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Tag: Ecommerce

  • Hatchbacks most favoured by customers; Maruti & Hyundai lead auto category: CarDekho

    Hatchbacks most favoured by customers; Maruti & Hyundai lead auto category: CarDekho

    MUMBAI: The Indian consumer is now more discerning than ever before. Even when bombarded with options galore, consumers today know exactly what they want. And this can well be seen in the findings of a recent report released by Indian online automobile marketplace CarDekho.

     

    The report on online search patterns of the Indian consumers compared to actual in-market sales of cars during the festive season showed that when it comes to cars, hatchbacks were the most preferred customer choice, figuring in consideration sets for nearly 47 per cent consumer with their actual demand clocking in 48 per cent of the overall figure. The sedan category also saw consideration (26 per cent) and demand (25 per cent) nearly at par with one another.

     

    On the other hand, Maruti and Hyundai occupied the top slots in the hatchback as well as the sedan segment, with Honda also marking prominent presence in the latter category.

     

    The report, which is based on CarDekho’s platform traffic as well as Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data, focused on various car categories such as hatchback, MUV, Sedan, SUV and Compact SUV/MUV to present a comprehensive statistical picture of the user consideration versus actual demand.

     

    Compact SUV/MUV section saw a high consideration per centage (17 per cent) due to the buzz effect surrounding the new category launch. However, the actual demand for the segment was only 10 per cent, which could be attributed to the relative unfamiliarity of the Indian public with the category. MUVs, on the other hand, resulted in a much higher actual demand (12 per cent) than consideration, which stood at a mere two per cent.

     

    GirnarSoft CMO LK Gupta said, “The October-November festive season is a time when Indian consumers wield their financial clout to buy things that they have shortlisted over the year. As such, this report provides a valuable insight into the shopping trends during this busy period. These insights will help car manufacturers to better understand the dynamics of consideration sets that buyers go into the market with, and how they change through the purchase process. The report also helps us as an auto portal to improve upon our existing services and shape our product offerings to be more in sync with the consumer preferences.”

     

    CarDekho’s report also highlighted the importance of price and value-for-money proposition for the Indian consumers. Amongst hatchbacks, Hyundai’s Elite i20 saw nearly 17 per cent user consideration; however, the actual conversion stood only at nine per cent. In comparison, its Grand i10 model, priced nearly Rs 2 lakh lower, managed to record 11 per cent demand despite a measly four per cent consideration. The Alto also recorded 18 per cent actual demand as compared to eight per cent consideration owing to its lower price and Maruti’s brand value. Similarly for the Sedan category, Dzire’s actual demand (37 per cent) far eclipsed its consideration (16 per cent), while the case was reversed for Honda City, which saw 20 per cent consideration, but only 11 per cent actual demand.

     

    However, while price was an important factor that drove transactions, performance and features were also given due consideration. In the Compact SUV/MUV category, both the consideration (14 per cent) and actual conversion (12 per cent) for Maruti’s S-Cross was much lower comparatively to Hyundai’s Creta (32 per cent consideration and 28 per cent actual) despite a lower price. This was attributed to more attractive features offered by Creta as compared to S-Cross.

  • #SnapdealForIndia faces #AppWapsi after recent Aamir Khan controversy

    #SnapdealForIndia faces #AppWapsi after recent Aamir Khan controversy

    ‘A celebrity endorsement can make or break a brand.’

    Quoted from Countering Brandjacking in the Digital Age by Christopher Hofman and Simeon Keates, the statement strikes a key note with the eCommerce giant Snapdeal’s current situation with its brand ambassador, actor Aamir Khan.

    In a recent interview at the Ramnath Goenka Awards 2015, the actor had spoken about “growing disquiet” in India and had also remarked that his wife had once asked him whether they should move out of the country! Though Khan has come out with an official statement defending his stand on the matter, the damage has already been done.

