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  • Brands, agencies to rewire approaches using data: CVL Srinivas, WPP

    Brands, agencies to rewire approaches using data: CVL Srinivas, WPP

    MUMBAI: Data. A four letter word that has even the senior most executives sweating and scratching their heads. While it is a small little word, understanding how to use it, is actually very complicated. That’s why  all we’ve been hearing about in the last year is how can brands and agencies leverage the most of data and more importantly, understanding the basics of data. 

    Data is not restricted to using it only in advertising (for data-driven advertising), it can essentially be a very function of every brand. With all the buzz around data and using it to reach the consumer effectively and efficiently, marketers and agencies must know how to make the most of data for better ROI and consumer engagement.

    Google Maps, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Google, YouTube, Netflix have all changed our world, and for good! Technology has changed the way we connect with brands and things around us. You like something, you hit a ‘heart’, something makes you furious, you reply via an angry emoji on Facebook. All this consumer behaviour is Data for marketers. And with a consumer’s likes, dislikes, hearts, tweets and browsing history available readily, a brand maps the consumer behaviour and reaches to them with targeted advertising and content. That’s why you only get a message or pop up to shop or buy your favourite pair of clothes, lipstick, car or mobile that you’ve been eyeing for long.

    However, with brands being able to map your behaviour by scrutinising you and using your data, it also violates a consumer right to privacy. To address this, the Government of India is currently considering sweeping a data privacy law –  Personal Data Protection Bill of 2018 , which states that privacy is a "fundamental right" under the Indian Constitution. 

    The bill is closely modelled after the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It broadly applies to all personal data defined as any data of a person which allows direct or indirect identifiability; and envisions a regime where individual consent is the cornerstone of data-sharing. If the bill is passed, it may change the way on when, where and how much data can brands actually use. 

    Maybe eventually brands will have to pay their users in some form to be able to use their data in the new framework of guidelines. It could be in the form of money, virtual money, coupons or discounts.

    To understand the current scenario and future of data driven marketing, in a quick chat with Indiantelevision.com, WPP country manager CVL Srinivas gave us insights about creating the balance between using data and human insights, future of advertising with data, WPP’s plan for 2019 and more. Excerpts: 

    The importance of data in advertising today is more than ever. How do you see the future of advertising along with data?

    Data is a critical part of every business today. We have a lot more data available to us than we ever had before. Today, every business is looking at transforming itself – by smartly leveraging data, businesses can fast track their growth in numerous ways. Advertising is becoming a lot more data-led. Not just in targeting the right audience or deciding the best 

    medium, data is inspiring creative thinking on brands. We saw numerous examples of data-inspired creativity at our summit today. Going forward, we will see brands and agencies adapting to this new data world by rewiring their approaches. This is not to say that all the

    traditional methods will go out of the window. We need as much of the marketing gut as we need data.

    Having too much data can often become complex. What’s the way out?

    A data strategy needs to start with a purpose. The end uses of data need to be defined. Else there is a tendency to try and boil the ocean. Like we heard from a lot of our panellists that day, that the best approach is to start small, test a few hypotheses and then scale up. 

    Somewhere along the way one learns what kind of data is most valuable for a particular business/brand.

    While brands and agencies have a lot of rich data available today, we don’t know what to do with it. Do we still need time to get there where we understand the data and can leverage it to the best?

    Most businesses are on the journey to get better at harnessing the power of data. There is no one defined method. Some of them have made more progress while others are starting off from scratch. While there is an abundance of data, what we really need is a more 

    balanced approach to putting it to good use. By ‘balanced’, I mean combining data points across different sources to paint a broader picture. That’s where we need to see more progress generally speaking. 

    Focus point for agencies and brands in 2019?

    Data-centricity will be a key priority going forward, but it must go hand in hand with creativity. 

    Do you think brands and agencies need to take a step back, pause and say, “I think we are pushing it too much!” How can we as an industry skip being ad-blocked?

