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Category: MAM

  • MRSI Symposium explores opportunities in financial services

    MUMBAI: No parallels can be drawn here. But the fact that in the past couple of years the ‘sell it’ phenomenon has quietly engulfed the financial and banking services sector in India, can only bring a ‘con’ smile to the face of a market researcher. The buzz is that Market Research, which until now was core to the FMCG categories only, is now making gradual inroads into the nascent territories of developing or executing the marketing strategies of the financial products and services. MRSI Symposium: Financial Services, organized by the Market Research Society of India on 4 February, only seems to validate the upcoming trend.
     
     
    Commending on the initiative keynote speaker director general Somaiya Institute of Management Prof. P. V. Narsimha said, “The banking and the financial sectors in India are no more in the evolutionary phase. They are growing very fast. A decade back most of us relied heavily upon the report, either about a depositor or a creditor, by the manager. Today it has become more impersonal. We don’t see our clients as often as we should. In this scenario the only way the system can be replaced is through highly quantitative model building techniques.”
     
     
    Substantiating the thought, TNS India regional director Poonam Saxena said, “I believe that now the financial sector is doing a lot of data mining while using a lot of technological and statistical tools to better understand there customers. However there is also a need to understand what drives the people on emotional levels. In today’s context there is a strong need to develop a strong correlation between customers’ emotional drivers and the behavioral drivers to get a complete picture.”
    But is the Research community in India ready to commit itself to the challenge? The skepticism amongst the financial community vis-?-vis dissemination of information and the confidentiality of key data poses serious concerns. The preparedness of a Research Agency to actually deliver tangible results also haunts the Bankers. As it is still in an evolutionary phase market research agencies’ approach towards the financial services sector is still more akin to the traits of FMCG oriented consumer research. However, certain agencies have initiated focused driven business intelligence models to suffice the lack of empirical research database (most of the models being applied in India are replicas of overseas markets). Millward Brown Services vice president & head, south asia Prasun Basu explained, “Generally the research for the financial services sector is still evolving. It is the same for IMRB too. But in the last few years we have done a huge amount of financial research in various fields like Insurance, Mutual Funds, Credit Cards etc. with a variety of companies both nationalized and private sector companies. In the process we have developed a few specialized models and syndicated studies which work for the sector.”

     
     
    Addressing concerns about confidentiality of key data Basu denies any huge amount of skepticism in the financial community. He said we work with ICICI Bank very closely. It is the biggest private bank in India. Our experience with the institution had been extremely enriching. I believe the issue of confidentiality is more of an issue of trust. If that is maintained between the agency and the client then I believe that financial institutions in India are willing to share critical data with the agency.”
    Unilever – Asia director, consumer & market insight, home & oral care and Market Research Society of India president B. V. Pradeep was more apt about the relevance of market research in the financial sector. He said, “One of the issues with market research is that it is not a product that can be displayed on the shelves like an FMCG or an automobile product. The financial sector mindset still is about managing the money. And I think that that should change to managing the consumers’ mind. Today a consumer doesn’t go to buy a product, he wants a brand with which it can relate to and trust upon. The concept of the brand being intangible makes it very difficult for a person in the financial sector to expect tangible results out of it. The objective of a research in the financial sector will remain to produce convincing tools and models capable of producing tangible outputs while the financial sector has to realize that the purse of a consumer follows the heart rather than otherwise.”

    Although the symposium was well represented by the Market Research community, the absence of top executives from the Financial Services sector certainly dampened the spirits. However, the initial trends of big Financial Institutions like ICICI and HDFC pushing for greater application of quantitative techniques of research is a certain sign of strong growth oriented future for the market research fraternity.

  • The SME Revolution starts in Dubai and GCC

    The Western economies realised decades ago that small and medium enterprises are really the main drivers of the economy. While big businesses are necessary to preserve and maintain structure within the economy, surely they have considerable problems of their own. Mega corporations of the earlier era have increasingly lost their edge to smaller, nimbler organisations, which have spouted all over the Western landscape. The Middle East is now a new turning point for SME’s to begin a grassroots revolution.

