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: XVI

July, 2008

In these hyper charged times where news comes in as fast as it becomes outdated, we need a source that can keep track of what matters to us.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

 

 

1. Email still emerges as a strong medium when it comes to connecting with the audience online – July 21

 

Source: Agencyfaqs

 

 

 

2. Marketers see online media as a profitable advertising investment – July 10

With inflation influencing shoppers’ spending habits, advertisers are now vying for ad media which gives them the highest returns. Consequently, the internet is emerging as a sought after media as the return on spending can be tracked accurately. A FICCI-PwC report on India pegs the online advertising market in 2008 at Rs 420 crore and predicts that the market will touch Rs 1,100 crore by 2011. Not only is the internet becoming popular with shoppers as a means of information but also for product comparison. With the digital media in the upswing, social networking portals such as Facebook and Orkut are also emerging as popular vehicles for advertising. Mobile advertising also seems promising. The mobile market is estimated to be worth Rs 40 crore in 2008 and is expected to touch Rs 500 crore by 2013. Meanwhile, blog posts are also becoming a part of the digital marketing strategy. Advertisers believe that reading positive blog reviews from users on products have more impact on a prospective buyer than a TVC (television commercial).

 

Source: Business Standard

 

 

 

3. Online gaming emerges as a new advertising tool for marketers – July 07

As brands continue to evolve their campaigns on the Internet, advertising through online games is becoming popular with marketers. Advertisers have realized that consumers may overlook brands in display and search ads. However, it’s hard to do so when they are actively involved in playing a game that has the brand as its central theme or character. According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), size of the online gaming market in India was Rs 21 crore (in January 2007), of which advergames, in-game placements and display ads contribute 11% or Rs 2.3 crore. Online gaming is picking pace with consumers, as it offers high level of brand engagement. In advergames, consumers can virtually touch or experience the brand. The advergames focus on building brand connection and ensuring lower costs and higher payoffs. The advergames give marketers an opportunity to take the brand proposition to consumers in a way with which they are comfortable.

 

Source: Agencyfaqs

 

 

 

Emerging Trends: OOH

 

 

4. OOH outgrows billboards and transcends toward newer media – July 02, July 17

The OOH industry in India is on a trend-setting spree. Marketers are now looking beyond the once favourite OOH prop-the bill boards. Unlike in the past, advertisers are now investing in areas other than conventional hoardings. Players are now experimenting with new forms such as OOH furniture, transit media and digital signage. The focus is on digital screens that allow multiple-utilisation of inventory for a certain target audience. Another vehicle that has now become a popular OOH tool is 3D screens. These 3D displays make images appear in a three dimension mode, addressing the need for innovative ways to capture consumers’ attention, build brand awareness and increase message retention. Marketers feel advertising on these screens would help capture the moving audience easily, cut through the clutter and reach masses more easily and effectively. The screens are aimed to create a ‘wow’ effect on customers, as they can be seen without 3D glasses. However, a major challenge in this medium is the cost incurred.

 

Source: DNA, Agencyfaqs

 

 

 

5. With Kurkure, Airtel and Max New York Life Insurance joining the band wagon, the Indian railways is emerging as the new OOH tool by serving as a medium for players to humanise their brands– July 16

 

Source: Exchange4media

 

 

 

Emerging Trends: International

 

6. Global ad spend continues to rise despite mounting economic pressures – July 28

According to The Nielsen Company's Global Ad View Pulse report, despite mounting economic pressures global ad spends have increased by over 4% in the first quarter of 2008. In the period, ad spending in Africa grew by over 16%, and the Asia Pacific region recorded almost 10% growth. In the more developed regions of North America and Europe, growth was considerably slower. The report also states that uncertainties linked to the world economic situation and the increase in oil and commodity prices have reached Asian and Oceanian nations, and the effects of these pressures may slow the region's overall upward trend. The rise of advertising expenditure in Asia Pacific has been attributed to strong growth in China, India and Indonesia. In other markets, growth remained flat. Globally, healthcare retained the majority share of ad spending, with just over 10% of all advertising activity. FMCG advertising spend also grew at a significant rate of 6.7%, recording growth across all regions. Ad spends in the clothing and accessories sector grew by 5.5%. Television remained the highest-grossing medium for advertising spend, recording a 6.9% yearly growth rate globally. Television accounted for 60% of global ad spend while newspapers represented almost 24% of the expenditure.

