"Sometimes a total rewiring of the agency is required"
In a world where Big Data, technology and insights bring the consumer closer to the marketer than ever before, Nick Emery, CEO, Mindshare Worldwide maintains that everything begins and ends with media.
According to Emery, marketing is about people. New media marketing has the same needs – deliver reach, brand impact and most importantly, ROI. Change is a necessary aspect and it generally observes three types of reactions and hence, Emery believes that all business not born of this age must be destroyed. “Real lives comprise neither of content spam nor of profit-led channels,” he noted.
Emery is also of the opinion that a media CRM world needs to know individual customers. The role of a media agency starts from understanding the consumer. Sometimes a total rewiring of the agency is required, which would eventually lead to agencies of change. This would also present a question – the possibility of a new golden age fuelled by data, since there are certain challenges for the data dream now. Source of inspiration is also a must for new media marketing, believes Emery.
Commenting on the significant elements necessary for new media marketing, Emery said, “The client paradox could be understood by differentiation between CMO and CMTO, wherein CMO is associated with a new world and the latter with procurement.”
According to Emery, marketers should also leverage on the social power of celebrity. Creating micro-communities and visual network can be great elements in new media marketing. In micro-communities, users are measured across the social graph and also measured in terms of inspiration graph. “A new organisation primarily revolves around three principles: namely, content, connection and integration. A new golden era will hence, entail red ocean or blue ocean challenge, industrial copywriting as adaptive planning, trading models such as holistic brand and media data, among others,” added Emery.
Nick Emery was sharing his views at the Mumbai leg of the e4m Conclave on October 23, 2012. He was speaking on the topic ‘The dawn of the new marketing era’. The Conclave was presented by Jagran.
Posted by: Synjini Nandi
Tuesday, Oct 25, 2012
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"To leverage technology, get into niche content"
In the era of analogue cable, broadcasters have had a specific approach towards content and target audience. However, with digitisation, the face of Indian broadcasting industry is changing tremendously. While the audience has evolved with the technology, change in broadcasters’ approach is a debated question.
For Uday Shankar, CEO, STAR India, broadcasters have not taken efforts to exploit technology.
With the arrival of digitisation came a number of opportunities that were not exploited by broadcasters. For instance, DTH services give a wider option in terms of variety, they also provide better picture quality, thus giving broadcasters an opportunity to create and circulate more content.
Despite the fact that the opportunity is big, it has not been leveraged to the fullest. The economics have not worked out and the distribution of same kind of content is persistent.
According to Shankar, sharper and deeper understanding of consumers and recognition of talent can help broadcasters evolve in the right direction.
There was no need for segmentation until a few years ago. Now broadcasters need to segregate their content regionally. Consumers living in different parts of the country have different customs and traits and thus, the content has to be generated accordingly. A content creator has to live and breathe the universe he is working for.
Shankar highlighted the fact that analogue cable was universal distribution and lacked the local touch. Digitisation enables the broadcast of segmented content and content creators need to leverage on this opportunity. He insisted, “We need to remember that the strength of our country lies in its diversity.”
He further observed that digitisation alone will not bring about the change.
While broadcasters create regional content to bank on the opportunities provided by digitisation, they also need to create a connect with their audience. The characters that they create should depict reality and capture the economics right. “A broadcaster cannot sit in Mumbai and decide how Bihar looks like,” Shankar noted. To get the equation right, broadcasters need to be authentic. They need to hit the road and find out for themselves.
Shankar pointed out that with digitisation, broadcasters have the opportunity to take content penetration deeper. The content generators need to move away from the broad definition of content and get into niche.
Digitisation has a lot more in store than what broadcasters anticipate. With less than seven days left for the DAS deadline, the timing cannot be less than perfect for broadcasters to have a change in approach.
Uday Shankar was sharing his views at the Mumbai leg of the e4m Conclave on October 23, 2012. He was speaking on the topic ‘As technology ushers in a New Broadcasting Era, are we prepared?’ The Conclave was presented by Jagran.
Posted by: Saloni Surti
Tuesday, Oct 25, 2012
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"Use big data to gain customers’ trust"
While there have been several attempts to demystify big data, its application to business still continues to haunt brands and marketers. However, the availability of technology and easy access to consumer data have made the usage of big data very easy.
“We leave behind trails, thus generating a lot of data. There are now various platforms that allow brands to capture this data and thus get consumer insights,” said Sheldon Monteiro, Global Chief Technology Officer, SapientNitro.
According to Monteiro, marketers need to create services that will probe customers to share data with them.
Usually markets generate a lot of data. For instance, cameras in stores, which are not that common in India, generate excessive data worldwide. A customer’s shopping cycle, for instance, when they purchase, what they purchase, how frequently they purchase, can be determined from this data.
On the collection and processing of data, Monteiro explained that we need to collect data from everywhere and then make sense out of it. Thus, we collect data, store it, then analyse it and make sense out of it. To process big data efficiently, data collected from different places has to be put together on one platform. One has to design intelligent algorithms that will help visualise data and make sense of it.
In a bid to guide entrepreneurs on the application of big data, Monteiro said that the data has to be leveraged to create customer response, deliver result and gain their (customers’) trust.
Monteiro insisted that shying away from big data is not an option now. Customers now want to have more control. Buying was initially a linear process. But now, customers’ choices are influenced by a number of factors such as YouTube, magazines and print ads. Thus, buying is now a non-linear process. Thus, if you are not able to keep up with the consumers, there are chances of withering away.
Every brand needs to know the society they live in well. In terms of technology or strategy, one needs to know what exactly will make sense in a particular society.
In this fast-paced society, Monteiro called for brands to switch from analytics to action. He said, “We need to start with what we have. If there is nothing, brands can figure out what they have access to in order to engage technology and get started on collecting data.”
Sheldon Monteiro was sharing his views at the Mumbai leg of the e4m Conclave on October 23, 2012. He was speaking on the topic ‘Big Question: Mining Big Data and what it means’. The Conclave was presented by Jagran.
Posted by: Saloni Surti
Tuesday, Oct 25, 2012
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"There is need for marketing to perform"
While globally companies consider it crucial for marketers to focus on ROI, whether marketers in India truly understand, and embrace, marketing ROI is a subject of debate.