    Four Driving Forces –

    The Critical Mass

    Middle East and particularly the super-charged Gulf-Cooperative Council known as a GCC region, the current GCC members are Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar and Oman. This also ripples into bigger Middle East and Middle East and North Africa known as Mena regions.

     

    GCC nations are in a major transition, something so dramatic and so powerful that when it comes to new business formation front then all this is pointing to a mass incubation of new enterprises all over this region. Dubai is now such a dynamic place and unmatched by any other region on this planet; the examples set by Dubai provides the fuel to this expansion, and brings a brand new high level of confidence.

     

    The speed and operational level is dramatically high, and it may continuously re-charge in a way that was similar to the 1990 American e-commerce boom, which erupted in a chain reaction of one success leading into several others, simultaneously. Though, at times, we refer to this American boom period as ‘irrational exuberance’, but still the dotcom boom followed by a long bust was still only a small hiccup towards the long haul of the e-commerce revolution. There is a similar pattern emerging, this massive growth may get a bump here and there but it is gathering momentum and amassing its own critical mass with signs of longevity.

    The Integration

    The shades and colours of extreme diversity combined with variety of loose floating ideas can become an awesome force, sometimes only the crude differences and wild ideas germinate great original concepts. This region is like an extraordinary bazaar of strange concepts, traditions, styles, personalities, and nationalities, parked in various geographies. Isn’t the same reason why the open diversity of America in the later parts of the last century made it a hot spot for innovation and the introduction of hundreds of new concepts to the world? This is what is in the making. Here the diversification and cultural integration is becoming the nurturing ground and technology is offering the tools to produce such concepts in a world-class manner. The SME sectors all over the GCC countries are poised for big gains.

     

    The Image and Branding

    Today, and all throughout history, no matter what, everyone is being branded, either for their origins, ideologies, presentations and interactions, plus hundreds of many other reasons. Everyone is branded. From mega personalities to little individuals, from Governmental institutions and big organisations to small businesses, nothing is left untouched.

     

    Though nothing wrong with this, but the most important part is to acquire tactical and highly-trained skills to develop a deeper understanding of this external branding force so as to combat all the undesired images with a professionally executed counter-action plan, aimed to continuously achieve a sharper and a desired image along the way. The smart ones know this very well and this smartness is now slowly creeping throughout the region rapidly. This image building is going to create some new standards to be adopted by the rest of the globe. The culture is becoming image-savvy along the way, just like the West was all along.

    The Nationalization

    The GCC countries are facing population and foreign workforce imbalances and therefore want to create and train their own nationals to be in the forefront of all sectors and also to become the driving force behind the business and corporate sectors in their own countries.

     

    The issues of nationalisation are being discussed at all levels; this also is creating a positive interaction among nationals to take direct, active roles rather than passive ones. Nationalisation is fueling education and active engagement. This, when blended with a foreign workforce creates a new kind of energy of its own, and this energy is what the new business climate needs, a blend of integrated highly efficient working environments. Nationalisation is a very good thing, and sooner the localisation picks up steam it will be better for all sides.

     

    Opportunities for the World

    Today Dubai and GCC opens golden opportunities to the global business communities of the world. The business activities in the region are increasing at record pace by the day, Dubai now sets the standard, and every other city in the region wants to catch up fast. Right now, Dubai International Exhibition Centre, the largest centre in Middle East, has 365 days of bookings for major fairs, exhibitions and conferences, millions of people are coming in to interact, exchange ideas to form alliances and sellers form all over the globe in search of business from this super-rich region.

     

    “We are the gateway to the world now, and we can show it in technicolour. Just come and see what we have done here in last 10 years,” says Sateesh Khanna, an Indian born expatriate in Dubai since last the last 30 years, and now General Manger at Al Fajer Information and Services, the largest exhibition company in the region and also the organizer of the SME Expo in Jan 2007, www.gogcc.com www.semeexpo.com. Sateesh further adds, “Easy access to ownership of your own business, property and no taxes have made this the top location now, and SME’s are coming in huge numbers.”

