Tapan
Pal
President, Zenith Communications. |
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Unlike
a lot of other services — whether in advertising or in
any other field, where the benefits are tangible and visible
— media planning offered a whole host of benefits in terms
of scientifically planned media usage, innovative ideas,
implementation, monitoring et al. However, more often
than not, these benefits were intangible and hence, people
found it difficult to accept and appreciate them. Besides,
the media scenario in India was very static, with very
few real options to choose from. Clients, too, did not
demand the same level of involvement from media planning
as they did from creative, and maybe, to a much lesser
extent, from media buying. Advertising agencies — one-stop
shops for all communication needs — did not want to give
up control over media as:
* The same work could be done even without the
support of real specialists
*Without investing much in databases, software,
hardware, people and other infrastructure
* Account servicing people could act as the face
of the agency even for media issues |
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Current Scenario
Media Explosion and Shake-outs: With the advent
of satellite TV and the corresponding media explosion,
the media market became extremely vibrant, complicated
and unwieldy. The static environment gave way to a very
dynamic environment, not only in the field of TV but
had its impact on other media as well, be it print,
outdoors, cinema, radio, Internet et al.
Leaders of the day lost out to the more innovative and
aggressive players: in the field of television, it was
DD v/s Zee earlier and Zee v/s Star now; the print revolution
that was the forte of leading English and a few regional
publications has now shifted to the likes of Dainik
Bhaskar and Dainik Jagran; the outdoor market is inundated
with technological breakthroughs as well as innovative
options by the dozen; and radio is abuzz with FM channels
about to be launched by the score. Internet is creating
a ‘tehelka’ and is likely to emerge as a strong candidate
in the future.
Customers to Consumers: The customers of yesterday
have truly become the consumers of today. Far from being
happy with what is available, they have fast-forwarded
to being very demanding. They have the best of both
worlds, access to everything without having to pay a
substantial amount to receive the same...
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No
single brand, however well placed, can take its place
for granted and may lose its position overnight if caught
unawares, e.g. Zee TV to Star Plus. Therefore, clients
have to focus on immediate as well as long-term means
of communication — more advertising being one of the
means.
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The
Economy: With the opening up of the economy, advertising
in the Indian market has undergone a dramatic change —
from being one of the ‘less important marketing inputs’,
today it has transformed into a key ingredient for brand
success. A lot more money is being spent on advertising
than ever before — for reasons that are varied but real
(see chart below).
Competition: Competition is at its peak, as never
witnessed before. No single brand, however well placed,
can take its place for granted and may lose its position
overnight if caught unawares, e.g. Zee TV to Star Plus.
Therefore, clients have to focus on immediate as well
as long-term means of communication — more advertising
being one of the means.
Fragmentation: Increase in media options is giving
rise to fragmented media usage, leading to less time spent
per medium or vehicle. In other words, lower TRPs per
programme on television and lesser time per vehicle on
press. This means the cost of reaching the prospective
customer is increasing by the day.
Advertising Needs: Brand advertising for long-term
results and tactical campaigns for short-term rewards
are both becoming imperative to outlast competition. With
increasing competition, the need to advertise is increasingly
higher. The need to advertise at optimum level of spends
(at requisite Share of Voice) is becoming critical. This
required optimum level is on the increase year after year.
Overcoming clutter (through preferred positions and higher
frequencies), ensuring roadblocks (by being present simultaneously
across many channels) and investing in building media
properties (that lead to word-of-mouth publicity or long-term
cost efficiency) are all pointing towards an increase
in cost. Advertisers are, therefore, forced to commit
a much higher ad spend than they can actually afford.
This is because the media inflation index is way above
the consumer price index and this increase cannot be passed
on to the consumer, thus affecting their bottom line adversely.
Understanding the intricate science of determining the
level of media presence required against a sales or market
share objective is becoming an art.. |
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The
customers of yesterday have truly become the consumers
of today. Far from being happy with what is available,
they have fast-forwarded to being very demanding. They
have the best of both worlds, access to everything without
having to pay a substantial amount to receive the same..
