ITV

Tag: below the line

  • India TV getting serious about news?

    India TV getting serious about news?

    MUMBAI: Frequent allegations of sensationalist journalism notwithstanding, India TV has managed to stay at the top of its game, what with veterans like Rajat Sharma associated with the Hindi news channel.

     

    And now when the channel is in the middle of a refresh to let people know it has become serious about the news business, what better than ‘Brand Sharma’ to lend credibility to the exercise.

     

    As India TV MD and CEO Ritu Dhawan puts it: “Till recently, audiences were more interested in non-political and ‘popular’ content, so we were catering to that. Now with elections and various other news events, the flavour of hard news is back, so we have refreshed our programming completely. Today, the number of news stories on India TV is more than that on any other news channel. With Rajat Sharma leading the pack and Q W Naqvi at the helm of affairs, our viewers can be assured of the most accurate and responsible news reporting, which will further cement our leadership position in the Hindi news genre.”

     

    In fact, the channel’s reliance on Sharma’s popularity emanates from a position of knowledge wherein it actually commissioned research to find out how best it could highlight its repositioning. “One thing that came out very clearly is that ‘Brand Rajat Sharma’ riding on the credibility it brings in, will have a towering effect on ‘Brand India TV’. It further suggested that people may like to see that connect personified both in terms of communication and programming. And so, not only is the editor-in-chief back on prime time news with his daily analysis show, Aaj Ki Baat Rajat Sharma ke saath, he is also the face of the brand campaign,” reveals Dhawan.

     

    Indeed, as part of the revamp, India TV has embarked on an ambitious, six-week-long marketing campaign which leverages Sharma’s popularity with the audience. The first leg of the campaign will run for 21 days across Hindi speaking markets like Mumbai, Delhi, Agra, Lucknow, Allahabad and Gorakhpur. Life-size images of Sharma will adorn hoardings and billboards across these cities as well as digital ports at arrival and departure terminals in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

     

    The banners focus on Sharma’s pensive expression along with the words, ‘You, me and India TV – let’s change the face of the nation’ and have been designed by Saints & Warriors, one of the three creative agencies that were short-listed for the job.

     

    “Three agencies made it to the final short-list for the job, basis what they had presented in response to the brief given. Eventually, Saints & Warriors was chosen for the assignment, basis further discussions with them. Their credentials, clarity of thought, and extended execution sampling helped us clearly decide in their favour,” informs Dhawan.

     

    Working on ad placement on news websites by geographically targeting them to suit audiences is Agency Ecosystem by Amar Ujala, which has a target to reach 35 million impressions through websites like Dainik Bhaskar and Amar Ujala. “We have tried to keep a close leash on expenditures. The first leg of 21 days of the campaign is to the tune of Rs 5.5 crore,” reveals Dhawan.

     

    It is learnt that the revamp is not only to tone down sensational news but also because of the increase in the number of news channels which has led to severe fragmentation of viewership. While India TV was launched at a time when its competitors could be counted on one’s fingers, it now has several competing channels swimming in the same pond. “With so many new and small channels taking up a large percentage of the market, it has become a highly competitive space so the brand refresh was done to mainly maintain our viewership,” a source from India TV tells this website.

     

    Whatever the reasons for the refresh, it’s just two days since the campaign has kicked off and people are getting used to the posters of Sharma in his signature pose with folded hands. What remains to be seen however is to what extent Sharma will help change people’s hitherto perception of India TV.

  • 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.

     

    Slide Show: 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.