    An excerpt from Khan’s official statement reads: “Neither I, nor my wife Kiran, have any intention of leaving the country. We never did, and nor would we like to in the future. Anyone implying the opposite has either not seen my interview or is deliberately trying to distort what I have said. India is my country, I love it, I feel fortunate for being born here, and this is where I am staying. To all those people who are calling me anti-national, I would like to say that I am proud to be Indian, and I do not need anyone’s permission nor endorsement for that.”

    The angry netizens however took to Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms to  protest against actor Aamir Khan’s controversial comment on India’s growing intolerance. Snapdeal, a brand that the actor endorses was also dragged into this by the netizens and the brand has since been facing the brunt of their anger. 

    Lately, Snapdeal has come out with an official statement dissociating the brand’s association of any kind with Khan’s comments.

    “Snapdeal is neither connected nor plays a role in comments made by Aamir Khan in his personal capacity. Snapdeal is a proud Indian company built by passionate young Indians focused on building an inclusive digital India. Everyday we are positively impacting thousands of small businesses and millions of consumers in India. We will continue towards our mission of creating one million successful online entrepreneurs in India,” said a spokesperson from Snapdeal.

    With an all encompassing growth of social media, the common man’s access to celebrities and brands have enhanced, and so did the threats to corporations and brands in both number and variety. Celebrity endorsements doesn’t escape the purview of this double edged sword that the digital platform brings along with its many benefits. Within hours of #AppWapsi going viral on Twitter and Facebook, Snapdeal saw over 70,000 one star ratings being hurled at their app on Google’s Play Store.

    Some even took to the review space to write negative messages to the online shopping platform, explaining their reasons to pull out of the brand’s services.

    Whether the brand will take the threats seriously  and snap the deal with Aamir Khan is a question that remains to be answered.

    A veteran media planner told indiantelevision.com under conditions of anonymity, that it is unlikely that Snapdeal will walk that route.  Moreover, “a major part of the contract tenure has run its course and there is no discussion on reevaluating the endorsement contract or talks of ceasing it,” he says, adding, “Diwali is the main season when it comes to sales, and even for marketing and promotions in this quarter. With Diwali over, we don’t see major changes in Snapdeal’s endorsement contract with Aamir Khan

    Question of the hour is-, has the #AppWapsi campaign brought down Snapdeal’s brand value by any significant score?

    “Snapdeal is a major brand with a huge customer base. I don’t think this campaign will affect the brand that easily. This is a passing phase. Before it affects Snapdeal, it will effect Aamir Khan at the box office, which I feel is less  likely a chance,” points out an expert under promise of anonymity.

    Seconding that opinion is another expert from the industry. “It may influence the brand’s image only temporarily but will fade away as fickle minded mass will move on to another controversy and forget Snapdeal. So yes, there will definitely be an impact on Snapdeal, but I don’t see it last longer. At the end of the day consumers’ relation with Snapdeal is the product and this controversy won’t come in the way of the sales. We aren’t even sure if those angry comments have come from consumers who make a difference in the brand’s sales at all”

    While most market analyst and planners feel that the situation doesn’t call for a knee jerk reaction, Snapdeal’s official statement dissociating themselves from Aamir Khan’s comment shows that the brand isn’t completely unaffected.

    “If the ratings affects the performance of the app, then it will definitely be detrimental to the brand. It may also affect the brand value. The brand needs to communicate their perspective to the consumers. “shares a veteran media analyst and planner.

    Meanwhile, counter argument in favour of Snapdeal has also gained ground over the net, with some supporters belonging to Khan’s fan base. The uncanny of all was the tweet from Snapdeal’s rival, Flipkart’s Sachin Bhansal, who earlier tweeted defending Snapdeal.

    Sachin Bansal @_sachinbansal This is a flawed logic. Brands don’t buy into brand ambassadors personal opinions. @snapdeal shouldn’t face this SnapdealForIndia is the campaign used to counter #AppWapsi, where happy Snapdeal consumers are taking to social media to share how the brand has helped the country in the past. Snapdeal’s official handle on Twitter immediately jumped to retweet posts that spoke well of the brand.