Commenting on the importance of ROI for marketers, Uttam Nayak, Group Country Chair, India and South Asia, Visa, is of the belief that one needs to test and learn on ground to understand consumer insights. Educating consumers is an integral part of the marketing process. It is also essential to cut back on cross border marketing in difficult times. He further said, “We needed to create acceptance of our products via marketing.”
Subrata Dutta, MD, Samsonite India, noted that marketing is science that needs to be looked beyond numbers. “Marketing always gets stuck with the basic principle of 4Ps, which creates problems in the long run,” he felt, adding that retail looks like a great era of opportunities for marketing.
Vikram Sakhuja, CEO-designate, Maxus Global, raised the question on how the dynamics work within an organisation and in what form is accountability demanded in marketing. Commenting on the same, Dutta stated, “There is a difference between handling manufacturing and marketing. Whereas manufacturing is accountable and can be predicted exactly, marketing is marred by uncertainties. It is important for people to find out ways to remove this uncertainty and make it more prediction-friendly, since this is the primary problem being faced as of today.”
Meanwhile, Rajesh Jejurikar, President, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, stressed on the importance of spending a lot of time on analytics. “Marketing needs to be seen as a holistic concept and not be advertising focussed,” he maintained. Jejurikar also clarified that marketing ROI and ad spends aren’t same. He believed that people generally want to look at what they are going to get out it, but it is essential to measure each element and thereafter determine which elements work. The toughest part again is to judge which element works, such as awareness, interest and so on. “There is need for marketing to perform,” he added.
Elaborating further, Dutta said that CEOs should bring to the table views of both CMOs and CFOs for better understanding of communication investments. Though marketing is much talked about, one of the missing links between marketing and finance is that the views of CFO and CMO are not tabled at the same time.
Also, 4Ps have been a challenge since managing all the elements together is a bit complex, Dutta maintained, adding, “We are not close to getting these four to work together and hence, we need to get them together and determine what combination works.”
Vikram Sakhuja, Rajesh Jejurikar, Subrata Dutta and Uttam Nayak were sharing their views at the Mumbai leg of the e4m Conclave on October 23, 2012. They were speaking on the topic ‘The missing link between Marketing and Finance’. The Conclave was presented by Jagran.
Posted by: Synjini Nandi
Tuesday, Oct 25, 2012
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"Brands who tell shareable stories win"
In today’s digitised world, it’s not the marketers but the consumers who are calling the shots in deciding their needs and what they want to do. Calling for the need for marketers to rethink their marketing strategies, Marc Bresseel, digital media pioneer and President, Initiative Worldwide, said that the days when marketers led consumers are over as now it’s the marketers who have to follow the consumer.
According to him, it is important for marketers in India to make a note of all that is going on in the international and developed markets as it is likely that this will be replicated in the Indian context sooner than later.
The real problem is that the marketers have failed to keep pace with the digital explosion around them. The marketing and IT departments in most firms lack integration and don’t have a unified vision. Marketers also ignore social and mobile media and fail to utilise the data at their disposal. Bresseel pointed out that 60 per cent of the marketers do not action the data, while the 30 per cent who do, use it to create offers. He emphasised that it is important for IT to have a seat at the table and the first step is for both IT and marketing to start speaking to each other.
Bresseel further said that marketing today has become complicated and it is important for marketers to strip away all the complexity and look to elevate communication with the consumer. A start can be made by understanding data and consumer’s behaviour. For example, it was seen that 37 per cent of people who visit a site initiate a conversation about the company/ brand online. This data should help marketers target consumers better. Bresseel added that brands who tell ‘shareable stories’ win.
However, it is significant to note that TV is still relevant in today’s digital world as TV has now evolved and has a new power, creating a social synergy with the digital platforms. Data shows that 46 per cent of all TV viewers talk about shows online, in fact, 28 per cent of all TV viewers are watching more TV to fuel their online chat. It is not just serials, but 34 per cent of TV viewers spoke of ads they had seen on television.
Partial attention was also seen to be a good thing as 58 per cent of TV viewers used more than one device to talk about what they had seen on TV. 35 per cent of viewers multi-tasked to share content, while one in four multi-tasked during live broadcasts. This mobility makes social TV even bigger for a marketer. It was seen that one in three of all TV viewers spoke/ texted on mobiles. This went up to one in four for TV talkers.
Looking ahead, the key for marketers is to integrate brands into the digital experience. These insights will need to be integrated into strengthening strategies. Working with start-ups and entrepreneurs could also help marketers get a competitive advantage.
Bresseel emphasised that while penetration levels in India are still low, with increasing investments and higher penetration levels, it is likely that digital marketing in India will leapfrog and grow at a faster rate than what it took other countries in the developed world.
Marc Bresseel was sharing his views at the Mumbai leg of the e4m Conclave on October 23, 2012. He was speaking on the topic ‘Consumers are calling the shots: Why we must rethink marketing’. The Conclave was presented by Jagran.
Posted by: Simran Sabherwal
Tuesday, Oct 25, 2012
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Being afraid of data is being short-sighted: Sheldon Monteiro
Big data as a concept has taken centre-stage in many client and agency conversations, and is also aiding important marketing decisions. However, the concept is yet to gain prominence amongst companies in India.
For Sheldon Monteiro, Global Chief Technology Officer, SapientNitro, there are different steps involved in understanding big data - firstly, to know what the hype is all about; secondly, why one should care about big data; and thirdly, how to get started.
Giving an idea about the enormous amount of data being generated across the world, Monteiro pointed out, "We generate data trails of everything - ubiquitous, invasive and embedded." Studies show that since the dawn of civilisation till 2003 we had generated 5 exabytes of data, but now we generate that amount of data every two days.
According to Monteiro , June 29, 2007 was a turning point in the data scenario; it was the day when Apple launched its first iPhone, thus triggering the emergence of smartphones.
Citing Forrester's definition of big data, Monteiro said it is "techniques and technologies that make handling data at extreme scale affordable". The key word here, he said, is "extreme scale", which encompasses volume (moving on from terabytes to exabytes), velocity (shift from structured to semi-structured to unstructured), and velocity (moving from batch to streaming data). Big data also involves a hype cycle and is a space where there is a lot of activity.