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this scenario, clients are now looking for specialists
who can help them plan their media spends in the most
optimum way as well as buy at the best possible rates
for them without compromising in any way. They are looking
upon a media agency as a partner that will respond to
their marketing objectives with accountability and an
agency that has a hand-picked staff of top professionals
so that clients get what they need on time at the best
value for them. To quote from the Glaxo Wellcome (from
the Net) on what it looks for in a media planning and
buying agency — an AOR — to consolidate its Direct-to-Consumer
advertising, media buying and planning, including Internet
buys, with one agency . |
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to
improve efficiency, effectiveness and return from its
advertising.
1. Experience as a media planning/buying AOR
2. Experience in buying major media categories
3. Applied integration of media and targeting tools
4. Staffing plans for the account
5. General philosophies and approaches to the media marketplace
The need, therefore, is to save the advertisers’ money
to the maximum without diluting the advertising efforts
needed for the brand. This is where the specialised skills
come in. Save Maximum Advertising Money But Without Diluting
Required Effort i.e. Minimum Risk. The Way Forward The
need of the hour is a team under one roof that:
1. Is skilled enough to advise on the optimum spend levels
2. Can do hard negotiation without compromising on the
best values
3. Has the right contacts across media that matter
4. Is armed with all relevant tools and technologies,
data bases, systems and global learning
5. Is accountable, trustworthy, unbiased and ensures complete
transparency 6. Has complete service orientation The media
professional needs to undergo a complete change in mindset
— from being a Media Professional to being a Business
Manager and a Service Provider. |
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Requirements:
Obviously, it calls for a huge investment in people, in
tools and technology, in databases, in systems and in
training. Often, this amounts to a three- or four-fold
increase in investment than that incurred in a traditional
media department. To make this investment worthwhile,
these one-stop media shops become independent units to
vie for a larger business base that makes them financially
viable. It is also worthwhile noting that all major media
independents in India are part of a worldwide media independent
network, having access to the network’s learnings as well
as the latest tools and technology available. This, in
turn, makes each a better professional through varied
exposure and helps in providing better service to clients.
Let us take an example from Zenith Media in India as a
case to illustrate the above points better — how a one-stop
media shop provides tangible savings without diluting
effort, yet reaches out to the consumer through media
in a holistic manner, and assumes accountability for its
recommendations and their results, keeping the client’s
needs and requirements uppermost.
The case study is about a food product used by the entire
family, the purchase decision of which is mainly the homemaker’s.
The product was being distributed in one state of South
India in a very competitive environment, and the objective
that the company had was to double the sales of the brand
in one year.
Using various databases for media monitoring, the Zenith
team first identified the links between
* Market Share and Share of Voice, as well as
*Market Share and Effective Reach (above a certain
level of OTS) Thereby, it established clear required targets
to double the sales.
Using proprietary global models, the Zenith team, along
with the brand managers, identified and validated the
required frequency levels.
Cues were obtained from global learnings (using another
proprietary global method) and insights through local
research to identify the body clock of a typical housewife,
her points of contact with media (not only the organised
media but with anything that contacts her) and the extent
of her involvement with the same. This helped in the initial
screening of media to come up with: 1. The most appropriate
time slots/sections in TV and print media respectively
when she was most receptive
2. Places/locations for placements of out-of-home sites
3. Additional media to be used for reaching out to her
at the kitchen or at leisure.
Using the proprietary optimisation model, the required
SOV, Reach and Frequency was achievable at 35 per cent
less, as it threw out all wasteful spots/insertions. Then
the buying tools and the Zenith Buying contacts were used
to buy at the best prices possible. Through this, a further
savings of 25 per cent was achieved. Total savings of
60 per cent.
To bring further excitement to the brand, innovative ideas
were sourced from the worldwide offices of Zenith Media
through their global site that contains all innovations
from across the world, in addition to creating innovations
tailor-made for the brand and the market.
Finally, the system matched the sales targets and achievements
to the savings and delivery targets.
We believe that one-stop media shops cannot act only as
suppliers but as business associates who are accountable
and are willing to stick their neck out for performance. |
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