    Infact, the page is running a contest asking consumers to give ‘honest reviews and rankings’ of their app on Google Play to win prizes.

    Whether these efforts will save Snapdeal from being dragged+AKA-further+AKA-into its brand ambassador’s mess, only time will tell.

  • eBay India launches #SheMeansBusiness campaign

    eBay India launches #SheMeansBusiness campaign

    MUMBAI: eBay India has launched a unique campaign titled #SheMeansBusiness in partnership with Yourstory.com. 

     

    The campaign invites all online women entrepreneurs to share their success stories, so that other women entrepreneurs are inspired to take advantage of the growth in ecommerce.  

     

    Online women entrepreneurs across platforms can send their stories in the form of a write-up, a video or an audio, which will be judged by a jury. Six shortlisted women entrepreneurs not only stand a chance to share their stories with the world through www.yourstory.com but also stand to benefit from free listings on www.ebay.in during the festival season from September-December 2015.

     

    The campaign will be open to all online women entrepreneurs irrespective of the platform they currently trade on. Women entrepreneurs can share their stories starting today till 15 August, 2015.

     

    “eBay India has been encouraging and supporting women entrepreneurs for over a decade now. We have over 5000 women sellers listed on ebay.in and through this campaign, we want to further encourage and support women entrepreneurs from across India to realize and fulfill their dreams and take their businesses to a global customer base,” said eBay India head of marketing Shivani Suri.

     

  • Havas Media Group wins Integrated Media mandate for iOrderFresh

    Havas Media Group wins Integrated Media mandate for iOrderFresh

    MUMBAI: Havas Media Group has won the integrated media duties of iOrderFresh, a mobile-first commerce venture in the fresh perishable foods and groceries retail space. 

     

    The mandate includes integrated media buying and planning across traditional media and digital solutions for search, social and mobile. The account will be handled by Havas Media’s New Delhi office. 

     

    iOrderFresh, founder and CEO Nitin Sawhney said, “iOrderFresh has a simple promise to the consumer; fresh produce directly from the farm to your kitchen in a few hours. The business is built on the premise of freshness and convenience. It aims to create a whole new experience for shopping for food and groceries available at your doorstep by just downloading the app from any smartphone. Currently available in Delhi and Gurgaon, on both Android and iOS platforms, we are looking to consolidate our presence in the NCR region before expanding to other cities. Havas Media carved out a compelling mobile-first, integrated media strategy to get more people to download the app and also to scale the brand.”

     

    Havas Media Group India and South Asia CEO Anita Nayyar added, “Getting home delivered fresh fruits and veggies in our hurried lifestyle and traffic bound commute is a blessing. The Indian shopper’s attitude to online retail is very positive today so the perishable retail space is only set to grow. Havas Media with its digital strengths and integrated media offering is well geared to engage this shopper and add to the shopper basket.”

     

    Havas Media India managing director Mohit Joshi said, “It is a good win in a challenging category. We are happy that our rich experience in the dotcom domain is helping us get more clients in the category. We look forward to a great association with them.”

  • Asia Pacific Digital unites its 5 digital firms under one brand

    Asia Pacific Digital unites its 5 digital firms under one brand

    MUMBAI: Asia Pacific Digital (APD) has united its five independent digital services subsidiaries across 10 offices in eight countries under the APD brand, forming an integrated 360-degree digital services firm that delivers growth to more than 1,000 clients.

     

    Asia Pacific Digital chairman Roger Sharp said, “We asked our stakeholders across the region what they want from a digital partner. The overwhelming response was that clients seek a partner who can simplify the digital landscape, who can see the whole picture rather than just a view of a single silo, and one who is accountable and transparent. That’s why today we are launching APD.”

