MUMBAI: Perception has it that when it comes to India, traditional media platforms still rule the roost. Consequently, be it television or print (the biggest chunk in the traditional media slab), traditional continues to take away the greatest slice from the advertisers’ marketing budget pie.
Now, even as the above theory stands to be true, there is a steady change taking place in the advertiser’s budget room.
psLive, the experiential marketing division from the Dentsu Aegis Network, has bagged as many as 52 clients in the past three months (January-March). These include brands such as Microsoft, Mahindra Insurance Brokers, Reebok, Philips, Nestle, Samsung, Reliance Digital, Brick Eagle - Housing Finance Company, Bausch&Lomb, Nvidia, Ranbaxy, TVS, Pan Parag and Cyberpark.
Interestingly, the wins tend to also suggest a unique swing wherein brands that otherwise would not look at spending on non-traditional media are changing course.
An apt example of this would be Mother Dairy, a traditional media spender, which associated with the Bollywood movie Kick and Mary Kom through in-film integrations that instantly connect it with its target consumers. The integration also gave the brand a bigger shelf life and higher recall value.
For psLive, the new wins have fuelled as much as a 50 per cent growth in the agency’s client kitty when compared to what it had held in the previous three months (October-December). Consequently, with these new additions, psLive now boasts of more than 200 clients.
Some of the new clients that have come on board are Meiji, Century Ply, JSW, SCA, Reliance Digital, Anchor, Mother Dairy, Future Lifestyle Fashion, Reebok, Philips, SC Johnson, Logitech, Bayer Crop Science, Nestle and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India. The clients primarily sought/seek services in activations, branded entertainment and sports marketing, rural marketing and public relations. Herein, the attempt is to offer clients smart solutions that go beyond the common media usage and stay relevant to the consumers for a longer time period.
psLive vice president Sidharth Ghosh said, “There is an interesting shift happening in the advertiser’s preference when it comes to traditional media (including digital) versus non-traditional media usage. Until five years ago, the non-traditional media platforms that included event, outdoor and activation wasn’t that huge and remarkable. However now, the category has been steadily witnessing substantial growth.”
For the record, an Ernst & Young report published by Event & Entertainment Management Association (EEMA), estimates that the BTL industry is growing at a rate of 25-30 per cent year on year.
“The sector is rapidly attracting more advertisers on board to bring forth exponential growth in the next 10 years. Advertisers are constantly seeking effective ROI. Simultaneously, they are also discovering that their non-traditional media expenditure is helping them reach out to consumers with greater impact at much lesser costs. Now as this discovery continues, the platform’s appeal in the advertiser’s media plan is only expected to further thicken with time,” added Ghosh.
“Experiential marketing is perhaps the fastest growing part of the off-line business of any agency. Activation is growing at twice the rate of traditional (ATL) advertising. psLive has found the right area of operation in activation, branded entertainment/sports and rural marketing to provide our clients with integrated marketing solutions like no one else can,” said Dentsu Aegis Network chairman and CEO, South Asia Ashish Bhasin.