On why marketers need to analyse data accurately, Monteiro noted that consumers share a lot of information about who they are, what they like, their location and so on. "Everything is now connected consumerism," he observed, adding, "While relationships have been digitised, human expectations have not."
He stressed on marketers adopting the "economy of one", wherein there is need for a personal dialogue across all consumer touch points. "Consistency is a core expectation. This fuels the economy of one, while data connects all," Monteiro added.
On how to get started with big data, Monteiro listed a few steps:
• Switch from analysis to action - big data answers questions that enhance customer relationship
• Practice connected thinking
• Develop your senses through connected platforms
• Be agile
• Have the ability to accept failure and learn from it
Monteiro observed that the opportunity for big data in India is still largely physical. He stressed on the need for more connectivity and access to devices such as smartphones for this field to grow.
Sheldon Monteiro was speaking on the topic ‘Big data, decoded’ at the Delhi leg of the e4m Conclave on October 22, 2012. The Conclave is presented by Jagran.
Posted by: Shanta Saikia
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
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"Content is king, but with many kingdoms”
While media brands profess that content is king, there are several other factors that vie for importance.
Giving an idea of how content went from being the king to losing out to other factors and then regaining its importance, B Saikumar, Group CEO, Network18, recalled, “Way back in TV18 in 2000-01, we were a production company getting to be a broadcast company. There was a line ‘Content is King’ and I thought that line was good. This was much before TV18 got a broadcast bouquet and got into print. But as we grew, we realised that while content is important, one of the key challenges for us was that discovery and distribution of content is getting to be so much more important.”
While the group was producing great content, the challenge was how to get to the consumers on different platforms and at different places. At that point distribution became king and content was not so much the king. If one is a print brand, they depended on the subscription channels – the newsstand, the paperboy. If one is a broadcast brand, they depend on the cable operator. “The focus increasingly was content is good, but let’s ensure that we are all over the place,” he added.
Cut to today, discovery is now widespread and secular. Good content will be consumed and shared more, and the good news is that content is back to being king. This is the return of the king and is good news for media in general, this has come with its own set of challenges, which is that this king has too many kingdoms. “In the past when we talked about a brand, we talked about a broadcast brand or a print brand, we always linked medium of delivery with content. The biggest challenge for media professionals is how do we ensure that our brands straddle media and geographies,” Saikumar pointed out.
B Saikumar was sharing his views at the Delhi leg of the e4m Conclave on October 22, 2012. He was speaking on the topic ‘Content: One King, Many Kingdoms’. The Conclave is presented by Jagran.
Posted by: Shanta Saikia
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
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It’s not 2+2, but two times two: Satyan Gajwani
Big data, when accompanied with a vision, can transform businesses today,” maintains Satyan Gajwani, Chief Executive Officer, Times Internet.
While there is a huge quantum of data available today, the challenge really lies in using the available data in scalable and systematic ways. Balancing the context further, Gajwani added that the large amount of human intervention does create concerns around bias of data, the collection and assessment of which is largely a manual process.
Managing a digital company which runs websites, mobile sites and apps, Gajwani shared, “For us data is really easy to capture. The first stage is all about deciding the kind of data that we want to collect and thereafter, we ask ourselves how we are going to collect it.” He then put forth the fact that the mandate is of ‘Audience First’ which means, instead of looking at total number of page views, the concern is more around what the user is actually doing on the sites. “There are always different types of users making content consumption very diverse too. So, we started slicing and dicing our data and began to take a multi-dimensional approach to it. We knew that it’s not two plus two, but it’s two times two,” he appended.
Gajwani re-emphasised the collection and organisation of data and ultimately using it to make intelligent insights leading to productive decision making. “Can we start thinking about different content for the different types of users who consume content on the fifteen properties we run besides The Times of India and Economic Times? To answer this question, we started by testing a few ideas.” He then explained the function of ‘I Beam’ in helping the folks at Times Internet look at data across different segments and categories, adding thereby a lot of complexity around how people are interacting with the variety of content. He divulged the segregation of different types of consumers as Flybys, Occasionals, Regulars, Fans and Loyals, depending upon the time they spent consuming content. So while a Loyal might visit the page more than five times a month, sitting at the bottom of the ladder is a Flyby who might hardly make a once a month visit.
Talking about the relevance of the advertiser in this ever evolving milieu, Gajwani noted, “The one thing that is not really successful is the ad spots. The decision to do something different was driven essentially by data. We thought about creating the option for the ad spot to move and went ahead with it. So, everytime you visited the page, the ad spot wasn’t in the same place. And once we did that, the resultant Click Through Rate (CTR) was significantly higher.”
Comprehensively condensing the way forward, Gajwani shared a few takeaways emerging from all the learnings at Times Internet. He first stressed on starting small and building conviction. “It’s really easy to make it really complex and then fail,” he said. Investing in collecting good quality data is also something Gajwani went on to endorse. “Hire nerds and give them room. And lastly, drive it from the top and make sure you have clarity in management and strategy because there are investments and equal number of failures involved,” he concluded.
While engaging in a conversation with Ravi Rao, Leader, Mindshare South Asia and answering his question on the integration of slow moving data from traditional channels, Gajwani said that the two platforms are treated separately since the way Times’ markets online is independent of its offline strategy. On being asked from the audience about younger people being better handlers of New Media and digital enterprises, Gajwani replied, “It is less about age and more about where one’s orientation is.”
Satyan Gajwani was sharing his views at the Delhi leg of the e4m Conclave on October 22, 2012. He was speaking on the topic ‘How can big data, along with vision, transform businesses today’. The Conclave is presented by Jagran.
Posted by: Aditi Malhotra
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
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Simply throwing data isn’t enough: Max Hegerman
The abundance of data and easy availability of every minute speck of information, be it about the consumer or at a larger macro level, has redefined the consumer-marketer relationship. The advent of technology has altered the way content is consumed, disseminated and how consumers interact with a brand. It is no longer one way communication-engagement and interaction has assumed critical mass.
In such a scenario, marketers need to combine advanced technological tools and use it with fresh, clutter breaking ideas and create a buzz.
“Digital agencies need to take the conversation from innovation and move it to engagement. You need to get people to think about brands with a smile or a heart. There is now a need to create engagement tools to embrace understanding of what a particular brands is all about,” said Max Hegerman, SVP & Head, Digital, JWT India Group.
