in digital marketing is matched by the actual  change. With the widespread availability of broadband, the rules are changing as to what are ideal advertising formats. This is challenging the economics of developing creative work as we are not producing it for mass audiences on mass channels anymore. The digital marketers have got this and at least half of the innovation appears to be taking place experimenting with new creative formats as opposed to new creative executions. Digital marketing is less than 12 years old and has progressed from the original static banner ad that AT&T first ran on HotWired to rich media, search, video podcasts, video on demand, interactive, gaming, product placement to virtual shops on Second Life. OK, much of this is technology-led, but you have to admit that digital marketers have kept pace and exploited these new media while developing new creative formats and measurement tools, and making rapid adjustments to their marketing strategies. That speed of adaptation and adoption is something that is missing in our marketing world.

 

Summary

The world is going digital. In my view this is not about moving more budget into digital, but becoming more digital. Having the expectation of the advertising being more integral to business growth is something that’s been missing in our business, and a key factor in getting marketers back to the top table. Whether we are discussing a search strategy or a brand campaign, marketers clearly want a stronger correlation between advertising and business leads. That is about being more metrics-led, but also a willingness to understand better how marketing drives return on investment. Learning from the very best digital marketing practices and adopting their strategies could very well show the rest of the marketing profession how we might modernise our thinking. If marketing is to win the heads and hearts of our boards, and deliver a true return on investment, then I suggest taking a leaf from the digital world.


1. ZenithOptimedia adspend forecasts, December 2006.
2. K J Clancy and R L Stone: Don’t Blame the Metrics, and K J Clancy: Marketing Management Analytics, 2005.
3. CMO Council 2007 Marketing Outlook survey.
4. The DMA Census Report.
5. A Young and L Aitken:Profitable Marketing Communications: A Guide to Marketing Return on Investment Kogan Page, April 2007.

 


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