Mumbai: Group M Nexus announced Rajiv Rajgopal as head of advanced TV. Rajgopal will lead business operations and management, strategic partnership decisions.
Finecast is a TV solution company operated across 14 countries. In the previous role, he was head of client development and engagement for India’s division of Finecast.
Rajgopal has been associated with Group M since 2016. Earlier he also served in Star India, Red FM, and Radio Mirchi.
Mumbai: The latest edition of the IPL is just around the corner and Indian audiences are abuzz about what to expect from it with a new digital destination for the league in JioCinema. What spices up expectations this year even more is the advent of Connected TV which is bound to heighten the IPL viewing experience. JioCinema’s offering of free streaming of the IPL has made this year a bonanza both for cricket enthusiasts and advertisers. We will also see the viewership of the games reach record levels.
The latest Kantar ICUBE report states that the number of CTVs in India stands at a staggering 28 million in the last year alone. In terms of individuals watching content on CTV, the report pegs that number at a whopping 83 million. This could only go up multi-fold once the IPL is available for free streaming on CTVs, with an estimated 100 million+ viewers watching content on their CTVs later this year.
In recent years connected TV (CTV) has seen growth not only in urban but also Tier II and III markets. And that’s for a good reason. CTV offers viewers an enhanced, and technologically unparalleled viewing experience. Fans opting to catch the IPL on CTV get access to the blockbuster league with the whole family for free on JioCinema, and the 4k streaming offering makes the live sport viewing experience friction-free.
The penetration and demand of IPL on CTV would likely be accelerated further given the recently introduced ‘Jio Media Cable’ in households that don’t own a smart TV yet or do not wish to pay for cable or DTH. The device enables people to connect their phones to their regular TVs and convert them into smart TVs. This will add to the already existing CTV viewer base that will be watching IPL this year on Connected TV. In effect, this is expected to rake in more brands to consider digital as an advertising medium for the IPL for its larger base and potential for brand messaging.
Reports earlier stated that JioCinema is offering IPL in 12 regional languages this season, effectively meaning the average viewer will not just have the option to watch coverage in English or Hindi but in many other languages too. The benefits of this are also passed on to the advertiser that will have the flexibility not only to advertise in Hindi and English but also in regional languages.
IndianTelevision.com spoke to a few experts to understand what the wider reach and use of never-seen-before tech on CTV means from an ad standpoint. mediasmart Mobile vice president India & SEA Nikhil Kumar said, “With India’s largest sporting property around the corner, we are witnessing 2 schools of thought existing in parallel- one evangelizing continued growth within linear TV and the other rooting for the meteoric rise in CTV user base and continued mobile digital penetration for OTT platforms.”
He further goes on to add, “From a DSP vantage, mediasmart has always advocated for programmatic led, mid/down funnel attribution capabilities of CTV, leading to the development of proprietary products like CTV Household Sync within our portfolio. Tech capabilities like these have enabled us to build success stories across verticals & geographies. We are also moving towards a multi-screen audience approach, where the focus is on reaching the right audience, thereby making it platform/channel agnostic and minimizing ad fatigue/maximizing impact or ROAS.”
Efficacy Worldwide Pvt Ltd co-founder and chief operating officer Sapna Sharma stated, “With digital adoption overtaking the Linear TV reach, Connected TV and digital are becoming the most preferred media options for the audience to consume any content as the user experience and audience comfort is unparalleled to other mediums.”
She also added, “Sport Streaming platforms like Viacom are offering one of the best alternatives to the Linear TV sports channels as they provide a variety of sports options to watch and also provide the flexibility to watch any sport at one’s convenience. Viacom and the Jio app made a huge jump in terms of popularity and preference for the advertisers to drive an efficient ROI for their campaigns by providing one of the highest reach of audience and extremely efficient targeting capabilities to minimize the spillage and maximise the ROI.”
Finecast India (GroupM) national head – client development Rajiv Rajagopal says, “India is set to be the 3rd largest TV market by 2024. The rise in online streaming & consumers’ preference to watch content on the big screen has fuelled the growth of Connected TV. The accuracy at which CTV can serve an ad at the household level plays a crucial role in building an addressable TV ecosystem.
We have seen brands using CTV to run longer ad formats that are cost-effective and build high brand awareness & audience engagement. CTV advertising is evolving with tech interventions like ACR (Automated Content Recognition) giving more insights on the type of content being consumed at a household level and soon expecting creative innovations used in other advanced markets like shoppable ads, interactive ads to pick pace in India which will drive better ROI for brands. With cord switching and cord cutting, brands need to consider Total TV Planning and acknowledge CTV as an extension of Linear TV.”
Amplifi India chief investment officer Sujata Dwibedy mentions, “In today’s hyper-linked, data-heavy world, consumers want brands to offer more focused, relevant messaging. As a result, advertisers now realize that if they want to make a meaningful impact, they must shift from simply competing for eyeballs to designing meaningful, engaging experiences. Mobile-first Indian consumers are rapidly shifting towards connected TV (CTV) and over-the-top (OTT). While CTV viewing has increased by more than 80% globally, CTV adoption in India is still at a nascent stage but did grow hugely in 2021 and then in 2022. By 2025, it is estimated that there will be 100 Mn households in India, earlier this estimation was in the range of 45-50 Mn households.”
