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Ratings are important but there is a lot more to media planning
and buying than just GRPs (gross rating points) and CPRPs
(cost per rating points). That was one of the main strands
of the discourse at Ad-Wise 2002, India’s first TV airtime
forum organised by television services company indiantelevision.com,
which was held in Mumbai today.
Improve the quality of data available; innovate; gut feel
is important; use technologies to help leverage brand positioning.
These were just some of the suggestions thrown up during
the day-long proceedings whose theme was ‘Future Shock:
The Road Ahead’ was targeted at professionals from broadcasters
who sell air time, media planners and buyers from ad agencies
and media concessionaires, and at marketers.
A cross section of television, advertising, media, research
and marketing professionals come and shared their views
at Ad-Wise 2002. Among them: Raj Nayak, executive vice-president,
Star India, Abraham Thomas, ad sales head Sony Entertainment,
Sam Balsara, head of Madison India, TAM India CEO LV Krishnan,
Initiative Media CEO Ashish Bhasin, Mindshare Fulcrum CEO
Vikram Sakhuja, and Eureka Forbes COO SK Palekar, to name
a few.
SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta, who delivered the keynote
address, gave an overview of how he saw the television business
developing over the next five years.
Dasgupta said the television industry was poised for a great
leap forward in the way the overall business was organised.
Referring to the just released report put out by Anderssen,
Dasgupta said TV ad spend was going to go from the current
Rs 36 billion to Rs 81 billion by 2005. Again quoting from
the report, Dasgupta said TV could garner 60 per cent of
all ad spend by then.
Among the changes that were coming: 25 per cent of all TV
revenues would be through subscriptions. Localisation of
content but based more on language rather than just locality.
Dasgupta gave the example of the Ramoji Rao promoted Eenadu
Television network model, which was launching a string of
regional channels.
According to Dasgupta, there would be no free to air channels
as all would eventually have to go pay to survive. Dasgupta
laid special emphasis on technology as a harbinger of change.
The person who uses these technologies and leverages them
well, will have the maximum by way of branding opportunities,
Dasgupta said.
Looking at viewers, advertisers and broadcasters, Dasgupta
had this to say: Viewers would access a small pool of channels
that for which they would pay more.
As conditional access systems would be in place there would
be no redundant channels (in the current dispensation, of
the 100-odd channels that were available, only 10-15 are
actually watched).
There would be a greater demand for quality as far as programming
is concerned.
As with broadcasters, advertisers would also consolidate.
With continuous improvement in database, research would
become far more representative than is the norm today. This
would mean a quantitative measurement of qualitative input
becomes possible. Audience measurement systems for niche
channels will become more refined. Advertisers would be
willing to pay heavy premium for high image and high delivery
properties. Niche channels with high loyalty will be able
to charge more from advertisers.
As for the broadcasters, there will be a few national players,
a few regional players and more of coalitions existing.
Channels will continuously provide cutting edge entertainment
to drive viewers as both audiences and advertisers become
more and more demanding.
In summation Dasgupta said the cost of effective advertising
is going up. Therefore this would perforce mean that advertisers
would be making considered choices as to the media vehicles
they want to associate with.
In this Dasgupta saw a scenario where broadcasters would
be making strategic alliances with specific groups of advertisers.
Raj Nayak in his presentation - What aids airtime
sales? - stressed on the huge gap that existed between perception
and reality among media buyers and planners and the channels
themselves. Nayak's was a call for better researching methodologies.
By way of example he pointed out that when he approached
six top agencies for data about the kind of ad spends that
were currently available, all six threw up significantly
different numbers. According to him, there was quite a bit
of spin doctoring in the kind of numbers that were being
thrown around.
Nayak said there had to be far more by way of investment
into the data available. Nayak however, cautioned against
relying too heavily on numbers. While asserting that he
was all for ratings as a benchmark, what was needed was
a more long term perspective. In the hunt for short term
gains, media buying has been reduced to who can give the
best deal rather than what might be effective as far as
the brand fit is concerned, Nayak said. This "herd mentality"
was leading to a scenario where executives were not at all
bothered whether the brands they were promoting were benefiting
from their campaigns or not as long as bottom lines were
being shown.
"I believe in ratings. But media planning must go beyond
GRPs and CPRPs," Nayak said.
Sam Balsara: The value proposition in TV advertising
was showing diminishing returns and there was much more
innovation required was Balsara's point in his presentation
- "Innovation in Media".
Too much clutter in the television advertising space was
one of the reasons for this state of airs, Balsara said
while giving out these figures:
There were 3.2 million ad spots on TV in 2001, up 34 per
cent from the previous year while ad secondage was 65.7
million, up 26 per cent.
Balsara's recipe: Invest in programming, maximise salience,
create opportunities, push brand values, and take risks.
"Never be afraid to try something new," he concluded.
Vikram Sakhuja: How will media independents change
TV buying.
Independents brought a whole lot more accountability into
the equation was Sakhuja's view. Sakhuja painted a bleak
picture as to the future growth prospects of the industry
saying there was nothing to suggest that there was gong
to be any great expansion in the ad pie.
Sakhuja pointed out that of the Rs 36 billion ad pie 75
per cent of this was gobbled up by seven to eight players
- essentially the mass language entertainment channels and
one or two big regional players). And most of this spend
was flowing into three hours of prime time, which left the
rest of the channels really struggling.
While Sakhuja did say that TV should grow beyond the three
prime time hours and the six-seven channels that are currently
in the viewerscope of media planners and buyers he added
the rider that there should be better rates negotiated as
well as better benchmark data. This is bound to come as
bad news to TV ad sales executives who are already being
squeezed dry.
Sakhuja said the up side of this was that there will increasingly
be seen a greater role of non prime time and non mainline
channels in the media plans. "TV buying will not become
more difficult, it will just become more accountable," was
Sakhuja's comment.
Abraham Thomas: There is life beyond ratings. That
was the main thrust of Abraham's talk. While GRPs and CPRPs
were certainly important and a good indicator of a show's
overall performance, there was a need of a major change
in the mindset as far as how media buyers and planners dealt
with broadcasters, Abraham said. He called for more transparency
and clarity as far as the pitch that was being made was
concerned as this would help broadcasters work better towards
adding brand value to the whole exercise.
Sandeep Singh, VP - Marketing - Shri Adhikari Brothers
Television Networks Ltd, echoed Abraham on the point of
advertisers not giving enough information to the broadcasters
which benefited no one.
And true to the subject of his presentation - "Let's think
anew", Singh made a case for advertisers to look beyond
the mainline channels when looking at effective brand positioning.
Singh gave the example of Aristocrat Premium Apple Juice
which he said was a very successful campaign and one where
spots were bought on the smaller channels like SABe TV,
B4U and etc.
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