     

    Some 15,000 members of the SME community will visit this SME Expo from this region and the world. There will be some 300 SME related businesses showcasing their strengths and innovative ideas. In the Golden Opportunity for SME in GCC Conference, there will some 1000 delegates who will hear the top 20 speakers in this field. The theme is to offer a platform to create new alliances and to team-up for greater exportable opportunities throughout the Middle East and Mena. “Finally, we are ready to tackle this new frontier and we invite businesses from all over the world to come and explore the golden opportunities this region has to offer to SME,” says SME Expo Event Manger Winnie Lugon.

     

    The tourism and general traffic to Dubai is at a frantic pace, and people from all over the globe are exploring this to make a major branch operation or Asian head quarters, and this alone has brought a boom to the real-estate markets and foreign investments. There is a certainly a brand new SME business revolution starting in Dubai and spreading all over the GCC countries. Right now, everybody is talking about being Dubai-bound or going GCC. Al aboard.

  • WPP first quarter revenues up 16%

    MUMBAI: WPP’s acquisition of Grey Global has resulted in a sliver lining if one goes by the revenues that former has garnered post the take over. WPP’s revenues have seen a 16 per cent rise on the first quarter of 2005, which primarily reflecting strong organic growth and a first-time contribution from Grey from 7 March.

     
     
    The impact of currency in the first quarter of 2005 was minimal. On a like-for-like basis, excluding acquisitions and currency fluctuations, revenues were up almost six per cent. This maintains the improvement in the organic growth rate of the last two quarters of 2004 and reflects the growing focus by clients on improving profitability through innovation and branding and top line growth, rather than by relying solely on cost cutting.

    In all the regions that WPP has a presence in, a double digit revenue growth has been seen. In North America, revenues were up over 16 per cent; in Europe, the UK was up 12 per cent and Continental Europe up over 15 per cent.. Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East was up 22 per cent.

     
     
    By communications services sector, advertising and media investment management was up over 17 per cent, information, insight and consultancy up 19 per cent, public relations and public affairs up over 12 per cent, and branding and identity, healthcare and specialist communications up almost 15 per cent.

    The net new business billings of GBP 875 million ($1.62 billion) were won during the first quarter. The Group has continued to benefit from consolidation trends in the industry, winning several large assignments from existing and new clients.

     
     
    In the first quarter both profitability and operating margin were ahead of budget. Full year margin forecasts are in line with the Group’s revised combined margin target for 2005, including Grey, of 14.3 per cent.
    Also, WPP’s operating companies continued to improve productivity. On a pro-forma basis, the number of people in the Group (excluding associates) was up 3.8 per cent as of 31 March 2005 to 71,097, as compared to the previous year. In Q1 2005, average headcount on a like-for-like basis was up 5.2 per cent to 64,368, compared with Q1 2004.

    Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

    WPP has continues to implement its strategy of using free cash flow to enhance share owner value through a judicious combination of capital expenditure, acquisitions and share cancellations, whilst ensuring that these expenditures are covered by free cash flow.

    Average net debt in Q1 2005 was down GBP 240 million to GBP 586 million, compared to GBP 826 million in 2004. The current net debt figure compares with a market capitalisation of approximately GBP 7.5 billion. Net debt at 31 March 2005 was GBP 938 million compared to GBP 825 million in 2004 — an increase of GBP 113 million, reflecting a GBP 384 million gross cash payment for Grey.

    In the twelve months to 31 March 2005, the Group’s free cash flow was GBP 572 million. Over the same period, the Group’s capital expenditure, acquisitions and share cancellations were GBP 646 million (including a GBP 384 million gross cash payment for Grey).

    In the first quarter of 2005, in addition to the completion of the acquisition of Grey, the Group made acquisitions or increased equity interests in advertising and media investment management in the United Kingdom, Denmark and Argentina; in information, insight and consultancy in Hong Kong; in public relations and public affairs in Denmark; in healthcare in the United States, Netherlands and Switzerland; and in direct, Internet and interactive in the United States.