     

    The new company is organised into four divisions, each representing specialist subject matter expertise: APD Interact (formerly Next Digital and @ccomplice) creating interactive customer experiences, APD Acquire (formerly dgm and Empowered) attracting and retaining customers via performance-based channels, APD Engage (formerly Jericho) engaging customers through sophisticated communication strategies and technology platforms, and APD Venture (formerly eCommerce) investing in risk and reward sharing eCommerce partnerships.

     

    As a unified brand with a focus on increasing customer value for clients, APD will be able to deliver its expertise uniformly across the region through its strong local relationships and capabilities. APD has established scale operations in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and the Peoples Republic of China, and is planning to build its presence in Indonesia. 

     

    Clients include Bayer, Budget, Cisco, Dell, eBay, Ecco, Expedia, Fonterra, Ford, GSK, Lend Lease, Lenovo, Maxis, Nestle, Panasonic, Qantas, Toshiba, Tumblr and Village Roadshow.

     

    Sharp added, “While our team spans different disciplines and geographies, we all hold the same values: collaboration, transparency, innovation and constant improvement. We aim to deliver complex solutions to our clients with simplicity, clarity and meaningful measurement.”

     

    Newton Smith has been appointed COO in addition to his role as CEO of APD Interact, while Peter Hynd has been appointed chief commercial officer. Shaun McNamara is CEO of APD Acquire, Paula Harrison is CEO of APD Engage and Sean Toohey is head of APD Venture, the group’s venture arm.

  • Snapdeal enters into strategic tie-up with Hungama

    Snapdeal enters into strategic tie-up with Hungama

    MUMBAI: Hungama.com has entered into a strategic partnership with Snapdeal.com to offer digital entertainment content to its shoppers. The tie-up between the brands will begin with an offer wherein shoppers on Snapdeal’s mobile app will get access to Hungama’s premium PRO service free for a period of nine weeks.

     

    Hungama PRO, which is a paid premium subscription service, offers users HD quality music videos with the lyrics of songs, and can be accessed offline without any internet charges. It is also an ad-free app, which further makes for a hassle-free experience. The mobile app is available for download from the Google Play Store and the iOS App Store. Post the initial nine weeks, the service will later be made available to the users at a price of Rs 120 per month.

     

    Both have been focusing on expanding their leadership position by tapping into developing tier II markets. The recent update that brought transliteration features to Hungama’s android app, made it one of the first India apps to be available in five languages viz. English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Punjabi – an ideal service for Snapdeal’s user base that is spread across 5000 plus cities and towns in India.

     

    Snapdeal and Hungama are also working on creating more offerings for their users, which will see entertainment options bundled with shopping purchases and are likely to be rolled-out in stages over the next one year. According to a recent IAMAI report, that pegged India’s Internet population at 300 million by December 2014, entertainment and shopping were among the highest drivers of internet usage on mobile phones – a market that the companies aim to tap into jointly. 

     

    Speaking on partnering with Snapdeal, Hungama.com CEO Siddhartha Roy said, “With music and shopping being among the primary drivers of mobile internet consumption, our tie-up aims to offer users an enhanced value proposition. 2015 is likely to be a vital year for brands to out to middle Bharat, and tie-ups like this will help our brands to attract a larger share of the consumer’s mind space.”

     

    “We at Snapdeal are focusing hugely on making sure our customers get a great shopping experience on our app. The partnership with Hungama brings shopping and music together, both are a way of life for Indian consumers. We want to encourage the growing love of apps by providing customers with what they love most – high quality uninterrupted music and awesome deals on the go,” commented Snapdeal marketing SVP Sandeep Komaravelly.