 

Source: Indiantelevision

 

 
 

7. Interactive media sees an increase in ad spend – July 22

A study from WPP's GroupM, the world's leading full-service media investment management operations firm, showed that interactive media's share of worldwide advertising expenditures is expected to hit 15% in 2009, almost double from four years ago (2005), and will remain the main source of growth as ad spending in traditional media continues to decline.  Ad spending on interactive media—internet, mobile and gaming—reached 11% in 2007, sparked mostly by gains recorded in the US and Western Europe, as well as by the increased use and availability of improved handsets, inexpensive laptops, faster broadband, and extensive Wi-Fi connections. The survey covered 35 countries and showed the digital advertising's share of total ad investment rising from 8% in 2005 to 15% in 2009.

 

 

Source: Centre for Media Research

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This tracker has been compiled from external sources and does not necessarily reflect the views of the company.
Links provided will take you to the full articles appended at the end of the file.

© 2008 Zenith Optimedia.

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Full Articles

 

1. Email marketing: keeping up with the times

Agencyfaqs

July 21, 2008

 

Online advertisers today have a range of options at their disposal – video ads, micro sites, viral campaigns, blogs and social networks. However, there is an ad platform which is one of the oldest and still surviving, and that is email. According to online research firm JuxtConsult's India Online 2008 report, 91 per cent of online Indians send and receive emails.

 

With so many engaging platforms, do marketers still consider email marketing relevant? “Visiting the email inbox at least once a week is a compulsive habit of Internet users. Hence, email marketing is still a sure shot direct marketing tool for conveying new promotions or generating interest,” says a Rediff.com spokesperson. Rediff's email service has more than 65 million registered users and it sends out emailers based on their interests. The site also earns ad revenue from display advertising and sponsorships.

 

An email ad on Rediffmail

Email marketing may not be on the top of every marketer's list, but it's not time to write it off yet. Just as display advertising has evolved with changes in technology, so has email marketing, which usually consists of sending text and image messages to the customer. One of the reasons email marketing had to evolve is that the customer has become less tolerant of spam mail. Spam or unsolicited emails are a major cause of concern across markets and marketers who indulge in it risk getting blacklisted by the Internet service provider (ISP).

 

RupeeMail is an email marketing service developed to be distinctly different from spam and gratifying to the customer as well. RupeeMail sends out advertisers' emails to its members based on their preferences and enables them to accumulate cash points for reading these mails.

 

Sunil Puri, director, RupeeMail, says, “Email marketing is not as developed in India as in the West because there is a lot of spam. However, email is a very non-obtrusive and personalized medium as compared to getting a call or an SMS on a mobile. It also allows for audiovisual elements.”

 

Puri says that RupeeMail follows the rules of permission marketing because emailers or ad based emails are only sent to people who want to see them. There are over one lakh subscribers on RupeeMail. Puri says that top brands don't go for email marketing because they don't want to get mixed up with spam, which can ruin their image.

 

Advertisers who use email marketing regularly belong to sectors such as finance, real estate, online shopping and matrimonial and job sites. Recently, HSBC Bank did an interesting email innovation during its sponsorship of the Wimbledon Cup. Users logging into Sify Mail found the compose, reply and delete buttons replaced by tennis terms such as serve, return, all court and love all. Lakshmi Goyal, senior vice-president and head, brand research and media, HSBC, says, “Given that tennis is a relatively niche sport, there was a need to do something unique, something never ever done before on this high reach vehicle (email).

 

The campaign flow was designed such that HSBC would be present all through the user's mail experience, with branding right from the login to the inbox.” Goyal agrees that it is difficult for brands to get their messages across with the presence of spam. “Email marketing is relevant given its ability to reach the right audience. It's important to ensure that any offer we pass on to our audience is of high relevance to them.”

 

Group M's Mindshare Interaction developed the campaign. Harish Nair, business group head, Interaction, says, “Earlier, email marketing was about acquisitions because there was a small audience. It was also frustrating for the customers. But now, marketers have more options and they are selective about their email campaigns.”

 

Nair says, “Email marketing is mostly about sending emailers. We wanted to do something innovative that would register in the user’s mind.” He claims that the campaign received 40 million impressions and 85,000 clicks.

 

The open-up rate (the number of times an email is clicked to open) for email campaigns vary between 5 per cent and 30 per cent, depending on the content and relevance of the email. Puri says the open-up rate for unsolicited emails is 1 per cent. For permission based emails, it is 8-10 per cent, and for special interest emails, which the user has subscribed for, it can be 25-30 per cent. Compared to the click throughs on banners, which average 1 per cent, this is not bad. Banners allow for more interactivity. As marketers start experimenting on email, the medium is becoming more interactive too. Google integrates its search ads in its email service, Gmail, and displays them according to the context of the email being read.