    In Q1 2005, 3,367,000 ordinary shares were purchased, at an average price of GBP 6.17 per share and total cost of GBP 20.8 million. 2,250,000 of these shares were cancelled. The company’s objective remains to repurchase up to two per cent annually of its share base in the open market at an approximate cost of GBP 150 million, when market conditions are appropriate.

    WPP will also be looking at focusing on its key objectives of improving operating profits by 10 per cent to 15 per cent per annum; improving operating margins by half to one margin point per annum; improving staff cost to revenue ratios by 0.6 margin points per annum; growing revenue faster than industry averages; improving our creative reputation and stimulating co-operation among Group companies.

    WPP head honcho Sir Martin Sorrell was quoted in a media report as saying, “The continually increasing cost in network television, the fragmentation of media, and the development of new technologies are all moving the market toward direct, interactive and Internet.”

  • Claria introduces Web Intelligence Center for US advertisers

    MUMBAI: Claria which works in the online behavioral marketing space in the US, has announced that in addition to the launch of the BehaviorLink ad network it is also launching the Web Intelligence Center platform
     
     
    The new offering for advertisers and publishers will provide insights and data on anonymous consumer behavior that have never before been available. The Web Intelligence Center will provide marketers access to numerous metrics based on consumer behavioral data that will help them better understand consumer behaviour and assist in creating more relevant and targeted advertisements and personalised content.

    The Web Intelligence Center is an analytics platform that will help provide publishers and marketers with unprecedented insight and analysis into anonymous consumer behavior across a broad spectrum of the Web, rather than on
    a single site or limited group of sites. It will enable advertisers and publishers to have a broader understanding of the interests of their consumer audience; what content users are seeking to meet their information needs; what activities users perform before and after they see an ad – in increments of hours, days, weeks, or months; and how behavior differs between different levels of category usage and/or brand loyalty.

     
     
    The Center provides both standard and customised reports for advertisers and publishers. One of the reports Usage Intensity provides insight into the quantity of consumer Internet sessions and also the relative quality of those sessions. It answers questions like how many pages were viewed, how long were those sessions and how that compares with other brands in the category. Marketers can gauge if current sessions are of sufficient depth to indicate online purchase and loyalty.

    Another report Cross Traffic presents insights into the percentage of a brands audience is viewing the competition, and the percentage of competitive audiences visiting their brand. It provides advertisers with a better understanding of how well they are doing in the marketplace and helps them focus and concentrate advertising on their weaker segments.

    Meanwhile the Cross-Browse For Purchasers report shows the browsing behaviour of consumers who made a purchase at a given site, including what other sites in the category they viewed within the 30-day period prior to that purchase. This report provides insight into the browsing behaviour of the online buyer as compared to all traffic to the
    brand. Marketers are able to determine what other competitors are in a consumer’s consideration set.

     
     
    The Loyalty report allows marketers to segment their category consumers by loyal, Switchers and Competitive sections. It answers questions like Of those that viewed a given brand’s site, what is the scope of their consideration set? The New To Brand Indices index offers a monthly benchmarking of the percentage of ad-driven consumers who view a site that had not been to the advertised site within a prior 30-day period. It gives advertisers a perspective into the performance of their own campaigns to new consumers, as well as understanding how the category performs in trial based targetting.

  • Sania Mirza, Mohan Lal to now endorse Malabar Gold

    BANGALORE: Sania Mirza and Kerala superstar Mohan Lal recently inaugurated Malabar Jewels and Diamonds Ltd, eighth retail outlet and the first one outside Kerala, in Bangalore.
     
     
    On the anvil are plans to open outlets in Mangalore and Hubli in Karnataka, Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh and Chennai in Tamil Nadu, informed Malabar Jewels and Diamonds LTD MD (Bangalore) Asher.
    Lal who has been endorsing the Malabar gold chain as brand ambassador has been joined by tennis ace Mirza.

