Guest Column: Why hire a digital agency when you can hire hackers?: Rahul Vengalil
The Founder & Chief Executive Officer of What Clicks takes a look at some issues plaguing the current digital advertising practices

Imagine a world where the cost of digital advertising would come down by over 80 per cent. All the KRAs for the year marked against the digital head are met, there is no tension of creating content or dissipating the content, the countless rallying between agencies and partners don’t exist. In other words, the utopian scenario, and no it isn’t a dream. All you have to do is fire all digital agencies, and get a group of hackers to work for you.
Yes, you read it right. The way the current eco-system has evolved over the past few years, this is the best option for all brands in the market. Brands lose out billions of dollars to ad fraud, data mining is on the rise, websites that store consumer data are vulnerable, brand trust is eroding as YouTube runs ads on brand unsafe content, social media is filled with fake news or click baits, agencies are running click farms or running behind influencers who can’t influence even the yes men.
To understand why we are saying this, you need to just look at the way digital media KRAs are set, which invariably are as follows:
• Ensure that engagement rate on social media is y%
• The overall reach & frequency on paid media should be 50% & 10, respectively
• The YouTube videos should have a 10 million views
• There should be at least 4 trending hashtags for the year
• Each month should have x transactions, at a CPA of z
• Generate a gazillion leads on the website
• Rank higher in rating on review channels
Most of the other metrics like seamless customer experience and qualitative analysis are mere hogwash, which the key stakeholders aren’t aware of, or aren’t interested to know. The sad truth though is that digital/technology is the medium which generates more data that one can grasp and is evolving at a constant pace, but the yardstick with which it is measured is that of the traditional media, which has hardly evolved over the past few years.
If you do not have the will and the capability to analyse the data that is being generated, the business will end up losing money, time, effort and finally the will to survive. Look at the way various companies have performed over the years. Abof has shut down within 2-3 years of operation, Snapdeal is the true story of riches to rags, Jabong was on the verge of shutdown, Tinyowl went kaput, Foodpanda is trying to make a comeback, TATACliq is just there and Future Group has almost given up on digital stores. I am sure all these brands would have hired the best marketing and technology brains in the industry to run the show, which did not yield much results.
The other day, we got access to data from a leading hospital brand. This is the data that they got after having spent marketing budgets in creating, managing and advertising it. We just bought it off the shelf from one of the many vendors available. I saw a post on FB the other day “If you want views for your YT videos, 1 million views - 40k/10days, 1Lak views - 12k/1day, ping me in FB messenger now.” An apple to apple comparison tells me that this is cheaper than advertising on YT directly. Why then shouldn’t I consider this?
There is one conversation that had left me bedazzled. I had approached a business stating that their website is vulnerable to data breaches as well as fake acquisitions. The response I got was, “As a company in growth phase, the only metrics that matters, is the number of transactions that are clocked, good bad or ugly.” This was also the conversation that opened my eyes to the fact that we are chasing the wrong KPIs, which is more suited for the appraisal rather than business growth.
I have read that Amazon has stopped the PowerPoint presentation culture and is pushing all documentation in prose format. This is a cultural rethink, which I believe is the need of the hour in digital marketing. We need to go back and unlearn everything that we have learnt so far, if we need to succeed. Else, digital marketers would be doing the catch up game against hackers and fraudsters.
(The author is Founder & CEO of What Clicks)
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com
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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur
The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.
The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."
COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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