    I think we will soon get to a point where most, if not all advertisers will realise the need to move from a completely push-based advertising approach to a more balanced way of engaging with their consumers. Data and technology are making it easier to identify consumer tastes and preferences more sharply. This will reduce the bombardment. On top of that, if one knows what kind of content engages the consumer, it can result in more relevant messaging being served.

  • Yahoo to shut messenger app after 20 years

    Yahoo to shut messenger app after 20 years

    MUMBAI: Yahoo Messenger, the messaging app, is finally shutting down for good.The app, which was acquired by Verizon in 2017, is shutting down on 17 July. The company didn’t give any explanation for shutting its messenger. Yahoo Messenger users will now be directed to invite-based Yahoo Squirrel service. Testing of Yahoo Squirrel was done last month and it will soon be available for users.

    With the increase in number of messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat continually capturing the market, it was probably hard to compete with the existing product.

    Yahoo Messenger was one of the first instant messaging apps created, but it struggled to keep up with modern apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Snapchat. However, the app found a surprising niche- within oil trading companies. Older versions of Yahoo Messenger shut down in 2016, and oil traders voiced their concern about the app’s demise at the time.

    “You have no idea how much I’ll miss Yahoo Messenger,” one oil trader from Singapore told Reuters in 2016. “I built up hundreds of contacts on it over more than a decade. I have Yahoo friends I have never met, but with whom I spent many hours bantering and joking. It also made me a lot of money. Now that it’s gone, I could cry, as per a blog post.”

    For the users who are still using Yahoo mail, their Yahoo ID will keep working for other Yahoo services such as Yahoo Mail.

  • OnePlus 6 kick-starts Snapchat campaign

    OnePlus 6 kick-starts Snapchat campaign

    MUMBAI: Staying true to its brand ethos of never settling down, OnePlus has become one of the first movers in the category to launch a Snapchat marketing campaign in India.

    OnePlus has partnered with White Rivers Media to launch a pan India campaign to reach across to the millennial audience. The account will be handled by the Mumbai office of White Rivers Media.

    OnePlus’ flagship for 2018, OnePlus 6 will be launched on 17 May in Mumbai.

    Last week, OnePlus announced its collaboration with Disney for the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War and as a part of this collaboration, OnePlus has confirmed the OnePlus 6 Marvel Avengers limited edition to be launched alongside OnePlus 6.

    White Rivers Media chief executive officer Shrenik Gandhi says, “Snapchat is a great parallel platform to reach to more millennials with high spending capacity. These users are stellar content creators who open the app 20+ times a day. It is a great time for OnePlus to engage with its users. The type of audience that you find on the platform, combined with the fascinating possibilities of reaching out to them that it facilitates, will surely generate great results for the brand launch. Being ardent OnePlus users ourselves, we look forward to the exciting opportunities of creating a great Snapchat campaign with OnePlus.”

    White Rivers Media is one of the fastest growing independent digital marketing agencies working with brands across tech, e-commerce, real estate and fashion. Over the years, the agency has worked across borders, timelines and languages, making it not just international, but multicultural outfit.

     

  • Facebook’s Q1 ad spend on 4C grows by 62%

    Facebook’s Q1 ad spend on 4C grows by 62%

    MUMBAI: Marketing technology company 4C, in its latest report, reveals that spend across major social and mobile platforms in the first quarter of 2018 increased significantly year-on-year (YoY) with the greatest revenue growth on 4C witnessed by Snapchat (234 per cent) and Instagram (136 per cent).

    The report suggests that advertisers use digital platforms to engage with audiences around large tentpole events and capture second-screen attention.

    To assess the state of the media, 4C analysed nearly $250 million in ad spend from a representative sample of more than 1,000 individual brands using its software platform. To gauge TV advertising trends, 4C’s Teletrax technology monitors 2,100 plus TV global channels, keeping track of the biggest advertisers in the UK and around the world.

