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Tag: #Retrace2021

  • GUEST COLUMN: Digital marketing trends that reigned supreme in 2021

    GUEST COLUMN: Digital marketing trends that reigned supreme in 2021

    Mumbai: 2021 was coined as the year of the ‘New Normal’ and it did turn out to be one in many ways. The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic this year not only affected every aspect of our lives but also impacted how companies further realigned their operations all over the world.

    Strengthening the migration to a digital environment in 2020 became the only viable option to stay on the map for many businesses, which in turn greatly impacted their digital marketing strategies. 

    The ‘New Normal’ kept alive the status of digital marketing as the need of the hour for businesses to stay afloat, gain new customers, retain current ones and generate revenue. Staying ahead of the digital marketing game is beyond just understanding and applying basic industry principles.

    As we bid goodbye to 2021, it’s time to analyse trends that reigned supreme. By analysing past trends and staying aware of ongoing changes, marketers in India will be better prepared for what’s next for the coming year.

    Marketing automation:

    Automation stood at the top of every marketer’s strategic pyramid this year and played a pivotal role in providing brands with more detailed insights into behavioral patterns of their users. Our research estimates that some brands even saw a 30-35 per cent increase in leads generated after implementing automation software. With each channel working together, brands were able to create a unified customer experience, thereby facilitating a seamless journey.

    AI-powered personalised marketing strategies:

    As per industry research, 70 per cent of companies observed that AI-powered personalised marketing strategies generated around 200 per cent ROI while 86 per cent of brands noticed a spike in business after integration. Thanks to AI, marketers were able to make product recommendations to users, hyper-personalisation of messages, optimisation of display and search ads, email marketing, and even content marketing by discovering what works better and what type of content is more effective. All in all, it empowered brands to have a better engagement with their customers and gave a boost to customer loyalty and retention.

    Live streaming

    The number of live streaming platforms and streamers has increased mainly since the onset of the pandemic in late 2019. With the use of live streaming this year, consumers got yet another opportunity to acquire better information about brands, products & discover the character of brands. Thanks to real-time interaction, Live streaming emerged as a strong medium for brands to create a better relationship with their consumers and expand the viewership for their marquee events and new launches.

    Continuous visibility on different live streams enabled brands to experience better engagements. The community of live streamers is just starting to get bigger and live streaming will continue to play an exceptional role in 2022 as well. 

    Vernacular content

    According to a Google KPMG report, 70 per cent of Indians find local language digital content more reliable; 88 per cent of Indian language internet users are more likely to respond to a digital advertisement in their local language as compared to English.

    We saw digital marketing moving towards vernacular in a holistic way. Brands actively began transcending into literacy agnostic content across formats – audio and video to target consumers across the spectrum. For example, if you look at the latest brand video for Baidyanath Chyawanprash, the entire communication is primarily in Hindi as North India is their target location. Even the media banners and communication on the social media handles follow the same route. In this year, there have been multiple examples of brands like Britannia Good Day (Tamil), Ola Autovin Home Delivery (Tamil), Goodknight Fabric Roll-On (in Bengali), Sunfeast YiPPee (in Malayalam) which were some of the most viewed YouTube Ads in the regional language.

    Nano influencers and creators

    Nano influencers were one of the core facets of all major ongoing campaigns and helped in providing brands with valuable awareness and recall amongst a niche audience. They often see the highest percentage of engagement, as they have a small and more closely linked community of followers. According to the INCA report, the average engagement rate of nano-influencers in India is 30 per cent, while for micro-influencers it is 14.5 per cent. For mega and macro, it stands at 18.2 per cent and 12.7 per cent, respectively. We observed major brands dedicating about 20–25 per cent of their brand promotion budget to influencer marketing and primarily focus on nano-influencers that can reach their target group.

    Voice Search

    emerged as a new market for marketers. According to research estimates, 65 per cent of smart speaker owners don’t want to go back to a life without a voice-controlled assistant. Smart speakers will continue to change the ways users interact and spend.

    Tech will continue to take the lead in the new year with robust advancements in technology, marketing tools, and forward-thinking strategies. 2022 will be the year to further seize opportunities, take charge from the front and take necessary steps to leverage customer behavioural trends to get the maximum out of digital marketing.

    (Shreyansh Bhandari is COO and co-founder at Lyxel & Flamingo, while Shikha Abrol is a media strategist at the same company. The views expressed in the column are personal, and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.) 

  • #Retrace2021: Entertainment trends that swept the media industry in 2021

    #Retrace2021: Entertainment trends that swept the media industry in 2021

    Los Angeles: As the credits roll on 2021 and the curtain prepares to rise on 2022, we’ve put together a few previews of entertainment trends to look forward to in the coming year and beyond. The convergence of new technologies, increasing domination of smart devices like smartphones and smart TVs, 5G internet, the growing demand for streaming content combined with the omnipresent Covid lockdowns have been the driving forces behind these trends.