 

 

 

 

2. Advertisers warm up to online spend

Business Standard

July 10, 2008

 

Inflation is affecting consumer spending and advertisers say they will now spend only on media which gives them the highest measurable returns. TV, for instance, grabs the biggest ad pie due to its mass appeal and the ready availability of TRPs, used to assess its returns.

 

Advertisers are increasingly turning to the internet as the return on spending can be tracked accurately. A FICCI-PwC report pegs the online advertising market in 2008 at Rs 420 crore and predicts it will touch Rs 1,100 crore by 2011.

 

Nokia India, for instance, has been running big campaigns like Millan of the Villains and ‘Do the Music' (involving AR Rahman where users remix tracks from Rahman's latest movie and win a session with the composer). Colgate Palmolive, ITC, Dell, Viacom18 Media, Canon, Intel, Tata Housing, Reliance ADAG companies, Maruti, Toyota, Airtel, Hutch are other prominent names taking the digital space seriously.

 

Anuj Poddar, senior vice-president, Viacom18 Media (owner MTV), and chief, Digital Media, says: "I won't say we plan to cut our advertising spends as our absolute ad spends have increased. But there will be a shift from print to online as print is the most expensive medium and I can't measure the effectiveness of the money put into it."

 

Almost every show of MTV is online now. Consider Canon. Last year, its ad spend split was (in percentage): Print 50; outdoor 25; TV 25. This year the split is: Print 15; outdoor 25; TV 50; SMS 5; online 5.

 

Alok Bharadwaj, senior vice-president, Canon India, explains: "We plan online spend of 10 per cent by next year as this is where the target audience is. People seek more information and will go online to get it. So, why not advertise where people go to read?"

 

Parminder Singh, business head, technology, Google India, says: "Wherever people see an ad, they will turn to internet not only for information but also for product comparison. Thus, the medium becomes important." Poddar says: "MTV is a youth brand and since 84 per cent of the internet users are below 30, it makes sense to put money here."

 

A Maruti-Suzuki spokesperson agrees: "The online user profile matches the profile of our customers. This demographic convergence offers a huge opportunity to us, especially with our youthful and stylish fleet offerings like the Estilo, Swift and SX4." Maruti had some successful initiatives in the online medium with its Zen Estilo and lately the Swift Dzire, putting up videos on YouTube.
 

There are challenges, though, as Amar Deep Singh, vice-president, business development and client consulting, Interactive Avenues , sums up: "Companies are increasingly looking at digital media .This will become a substantial part of their marketing spends only when the user base becomes significantly large. This is likely to happen within the next two years with rapid growth in internet access and hardware costs coming down."

 

 

 

3. The game is changing for brands

Agencyfaqs

July 07, 2008

 

As brands continue to evolve their campaigns on the Internet, an interesting platform that is becoming popular with marketers is online gaming. Advertisers have realized that consumers may overlook brands in display and search ads. However, it’s hard to do so when they are actively involved in playing a game that has the brand as its central theme or character.

 

According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the size of the online gaming market in India (as in January 2007) is Rs 21 crore, of which advertising – advergames, in-game placements and display ads – contribute 11 per cent, or Rs 2.3 crore. Of course, these figures are over a year old and industry professionals estimate the industry to be valued much higher.

 

Why play around?

Why are marketers experimenting with gaming? One of the key drivers is engagement with the brand. Raj Menon, chief operating officer, Contests2win, says, “In advergames, consumers can virtually touch or experience the brand. On an average, consumers spend between three and five minutes on a game. All this while, they are immersed in the brand. By the time they’re through with the game, the brand message is completely communicated.” Contests2win has created games for brands such as Airtel, Pepsi, Bajaj Allianz, Intel, Maybelline and Bingo.

 

For instance, the Bingo game (http://www.contests2win.com/quizzes/15456/Bingo-Mad-Angles-Achaari-Masti-Attack) was for Bingo’s Mad Angles Achari Masti, which was based on the TV commercial featuring a mad scientist. In the game, the old man is placed in a maternity ward, where he has to save a packet of chips from the pregnant women. Ravi Desai, senior brand manager, Bingo, ITC, says the game was a natural fit with the overall campaign for the product. “The thought around the brand should be embedded in the game. There’s no point in just placing your logo in the game. It will not impact gamers until the brand is integrated well into the game,” says Desai.

 

He adds, “The idea is to try and use another touch point to leave an impression on the target audience, that is, the youth. The more you penetrate into a medium they are comfortable with, the more it works to your benefit.” Bingo has already experimented with an interactive website, a mobile game and a viral video.

