Taking forward the business of blogs
Blogging is perhaps the ultimate offering of today’s technology to mankind as the fountainhead of human ego. While blogging has assumed ‘professional’ proportions abroad, in India, it has not advanced much beyond the ego pampering stage. exchange4media explores the blogosphere space to find out how this hugely lucrative medium can be tapped by advertisers.

Blogging is perhaps the ultimate offering of today’s technology to mankind as the fountainhead of human ego. While blogging has assumed ‘professional’ proportions abroad, in India, it has not advanced much beyond the ego pampering stage. exchange4media explores the blogosphere space to find out how this hugely lucrative medium can be tapped by advertisers.
Blogging is a personal space of self expression and ads making their way to blogs create the dilemma between freedom of expression and influencing individual choices. But what cannot be denied is that blogging as an offspring of social media is a very important medium with wide reach, impact and, most importantly, interactivity. This makes blogs the most viable space for marketers to reach their consumers.
Professional Blogging - What is that?
A simple Net search will give out all the answers to what is professional blogging, but the question is, why is there an overall ignorance about professional blogging and when will it catch up big time in our country?
Blogger and HR consultant Gautam Ghosh pointed out, “People have realised that having a free-for-all kind of blog is not really helpful if one is trying to build a readership in any sense of the term. I see a lot of professional blogs in India, but a lot of them are abandoned after some time. The big issue in my opinion is that people blogging professionally have high expectations without knowing what competencies are required to succeed as a blogger.”
Another blogger Rajiv Dhingra, CEO, WATBlog, felt, “Blogging can be rewarding and tiring at the same time. One needs persistence if one wants to make it a successful profession, as one needs to gain credibility as a blogger. We use our blog as the face of our company WATMedia. Our objective is to connect Web, advertising and technology in India and become a platform to do so eventually.”
Professional blogging is yet to gain popularity among netizens. But quite a few of them have realised the huge potential of the medium and have taken up social media and blogging consultancy services as full time professions. Getting linked to advertisers or writing ad posts is slowly becoming popular too. However, in India, blogging still remains mostly a socialising affair, where ordinary people write to get in touch and feel important, professionals (not professional bloggers) write to make their point, while celebrities write to build an image.
Shivanadan Pare, COO, Bigadda, said, “At Bigadda, we provide the teeming bloggers the platform wherein they can express themselves. Furthermore, Bigadda helps these bloggers reach across the growing four million users that we have by promoting them on the site and through other promotional forms from time to time. It is an extremely symbiotic relationship that we have with the bloggers, with no monetary element attached to it.”
Marketers and blogging
Now coming to the point whether high traffic blogs are considered as spaces for ads by marketers, some development in that field can be seen. Corporate blogging and micro blogging are gaining popularity with marketers. But the question is whether advertisers are thinking of running their ads on popular blogs.
Pare of Bigadda said, “Big B blogging on Bigadda has achieved a cult status in India today. In fact, it has paved the way for many to take to blogging. The importance and significance of SNS is rapidly gaining attraction from advertisers, and blogging is also not far behind, but it will take some more time. Big B’s blog, which sees three and a half million page views a month, has recently seen Reid & Taylor come forth and associate with Bigadda. For us, it is a strategic step towards offering high traffic blogs as an advertising option to brands.”
Celebrity blogs draw in the moolah, but do ordinary bloggers writing or talking about extraordinary stuff rake in the moolah too? It is assumed that people who are widely read or heard on blogs dedicate a lot of time on it. That puts them to the league of professional bloggers, where they need to monetise their space. But how do they monetise and where is the revenue?
Blogger Ghosh said, “In India, bloggers are not able to monetise as much as bloggers in the US, because the readership in India is quite niche and they are savvy in not clicking on the ads. Cost per impression advertising for social media publishers is not so well known. If one is able to build an audience that is a global audience (other English speaking parts of the world), then monetisation becomes easier.”
Ads have and will eventually make it to the blog space, but there definitely is a dearth of ad aggregators and blog ad networks to make the connect between the blogger and advertisers.
Dhingra of WATblog noted, “Ads are being targeted, but digital agencies still lack the expertise and knowledge of various niche blogs. Also, there is no Indian aggregator for ads on blogs.”
Considered a medium where the ‘bubble burst’ is believed will never happen, time will tell us whether blogging develops as a medium that will connect countless publishers, consumers and advertisers.
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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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