    Interestingly, despite the Cambridge Analytica headlines, data shows that Facebook ad spend through 4C increased by 62 per cent YoY and specifically week-over-week during the weeks of 17 March (7 per cent) and 24 March (15 per cent) after the news broke out. This is matched in both weeks by 9 per cent increases in Instagram spending.

    4C Insights CMO Aaron Goldman said, “We’re seeing continued strength for Facebook advertising despite the negative headlines. For some time now, marketers in the UK have been actively preparing for GDPR so they are comfortable dealing with issues pertaining to data collection. In this case the main issue is not related to advertising and the repercussions such as removal of Facebook Partner Categories have not had a material impact.”

    The report further suggests that more and more media is being consumed simultaneously and TV audiences are commonly using second or even third screens. In response, brands are making their own shift to capitalise on this behaviour and adopting an audiences-first strategy.

    The consumer products sector powered ad spend across Snapchat and Twitter for the first quarter of 2018. Brands from this vertical increased quarterly spend by 78 per cent on Twitter and 31 per cent on Snapchat to reach their desired audience segments.

    Mbuy media strategy manager Carlee Benson mentions, “Gen-Z is expected to account for about 40 per cent of all consumers by 2020. Trends such as ephemeral marketing, influencer, and short-form video are favourites amongst this generation and need to be considered with a social media strategy.”

    Q1 saw seasonally relevant campaigns from the likes of travel brands Kayak and TUI, which invested in 3,310 minutes of ad time and 2,666 minutes respectively. While ongoing campaigns throughout the quarter enabled brands to dominate the airwaves, the greatest social lift was driven by brands that successfully jumped on the Superbowl, led by T-Mobile with a 46,000 per cent increase in social engagement during the 2 minutes following its commercials.

    Also Read :

    RoW, APAC revenue grows fastest for Facebook in 2017

    Facebook to ban cryptocurrency ads

    Mark Zuckerberg says ‘sorry’ for Facebook’s privacy crisis

    Mark Zuckerberg says ‘sorry’ for Facebook’s privacy crisis

  • Snapchat partners four IPL teams

    Snapchat partners four IPL teams

    MUMBAI: IPL 2018 fans better get ready as four of your favourite teams are coming to Snapchat. The social media platform has announced its partnership with four IPL teams–the Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils and the Rajasthan Royals. The teams have joined Snapchat for Official Stories on 9 April 2018

    Snapchat has also released new creative tools for fans to support their teams and join the fun, such as custom stickers, filters and lenses. The lenses transform you into a helmeted player, with the team anthem playing in the background, and are available automatically in each team’s state or by scanning a Snapcode in Snapchat.

    “We love finding new ways to make Snapchat a great place for fans,” said Snapchat vice president of partnerships Ben Schwerin. “We are so excited for Snapchatters to be able to catch behind the scenes action by their favourite players, cheer their teams and share in the IPL 2018 frenzy with their friends and family!”

    This is Snapchat’s first partnership with India’s largest sporting event. The company is excited to give every cricket fanatic the opportunity to celebrate and support their teams better, on and off the field, through these new Official Stories. Snaps created by these official team accounts will be featured in the Discover section of Snapchat, and will provide glimpses of the action that you won’t be able to find elsewhere.

    Also Read:

    Star India lines up innovation filled IPL 2018

    Eros Now joins hands with RCB for IPL debut 

    Burger King joins hands with Mumbai Indians for IPL 2018

  • YouTube, FB to corner major ad spend globally over 5 years

    YouTube, FB to corner major ad spend globally over 5 years

    NEW DELHI: New data from UK-based Juniper Research has found that advertising spend on FVoD (free video on demand) content, such as media on YouTube and Facebook, will surge over the next five years reaching $37 billion by 2022. This is up from an estimated $16 billion in 2017.

    In addition, unique users of such content will reach just under 4.5 billion globally by 2022 as the appetite for free video media continues its expanse, a statement from Juniper Research said on Tuesday.
     