  • 2014 was the year of innovations in digital advertising: CVL Srinivas

    2014 was the year of innovations in digital advertising: CVL Srinivas

    From a media perspective 2013 was the year of the perfect storm and something tells me that there is lots waiting to unfold in 2015.  Was 2014 the lull before another storm? The major event that dominated 2014 was of course the general election and the wave of optimism and hope that has been spreading ever since the new government came to power. Not only was this the most bitterly fought election from a media standpoint; it was the most well orchestrated win combining strategy with clever tactics.  Advertising was only one part of the strategy. 2014 will go down in history as the year that gave a new meaning to marketing of political parties. We now realise that the general election was only the beginning. With a slew of schemes, clever branding and initiatives that touch the common man, the government is turning out to be a very savvy marketer. One hopes the product lives up to its promise.

    The extension granted to TV digitisation was a bit of a dampener for the broadcast sector. There has been some indication that the phase III licensing for radio will soon go through. Meanwhile, India became the second biggest market for Facebook, the overall Internet penetration crossed 200 million and mobile Internet became the most dominant force of change. And yet we have bandwidth issues, call drops and sometimes feel like going back to the old faithful ‘landline’.  As a nation we need to play catch up in digital infrastructure and going forward I hope this is given the highest priority.

    As for the advertising industry, 2014 saw a 12.5 per cent growth (as per GroupM TYNY estimates) as against a global ad spend growth of 4.5 per cent. Apart from political advertising, if there was one sector that stood out was ecommerce. This sector will end up with more than 50 per cent growth over last year closing the year at Rs 2500 crore of ad spend. The upsurge in this sector is expected to continue. FMCG (which remains by far the biggest sector in terms of ad-spend contributing about a third of total advertising) continued to invest in advertising despite supply side pressures, poor volume growth and an uncertain monsoon season. We expect FMCG to end the year with 12-14 per cent growth. Auto has seen a revival both in terms of sales and ad spends. The sector is expected to see a 15-17 per cent ad spend growth in 2014. With petrol/diesel prices coming down, we expect more action in the months to come. Telecom brands are back after a lull, adding to the overall positive trend. All in all it was a good year, although anything less than 15 per cent ad spend growth still seems low for our market. As expected digital advertising grew at 35 per cent, while TV continued to do well with approximately 15 per cent growth. Regional language dailies helped grow the print sector. Cinema turned out to be the dark horse, with 25 per cent growth though on a relatively small base. Unlike the past few years, we had a clear blip during the festive season this year across all media.

    2014 saw a great deal of innovation in digital media advertising. GroupM and our agencies have been at the forefront of many exciting developments. Digital video has emerged as one of the biggest growth drivers of digital ad spend. Mashup, our digital video content unit has seen a lot of traction, we have made over 1500 pieces of digital video content in the past year. Across the industry, we saw many memorable campaigns launched first on digital media. More brands have taken to social media platforms to keep the conversation going, social listening is emerging as a key input for advertising and media planning.  We have worked with clients (like Nestle) to establish social command centers that have given our media and content planners real time insights. Mobile as a medium continues to grow and will soon account for nearly 20 per cent of the digital ad spend. Madhouse is our mobile center of excellence that is now in its third year of operation. Another emerging trend is audience planning, where digital inventory is combined with data to ensure better ROI for brands. GroupM’s Xaxis is a platform that is at the forefront of innovation in this space.

    We have lots to look forward to in 2015 including the ICC Cricket World Cup.

    Here’s wishing you all a Very Happy New Year.

    (These are purely personal views of GroupM south Asia CEO CVL Srinivas and indiantelevision.com does not necessarily subscribe to these views.)

  • Publicis launches Razorfish in India with Neev acquisition

    MUMBAI: France-based media communications group Publicis Groupe has acquired Bengaluru-based technology services provider Neev as part of launching its digital entity Razorfish in India.

    The agency will operate as Razorfish Neev led by Neev CEO Saurabh Chandra. He will report into Razorfish and Digitas India managing director Kanika Mathur with a direct connection to Razorfish global CTO Ray Velez.

    Neev specialises in eCommerce, SaaS (Software as a Service) and cloud applications across web, social and mobile.