     
     
    Malabar Gold who have been releasing TV ads across all channels in Kerala in the past are now ready to shoot new ads with Mirza. The new ad campaign across all media forms – print, outdoor, radio and TV will showcase the brand ambassadors.
     
     
    Refusing to share details about the advertisement plans or budgets, the company’s marketing manager (Bangalore) Yasir said, “Our in-house agency India Matrix is handling the campaign. We’ll have them on hoardings, print, radio, TV and any other media as per the agreement signed with them,” while speaking of Mohan Lal and Mirza.
    Malabar chain of stores forms a separate limited company for each of their stores and provide each gold article sold by them with a BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) stamp for 100 per cent hallmarked 916 gold.

    Their outlets are equipped with German made ‘Karat Analyzer’ for customers to verify the quality of the gold they buy or sell. They also retail diamond jewellery with ‘F’ grade diamonds that come with a certificate of authenticity and colour purity and every diamond jewellery comes with a 100 per cent buyback guarantee. Malabar are also a PGI (Platinum Guild International) authorised retail store, besides which they also retail premium watch brands like Omega, Longines, Rado and Tissot.

  • Sony finalises Fame Gurukul sponsors

    MUMBAI: One month prior to launch, Sony has managed to rope in five associate sponsors for its upcoming reality series, Fame Gurukul, which is slotted at 8:30 pm Monday to Friday.
     

     
    Associate sponsors finalised for Fame Gurukul are as follows:

    1) LG CDMA
    2) Pepsi
    3) HLL (Clinic)
    4) Johnson & Johnson
    5) Idea (Telecom operator)
    6) In the process of finalisation

    Industry estimates have pegged the amount each sponsor has pumped in at about Rs 30 million.

    Commenting on the same, SET executive vice president (ad sales & revenue management) Rohit Gupta states, “Based on the strength of the format, we have reduced the number of sponsors to six. This will allow for focussed branding opportunities that can be woven in well into the show which would have been limited if we had brought in more sponsors.”

    Sony usually follows a nine associate sponsor format.

     
     
    Gupta also pointed out, Indian Idol was the launch pad for branding synergies on Indian television. Citing the example of the Nokia Hindi SMS as well as the Rejoice Shampoo branding with ‘Rejoice moments’ he stated that the benchmarks had been set, and now the endeavour was to raise the bar further.

    Coming to the what the format offers to advertisers, Gupta reiterates, “The format of the show is so tight, that it is literally a high paced reality soap. Also, now that our 8-8:30 pm band has firmed up with the launch of Kaise Ye Pyaar Hain, it will act as an excellent funnel for Fame Gurukul at 8:30 pm.”

     
     
    What is noteworthy about the likes of LG CDMA, Pepsi and Idea that have come on board is the fact that they have not been very aggressive spenders on the channel.

    Also, if one looks at LG CDMA, this is it’s first big spend the brand has indulged in apart from the normal FCT buys on television. Similar is the case with Idea, says Gupta. A clear indication, according to him, that the channel has managed to divert some new monies onto its stable.

  • JWT Mumbai wins Stevie Award in New York

    MUMBAI: With a focus on creating distinct advertising, JWT Mumbai has been the only Indian advertising agency to be honoured by a Stevie Award – The International Business Awards – in New York for the ad created for the Philips – ‘Bada TV’ and a finalist certification for the Philips DVD – Ramukaka’ TVCs.
     
     
    The Stevie Awards honor and generate public recognition of the efforts, accomplishments, and positive contributions of companies, agencies and business people worldwide. These awards commenced in 2002 with The American Business Awards, followed by The International Business Awards in 2003, and now The Stevie Awards.
     
     
    JWT Mumbai senior vice president and general manager Tarun Rai said, “We wanted to keep it simple yet give the brand a modern personality in the minds of the consumer. This has been the thrust of all the work we have created for Philips.”
     

     
     
    Adds JWT Mumbai vice president and executive creative director D Ramakrishna, “The one thread running across all our work has been the use of life insights underpinned with humour, making it universally appealing.”