 

But not any or every brand can be used in these games. Amar Deep Singh, vice-president, Interactive Avenues, says, “The natural fit between the game and the brand is very important. However, it can be an important part of a campaign if the target group matches the gaming audience, and also if it is able to create an interesting way to convey the brand proposition. For example, the Intel Centrino campaign used Need More Horsepower? Within racing games as a strategic placement.” Interactive Avenues has developed advergames for brands such as Colgate Max Fresh, John Players, Cinthol and ESPN.

 

While advergames are specially created with a brand in mind, brand placements in games display the brand within a relevant game. Rohit Sharma, chief operating officer, Zapak.com, says, “When games are made based on brands, or simply include brands plugged in as a means of in-game advertising, the brands gain top of the mind recall and even brand loyalty.

 

During game-play, the brand has a captive audience as gamers log in and spend time on the game.” Zapak has developed advergames for brands such as Adidas, Bru, Apollo, Perk, Gillette, HSBC and LIC. Sharma claims that advergaming contributes 25-30 per cent of the company’s revenues and this is expected to grow to 50 per cent by the end of 2008.

 

Zapak created Perky Island

(http://www.zapak.com/gameplayint.zpk?gid=916&gameid=916&gnrid=5&gname=Perky%20Island&srcsearch=gname) for the brand, Perk. The game was based on the product’s tagline, ‘Take It Lightly’, and involved thwarting pirate ships by shooting Perk bars at them. Chella Pandyan, category manager, Perk, Cadbury India, says, “The youth is spending more time on non-television activities such as gaming. The game was an opportunity to take the brand proposition to the consumer in a way with which they are comfortable.” Pandyan is happy with the response the game received and the company is planning to launch another game soon for the brand.

 

Building brand connect

The concept of a game developed for a brand has to be carefully chosen to match with the brand’s values and message. Suhail Baghdadi, general manager, marketing, Indiagames, says, “Most branded games are usually developed in agreement with the licensor (owner of the brand). They aim to capture the essence of the brand and add certain elements that are unique to the game version. Each one of these elements is integrated keeping the brand values in mind and aimed at defining what the brand would like to communicate through the game.”

 

Indiagames is based on a subscription model, but it also creates promotional games for movies and TV shows. Recently, it created a game for STAR TV’s Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?

 

Therefore, the more brand elements in the game, the more it adds to brand recall. Media2win, a digital agency, created a game for Garnier’s Sun Control Daily Moisturiser (http://www.media2win.com/contests/garnier/sun_control/), where the female character has to complete a number of tasks before getting tanned in the sun. Namrata Balwani, national business head, Media2win, says, “The consumer spends more time (in a game) in terms of interaction than he would on a simple page with product info. While the consumer knows it’s a branded game, there is more openness to receiving brand information since it is woven into an entertaining format. For Garnier, the branded game had to provide a lot of information about the brand as well as the product within a few minutes of interaction.”

 

Media2win also developed a game for Max New York Life to promote an insurance plan called Smart Steps, meant for children. Interestingly, the game was targeted at parents and was part of a microsite developed for the product, www.super-parents.com. The game required parents to cross three levels, indicating the growth phases of children. Describing why the company chose a game format, Anisha Motwani, senior vice-president, marketing, Max New York Life, says, “Insurance can be an extremely educative, albeit boring subject.

 

To make it interesting, we built it into the game, where parents learnt about the pitfalls in bringing up a child and about planning for the child’s future.” She adds that the company is planning to launch another game.

 

Costs and payoff

While the brand connect is important, there is also the cost factor to be considered. More gaming elements naturally mean higher cost. The cost can vary between Rs 50,000 and Rs 5, 00,000. The average cost of an advergame, according to industry sources, is Rs 3.5-4 lakh. Commenting on the factors that affect cost, Baghdadi says, “The cost of the game depends on factors such as the platform for which it is being developed, licensing costs, and marketing and distribution costs. The complexity of the game, the level of graphics and programming efforts involved also add to the costs. Licensing costs can run from a few thousands to millions of dollars.”

 

The pickup of a game can be measured in many ways. The common parameters are the number of people who played the game, the average time they spent on it, and the number of times they came back to play (game-play). It can also be measured in terms of the number of downloads. According to Sharma, the average response rate per month in terms of unique players at Zapak.com is three lakh, the number of game-plays is five million and the average time spent is more than three minutes.

 

Certainly, advergaming is a growing phenomena and big brands are making it part of their digital campaigns. This only goes on to show that branded gaming is here to stay.