    Founded in 2005 and based in Bangalore, Neev employs a team of 250 specialists, of which over 220 are technologists, with experience and expertise in leveraging cloud and mobile technologies and promoting innovation that drives business success.

    Neev serves a growing list of prominent brands and technology companies mainly in India and the US. Neev has increased revenues on average 45 percent year-on-year since 2007.

    “Razorfish can now offer scaled expertise in India, complementing its already strong presence in Greater China and Australia,” Razorfish and Digitas networks APAC president Vincent Digonnet.

    “At the core of Razorfish lies innovation and technology, and we can only launch the brand in a market with a very deep tech development capability. Neev is providing us with the right engine, including an ability to deliver sophisticated state of the art web, ecommerce, mobile and social solutions. In addition, the acquisition will support the development capabilities of Razorfish technology teams in the US,” he adds.

    Neev CEO Saurabh Chandra said, “Neev has always delivered its work by leveraging leading edge technologies in cloud and mobility. With Razorfish we are looking at taking this to a larger portfolio of clients. Our focus remains delivering solutions to our clients that solve real business problems with the best combination of creativity and technology.”

    Publicis Groupe‘s goal is to create the world‘s leading concentration of digital skills and competencies and to that end is committed to doubling its size in India between 2010 and 2015.

    This year, the Groupe acquired the leading digital agency Convonix based in Mumbai and back in 2012 made significant acquisitions with iStrat (December 2012), Resultrix (August 2012) and Indigo Consulting (April 2012).

    VivaKi India country chair for Srikant Sastri, who is overseeing the acquisition of Neev added, “With the acquisition of Neev, we have added cutting-edge tech capabilities. We are now twice as large as any other global network in terms of digital team-strength and revenues, and unparalleled in breadth and depth of digital skills.”

  • eBay launches high voltage ‘Want it. Get it’ brand campaign in India

    MUMBAI: eBay India, a leading eCommerce marketplace, has unveiled its latest integrated marketing campaign under the theme ‘Want it. Get it’.

    The new campaign reinforces the Smart Shopper positioning adopted by brand eBay by portraying conversions of traditional offline shoppers into savvy online shoppers.

    eBay India’s new campaign is targeted at value-driven consumers in the age bracket of 18 – 40 years and emphasises online shopping as a smarter way to shop, backed by the fundamental promise of 100 per cent satisfaction through eBay Guarantee.

    The campaign is designed to encourage consumers to check deals on eBay India before they shop elsewhere.

    The new February campaign highlights eBay India as the destination for the widest range of brand new every-day use products, with the best deals across product categories such as apparel, accessories, fashion, personal care, gadgets, technology products, fitness, health-care among many others.

    Conceptualised in an everyday conversational format, the TVC is designed to appeal to audiences with its tongue-in-cheek style. The campaign highlights casual situations between young couples in which the protagonists evangelise advantages of online shopping to their partner by showcasing best deals on eBay India backed by eBay Guarantee.

    The TVC is being created in six languages – English, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada to cater to multiple regional demographics while having a national appeal.

    eBay India Country Manager Muralikrishnan B says, “Online shopping in India is a mainstream phenomenon with savvy online shoppers logging online for convenience, variety & deals. Our new campaign is in conjunction with our theme ‘Want it. Get it’ which plays to eBay’s core strength of unmatched deals & wide variety across categories, giving consumers a completely secure & satisfaction-guaranteed experience.”

    Scheduled for a high-voltage, nationwide launch, the campaign has been developed by Law & Kenneth. The campaign will roll out nationally, with a combination of TV, Radio, digital & social mediums to drive awareness and encourage Indians to look for fantastic deals with unmatched variety while shopping on eBay India.

    Law & Kenneth West & South Chief Creative Officer Rahul Nangia said, “These are simple stories about people & their shopping behavior, told using couples & the different dynamics between them.”