He cited the example of Sprint, the second largest mobile telecom company in the US and how it has turned a brand website into an aggregation tool, taking live data from around 300 websites around the world and creating a customised offering for the user. The website can be customised and downloaded as a desktop widget or on the mobile so that users can engage with it on a regular basis.
In a similar example of technology joining hands with innovations to create a compelling connect, handset maker, Nokia, in a bid to drive engagement and awareness about its Nokia navigation tools set up one of the world’s biggest signposts in London. It was an interactive installation which allowed people to text locations through the web and phones and the directions would be displayed on the signpost. Such was the interest that this innovative use of technology aroused that thousands of locations were displayed.
“Experiences like these are important for the data to be meaningful. Due to such innovative ideas, people walk away with a different perception about the brand. Therefore, there is a need for brands to create something that people can engage in and that can be sustained on a long term basis,” said Hegerman.
Beverage brand Coca Cola has also been using ingenious techniques to spread happiness among its customers. This year on Friendship Day, the brand launched a unique marketing across various malls and stores in seven countries in which its vending machines located at different consumer touch points worked on a two at a price of one offer. The initiative resulted in significant traction with close to 800 cans being sold in nine hours of vending. Though it was a one day activity, the brand claims to have trended on Twitter for three days.
Hegerman also showcased two case studies highlighting marketing activities of auto brand Honda for its Internavi car navigation system, which were undertaken with the objective of differentiating its offering from other car navigation systems. Honda created a dynamic real-time visualisation for Internavi and made it available on its own website and other platforms for customers to increase their understanding about the usage of the system. It included, among several other things, animated data feeding and graphs on road conditions, a fuel economy leaderboard, and a pictogram depicting weather conditions. The activity went viral online and the brand claims to have achieved a 200 per cent increase in Internavi usage and a 100 per cent increase in the number of registrations for this system in cars.
However, it was the brands’ endeavour to open channels of communication during the Tsunami devastation that rocked Japan last year using its car navigation system that won appreciation and recognition. Internavi’s real time data collection and distribution was used to provide key timely information and analysis about road conditions in Japan so that responders could reach victims with necessary supplies faster. The data was further processed into a visual map and it also helped Google in launching Google crises response page. This effort not just increased usage and adoption of the system but also helped achieve a larger cause.
While these case studies have been taken from across the globe, according to Hegerman, companies in India are also equally poised to introduce such innovative ideas to drive engagement with people. “India is on its way to this particular time and space. Companies should utilise both the idea and the data so that consumers can feel positively about brands. Simply throwing data and information isn’t enough. We need to surprise and delight people and create a two way conversation,” he appended.
Representing one of the largest advertising agencies in the world, Hegerman asserted that the onus is on the agencies to latch on to this partnership between an ‘idea’ and the ‘technology’ and convince clients to embrace such unique propositions.
Max Hegerman was sharing his views at the Delhi leg of the e4m Conclave on October 22, 2012. He was speaking on the topic ‘When technology meets Big Idea’. The Conclave is presented by Jagran.
Posted by: Arshiya Khullar
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
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Audience data powers our industry: Stephen White
Without measurement technology, one cannot know who is receiving the advertising messages, communication value of television, radio, internet and mobile media, how to put a price on them and how to monetise them. Hence, audience data is the energy that powers our industry and reliable audience numbers are what “keep the lights on”, emphasised Stephen White, Founder and Chairman, EMM International.
Drawing a parallel between the development of the modern energy industry and audience measurement, White noted that just as the energy industry started with gas-lamps, then progressed to electricity grids, hydro-electric power, nuclear energy, windmills and solar power, similarly, audience measurement has moved from diaries to panels and peoplemeters to online, self-measuring mobile media and new technologies such as Return Path Data (RPD). “Audience behaviour is vastly more complex and variable than before and audience measurement technology is like the quest for renewable clean energy,” he noted.
He explained that the viewing diary was the gas-lamp of its day: just like clipboards and pencil marks on paper. It was first developed when TV was analogue and there were few TV stations, sometimes only one. The paper diaries were replaced by electronic equivalents like CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing), CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing) and peoplemeters.
The second one was the viewing and listening panels. TV panels developed rather like the introduction of the electricity grid, an essential interim stage in the move to peoplemeters preceded by Audience Establishment Survey, to define the viewers/ listeners/ user universe, determine size and composition of the national sample required and then dictate panel recruitment procedures and timelines and mandate quality controls. For the future, the viewer panels are now an essential and permanent feature of TV audience research and their future is now firmly tied to peoplemeters.
“The peoplemeter is the ‘hydro-electric power’ of audience measurement and there are over 75 countries using people-meter panels, (including in India). For the hydro-electro power to be successful it had panel selection and the results were nationally representative. All TV sets in a home (satellite, cable, free-to-air) can be covered in the same way and detailed data for different demographic breaks and viewer can be used as a currency for campaign planning and ad sales,” White said.
“Online and social measurement referred to as the nuclear power is the first medium whose audience would measure itself – almost like limitlessly renewable nuclear power. Online encompasses at least four different advertising types, each with a different set of communication functions: display ads, click-through tags, search ads, social and viral,” he further said.
The benefits of online media are ‘self-measuring’ and TV and Internet media play a symbiotic and mutually-supportive role. However, counting page visits and ad hits are not straightforward – different measurement currencies are often contradictory, Internet measurement currencies are not interchangeable with TV and consumers have learned to remove the cookies from their systems. There is no overall agreement yet about Internet metrics, methodology, or how to integrate online currencies with those of TV.
Stephen White was sharing his views at the Delhi leg of the e4m Conclave on October 22, 2012. He was speaking on the topic ‘Transparency in Measurement; Courtesy technology’. The Conclave is presented by Jagran.
Posted by: Twishy
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
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"Brands are expected to play a social role"
Brands are increasingly becoming more conscious about their existence in a consumer’s mind space. Thus, they should leverage from the data into consumer insights to create a more sustainable marketing space for them to survive, adapt to changes and eventually stay relevant to the consumer, observed Charles Wright, Managing Director, Wolff Olins.
In modern times, in terms of creation of brands, the focus has shifted from achieving consistency across all touch points to being useful to the consumer at large and speak his/ her language. He explained that over the years, the agency’s approach to the brand creation process has been a simple one. It follows a basic rule and that is to move brands into the comfort zone of a consumer, where a strong emotional brand could be forged between the two. He further added that currently, there are certain trends that will bring forth a big shift in the world of branding.