 

 

 
 

4a. Hoardings are no longer OOH media’s pet

DNA

July 02, 2008  

 

 “Indeed, unless the billboards fall, I’ll never see a tree at all.”

—Ogden Nash

 

The American bard and many a likeminded person, who have denounced billboards for so long, have reason to cheer now. Even diehard patrons are looking beyond billboards, once the favorite prop for the outdoor advertising industry. Unlike in the past, the cash-rich new entrants in the out-of-home (OOH) advertising are investing in areas other than conventional hoardings.

 

Take for example privately-funded Laqshya, which has invested more in non-billboard-based media. Other players are also experimenting with new forms such as OOH furniture, transit media and digital signages. Even Digital Signage Networks (DSN) and OOH Media are mainly focused on digital screens that allow multiple-utilization of inventory for a certain target audience.

 

Soumitra Bhattacharya, CEO, Laqshya Outdoors, says, “The OOH industry is changing, so we’re adapting to it. Laqshya’s acquisition strategy is based on media other than billboards. Mostly, it’s advertiser-driven. If his objectives are not met through hoardings, it’s natural for us to provide him with options. But that doesn’t mean we’re ruling out hoardings from our business completely.”

 

Internationally, the out-of-home (OOH) media sector has seen an increasing number of street-signages adapting to local environment and, at times, even jaw-dropping infrastructure.

 

But in India, the market has largely remained indifferent to it, primarily due to lack of innovation amongst OOH media specialists and slow absorption of new technologies. Some players in the business say the Indian market is different.

Indrajit Sen, CEO, Stroer India, says a certain herd mentality is visible in use of hoardings. “Innovation and moving beyond hoardings is inevitable since the OOH advertising now gives a margin of only 25-30% against 70-80% even 6-7 years ago. Today, rising family incomes mean less dependence on hoardings on their rooftops,” he says.

 

The local civic administrations such as the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) believe hoardings lack aesthetic quality. So, they now allow the private sector to maintain civic amenities in exchange for advertising rights and FSI (floor space index) benefits.

 

R A Rajeev, additional municipal commissioner, Greater Mumbai, says outdoor media owners often flout norms.

 

“In the race for a few more bucks, advertising industry compromises on safety and security of hoarding structures and also add to the clutter,” Rajeev said during his address at the Outdoor Advertising Convention (OAC) on Friday.

 

The signs are clear that thousands of outdoor media owners, currently starved of funding in a largely unorganized OOH media sector, will need to adapt and invest more in OOH media beyond billboards and hoardings.

 

Advertiser needs are evolving too. This is in line with changing ad spend patterns as media plans slowly become less dependant on television advertising. Siddharth Mehra, AGM— marketing, Spice Mobile, says, “An advertiser now seeks more engagement and connect through OOH media. Unless the message is really strong, simple hoardings have to make way for more dynamic outdoor media.”

 

However, advertising veterans exercise caution and advise not to rule out billboards yet.

 

Mangesh Borse, director, Symbiosis Advertising, believes large-format advertising, primarily through billboards, will continue to be a preferred part in media plans.

 

Borse alluded to brands such as Amul, which used topical billboard advertising to establish itself. “Even in the US, after its initial tryst with street furniture and transit media, the share of this form of OOH advertising actually went down. Billboards are noticed, and the bigger they are, the better is the impact,” Borse said.

 

Sam Balsara, chairman and MD, Madison Communications, says, “There’s a sense that we’re trying to fix something that isn’t broke yet. At 7% of the ad pie, OOH media grew at 28% last year. So, certainly something must be right about the existing majority share of billboards. But let’s understand that outdoor is an intermediate business. Doubling the prices won’t mean the market will double.”

 

 

 

4b. Absolute 3D Visions gives India its first spectacle-free 3D screens

Agencyfaqs

July 17, 2008

 

Absolute 3D Visions, a part of the MM Group, has introduced the first 3D digital screens in OOH advertising. These 3D screens do not require the special viewing aid, the blue-red spectacles, normally required to view 3D moving pictures.

 

VS Veerasami, chief executive officer, Absolute 3D Visions (A3D), says, “3D screens work using two types of technology. Some companies use lenticular technology and some use barrier technology. A3D uses barrier technology and this allows the viewer to see the 3D image naturally. The technology subdivides the LCD image into complex repeating segments which, when viewed and then integrated by human binocular vision, presents 3D views of the scenes.”

