It’s a viewer’s market & it’s here to stay: Anil K Nair, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi
Guest Column: Managing Partner, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi says newer video formats will keep emerging forcing brands & advertisers to constantly unlearn and adapt

Indians have always been an audio visual race. A land of storytelling and colour has now hooked on to Netflix and video based content fuelled by easy access to fat bandwidth and smart phones. This has gradually deconstructed the reading habit and the growth of print and magazines. Though the printed word is desperately trying to reinvent itself digitally through smaller pieces, blogs and the likes.
Getting back to the topic of content in general and branded content in particular there are other conundrums. Earlier there was a clear demarcation of content and advertising. Advertising funded content and life was simple. And everyone was happy. One rewarded good content by backing it with more advertising dollars. Consumers knew that consuming advertising was the price to pay for the nearly subsidised content that they were devouring through their idiot boxes, newspapers and radio sets.
But the smart phone and personal devices changed that dynamic for ever. Today content is going up against advertising as an option for marketers to plug brand narratives.
Now it is about personalised and granular on-demand content that can be consumed on the go as and when the viewer wants it. From storytelling to story making. And preferable co-created with the consumer.
The viewers are done with ad interruptions given the fast diminishing millennial attention spans and the glut of content available at their fingertips.
It’s a viewer’s market and it’s here to stay. What it means for advertisers is that they need newer ways to favourably reach out to their audience without pissing them off, by fitting into their lives and convenience and in newer formats that the consumer adopts. Content aggregation and distribution are growing to be bigger influencers in the proliferation of content than ownership or destination.
Formats have become like quicksand. From 3 hour movies to 30 second TVCs we are now in the world of diminishing ad utility. 15 seconders to 5 seconders are the new challenges for advertising story tellers notwithstanding the occasional IGTV kind of innovation. Newer video formats will keep emerging forcing brands and advertisers to constantly unlearn and adapt.
The trickiest part of this drama is context. Content now has to ride along with context to win favour with viewers. The context can be cultural, organic, timely, multi-faceted and subliminal. Almost metaphorically like bitter medicine coated in a sweet pill.
The consumers today are unforgiving and extremely fickle and are quick to sniff the advertising rat if it threatens to malign their content consumption mood and flow.
This has put traditional agencies in direct competition with pure play content creators who are better tuned and equipped to understand and satiate the content consumption monsters needs.
It’s also akin to the ‘nine blind men and the elephant story’ with the various players from the media agencies, creative agencies , digital platforms and the freshly sprung digital content studios all approaching this challenge from their own prism of expertise and perspective and trying to second guess the viewer and their likes and dislikes.
This pressure to amuse and entertain is throwing up newer interesting content innovations like tent-pole live events that allow for direct brand- consumer interactions or that allow co- creation of content with audiences.
The ones laughing all the way to their popcorn finally are the viewers who have the power to dismiss you with a flick of their fingers into hyper stardom or deep oblivion.
The author is the Managing Partner, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com.
Find out trends in the content-marketing space at the Audacity e4m Indian Content Marketing Awards 2018 (ICMA) and second edition of Content JAM, a Content Marketing Conference, set to take place on September 7.
For details, click here: https://e4mevents.com/content-marketing-awards-icma-2018/
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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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