The first of these factors or trends is the context, which may be specific to a certain market like India or may be common among some of the emerging markets of the world. “According to our insight, we can foresee the emergence of strong brands from Asia and India particularly. Also, we expect more and more Western brands adapting to the market environment of these countries,” he added. Thus, context plays an important role in shaping up a brand. He cited an example of the Indonesian market, where the age profile of consumers was no longer young, hence, the kind of products being demanded now, will change drastically after 20 years. Hence, brands need to constantly recreate connect with consumers and adapt to change in consumerism.
According to him, “There is a huge opportunity to create brands based on what is important to the customer. However, the challenge is that a typical customer becomes affectionate towards a finite number of brands, so how should one get into that set of brands. In fact he said it is not just about the brand’s role in customer’s life but its role in society. “Based on our findings in India, we found out that both people and Government expect companies to play a social role and take a responsibility that is broader than the concept of profit making,” Wright shared. He also said that brands should stand for something they believe in and that could be in terms of brand personality and attributes such as environmentally responsible, ethical, riding a sense of pride, value for money and more. Therefore, brands today have a political and social role to play too.
He said that brands today should answer demands that have not been met because unmet needs, which cannot be measured, are often where the solution lies. He added that the next big factor that will drive sea change in branding is data. According to Harvard Business Review, the emergence of data is important as managers can measure and, hence, know radically about their business and thus, translate that into improved decision making. “Numbers begin to give us a bandwidth where answers might lie,” he added. However, he feels that many of his clients who have been bitten by the data bug are still looking into what competition is doing and wasting time in that, instead they should focus on developing their own data. Talking about the impact of technology on consumer and industry as a whole, Wright suggested that brands should create valuable propositions to consumers, especially in terms of online presence.
On being quizzed about the basic difference between Indian marketers and their global counterparts, he stressed that the former were more willing to learn and have enormous ambitions fuelled by highly competitive managers. However, on the flip side, in terms of data usage and market research as well its application, the Indian market lagged far behind the others.
He finally asserted that brands should make measure activities through data and create meaningful engagement with consumers. This can be achieved by positive word of mouth and doing something useful for the customer by understanding what matters most to the latter.
Charles Wright was sharing his views at the Delhi leg of the e4m Conclave on October 22, 2012. The Conclave is presented by Jagran.
Posted by: Ruchika Kumar
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
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e4m Conclave: B Saikumar leads Delhi speaker line-up
Stage is set for the ninth edition of exchange4media Conclave, presented by Jagran, in Delhi on October 22, 2012. With a speaker line-up that comprises some of the best minds in the business, both globally and in India, the e4m Conclave this year will delve deep on how data, technology and consumer insights are now the keywords that can make all the difference for a marketer and a brand and what the game-changers of tomorrow are.
The distinguished speakers who will share their insights at the e4m Conclave 2012 in Delhi include:
B Saikumar, Group CEO, Network18
Sheldon Monteiro, Chief Technology Officer, SapientNitro
Satyan Gajwani, CEO, Times Internet
Lynn de Souza, Chairman and CEO, Lintas Media Group
Ravi Rao, Leader, Mindshare South Asia
Stephen White, Founder and Chairman, EMM International & EMM India
Charles Wright, Managing Director, Wolff Olins
LV Krishnan, CEO, TAM Media Research
Max Hegerman, SVP & Head - Digital, JWT India Group
The range of issues to be taken up at the Delhi leg of the e4m Conclave is as diverse as they are relevant in today’s economic scenario. The speakers will mull over how can companies in India can best understand and leverage Big Data, even as the concept has taken centre-stage in many client and agency conversations.
While data driven decisions can be measured and hence, will change a management’s decision-making style, this does not erase the need for human insight. How can both data and vision be tapped to transform businesses?
A look into how the businesses of future will maintain the competitive edge when the buzzwords are volume, variety and velocity. The speakers will also provide some valuable insights into some of the global best practices to measure different media and how technology is shaping this side of the business.
While branded entertainment is not a new phenomenon in India, there are several factors that are still holding back this business.
The speakers will isolate these factors and provide insights into how to lucratively tap the entertainment business. Posted by: exchange4media
Tuesday, Oct 19, 2012
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ZEE Chairman Subhash Chandra to deliver Valedictory Address @e4m Conclave
With just six days to go for the exchange4media Conclave 2012, presented by Jagran, the conversations are promising to be informative, educative and inspiring. Culminating the exchange4media Conclave would be a Valedictory Address by industry visionary and thought leader Subhash Chandra, Chairman of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) and promoter of the Essel Group of Companies.
As is known, Subhash Chandra is among the leading lights of the Indian industry. A self-made man, Chandra has consistently demonstrated his ability to identify new businesses and lead them on the path to success. He, also referred to as the Media Moghul of India, revolutionised the television industry by launching the country’s first satellite Hindi channel Zee TV in 1992 and later the first private news channel, Zee News. The ZEE Network today has over 600 million viewers in 168 countries.
His bouquet of businesses includes television networks (ZEE), a newspaper chain (DNA), cable systems (Wire and Wireless), direct-to-home (Dish TV), satellite communications (Agrani and Procall), theme parks (EsselWorld and Water Kingdom), online gaming (Playwin), education (Zee Learn), flexible packaging (Essel Propack), infrastructure development (Essel Infraprojects) and family entertainment centres (Fun Cinemas). Credited with tremendous business astuteness, he has charted a course of growth and success, unparalleled in business history.
All of his ventures are path-breaking in nature, be it the Essel Propack, which is the largest speciality packaging company in the world; Asia’s largest amusement park Essel World; or the first satellite television in India (Zee TV).
Chandra also has made his mark as an influential philanthropist in India. He has set up TALEEM (Transnational Alternate Learning for Emancipation and Empowerment through Multimedia) to provide access to quality education through distance and open learning. He is also the Chairman of the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India — a movement to eradicate illiteracy from rural and tribal India. The Foundation provides free education to nearly 10,35,444 (1 million +) tribal children across 36,783 villages through one-teacher schools. He is the moving force behind the Global Vipassana Foundation — a trust set up to help people raise their spiritual quotient. Chandra is also the Founder Chairman of Global Foundation for Civilization Harmony (India) (GFCH), an Eastern initiative for conflict avoidance and a partner of the United Nations Alliance of Civilization (UNAOC). The founder patrons of GFCH include His Holiness Dalai Lama and Former President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, among others.