    OTT STREAMING SERVICES

    The global over-the-top (OTT) streaming industry is booming. According to a report published by Research Dive, the OTT market is expected to generate a revenue of $438.5 billion by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.1 per cent. The outbreak of Covid-19 has contributed to this growth, however, leading players are focusing on developing strategies to bolster growth in a post-pandemic market. Netflix leads the pack of providers with 35 per cent of the global OTT streaming market share followed by Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Prime Video, and HBO Max.

    SOCIAL VIDEO

    By 2022, it is estimated that online videos will make up more than 82 per cent of internet traffic. These clips may be short, only 30 seconds or so long, but the ones that go viral have been viewed over a million times. Social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube have been trying to retain the social video throne but rising star TikTok is working hard to overthrow them benefitting from Gen-Z users during the Covid lockdowns. Growth has also been seen on Instagram which has been putting a heavy focus on optimising users’ video experience. Likewise, LinkedIn users are increasingly preferring video content over other types of posts. Twitter, Snapchat, and Vimeo are also seeing a significant uptick in video content. However, no matter which platforms are able to increase their share of users, one thing is for sure: social videos are here to stay.

    CLOUD GAMING

    The ability to play the best video games out there without the need for a console has now become a reality and has pushed this industry forward. There are estimated to be about 3.2 billion gamers in the world and very few have the hardware required to play the latest, most demanding games. Cloud gaming solves this problem by streaming video game content from remote servers to your device. The range of video games is extensive from casino to adventure. Major offerings include Nvidia’s GeForce Now, Google’s Stadia, Sony’s PlayStation Now, and Xbox’s Project xCloud. It’s new and evolving technology but a growing trend to watch for in 2022. According to a report published by Allied Market Research, the global cloud gaming market generated $244.8 million in 2020 and is expected to reach $21.95 billion by 2030, seeing a CAGR of 57.2 per cent from 2021 to 2030.

    PODCASTS

    The number of people listening to podcasts in 2022 is expected to grow to 164 million and that’s just in the US alone. Podcasts have taken off and are no longer considered a hobby but a legitimate business model with new opportunities for brands and businesses. In a world where influencers are kings and people trust them more than traditional outlets, podcasts have been an effective way for their hosts to grow their influence and share their niche viewpoints and knowledge on specific topics. In addition, with increasing tolerance for advertising – a recent survey by Nielsen found 78 per cent of listeners don’t mind sponsorship ads – podcast ad revenue is expected to grow to $1.33 billion in 2022. Now, big-name companies like 20th Century Fox and Spotify are jumping onto the podcast bandwagon, backing and developing content and, in the process, increasing the production quality and value.

    GAME STREAMING

    Game streaming has been around since the early 2000s but now is gaining traction. It involves the streaming of video games where people broadcast themselves playing games to a live audience online. Professional streamers often combine high-level play and entertaining commentary and earn income from sponsors, subscriptions, ad revenue, and donations. Game streaming became popular on the US-based site Twitch before growing to other sites particularly in China.

    In 2014, Twitch was acquired by Amazon and since then it has experienced explosive growth. In Q1 2020 alone, Twitch had more than three billion hours watched, 100 million hours streamed, and an average of 1.4 million concurrent viewers, firmly cementing it as the number one platform for game streaming worldwide.

    THE KOREAN WAVE

    The Korean Wave or “Hallyu” refers to the rise in South Korea’s growing international popularity for its culture encompassing dance, music, TV dramas, movies, food, and more. In 2012, the music video for “Gangnam Style” by recording artist PSY was one of the first Korean hits to go global, became the first YouTube video to reach one billion views, and spun off an international dance craze. K-Pop bands exploded onto the music scene in the early 2000s and currently boy band, BTS is South Korea’s biggest cultural currency whose sales rival big names like Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, and Billie Eilish.

    In 2020, South Korea’s black comedy thriller, ‘Parasite’, written and directed by Bong Joon-ho, won a leading four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film, becoming the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

    Now, this September, ‘Squid Game’, the South Korean survival drama series quietly premiered on Netflix and then took off like a rocket ship. With more fans coming on board every day, Bloomberg has reported that the show will bring in $900 million for Netflix (it was produced for 21.4 million). The Korean Wave is going strong and worldwide fans are enjoying the ride.

    It will be interesting to see how some of these trends fare in a post-pandemic world but, at least for now, we have come to value these forms of entertainment just as the devices we access them from – our mobile phones, smart devices, laptops, and PCs.

