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The Lab will actively participate in the changes that are taking
place in the retail and entertainment space by providing an environment
in which marketing programs can be tested, evaluated and improved
to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by emerging
communications channels.
Speaking exclusively to Indiantelevision.com, Lodestar Universal
CEO Shashi Sinha says, "We are in the process of building up
a credible measurement system for consumer behaviour in the activation,
films and retail space with the launch of the Emerging Media Lab
in India. Consumers today are involved in multiple activities at
the same time and hence there was a need to churn out some mechanics
to measure it. The Lodestar Brand Experience unit was also set up
early last year, with the aim to focus on these areas."
Moreover, Lodestar has also tied up with a marketing agency Direct
Access for the film vertical which will work on the backend. Direct
Access, on the other hand has inked a back to back agreement with
Contiloe Films for advertiser funded programming.
"We have independent relationships with Lodestar and Contiloe
Films to work on film tie-ups with brands and also on advertiser
funded programming. Contiloe Films, at present, looks after the
creative and production aspects for the content. We might even float
an independent company with Contiloe Films in the near future, which
will focus on advertiser funded programming and will devise programming
for clients," says Direct Access managing director Premnath
Rajagopalan.
What's more, clients are now realizing the value of branded entertainment
and are allocating more spends in this area. Nerolac, for example,
has now starting allocating 20-25 per cent of their spends to the
branded entertainment space. While clients today allot around 10-15
per cent of their ad spends in this arena; this figure, Sinha says,
will be more than 50 per cent in the next five years.
Lodestar Brand Experience consulting partner Dhruv Jha adds, "We
need to relate to people at various touch points since mainline
media is now passé. The idea is to create a brand experience
for consumers and bring logic and science into it. If measurability
and science is brought into branded entertainment, then ad spends
are bound to go up in the coming years."
"We are going to invest into areas that are client demand
driven and will also give dividends. Activation is the key word
here. In the entertainment space, it will be a combination of in-film
placement and then its leverage into the media as co-branded promos,"
Jha says.
Some of the brands that Lodestar Brand Experience has already worked
for in the branded entertainment space are L'oreal, Nerolac, Mahindra
and Mahindra, Westside, Tata Motors, Tata Indicom Walkie and Calcium
Sandoz. Apart from these, some of the new deals that are in the
pipeline are with brands such as L'oreal, Nerolac and Microsoft.
With Calcium Sandoz, Lodestar Brand Experience had done an in-film
placement in the Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore starrer Virrudh.
"Calcium Sandoz was launching a new variant for women but didn't
have enough money to spend on the launch. So we decided to do this
in-film placement. We leveraged the in-film branding onto television
and while the client spent around Rs 2.5 million in promoting it,
their sales increased by almost 40 per cent in the period after
the movie was launched. The placement was done in a way that was
neither obtrusive nor intrusive," says Jha.
Branded entertainment is now being looked at seriously and not
just as an adjunct to traditional media vehicles by both clients
and agencies.
ABOUT IPG's EMERGING MEDIA LAB
The Emerging Media Lab will provide all Interpublic companies and
their clients with a physical and virtual space in which to experience
the trends and technologies that are shaping the consumer media
experience, today and into the future.
The Lab comprises a digital living room, "smart kitchen,"
conference room and unique brainstorming space. It features existing
and emerging platforms, including media center PCs, IPTV receivers
and mobile video devices in an environment that replicates the homes
and offices where the technologies and devices will be used. Visitors
are immediately immersed into the world of the consumer of the future
and have the opportunity to experiment with the products in the
Lab. Complementing the Lab is a dedicated website that serves as
a rich information source for case studies, white papers and a monthly
electronic newsletter on developments in emerging media.
"To effectively build brands that are relevant to tomorrow's
consumer, marketers must think today about the media environment
in the year 2010 and beyond. Our Emerging Media Lab is an asset
which will empower our client partners to plan for and maximize
the benefits of the proliferation of technological developments.
It will yield powerful insights into the media world of the future,"
said Interpublic Media chairman and chief executive officer Mark
Rosenthal.
Serving as a nexus for the collection and distribution of proprietary
ideas and market information, the Emerging Media Lab brings to bear
the resources and experience of multiple Interpublic agency partners.
The Lab will seek to create a community comprised of industry leaders
and advocates, all committed to innovation in emerging media channels,
and will serve as a bridge between what consumers do today and what
marketers need to do tomorrow.
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