As a firm believer in the concept of Karma, his actions are not performed with a selfish motive. He believes that the key to happiness is to take success in your stride and not be depressed when you fail. Just keep doing your Karma, is his mantra.
Posted by: exchange4media
Tuesday, Oct 16, 2012
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Why Big Data matters for Connected Consumers?
It used to be simple. Buying was a linear experience. Consumers would move from awareness through consideration, express a preference, and make a purchase. Our role as marketers used to be clear – seduce consumers to move down that linear path. Business was easy – put product into the hands of the consumer, as quickly and efficiently as possible.
That’s changed! Digital experiences have created a new wave of Connected Consumerism. Consumers use multiple sources to obtain information, exchange reviews, and purchase products, often traversing multiple channels, social networks, websites and search engines, before and after they make a purchase.
In his recent book, Avinash Kaushik, Google’s analytics evangelist says, “When I walk into a supermarket, I don’t expect the employees to recognise me or rearrange the store for me. Yet when I visit an online supermarket, I am annoyed that on my third visit they still don’t know I live in California and they are not presenting me with items for sale at my local store.” Kaushik observes consumer expectations have changed. It’s not just online, as the majority of offline purchases are influenced by digital and social networks. Consumers expect brands to be accessible, available and contextually aware of who they are and what they want, across owned and influenced touch-points.
As more consumer journeys become digitally enabled, and consumer expectations evolve, the key to rich contextual experiences will remain consumer insight and the power of prediction, built on a foundation of Big Data.
India’s opportunity for Big Data is massive – not merely as a talent service provider to western markets, but in tapping new sources of consumer insight for a population whose behaviour has been poorly understood to date. The question is, 'Are Indian brands and marketers prepared to accept the challenge?'
The author, Sheldon Monteiro, is the Global Chief Technology Officer of SapientNitro, a company that has been at the forefront of the digital revolution in marketing. Monteiro is amongst the lead speakers at the exchange4media Conclave 2012, presented by Jagran. In the Delhi edition of the Conclave on October 22, 2012, he would be in conversation with Session Chair Lynn de Souza, Chairman and CEO, Lintas Media Group.
Posted by: Sheldon Monteiro
Tuesday, Oct 16, 2012
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Acquisition: Is it the right route to grow?
The year 2012 has seen with some of the biggest agency-buy-and-sell stories of the last five years. Whether it was the global developments of Publicis Groupe taking over BBH or Dentsu buying out Aegis Media that impact India market as well or the India-based acquisitions of Hungama Digital, Communicate2, Indigo, Resultix, to name a few or creative powerhouse TapRoot finally selling part of the company to Dentsu, the year has had more than its share of deals.
But is acquisition the right route to grow – for the buying or the selling company. The question would be tabled at the exchange4media Conclave 2012, presented by Jagran.
While the exchange4media Conclave 2012 looks to completely focus on technology, data and the impact of these on marketing, acquisitions too is one subject that plays an important role in shaping up the business. The Session Chairperson for this panel is Ranjan Kapur, Country Head – WPP.
Some takeaways from this discussion would include what acquisition implies for a creative agency; what drove the digital agency acquisitions that were seen in the year, and how does holding company acquisition manifest itself.
The other members of this panel are Agnello Dias, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, TapRoot India, Arvind Sharma, Chairman, Leo Burnett India and Ashish Bhasin, Chairman – India and CEO – Southeast Asia, Aegis Media.
Dias will bring the perspective of a creative independent, and how a company can maintain autonomy and yet leverage benefits of a large network. Sharma, on the other hand has completed the acquisition of Indigo, and will speak on the pain points of integration and the right strategy of working with the acquired company. Bhasin brings the perspective from not only a holding company that was acquired globally and India will see its impact but also an acquirer that added one more digital brand through the acquisition route to the company.
The session is scheduled to take place in the Mumbai edition of the exchange4media Conclave, presented by Jagran on October 23, 2012.
Posted by: exchange4media
Tuesday, Oct 15, 2012
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“Tackle the hyperbole around data & real-time planning”
We believe that everything begins and ends in media. In a world where some agencies struggle with the financial pressure to commoditise business, we believe that people are having more fun with words, pictures and numbers than ever before – all powered by an increasing flow of data. The opportunities for a global media agency network are now limitless.
India is in the vanguard of our industry’s revolution. Its boundless talent and entrepreneurial spirit, which embodies the ‘nothing is impossible’ attitude of modern media, is an example to the world. Its increasingly digitally savvy population – digital spend is growing at 30 per cent and there are almost 1 billion mobile connections acting as the glue between rural and urban populations – means it’s no surprise that India is leading the world in analytics, with The Times of India reporting that the country will be the prime beneficiary of a new $20 billion global analytics outsourcing industry by 2018.
But before this, we must as an industry tackle the hyperbole that currently exists around data and real-time planning. Everyone is talking about ‘big data’ but few are actually putting their money where their mouth is and doing what it takes to harness this new opportunity. We are at a crossroads, we can either reinvent our business or we will have no business in five years – it is as simple as that.
At the exchange4media Conclave, I will talk about what is really happening in the media and marketing world, what challenges we face, separating the fact from the fiction and what we need to do to succeed. I'm sure I'll learn as much as I share, as I always do when I visit India. One thing is certain, I will leave India more inspired than when I arrive...
Posted by: Nick Emery
Thursday, Oct 11, 2012
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How do companies that define the future of business behave? Know from Wolff Olins’ Charles Wright
As exchange4media Conclave, presented by Jagran prepares to take on the changes in data and technology that impacts the very face of marketing, one of the basic questions in front of companies is what should be the mindset and the thought process of a company when it is headed into a fully digitised future, in all aspects of the business.
Taking on the question is Wolff Olins Managing Director Charles Wright, speaking at the exchange4media Conclave’s Delhi edition on October 22, 2012.
Wolff Olins is a global brand consultancy with offices in London, New York and Dubai. Its clients are leaders in various categories including technology, culture, media, retail, industry, and non-profit organisations.