    “The impact made by these television commercials was huge in the market place resulting in a huge surge in sales for both categories,” said JWT Mumbai vice president and client services director Suranjan Das, who heads the Philips account.

    Bada TV resulted in over 60 per cent increase in CTV sales in 2004 over the previous year. The DVD Ramukaka film (which also won the Ad Club, Mumbai EFFIE silver) helped grow the DVD category by 1000 per cent in 2003-04.

     

  • Times hand N B Verma to join DNA as ad sales head

    MUMBAI: Daily News & Analysis (DNA), a newspaper to be launched from the Zee-Bhaskar combine, has roped in N B Verma as its ad sales head. Verma has been heading Times of India Mumbai’s response department, region three, in his 23-year long stint with the Bennett, Coleman & Co.
     
     
    Verma will be reporting to sales & marketing head Suresh Balakrishnan. Sources close to indiantelevison.com indicate that Verma will be putting his papers on 22 April. Then, he will serve a one-month notice period before joining Diligent Media, the Zee-Bhaskar joint venture which will launch the newspaper.
     
     
    When contacted, Balakrishnan said a final decision hadn’t been taken yet on the appointment. “We have given an offer, but haven’t got any confirmation from Verma yet,” he says.
    DNA is targeting a September launch and has already roped in veteran journalists Ayaz Memon, R Jagannathan and Vijay Kadu. Diligent Media has set up its office in Mumbai suburb Lower Parel’s Kamala Mills Compound.

     
     
    Currently, Bhaskar group is conducting a pre-launch survey, covering a staggering 11-lakh households in Mumbai and Thane. The survey will go on for two months. Simultaneously, the marketing campaign is also being unfolded phase by phase.

  • I’ve got the power

    The free hand – a mythical concept which has been in existence ever since the term ‘management’ was invented by a group of orangutans figuring out how to nail a bunch of bananas (ok, I lied about the orangutan bit, but there were definitely some bananas involved). It is meant to be an empowerment tool that serves to motivate and nurture employees and prepare them to assume more responsibility. However the chances of this definition actually being implemented in the real world are as remote as the odds of the orangutans returning those bananas, even it there is a world famous card and a curvaceously crafted star actress being waved in their faces.

    “Never trust boss who says the decision is your own, soon the issue will come back and you will cry and moan.” The high pitched, heavily accented oriental cackle, and Chai-La, the mystical Chinese tea boy, had disbursed his morning ascetic pearl into the unsuspecting ears of Ram Shankar, as always with the customary tea cup, nestled in Ram’s fingers.

    Vikas (Ram’s boss) had been away, incommunicado for a week. The office speculation was that the (in) famous Russian pole dancer who he used to chat with, was in town and Vikas had felt it was an opportune moment to learn the ‘Russian tongue shuffle’. Thus, he had excused himself by saying it was merely a case of paying lip service to some pressing issues for a while (which it was) and had zoomed off into an unspecified direction leaving behind an excessively overburdened and outrageously confused Ram Shankar in his wake. His parting words to the young chap were, “Don’t wait to get in touch with me for any decisions, act like you are captain of the ship and just move ahead. I am backing you all the way.”

    Those words, after rather lazily tracing some motivationally challenged, elliptically orbital paths in Ram’s mind, had settled and resonated in meaning, inflating Ram Shankar’s ego and chest dimensions almost to match those of his stomach. He felt wondrously alive and detected a distinct surge of electricity running through his veins making his hair stand on end, until he realized that he had absent mindedly inserted his pen into a three pin socket.

    Nevertheless thus ‘charged’, he had attacked each day with a ferocity that would have done a pack of teen age girls entering a shoe sale proud. And the days, as also the various assignments, had zipped by.

    When Vikas resumed, looking a little odd with puffed and bruised lips, the first thing that he did was ask for a status update with Ram. Ram felt, for once, that he was in for some praise. Everything over the last few days was running extremely smoothly.

