Entertainment
and Media research: Viewing the viewer as a consumer
(Posted on 4 April, 5:30 pm)
Lakshmi Seth, vice-president of Quantum Research, tried to
explain the need to understand the need of the consumer and more
specifically the movie consumer.
By citing extensive case studies (done for their client to
find out the different types of movie consumption patterns among
specific target audiences of regular movie goers between the age
groups of 16 to 22 yrs) Seth detailed what she felt were some
emerging changes in the consumer mindset. "It is not only the
name of the star but other brands attached to it like who the
producer is or who directed the film which makes a difference
for the consumer."
The study revealed how attitudinal differences can create segments
among the consumers. "We have arrived at seven broad categories
of consumers - obsessed, critical, timepass, etc and studied there
responses towards films, the way they expressed it i.e. behavioral
approach and the hidden needs that are fulfilled."
"Now the film industry is treating viewers as consumers who
have specific needs and around whom movies are tailored, says
Seth. As movies become more and more like consumer products, other
factors like branding, packaging and marketing are becoming increasingly
important. "The segregation and understanding of the audience
will not only help the filmmaker to know his target consumer,
what their needs are and whether the film is providing that or
not, but also make it fairly clear how to reach to them," she
says.
The survey has also revealed that both males and females showed
the same mindset towards movies.
While elaborating more on qualitative research, Seema Khanvalkar
of ORG-Marg, put forth the semiotic analysis which is the study
of text used in media right from advertising to TV serials to
the movies.
"Every text has got some hidden message, so it is important
to decode it to understand what it is trying to convey," says
Khanvalkar. Cultural background and ideology has to be understood
to know the impact of the text. She also stressed the need to
understand the image, status attached to the particular product
like a person going for an English movie has got some specific
expectations while a person going for a Govinda movie has different
expectations. One has to take into consideration all these things
before making any product.
Media buying strategy was covered by Sam Balsara, chairman
of Madison Media. "The mammoth growth in the advertising time
on television from 20 million seconds two years ago to 50 million
seconds today has increased the responsibility of the media buyer.
There are around 70 channels catering to different segments of
a vast population in India," says Balsara.
Earlier, the belief of 'bigger the agency, better the rate'
is no more relevant as there is something beyond mere rate that
decides media buying. Astute media buying, strategic media planning
and efficient media operations are the three things that will
decide the return on media investment of the client.
So the onus is on the media buyers to choose the spots taking
into consideration the type of the product as well as programme
and depending on the target audience, media buying will be decided.
Tapan Pal, president and CEO, Zenith Media, went into details
of the efficacy of the rating system. Citing the example of significant
deviation between TAM and INTAM rating for the same programme,
he suggested that both agencies should segregate areas among themselves
and try to concentrate on that area which will widen its coverage.
"The increase in numbers will give more realistic results." High
accuracy and the speed at a low cost is the very essence of data
collection. As more and more channels come into the picture and
audiences get further segregated, the need for accurate data will
be needed as never before.
Meenakshi Madhvani, CEO Carat Media, stressed the need to make
better use of available data by advertisers as well as media buyers
for a better understanding of the market.
Pravin Tripathi, MD, Starcom, was the moderator of the discussion.
Session:Entertainment & Media Research
Moderator:Pravin Tripathi, MD, Starcom
Speakers:
Laxmi Seth, vice-president, Quantum Research - Understanding
the Movie Consumers
Sam Balsara, chairman of Madison Media - Media buying strategy
Tapan Pal, president and CEO, Zenith Media - Efficacy of
rating system
Meenakshi Madhvani, CEO Carat Media
Seema Khanvalkar and Indrani Vidyarthi,ORG-Marg - Qualitative Studies
Click below for more on FICCI-Frames 2001:
Key
issues covered in FICCI-Frames 2001
Address by Smt. Sushma Swaraj, Union
I & B Minister
Nearly 80 per cent of content on TV linked to films: Bachchan
Legal, Copyright & IPR in Entertainment industry
Satellite TV: The future trend
Animation: India the new hub.
Speeches
at the Inaugural address
Snapshots
- Frames 2001
Star
team conspicuously absent from proceedings