As a MD and member of the leadership team at Wolff Olins, Wright’s specific responsibility is to build the company’s business in Asia. Wright has led some of Wolff Olins’ most complex projects. His projects tend to be global in nature and often involve using brands to stimulate new growth or enter new markets.
He has led all recent work with our clients in India: Tata Docomo, Hero Motorcorp, and Adani. Other significant clients include PwC, Airtel, Grameenphone Charles leads and inspires their people, as well as driving, facilitating and delivering strategy and innovation for big corporations. His passion lies in interpreting business problems as creative challenges and facilitating groups to do something new, exciting and meaningful.
Wolff Olins’ clients include London 2012 Olympics, Tate, GE, Unilever, Sony Ericsson, (RED), New York City, Mercedez-Benz, AOL, PWC, Asian Art Museum, and Orange. In India, we are behind the work for Adani, Hero Motorcorp and Tata Group amongst others.
Posted by: exchange4media
Thursday, Oct 10, 2012
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STAR India’s Uday Shankar on the hot seat, with Lodestar UM’s Shashi Sinha
As the exchange4media Conclave, presented by Jagran, gears for the changes that technological growth brings to marketing, one of the most important aspects is how media owners have embraced these changes and allowed for newer ways to connect with consumers and engage them.
Television, which consumes the largest portion of the advertising pie, in fact has seen various changes on the back of technology that has transitioned it from content telecast in a drawing room to content consumed on multiple screens on the move. But as the medium is redefined, what are the opportunities and the challenges that come with it.
These are some of the questions that STAR India’s CEO Uday Shankar will address at the exchange4media Conclave. Shankar, also the immediate past president of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, would also be in conversation with Session Chairperson Shashi Sinha, CEO, Lodestar UM to know whether the industry is prepared for the challenges of a technology-driven future.
As CEO of STAR India, Shankar runs one of the largest media and entertainment companies that operates nearly 40 channels in eight languages in India. The STAR Network enjoys market leadership in key geographies, demographics, and time slots, and reaches to more than 400 million viewers in India and across the globe. Shankar has been at the helm of the organisation since October 2007 and has guided the transformation of STAR into a diversified media company. His tenure has been marked by persistent leadership in television through innovative programming and investments in leading technologies, both of which invariably set the benchmark for the industry.
In addition to his position at STAR, Shankar is also a leading voice in championing reforms for the industry and its consumers. Under his guidance, the IBF achieved several milestones including self regulation in content.
Posted by: exchange4media
Thursday, Oct 9, 2012
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Tech revolutionises Marketing: Insights from Steve Plimsoll, CTO, Mindshare Worldwide
For those who are yet to understand how technology changes the game for media agencies and media service brands, Mindshare Worldwide’s Chief Technology Officer Steve Plimsoll is quite a guiding light.
Plimsoll is not only responsible for Mindshare’s global technology and data vision but also the development and implementation of the company’s global technology product and information technology systems. He is credited as the leader behind one of Mindshare’s most coveted projects – CORE, the user-centric, open source data driven marketing intelligence platform that for many, has revolutionised marketing decision making.
CORE, which is a new benchmark in what technology can achieve for marketing, is active with one of Mindshare’s largest clients at present. Plimsoll is in India for the exchange4media Conclave, presented by Jagran. The exchange4media Conclave, which is a by-registration or invitation event only, will take place in Delhi on October 22, 2012 and in Mumbai on October 23, 2012.
CORE enables marketers to mix their business intelligence (CRM, sales and supply chain) data with an integrated single source of marketing intelligence. This single source contains media channel spend and performance data; social data; paid and owned media audience data; in-stream data; third party (household expenditure/ demographic/ online behaviours, etc) data and real-time trading data.
When mixed with the business intelligence, this reveals consumer actions and insight at a granular level, eradicating the guesswork, latency and siloed nature of marketing-spend decision making. CORE’s single source data stream is created by bringing together all the media data and consumer insight capabilities of Mindshare and various global third party data enhancement services to create an always-on data resource, which when mixed with brand held data, delivers actionable insights to marketers in real-time.
Plimsoll admits that making CORE a reality was no mean feat. With more than 10 years of experience leading the design and implementation of end-to-end, multi-channel, cross-border marketing, advertising, CRM and e-commerce disruptive technology projects, Plimsoll’s deep understanding of business intelligence design and analytics, and a keen awareness of how business, creative and technical concepts intertwine to create successful business solutions gives him a unique insight into not only architecting but also delivering transformational market leading solutions.
He joined Mindshare from Acxiom where he held the roles of European Vice President of Consulting and Multi-Channel Marketing Services, responsible for marketing strategy, technology and analytics consulting as well as the integration and evolution of Acxiom’s marketing and advertising solutions including; data visualisation, CRM, marketing automation, advertising/media targeting, email, mobile and direct channels in addition to running the European agency business. Prior to this, Plimsoll held various senior global roles at FutureBrand, Digitas, Wunderman, Flytxt and Ogilvy.
Posted by: exchange4media
Thursday, Oct 3, 2012
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Data impacts marketing: Do you know how?
Data is king, and there is nothing you can do about it.
We live in an era where data has become an intrinsic part of every process that a consumer is involved in. Today the volume of data generated is so huge that all kinds of details about customers – their preferences, the stimulus they respond to, the services they pay for and will pay for again and the likes – have become available to marketers, and in fact to anyone who is looking for it.
Fact is that data has brought the consumer closer to the marketer than ever before; but what are marketers, and their agencies doing about this? Are we creating marketing plans that will generate the most possible interactions, create the most number of opportunities, build acute ability to sense and response to environmental changes, threats and deliver real returns on investments? We ideally should be, because today, it is possible to achieve this.
Data, Big Data and what this can do is only left to the imagination of the professionals of the business. Sensing the need to table a conversation on the subject, the exchange4media Conclave, presented by Jagran, is hosting sessions in both, Delhi and Mumbai legs of the event to decode Big Data.
One of the global lead speakers who will take on the subject is SapientNitro’s Global Chief Technology Officer, Sheldon Monteiro. Monteiro works with SapientNitro’s executive team and Global 1000 clients to stay on the forefront of applying technology to craft groundbreaking experiences for today’s increasingly connected consumer.
