Removing questionable publishers & inventory a top priority: MD, Essence India

Anand Chakravarthy spoke to exchange4media about the rise of digital advertising in India and also about issues related to impact measurement and brand safety

e4m by Ruhail Amin
Published: Apr 23, 2018 8:58 AM  | 5 min read

As the steady rise of digital ad spends continues in India, expected to cross the 19 per cent mark of total adex in 2019, there have been concerns raised about the use of digital practices, especially in the wake of questionable ad inventory. The problem has been compounded after the recent Facebook Cambridge Analytica data leak.
Given this backdrop, Anand Chakravarthy, Mananging Director, Essence India (part of GroupM), spoke to exchange4media about the rise of digital advertising in India and also about issues related to impact measurement and brand safety. Excerpts:
There have been a lot of concerns raised about digital ad spends, for example P&G recently took a big decision regarding effectiveness of digital advertising. In this scenario, how are planners keeping the faith in digital?
Let us look at the adex growth over the last three years and how the share of digital has grown. In 2016, we were at 12 per cent, which moved to 16 per cent in 2017 and it will be 19 per cent by the end of this year. By 2020 our estimates suggest that it will go to 22-23 per cent plus.
The reality of digital is that it is touching consumers across the board. For advertisers and marketers, who are looking at new ways to engage with the consumer, digital has a natural role to play because we are talking about almost a billion Indians connected in some way or the other.
Given all this, there is clearly a very strong rationale for the growth of digital. If a brand has taken a call to pull back on digital spends, it may be because it does not give them the expected returns. But if you look a majority of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands, nobody is talking about pulling back. This (P&G) is the only brand that is talking about pulling back. I think such decisions are very brand specific, and perhaps because of the specific decisions they took it did not work the way they wanted to. 
How big is the challenge of questionable inventory in the online space, how are you ensuring accuracy for your clients?
There is definitely questionable inventory available in the market. In Essence, one of our biggest philosophies globally is how to ensure that we have 99 per cent accuracy in terms of the inventory we buy. What we have done to mitigate this challenge is to build tools that operate on all of our campaigns. These tools are constantly checking the quality of impressions which we are buying, correcting and removing questionable publishers, questionable inventory etc, to ensure that when we deliver to the client we are operating at 99 per cent accuracy. I think automation and technology allows you to do that today.
Also, digital allows you to track from the first interaction of the brand till the final interaction of the brand conversion and also allows you to make many of those linkages. Moreover, I think the way of looking at impressions has changed. Now they don’t mean anything. Evolved brands have stopped looking at these metrics. Now they are looking at a very fundamental business metric today. 
What would you say are the three biggest challenges in digital marketing, purely from the Indian context?
The first is that as clients are building their digital transformation journey, I think they need to think through. In other words, they should put more thought behind the digital strategy. Secondly as clients evolve, the willingness to invest in technology needs to go up. Not investing in technology will only limit their capability. The third factor is that the industry as a whole has to come together to address specific challenges and involve clients in the discussion too.
How is Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Big Data changing the landscape of media planning in India?
AI is a new shiny object on the horizon. It is definitely a great part of the future. The most important thing to ask is: is it relevant to all brands? Is it relevant to your business?
You can use automation and AI to remove non-value adding processes and using AI will also allow you to bring in a certain degree of consistency. Overall, AI in India is still in a nascent state. There are some brands which spend a lot on digital performance, for them there is a much bigger role that AI can play. For CPG brands, which are still using a lot of traditional media channels, the role of AI is still very limited.

What about ad blockers which are increasingly being used by customers? How are marketers and planners looking at this challenge?

It is a reality. Nobody comes anywhere to watch advertising. Now digital allows you to pay for only the time people actually watched your ad. That is where viewability comes into play. The other fact is that more and more people are also using ad blockers and I think that is where the marriage between creative and media has to become far stronger.

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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

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:15 PM  | 1 min read
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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'

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:07 PM  | 1 min read
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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 by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 11:48 AM  | 1 min read
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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

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 10:54 AM  | 1 min read
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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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e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:39 PM  | 1 min read

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e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 25, 2023 4:38 PM  | 1 min read

KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias

Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 24, 2023 3:35 PM  | 1 min read
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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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