    “Things will change when boss is back, as things need to get back on track,” Chai-La’s sermon for the morning had Ram a little bewildered. What could possibly go wrong? He had performed a minor miracle over the week. Even PP (the creative director of the hideous moustache fame) had a few good things to say about him, and if you were in servicing that was as rare as a meeting ending without an exhortation for the need of ‘out of the box’ thinking.

    “What has been the progress on the market research brief that we were supposed to initiate?” asked Vikas, scratching his head in a bellicose manner.

    “Well the research has been initiated, it began three days ago,” answered an elated Ram.

    “What?” screamed Vikas, touching the high octaves, causing an ageing Indian ex-captain to momentarily take his eyes off the ball and nick yet another one into the waiting slips.

    “I only asked you to initiate a research brief.”

    “But you told me to take decisions; I was in charge you said.”
    “You don’t know the sensitivities on the account, now talk to the research agency and stop whatever has been initiated.
    Figure out how the costs will be absorbed.”

    “Don’t you even want to see what the brief was?”

    “At my level, I don’t need to. I just can sense things becoming issues.”

    Retorted Vikas, with his mood visibly uplifted. Ram felt his morale sag like the male interest in a Ms. World pageant after the swimsuit round is over.

    “What about the new press ads needed for the Gujarat market? Can we see the creative? When are we looking at releases?”

    Ram’s mood perked up again.

    “We have already begun the campaign, one ad has already appeared and the others are due over the next few days.” Ram replied, beaming ear to ear like a reality show participant waiting for the audience vote to come in Vikas’s clapped his hand to his forehead and slumped back into his chair.

    “Why do you take these decisions? How much do you know of the brand?”

    “But I presented it to Mr. Bose (the client), he approved it, in fact he said this was the most incisive idea that the agency has created over the last year.”

    “Mr. Bose wouldn’t know an idea if it stood up and slapped him, get PP over here.” Interrupted Vikas, then seeing PP pass by hailed him.

    PP sunny disposition vanished the moment he set his eyes on Vikas.

    “PP, our boy here…”

    PP brightened and slapped Ram on the back, “has come a long way, I never knew he was that smart, he hardly gets in a word when you are there. He has helped create and sell some cracking work.”

    Vikas was clearly unimpressed with the endorsement.

    “I was going to say that he has caused enough mayhem and was going to tell you to stop work on the campaign, we will give you a new brief.”

    “Why?” boomed PP, always eager to combat his nemesis.
    “Because I head the account and it’s my call.”

    “Its better for the account when you are away, take leave more often.”

    “This account is with this agency because of the relations that I enjoy at the client end. I have the final say on everything!”

    They were standing toe to toe, just when the referee, oops sorry, the President motioned them both into his room in a manner that meant that the rest of the afternoon was gone.

    “I want all the releases stopped by the time I get back, also you better reverse all the bright decisions you have taken when I was away,” hissed Vikas, closely resembling an extremely agitated viper as he left the cubicle.

    PP offered Ram a sympathetic smile, and a wink of encouragement.

    Ram sat in his chair, a little stunned by the course of events. His brain seemed to have shut down. He was trying to contemplate what all he would need to do to reverse the ‘Vikas effect’ and the ramifications on his esteem and his job list were immense.

    “Never take decision when boss is away, when he is back he will make you pay,” those wise words of wisdom, the express delivery of the teacup and Chai-La had vanished into a page of a textbook on empowerment that was lying on Ram’s table. The page was titled. “How to use empowerment to keep subordinates motivated.”

  • Television looks ‘Outdoors’

    There’s no escaping now, everywhere you go it follows, across buses, trains, kiosks and more. Striving to use every possible object within its reach to grab eyeballs. Such is the impact of outdoor advertising!

    It is estimated that currently, the outdoor space availability in metros is ‘zero.’ With festivity around the corner, television channels are beefing up their programming and the most opportunistic way to utilize advertising appears to be via this medium.

    The outdoor business is estimated to be growing at 20 per cent and the size of the organized industry alone has been pegged at Rs 11 – 12 billion by industry experts. These figures are proof that advertisers’ dependence on outdoor has significantly increased.