She goes on to add, “Many Indian consumers are replacing their traditional TV units with connected TV. One of the primary reasons for this change is the increasing preference towards OTT platforms, as India’s OTT market is one of the fastest growing globally. Another prime factor for the growth of CTV in India is the affordable, low-priced smart TV brands available in the market.”
“In addition to smart TVs, other devices for streaming content such as dongles are also widely available throughout the country now. The key catalyst for the next level of growth would be IPL on Jio. They are going to be streaming IPL live for free. The Jio Cinema’s enhanced tech experience and multi-language presence will give the user more control and drive them to view what they want to watch. “
She says,” Their streaming device which is priced very low (Rs 400 – Rs 500) can mirror the mobile on-screen converting any TV to a CTV! CTV will become a mass access entertainment platform & audience will widen for IPL. Growth should come from tier II and tier III markets. The only thing that could delay this process is the speed of the internet beyond the metros.”
Dwibedy asks how brands are getting value/ROI for the money spent. “Till now the CTV has not been very efficient as it came at a premium. The pricing was always 2x, or 3x of the normal buys. With IPL and an increase in mass reach, it will change the dynamics. We have started working with OEM partners like Samsung, etc. They will lead in the next few years, as the Smart TV price has been dropping and the ease of connectivity is paramount for entertainment. Advertisers have started testing these platforms very well.”
According to her, “The key metric on CTV that works well is Incremental reach; it could be used as an extension of linear TV campaign reach. It also enables more interactivity. CTV gives advertisers the ability to earn more stickiness, which increases brand awareness and opportunities for conversions. Hence Clients are willing to park certain budgets on CTV even if it is at a premium today. It is great for co-viewing & multi-screen audience to reach. There is a lot still to be done in this space, especially in terms of data measurement/ attribution and ROI, the journey has only begun.”
CTV is here to stay and one cannot deny the convenience it offers. It offers the flexibility of watching matches on any device anywhere and at any time. This IPL is going to be very exciting not only for the viewer but also for the advertisers.
Mumbai: WPP’s media investment group GroupM announced on Wednesday its plans to merge Essence with MediaCom and Mindshare with Neo in its latest steps to transform and further simplify its operations. The moves, which build on the April 2021 launch of Choreograph, WPP’s global data and technology company, will create a new 9,000-strong cross-channel performance platform built on AI technology, it said.
Additionally, Finecast, Xaxis, and GroupM Services – GroupM’s global community of activation experts – will be brought together to form media performance organisation, GroupM Nexus. Xaxis Global CEO Nicolas Bidon will oversee GroupM Nexus as Global CEO.
Essence and MediaCom will merge to form EssenceMediacom, a new agency offering fusing the digital and data-driven DNA of Essence with MediaCom’s scaled multichannel audience planning and strategic media expertise.
MediaCom Global CEO Nick Lawson will lead newly formed EssenceMediacom as Global CEO. Kyoko Matsushita, after eight years at Essence, is promoted to a new role as WPP’s CEO in Japan as the company continues to invest in expanding, high-growth markets.
Mindshare will complete the integration with global performance agency Neo, wherein both will operate under the Mindshare brand but will retain and scale Neo’s operating model, focused on pureplay performance solutions at its heart, integrating this into Mindshare’s full-funnel offering.
Neo’s 1,200 digital-first, performance experts and consultants will be integrated with Mindshare’s 10,000 media specialists and Neo’s digital-first services will be fully embedded into Mindshare and GroupM’s offering, stated the agency.
With this reorganisation, GroupM’s five agency brands will be streamlined into Mindshare, Wavemaker, EssenceMediacom, GroupM Nexus and Choreograph.
“The future of marketing is outcomes-driven, supported by audience-first planning and continually improving, AI-enabled performance standards,” stated GroupM Global CEO Christian Juhl. “Through GroupM Nexus and our agency powerhouses Mindshare, Wavemaker, and EssenceMediacom we are building a tech-enabled future, side-by-side with our clients, that is accountable to advertisers’ growth goals and to our vision for an advertising ecosystem that works for everyone. I also want to congratulate Kyoko, who has grown and strengthened Essence in her time as Global CEO, on her exciting new role as WPP’s CEO in Japan. We will continue to work closely together to strengthen the position of our agencies across APAC.”
The merger of Essence and MediaCom builds on a record of strong business growth for both agencies, according to the agency. Comvergence ranked MediaCom first in the industry for new business wins in 2021 with $2.87 billion in new billings attributed to wins, while Essence has continued to grow and expand its remit with Google and other key clients.
“The formation of EssenceMediacom builds on the strong and proven relationship between the agencies to create the agency model our clients want for the future — one founded on brilliant strategy and brand-building capabilities, with pioneering digital expertise running throughout,” said EssenceMediacom CEO Nick Lawson. “EssenceMediacom will not only help our clients see the bigger picture and reimagine what’s possible; it will also provide opportunities for our people to upskill and train in new areas, further enriching and enhancing their careers.”