 

Veerasami has been in advertising for 22 years. He started off with wall painting, followed by digital signs with MM Digital Signs in Tamil Nadu. Exploring the idea of launching something new in the digital signage world, he came up with 3D technology and started Absolute 3D Visions. Starting with lenticular static displays, A3D moved on to auto-stereoscopic 3D digital signage. Auto-stereoscopy is a method of displaying three dimensional (3D) images without the use of special glasses. It produces depth perception even when the image seen by the viewer is produced by a flat device. After three years, the first ever 3D display was launched at Coimbatore airport, Tamil Nadu, on January 18, 2008.

 

Veerasami says that the digital signage at Coimbatore airport was A3D's pilot programme and it had decided to launch the next 3D digital signage network in the next three months. Soon, it realized that the cost and time taken (for content creation for 3D displays) were too much for advertisers. The company finally decided to create its own 3D displays. The business model reworked, A3D, in addition to setting up 3D digital signage networks, also became a content creation company. It provides options to create full 3D videos or to adapt existing 2D videos to the 3D screens.

 

Veerasami says no one has bothered to enter and launch this technology because of the cost and time taken in content creation. The 3D displays make images appear to hover mid-air, addressing the need for innovative ways to capture consumers’ attention, build brand awareness and increase message retention. Advertising on these screens helps capture the moving audience easily, cuts through the clutter and reaches masses more easily and effectively. It’s new, exciting and creates a ‘wow’ effect on the customers.

 

Also, 3D itself is always a craze and, when people can see it without any 3D glasses, it creates excitement among all ages. The challenge in this medium is the cost incurred. Veerasami says, “We strive hard to decrease the cost of the auto-stereoscopic 3D displays to about 50 per cent more than that of the ordinary 2D LCD screens. The time taken for creating content and the cost of content creation are also a challenge, but now we have a special team that creates the content very effectively and in a timely manner.” While the company is in the process of finalizing the costs, Veerasami informs that a 42 inch display will cost approximately Rs 1.5 lakh which includes the screen and the 3D software player.

 

A 3D offers displays of varying sizes. It offers screen sizes ranging from eight inches to 60 inches. These screens can be used in theatres, malls, flights and wherever 2D digital signage exists. New Saravana Stores and Saravana Jewellers are the main advertisers using the 3D screens at Coimbatore airport. Diamond retailers, Kirtilals, also rented the screens to display a video, A Day with Kirtilals, for seven days.

 

A 3D is in discussions with various advertising companies for tie ups to establish a digital signage network for 3D screens in cinema theatres and multiplexes across India. It also aims at establishing new market opportunities in Brazil, West Asia, Malaysia and South Africa.

 

Veerasami says, “Our future plan is to penetrate into digital signage and replace 2D networks with 3D. We are now ready to bring alive the world of spectacle-free 3D display and capture both the OOH and retail sectors. By 2010, we aim to capture 30 per cent of the digital market in India and earn revenue close to Rs 200 crore.”

 
 

 

 

5. Industry Speak: Indian Railways, the new OOH media vehicle

Exchange4media

July 16, 08

 

Ever since the success of the Kurkure Express, Indian’s first ever cross-country branded train, which was flagged off by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on April 19, 2007, brands like Airtel, and recently Max New York Life Insurance, have begun using long distance trains to humanize their brands.

 

exchange4media speaks to industry experts on the latest transit media to address issues like will cross-country trains become the next big thing in OOH; what is the status of local branded trains; whether the statutory authorities like the municipal corporation, etc., should take a cue from the Indian Railways, so that OOH can be a streamed lined.

 

Expressing his views on the transit medium, Indrajit Sen, CEO, Stroeer OOH Media India, said, “Transit is always an important medium in the OOH space. FMCG as well as utility brands like Financial – investments and insurance, Consumables, Mobile Services, etc., have always found it very effective. So, its not surprising that the Railways monetize its natural assets.”

 

“The way one uses it depends on whether the distances are short or long. Technology also supports innovations like on-line news and other coverage inside running trains as well as networked ads in all stations in a route, etc. Stroeer has been a pioneer in transit advertising and currently services the entire network of the German railway system.

 

The fact that road transport also provide similar opportunities have also been recognized and buses with displays covering entire exteriors are already common. Within cities, there are distraction issues, and in very crowded roads like in Mumbai and Pune, issues like very limited visibility for ads on sides or back of taxis are slowing down investment. But, that would not be the case in – say – in Delhi or Chennai or many other cities. Transit is already happening – it’s only left to the users and the transit owners how best to utilize the opportunities,” Sen added.