Monteiro, a 16-year SapientNitro veteran, is responsible for evolving SapientNitro’s technology vision, as well as driving the company’s technical capability development and hiring, community building, and thought leadership.
Over the years, Monteiro has led ground-breaking work for SapientNitro clients such as Target and Sprint and has been instrumental in many of SapientNitro’s technological capability advances. So if you have a question on data, then the experts are coming to India to give you some answers – October 22 in Delhi and October 23 in Mumbai.
Posted by: exchange4media
Thursday, Sep 28, 2012
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Marc Bresseel @e4m Conclave 2012
The exchange4media Conclave, presented by Jagran, is set to bring some of the most renowned names globally, and from the Indian media and advertising industry, to present views on the progress of technology, data and the likes, and the impact that this has on marketers, media and on the communication business in India.
Amongst one of the global lead speakers is Marc Bresseel, Initiative Worldwide’s newly appointed President for the G-14 markets. Bresseel is responsible for driving business growth across the agency’s major growth markets including India, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, UK, Belgium, Australia, China, Brazil and Mexico. Based in Initiative's London office, Bresseel works directly with the leaders of all the markets in the cluster to drive the network's performance-led communications product and to deliver business results for clients, as well as with the network's various function leads – both at a cluster and worldwide level – to help G14 markets enhance their services to clients across digital, insight, strategy, planning and trading.
As a member of Initiative's Worldwide Leadership Team, Bresseel also works alongside the other worldwide leaders to further develop Initiative as a leading global communications network. Bresseel joined from Microsoft Advertising where he was Vice-President, Global Marketing, responsible for leading the company's brand strategy and providing industry-leading marketing support to ad sales forces around the world. Prior to this, he was Vice-President Global Agencies at Microsoft Advertising, and before that he was General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Microsoft Advertising EMEA, where he led the region to growth levels double that of the rest of the market.
At the exchange4media Conclave, Bresseel will focus on the growth of digital media, and share global examples of how the medium is delivering results for those who have intelligently invested and approached it.
The exchange4media Group organises its flagship event exchange4media Conclave every year, as an attempt to bring industry stakeholders – corporates, media service brands and media owners – on the same platform to discuss the changing global communication industry, with specific focus on India.
Taking off from the event last year, where the discussions focussed on ‘Reshaping Media Priorities for the New Marketing Era’, the theme of the event this year is Marketing 3.0: As data, technology and consumer insights take charge...
Posted by: exchange4media
Thursday, Sep 26, 2012
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Jagran presents exchange4media Conclave on October 22 & 23, 2012
“India is, what US was five years ago” comments such as these are becoming rare by the day because the global advertising and media landscape has changed to make countries such as India no longer just investment markets but contributors towards growth for multinational companies.
The advent of technology and the dynamics of both the Indian economy and its demographics have brought about changes that also signal continued growth in the future. And there are many questions in context to how this growth should be structured. Some of these will be tabled this October at Jagran presents exchange4media Conclave, scheduled for October 22 in Delhi and October 23 in Mumbai.
The e4m Conclave is a platform that allows discussions that will shape the growth of Indian marketing, advertising and media business by bringing global thought leaders and visionaries and Chiefs of businesses of the Indian industry on the same stage. The objective is to exchange notes on what are the game changers of the global communication business, what India can learn from these and how India already contributes to it.
For various companies, Indian offices are already serving as headquarters for specific aspects of their businesses. Very recently, the media agency business saw the announcement of the first India-based Global Media Agency CEO in the form of Vikram Sakhuja, CEO-designate, Maxus India.
As India is becoming stronger in the role that it plays globally, it is also asking questions on what is the road ahead for not just return on investments on media such as TV, print or digital but of marketing on the whole. What are the global best practices that companies in India can benefit from in terms of linking marketing back to the finance function of the company?
From a concern as specific as this, to a subject as broad as what does big data mean to companies in India – how are they navigating the challenges and leveraging the advantages that can come from mining big data. The change in the role that insights play in formulating a plan of action for communicating with consumers and other stakeholders has delivered unprecedented results for many companies. The exchange4media Conclave looks to understand, decode and deliberate on some of these changes. In its 12th edition now, the Conclave is set to see speakers such as Nick Emery, Global CEO, Mindshare Worldwide as the Keynote Speaker.
Posted by: exchange4media
Thursday, Sep 13, 2012
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Nick Emery to deliver Keynote Address at e4m Conclave
The exchange4media Conclave is back, and once again with a combination of global thought leaders and visionaries from the Indian media and advertising industry who will deliberate on various, widely discussed and debated subjects of the communication business. The exchange4media Conclave, in its 12th year, is presented by Jagran.
The annual flagship event of the exchange4media Group will take place on October 22 in Delhi and on October 23 in Mumbai. Never was the chase of connecting with the consumer this interesting, courtesy the advent of technology, availability of data and unprecedented ability to arrive at, and interpret, business and consumer insights. Elaborating more on this subject will be Keynote Speaker – Nick Emery, Global CEO, Mindshare Worldwide.
Emery’s career began working in conventional media departments, joining Ogilvy in 1992 and rising to become the European planning director and deputy managing director of the network. He set up Mindshare with long-term colleague Dominic Proctor in 1997 as strategic development partner for Mindshare Worldwide.
In his current role, Emery has the responsibility for the management and operation of all Mindshare activities in 112 countries, overseeing an agency with more than 5,000 employees.
The exchange4media Conclave would in fact be the first platform in India, where Emery will address audiences as the Mindshare Worldwide CEO. The subject of his conversation is ‘The Dawn of a New Marketing World’, where the discussion will focus on what happens when big data, technology and insights bring the consumer much closer to the marketer than ever before.
The exchange4media Group organises its flagship event exchange4media Conclave every year, as an attempt to bring industry stakeholders – corporates, media agencies and media owners - on the same platform to discuss the changing global communication industry, with specific focus on India.
The e4m Conclave is the only national forum that lays special focus on the media agencies’ part of the business. In addition to this, the exchange4media Conclave has marketers, and what concerns them, at its core.
The Conclave brings under scanner various aspects that impact these two sections including the business structure of media service brands and the media environment media agencies and advertisers operate in while communicating with consumers.
Posted by: exchange4media
Thursday, Sep 12, 2012