    The biggest players this year among television channels are the ususal suspects Sony, Star and Zee. The average spends among these channels is estimated to be close to Rs 700 – 800 million annually on outdoor advertising. 30 per cent of these spends are dedicated to the festive rush spanning September – December, says Star Sight CEO Sanjay Shah.

    Bright director Yogesh Lakhani opines that spends usually go up by 15 – 20 per cent during the festive period. Jhalak Dikhla Ja got the ball rolling for Sony but now Kaajal and Extraaa Innings from the same stable are straddling Mumbai city. It is believed that more than 50 per cent of Sony’s spends in launching properties is dedicated to out of home.

    Star has followed suit with its three big launches Antariksh and yet to be launched Paraya Dhan and Sathi Re. Naach Baliye was also given this life-size value during its launch period.

    In pictures: Different mediums used in Outdoor

    Zee went all the way with Betiyann and is planning to use outdoor to build the buzz for the Sa Re Ga Ma finale on 28 October, as well as the newly launched youth block Klub. Zee alone is estimated to spend about 15 to 20 million on each property.

    In addition to these big players, other contenders currently in the outdoor space include Disney Channel with its latest local offering Vicky Aur Vetaal and Tata Sky’s DTH platform battling it out with Dish TV. Primesite head GM West Aneil Deepak remarks that channels usually adopt a dual strategy, whereby 30 – 40 per cent of their spends go to permanent sites on an annualized basis, however in promoting certain properties they will increase their spends depending upon its significance.

    Outdoor is consistently used by channels as it not only acts as a reminder medium but it also gets people to sample a new show. Ogilvy Activation country head – Landscapes and Signscapes Nabendu Bhattacharyya opines, “Outdoor builds quick awareness and is the most cost efficient option. It is beneficial because it can be city specific and have a customized plan by which campaigns can run from 7 days to months.”

    Though the outdoor industry falls short of a common currency measure, individual specialists with the likes of Star, Sony Entertainment, Zee TV, Times Now and Sahara that use outdoor all the year round, have their own proprietary tools to derive accountability from the medium.

    Besides TV, the biggest spender this year are from the Telecom sector says Aaren Initiative president Vivek Lakhwara. Reliance and Airtel have a pan Indian presence, adds Shah. “Normal medium vacancy level of 20 per cent during the year becomes zero during September to December as brands like telecom, finance, press, automobiles, radio are also fighting to grab the available spots,” says Bhattacharyya.

    Going beyond billboards and bus shelters out of home as a category is fast expanding into areas like retail and entertainment. With emerging technology like LED screens, interactive facia at malls, backlit air blimps and large building wraps, Bhattacharyya forsees, “Airport advertising will take on a much greater significance with clients. Technology driven platforms like bluecasting will see the emergence of different options available to advertisers which will add to the array of the outdoor armament.”

    The future is bright! On a rather optimistic note, Bhattacharyya predicts that this year will prove to be a watershed year for the outdoor advertising industry. “The area of consolidation both from a buyer and the concessionaire’s perspective, is around the corner. It has happened the world over and India will prove to be no different. The outdoor specialists will control about 75 to 80 per cent of the entire outdoor market in India in two years time and consolidation amongst them will also happen very quickly. Alliances and mergers will take place, media groups will broaden their services, bandwidth will be built in order to deliver efficiencies and scale, and the big buyers will only get bigger.”

    He also sees foreign investors and large media groups waiting for an opportunity to lunge into the Indian market. He says, “The big daddies like Viacom, Clear Channel and Decaux know it’s a profitable business to get into. They are just hoping and crossing their fingers that tighter legislation and better regularities come into play, for them to invest long term in India.”

    Of course, one such biggie has already made a quiet landing on Indian shores. News Outdoor India (NOI), the local arm of News Corp’s OOH subsidiary News Outdoor Group (NOG) and headed by a former senior executive of Star India Sumantra ‘Sumo’ Dutta, has been operating in the country for the last six months.