 

Sriram Iyer, CEO, Street Culture, is very upbeat about the medium. He said, “For mass appeal brand like cellular service providers, FMCG goods and certain financial products, long distance train branding works like magic. The humungous exterior display provides a spectacular front at every station for the locals to absorb the message. The interiors provide a captive audience who is staring at it for long hours. The initiative by the Indian railways to exploit this medium is commendable and well thought out. For the relevant advertisers it is another affirmation of outdoors ability to deliver captive audiences.”

 

However, Iyer felt that comparing long distance trains with local/intra-city rail network would not be right. “What a local train in Mumbai or the Metro in Delhi and Kolkatta deliver, are audiences commuting repeatedly in a definable geographic area. The messages targeted to these commuters could be anything in the realm of consumption. The ability to define the demographic and psychographics of the local traveler makes targeting a relatively easy job. The vast differences in the SEC of long distance train passengers, has made the medium attractive only to the bold advertiser. But just like other outdoor media, which has evolved and asserted its importance, even this medium will soon have its die-hard fans,” Iyer pointed out.

 

Ajaz Memon, Director, Network Media Solutions, too felt that the Railways was a great medium, but only if used in a better way. He, however, pointed out that BMC and the Railways were two different streams, which were currently poles apart. “The railway network can offer the highest number of eyeballs compared to any other transit medium. Both local and long-distance trains have their own utility as long as you make the creative medium-specific. For example, long-distance trains should carry a more national and generic message, where as the local ones should carry a city-specific message,” Memon observed.

 

“The BMC is still making up its mind on whether it is pro or anti-OOH. It treats the OOH industry more like a necessary evil than an active partner. Since the BMC is first a regulator before anything else, its role cannot be compared to the Railways in terms of promoting the medium. At best, BMC can, with foresight, envision new avenues for generating revenues for itself without compromising on aesthetics, which rightly seems to be its new mantra,” he pointed out.

 

In contrast, Soumitra S Bhattacharyya ,CEO, Laqshya Outdoor, isn’t as upbeat as others. He said, “Train branding has always been there and it is not new. Earlier, there were total train brandings, but more of the small patches on the outside or inside. This time probably they are trying to do it a little better. Long distance train branding does not seem to be interesting as of now for two reasons – firstly, because the media budget is still spent on the top 6-7 towns, so why pay for a long distance train that goes through a top town just once a day. And secondly, because I am sure after a few 100 km the entire train becomes filthy so why go for these brandings?”

 

“Having said that, there is tremendous potential for the EMU or locals that ply within the city. These trains do not have the above two negatives and if done well (for example, in conjunction with full station branding) can attract the advertiser. The problem is that the concessionaire who has the station probably does not have the train so coordination suffers,” Bhattacharyya added.

 

Giving his creative angle on the long distance train is Santosh Padhi, National Creative Director, Leo Burnett. While calling for a balance between the spends on the media and the creative, Padhi asked, “I think when you have the entire elephant, why just use a part of the elephant, and make the elephant look like much smaller than what it is? One must never under estimate what it can do, both in terms of physical and mental imprints, which is why we need to over come the half-hearted approach, which has been our weakness over the years, and it’s time for us to over come the same.”

 

“Getting the entire train to advertise is a great way of approaching the consumers and engage them with your brand apart from just branding. But one must understand the fact that if one is spending crores on the buying the medium, then one must spend some on the creative, so that those crores will come alive and make some sense to the brand, that way the campaigns will be remembered for the content which connects human beings,” Padhi further said.

 

 

 
 

6. Global ad spend up by four per cent in Q1: Nielsen

Indiantelevision

July 28, 2008

 

Despite mounting economic pressures, global ad spends has grown over four per cent in the first quarter of 2008, according to the latest figures from The Nielsen Company's Global AdView Pulse report. In the period from January to March 2008, ad spending in Africa grew by over 16 per cent, and the Asia Pacific region recorded almost 10 per cent growth. In the more developed regions of North America and Europe, growth was considerably slower.

 

North America's ad spending figures climbed by just 1 per cent and remained flat in Europe (-0.4%). As a result these two regions lost one point of share respectively to Asia Pacific. The Global AdView Pulse findings reveal significant variations in overall ad spending trends across the regions. North America experienced slight total growth (1.2 per cent), despite a softening US economy and the recent Writers' Guild of America strike. These negative factors were offset somewhat by political advertising related to the US presidential elections.

 

Although Canada's media environment was affected by the strikes, the stronger economic situation in Canada allowed the local advertising market to close the first three months of the year with a percentage growth higher than the one registered in the USA.

 

Of the three regions surveyed, Asia Pacific showed the most growth across the quarter, registering 10 per cent. All four major media types (television, magazines, print and radio) contributed to this growth. This region is expected to benefit further from economic development in fast-growing Asian markets.