“Today’s global marketers need both agility and scale from their agency partners to properly support their businesses across international markets. Bringing together Essence and MediaCom – each with their own celebrated histories of excellence – will create a truly unique combination of agile innovation and global scale in a single agency,” added Kyoko Matsushita.
GroupM Nexus will comprise 9,000 practitioners around the world, collectively responsible for the activation of more than two million campaigns managed by GroupM each year. This global community represents the industry’s leading team of experts in digital channels and platforms, search, social, programmatic, AI, cross-channel optimization, and data-driven technologies and software.
GroupM Nexus unites GroupM’s addressable content and TV, AI technology (Copilot), and omnichannel solutions from Finecast, Xaxis, and GroupM Services into a single unit. The global organisation will be underpinned by a new cross-channel performance platform and international delivery hubs to set new benchmarks for performance innovation and efficiency for GroupM’s agencies and clients.
“GroupM Nexus unites leading media talent, digital services excellence, cutting-edge AI technology and unique scaled partnerships into a new cross-channel performance organisation with one purpose: power growth for our people, our agencies and the amazing brands they represent. We cannot wait to innovate together and unlock new opportunities for everyone,” said GroupM Nexus CEO Nicolas Bidon.
“This is a journey we’ve been on for the past year with many clients who have been demanding more diverse media services to drive their growth,” commented Mindshare Global CEO Adam Gerhart. “The merger delivers seamless access to Neo’s digital-first capabilities and a relentless focus on performance models to accelerate Good Growth. For our teams it means more opportunity and the ability to create greater impact across the world. I’m delighted to partner with Neo CEO Nasreen Madhany as we complete the integration of the two businesses and move into a new future together.”
Mumbai: GroupM, the media investment group of WPP on Tuesday announced the launch of Finecast in India, a ‘first-to-market addressable TV service.’ It would enable advertisers to target households with relevant TV ads across multiple TV channels, pay-TV platforms and set-top boxes, a range of video on demand (VOD) services, over-the-top (OTT) providers, and game consoles.
The evolving consumption habits of the audience have given rise to complexities in planning and reaching audiences on TV. Finecast attempts to solve this challenge by providing a single point of access to the whole addressable TV ecosystem, managing distribution and frequency holistically across broadcasters and screens to deliver relevant ads wherever they are viewing content, said the company in a statement.
“Our key partnerships with best-in-class data providers facilitate intelligent segmentation of audiences by socioeconomics, life-stage and financial behaviours providing highly precise TV audience profiles. This enables Finecast to show different ads to different households who are watching the same TV program, thereby making their advertising more effective and driving cost efficiencies,” it further said.
“As the largest media advertising company in the world, GroupM is able to create the scale of partnerships required to find relevant audiences in the fragmented TV landscape,” stated GroupM South Asia CEO Prasanth Kumar. “With finecast, we have partnered the top content providers, broadcasters, platforms and data providers in India to build this market that will inevitably add more value to GroupM’s clients in India.”
Finecast’s model includes partnerships across leading broadcasters who develop high-quality premium and brand-safe content, as well as distribution platforms with further partnerships to be announced later this year.
“There is no better time to watch TV, as the ad experience is ore in line with audience content and behaviour preferences,” remarked GroupM president data, performance & digital products Atique Kazi. “We know TV still reigns supreme in India people are just changing the way they consume content. Finecast gives GroupM’s clients a holistic view of, and access to, their audience, regardless of where they are watching.”
MUMBAI: WPP’s media investment group, GroupM on Tuesday announced that it has expanded Arshan Saha’s role to CEO of Xaxis & specialty businesses, APAC. Saha’s previous title was CEO of Xaxis APAC and in his new role, will lead GroupM’s data-driven specialty businesses including Xaxis (programmatic), INCA (influencer marketing), finecast (addressable TV), sightline (addressable out-of-home), and acceleration (data & tech consultancy practice).
The consolidation of leadership for all data-driven specialty businesses for APAC, will ensure GroupM’s continued future-ready innovation and growth. Saha brings his experience in growing and scaling Xaxis across the region to further strengthen GroupM’s data and technology suite of products, said the company in a press statement.
GroupM, APAC CEO, Ashutosh Srivastava commented, “As part of GroupM’s overall global strategy for growth, we have been investing in launching and growing several data-driven specialty businesses in the region. Apart from Xaxis, we have fast-growing businesses in INCA and finecast, and are on the verge of launching addressable OOH and data & tech consulting. Arshan has shown great product and commercial acumen in growing Xaxis, and we are confident of his success in scaling our performance and digital product offerings across Asia-Pacific.”
Speaking on his new role, Saha said, “My journey at Xaxis has provided me with the perfect platform to succeed in this role. I am excited to embark on this new challenge, leading a high-growth portfolio of specialty businesses for GroupM in channels that are in high demand from our clients. This consolidation will empower our clients to make media work harder for them while allowing them to easily access GroupM’s digital expertise as a single unit.”