    The new research, Digital TV & Video: Network and OTT Strategies 2017-2022, found that leading FVoD provider YouTube, which sees over 1 billion hours watched per day, will face increasing competition from social media platforms. It observed that the delivery of live video content via social media channels will be one of the growth areas for 2018 as users increase the volume of live broadcast content posted to these platforms. Such examples include Instagram, which has over 800 million monthly active users, and Snapchat which has 178 million daily active users.

    Said research author Lauren Foye, “This content will increasingly be of interest to advertisers, especially in view of Facebook’s monthly active user base of over two billion people. The company has launched an app and website ‘Facebook for Creators’ to help users refine video content and generate viewership.”

    Juniper found that this will aid growth in content consumption, with data usage from OTT content surpassing 840 exabytes by 2022, the equivalent of 129 billion hours of 4K streaming.
     
    Recent changes to YouTube’s Partner Programme means that it will only accept channels with more than 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 viewing hours acquired across a year to its shared advertising revenue programme, the research highlighted. This change in strategy results from increased advertiser pressure following several high-profile, offensive, video posts by users.
    Nevertheless, Juniper forecasts YouTube to account for almost a quarter of all FVoD adspend by 2022.

    Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, giving consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.

    Also Read :

    We are seeing consumption in languages & low-connectivity areas, says Facebook India’s Saurabh Doshi

    Health & beauty YouTube’s fastest growing vertical in 2017 for India

    Apple commits $4.2 bn for original content

    News Corp’s new ad network takes on Facebook, Google

  • Twitter, Snapchat to stream Fifa 2018 shows, highlights in US

    Twitter, Snapchat to stream Fifa 2018 shows, highlights in US

    MUMBAI: Fox Sports, from the Twenty First Century Fox stable, is partnering Twitter to stream a live show and Snapchat to showcase stories with match-day highlights of the Fifa World Cup football to be hosted in Russia from 14 June to 15 July this year.

    Fox Sports would produce the show, which will be streamed from Moscow’s Red Square on each match day and provide previews, recaps and near real-time video highlights for each game, the company said. According to Reuters, Fox said that the coverage of the tournament will be available in the United States and can be seen using the @FOXSports and @FOXSoccer Twitter handles.

    Fox Sports will also produce magazine-like editions of content for Snapchat’s mobile-first audience, called Publisher Stories. The Publisher Story on Snapchat will record the day-by-day highlights of the month-long tournament through recaps, previews and features produced specifically for Snap.

    Snapchat will also produce Fifa World Cup “Our Stories” featuring video highlights of goals and other key moments provided by Fox Sports. Snapchat in October 2017 partnered Discovery Communications Eurosport for a European, multi-language deal that will see Winter Olympics content held this year as part of Snapchat’s ‘stories’ feature in Pyeongchang, a county in Gangwon Province, South Korea.

    Live-streaming has been one of Twitter’s biggest focus areas since last year as it seeks to attract new users. The company had previously signed a multi-year deal with the US National Football League to live-stream pre-game coverage as well as a 30-minute show.

    Also Read:

    FIFA U-17 WC caught 47 million viewers for SPN 

    FIFA U-17 World Cup in India: Tencent bags media & digital rights for China (updated)

  • Twitter expt jury is out: Snappy brand message or more user insights vs noise

    Twitter expt jury is out: Snappy brand message or more user insights vs noise

    MUMBAI: We have all tried to cram our thoughts into a single tweet, and it’s a pain! You have so much to write about, but the 140-character limit becomes an obstruction.

    You just aren’t interested, and go and use Facebook, instead.

    Twitter has been debating about the increase in the character limit for a long time, and the social media company is now finally testing tweets as long as 280 characters, double the previous limit. However, the feature is only available to a select few at the moment, and is not available in Japanese, Chinese and Korean languages.

    But, the move could backfire as much on Twitter as on brands that market on the platform. The 140-character limit ensures that messages on Twitter are concise and put forth the point in the snappiest and the most distilled way. At present, the platform’s biggest problem is its reputation for unpleasant tweets. This gives the ‘Trolls of Twitter’ an undue advantage, one that may take ‘mean tweets’ to a new level.