 

The report also states that elements of uncertainty linked to the world economic situation and the increase in oil and commodity prices have reached Asian and Oceanian soil, and the effects of these pressures may slow this region's overall upwards trend. The rise of ad spending in Asia Pacific has been attributed to strong growth in China, India and Indonesia. In other markets, growth remained flat.

 

According to Nielsen analysts in China, the Chinese economy is expected to remain strong in 2008. Nielsen is forecasting increased growth this year, due to the popularity of Internet video advertising and local search.

 

The ad market in Europe remained flat over the first quarter of 2008. Television, which accounts for almost 50 per cent of total European advertising spend, is the only media type showing positive growth (+2.2%). The slow economic growth of many European markets and the effects of economic uncertainty have had an impact on advertising trends across the region. However there is an expectation that the recent Uefa Euro and the upcoming Olympic Games will have a positive influence on advertising spend in the second half of the year.

 

According to Nielsen experts in Germany, the first three months of 2008 saw almost 30 million Euros being invested in campaigns with a direct or associated reference to the UEFA European Football Championship in that country. Even in Norway, where the economy is going from strength to strength, there are now signs of more moderate development.

 

According to market analysts from Nielsen Norway, the main drivers behind this moderation are a marked decline in economic growth among Norway's trading partners, a stronger Krone and several interest rate rises in the past year.

 

South Africa's ad market grew by 15.3 per cent over the quarter. Television and print have the lion's share, but Internet advertising is gaining momentum in this market, growing by 67 per cent across the three-month period.

 

According to Nielsen analysts, television viewing in South Africa may have been affected by a power crisis in early 2008, causing widespread blackouts across the country. the extent of the impact, however, is as yet unknown. Globally, healthcare retains the majority share of ad spending, with just over 10 per cent of all advertising activity. With nine percent of global consumers ranking their health as their biggest concern today, we may see this figure continue to rise.

 

Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) advertising spend is also growing at a significant rate (+6.7 per cent), recording growth across all regions. Ad spend in the clothing and accessories sector grew by 5.5 per cent.

 

Television remains the highest-grossing medium for advertising spend, recording a 6.9 per cent yearly growth rate globally and growth in every region. Television currently accounts for 60 per cent of global ad spend. Newspapers, representing almost 24 per cent of spend, remained flat (0.4 per cent) and magazines showed a 0.9 per cent decline globally.

 

 

 
 

7. Digital Media On The Rise Globally

Center for Media Research

July 22, 2008

 

A new study from WPP's GroupM shows that Interactive media's share of worldwide advertising expenditures is expected to hit 15 percent in 2009, almost double from four years ago, and will remain the main source of growth as ad spending in traditional media continues to decline.

 

Ad spending in interactive media - internet, mobile and gaming - reached 11 percent in 2007, sparked mostly by gains recorded in the US and Western Europe, as well as by the increased use and availability of improved handsets, inexpensive laptops, faster broadband, and extensive Wi-Fi connections.

 

The survey covers 35 countries and shows digital advertising's share of total ad investment rising from 8 percent in 2005 to 15 percent in 2009:

 

 

The "Interaction: Addressable, Searchable, Social and Mobile" study finds that internet advertising has been the principal source of media investment growth in western nations since 2001 as spending in traditional media has leveled off.

 

Among other key findings of the report:

 

·         Almost 45 percent of 2007 interactive ad spending counted as display, a figure that is expected to fall slightly. Paid search advertising accounted for 38 percent and is expected to grow

·         Google commanded a median 86 percent share of 2007 search inquiries in the survey's sample of 35 countries, somewhat ahead of other industry samples

·         The mean online shopping spend per user in 2007 was estimated at $471, and the only country to break the $1,000 mark was Denmark

·         The survey also revealed a particularly strong positive correlation between broadband penetration and annual online spend per individual

·         There is also strong positive correlation between the amount of broadband a country has and the internet's share of advertising investment

·         Demographics alone will sustain growth in internet use among consumers for at least another generation, and possibly two, as those under 25 years old carry their habits into middle age and beyond

·         The amount of time consumers spend online is increasing from a mean of 27 minutes daily in 2005 to a projected 46 minutes next year

 

The increased time was generally not a result of consumers' spending less time with TV, radio and print, but rather carving out more time to spend online each year, or possibly multitasking Rob Norman, global CEO of GroupM Interaction, says "...

 

There's little doubt that interactive channels are increasingly vital to delivering reach and engagement and will only become more so in the coming years..."

 

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