  • #Retrace2021: Digital evolution has changed the game for kids genre

    #Retrace2021: Digital evolution has changed the game for kids genre

    Mumbai: A seasoned professional in the broadcast industry with over two decades of experience under her belt, Leena Lele Dutta has worked with Ten Sports India, Channel 9 (Nine Broadcasting Media) and MTV India amongst other reputed companies, besides having worked in sales with SPN (then SET India) from 1995-1999. During her stint with Sony Pictures Television, she spearheaded, structured and developed the content distribution and licensing division for the company in India and South Asia.

    In her current role, as the business head – kids genre at Sony Pictures Networks India, she is responsible for driving the overall business and building the growth trajectory of the Kids’ genre for SPN by focusing on strategic content development and marketing initiatives.

    The kids channel – Sony Yay! has launched 140 hours of fresh programming, including new shows and movie premieres, and captured a significant share of viewership in the kids’ genre in October which saw the highest ad volumes of 2021. With 63.7 gross rating points (GRPs) in the Hindi-speaking market for week 43-45 (Avg, 24 hours, 2-14 ABC, BARC data), it reached the pole position in ratings compared to other kids’ channels.

    As the year draws to a close, Indiantelevision.com caught up Leena Lele Dutta to talk about the channel’s performance in 2021 and the key trends that shaped the kids’ entertainment space.

    Edited Excerpts

    Looking back at 2021

    It has been a stupendous year for us, especially the festive season. Every year we have two periods for our tentpole launches – summer (April-May-June) and the festive months. The festive period is the most potent time, in terms of ad monies and the revenue involved. So, this year, we had envisioned our programming line-up starting from Dussehra to Durga Puja, Navratri going all the way to Diwali, Christmas as well as the New Year. We actually had a lot of ammunition to fire so that we could get a share from the advertising market for our channels viz-a-viz the rest of the channels in the category.

    Unlike 2020, when the kids’ category was down by half in terms of inventory sold out because there was uncertainty and sales only picked up during Diwali, the mood of all our advertisers across all categories has been encouraging this year. Everything has opened up. Also, this year, since Diwali was in the first week of November, it gave advertisers a long four-week period in October to advertise. Barring FCT, advertising spots and sponsorships selling out, there has been demand from new clients that wanted to make their mark this season.

    On the launch of new shows, and programming line-up

    Kids genre is a highly saturated marketplace. So, when we entered the space, we knew we had to bring something different. We’re still relatively new, while our competitors are over a decade old. What we have realised, is that unlike any GEC, the rotation of audiences on the kids’ channel has become even shorter now. Kids between the age group of four to seven who land on our channel grow out of it in three years and you have a fresh set of audiences coming in.

    So, our differentiator has been local programming, indigenous characters and multi-language feeds. From a slate of four original IPs in a year we’ve ramped up and produced almost seven original shows by year, with the help of in-house scriptwriters and array of dubbing studios that are aligned to us.

    On any new innovation that the channel brought in this year

    The pandemic had first led to a surge in viewership during summer when kids and their parents were at home. There was a lot of co-viewing happening. We altered our programming strategy and introduced a variety of different characters that can appeal not just to kids but also to their mothers. This included ‘Oggy’, and a new anime show ‘Obocchama-kun’. We also revamped a show called ‘Horrid Henry’ for the Indian context and called it ‘Haste Raho Henry’.

    Through research that we conduct periodically, we understood that kids don’t necessarily want home grown IPs but want to be entertained by an array of characters that appeal to them and are a reflection of themselves. We followed it up with a 360-degree amplification including on-ground, digital platforms and through our association with network channels.

    What we’ve added because of the lockdown is a whole lot of digital innovation as kids are spending more time on devices. Whether it is a watch party, an online contest, or a digital workshop with videos from our creators and DIY activities, we’re doing all of those engagements as well on our digital platforms.

    On how the kids’ audience has evolved

    Today, a child has a lot of content choices that he/she can make. The child may go to gaming platforms, subscription video-on-demand players, YouTube, or ed-tech platforms. Right now, if you look at the ecosystem, it is not about creating the next ‘Tom and Jerry’ but also about what a new character can do to enhance your kids’ ability. We cannot satiate the kids’ appetite by just showing them content. It needs to go beyond that.

    On the trends that dominated the kids’ genre this year

    Today, OTT platforms’ acquisition of kids’ content is running into millions of dollars as they have begun to see the potential. The fact that so many players are investing in this genre is a great sign for us. That’s why at Sony YAY! apart from the production pipeline we’re also building a parallel ecosystem to make diverse content for kids and feed it into digital platforms. We have a couple of shows developed specifically for OTT platforms and YouTube that’s concurrently happening while we cater to our channel’s audiences.

    We also recently concluded our on-ground activation plan across 30 cities including metros. We’ve observed that people are going to markets and shopping with their kids so on-ground has come back and is here to stay as the more efficient form of engagement to grab a captive audience.