    We saw a synergy in the industry on increased word count, and the experts seem to agree that it was a welcome move. Mindshare’s Venkat Shankarnarayan asserts, “The move was essential for Twitter as it has been seeing a declining trend in the number of its followers owing to the popularity of Instagram and Snapchat that have grown exponentially in the last year. “The revenue from ads generated on Instagram and Snapchat is much higher than on Twitter,” he adds.

    All major brands today understand the importance of connecting with the consumer, and creating content on social media platforms. Those witty and compelling branded Tweets that we read are nothing but the products of carefully planned strategies that involve the tone of a brand, relevant content, among other factors. Twitter, as a platform, has always been known for the impact it creates through the crisp content.

    iProspect India national head – social and creative Muddassar Memon adds, “Increase in the character limit for each tweet enables people and brands to interact on the platform with more content per tweet, leading to an increase in the traffic and, in turn, an increase in the effectiveness of brand communication.”

    Twitter has always been more of a conversational platform. EveryMedia Technologies CEO Gautam B. Thakker believes the move will have a 50-50 impact on brands and has its pros and cons. It has come at a time when consumption of content on digital has become more visual in nature and, as a marketing strategy, brands and marketers are putting more thought into writing less and showing more engaging and enticing content. “While for some users expressing themselves will become easier, the 280-character limit is big enough to open up a channel for lot of unnecessary noise,” he adds.

    On a similar note, Dentsu Webchutney creative strategist – general management Pranav Sabhaney mentions that, “Users and brands will make a lot of noise about the upgrade, but that has been the case with all previous updates of Twitter when they decided to add photos and videos. There will be some rants but it will all work out well for the brands in the end.”

    Facebook and Instagram today are largely commercialised with great brand presence and spends on these platforms. According to a report by Pulp Strategy earlier this year, Twitter has been rated the best platform in B2B marketing with nearly 63 per cent of marketers choosing the platform to share the photos videos. Though, each social media platform has its own purpose, the bottomline from a brand perspective is — effective communication.

    Twitter no doubt is known for its crisp posts, brands trying to communicate with their target audience often face a roadblock in terms of lack of expression, which may no longer be the case with the increased character cap. However, on the flip side, “online reputation management on Twitter might get trickier. Instead of warranting precise information, your news feed might become a playground for clutter,” affirms Thakker.

    Muddassar is of the opinion that longer tweets will also improve search within the platform as well as SEO potential. Furthermore, brands will now be able to derive more insights on user behaviour and target them efficiently due to longer tweets.

    Mindshare India senior director – digital Venkat Shankarnarayan says, “The move will impact brands in India as they choose to communicate only in the English language, and so far everything has been crammed on Twitter. This will help brands put their message across clearly and get more innovative.”

    Although the move is still in beta version and only available to a select few, it will be interesting to see how it shapes up the marketing and communication of brands in India whenever it becomes available here.

  • Amazon Prime takes customer delight to a new realm with Kenny Sebastian

    MUMBAI: In a bid to engage with customers and create a long standing relationship, Amazon Prime Video created an exclusive ‘Customer Delight Program’ for all fans of Kenny Sebastian’s Stand-Up Comedy Special. 

    Audiences who watched ‘Don’t’ Be That Guy’ were given a once in a lifetime opportunity ‘money-can’t-buy-experience.’ Adding to the engagement, Twitter India also featured an exclusive byte of Kenny Sebastian talking about his comedy special.

    Kenny Sebastian, who has massive following on social media, started engaging with his fans across platforms like Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram. Kenny received a tremendous number of responses and chose the best three for the ultimate Kenny experience. 

    Prashasti Shetty (Age:  16 years), Ananya Waghdar (Age: 16 years) & Ryan D’Silva (Age: 18 years) were the lucky winners of this impromptu engagement activity. 

    Prime Video sent across a crew to their places to record messages for a video for Kenny. What they didn’t know was that Kenny would be visiting them as well!  Their surprised and emotional reactions are priceless.