Much before Mel Gibson made that statement famous in the film about an advertising professional, who could read women's minds, Sigmund Freud had famously asked: 'What do women want?' As did many men before him. But that's taking an impassioned point of view.
That question has bothered many a marketer and advertiser alike, who are still coming to terms with a newly empowered female Indian consumer — who is financially independent and articulate and is increasingly calling all the shots around the house and outside it. She is savvy about her investments and is capable of buying whatever she wants for herself or her family without having to ask her husband for the money. She is the one who makes informed choices on what real estate investments the family makes for the future or what car they drive.
In India, answering that question is an even tougher task where you have different market segments to cater to and different regional tastes. You have various demographics, psychographics and geographics to worry about as a marketer. How has the Indian woman evolved over the years? What are her prime concerns? What does she desire? What kind of a person is she? What does she like and dislike? What motivates her? What influences her decisions at home and at the workplace?
Freud couldn't answer that question in his lifetime. So we won't pretend to know the answers either. But what we could do was hope to get some answers from those whose business it is, to understand the urban Indian woman as she exists today.
We spoke to editors and publishers of three of the country's leading English women's magazines, which cater to the modern Indian woman and found out from them, an inside view of a woman's inner space and her relationship with the media that she interacts with. We spoke to Archana Pillai, Group Publisher, Ogaan; Mala Sekhri, Publishing Director-Lifestyle Division, India Today group; and Amy Fernandes, Editor, Femina (Worldwide Media)...
What has been Elle's positioning and who is your core audience?
Because we say we are the world's number one fashion magazine, it's a broader sense of fashion than most people assume. I think the larger audience often assumes fashion is only about clothes and while that's certainly true; its really an aspect of lifestyle where if you are interested in fashion, its across your entire lifestyle. It is in the way you do up your home, the movies you see, the places you eat out, the books you read… so when we say we are a fashion magazine, we address fashion across a woman's lifestyle rather than only about her clothes.
As for our target audience, if we are talking about demographics, it is usually women in their 20s to mid 30s. What we have seen is that in the Elle network, in countries were Elle has been around longer, the age demographic goes a little older sometimes. It is not so much a young women's magazine except in Asian countries where it has been around for less time. If you talk to a Simone Tata, who at her age, is an avid reader of Elle because she started Elle when she was younger and it has just remained a habit so I think the magazine grows with you. If you look at Elle France, you will see a much older demographic than in the newer countries. It is always when you are younger that you are more open to a newer magazine. We have ourselves seen a shift in the readers when earlier the biggest band was the 20 to 28. And now it is bigger in the 25 to 35 age band. Geographically, it is obviously the top ten towns, which are our core audience, Mumbai, Delhi having the biggest chunk of our readers. You can go by the traditional typical SECs but I think its more lifestyle factors, which determine whether someone reads a magazine like this rather than income. You could be a bureaucrat with a high SEC rating but maybe that's not your lifestyle. So it is very much about people who are out there, doing things, experiencing life much more. The one unique thing about an Elle reader would be the fact that they spend a lot. Spending pattern would be very different. She spends a lot on clothing, accessory, home products, beauty products, which enhance her environment. That's what sets her part a bit; the willingness to spend on indulgence.
What has been the philosophy at Elle?
The magazine was founded in post war Europe. At the time, people wondered how someone could start a magazine which was so consumerist in an environment where women didn't even have the bare essentials. Elle's founder had this to say- 'Our purpose is to open appetite. We need to create an environment for a woman to dream.' It is not always about the harsh realities of life and that has always been key to Elle. We don't focus on the negatives. We believe that a woman needs her own quiet space where she can be self-indulgent. It may all be in her mind. I may look at the most expensive watches or luxury products and though I may not go out and buy them, I like to feel that I am comfortable with the environment. And it is not about feeling guilty about wanting to indulge yourself. Even when we do stories on issues, we do it in a positive way. Recently, in the aftermath of the Marine Drive rape case, we did address the issue but not in a 'Oh my god, women are being raped and its so terrible' way but more like what you can do as a woman to empower yourself. We don't do a lot of stuff about children as well because the whole idea of the magazine is to make a woman feel good about herself and again, we come from an environment (in our country) where it is always implied to the woman to put her own needs last. Typically, if you are a non-vegetarian family and you cook chicken at home, the best pieces like the leg etc will go to the husband or the son or the rest of the family whereas the wife will generally eat the wings or the neck. It's a stupid analogy but it is exactly reflective of how women position themselves in their surroundings; that their needs come last. So we consciously don't do a lot of things about children, like we wont do school admissions etc. We are trying to create an environment where she feels good about herself. Imagine, you create this wonderful feeling where she is thinking of buying the perfume featured there or the latest lipstick. She turns the page and sees a story on school admissions and thinks, 'Oh my god, I will have to spend the money here…' So we consciously create an environment where the woman is focused on herself and we believe this makes a woman oriented rather than self-centered. Its not about always putting your needs last.
Elle has gone in for a number of brand extensions, like Elle Décor, Indiawali Brides, Indiawali.com etc pretty early in its journey. Do you feel it could have been given more time? In what way has that association helped the brand?
Elle Décor is an international brand extension and it comes from our thinking that fashion is not just about how you look but about how your environment looks as well. We found that the Elle reader wanted to live in a home, which was equally stylish, which would provide the right setting for her. Elle Décor was a natural choice. Internationally, they also have food magazines. Elle sells in 37 countries worldwide while Elle Décor in about 20 now. They also have Elle A La Carte, which is a food magazine and we don't do that yet because that's a very niche market here. Basically the idea of the extension is to figure out what are the areas of a woman's life which are appropriate to our kind of magazine. Indiawali Brides is not really an extension of Elle. We are a part of Ogaan Publications and like all publication companies we do like to have a diverse range of products. We do believe we are fairly strong in the women segment. We are a small company compared to some of the other larger and older groups but I think in terms of quality of magazines that we bring out, we are certainly up there with everyone else. So we thought lets approach women in all their stages of life. Indiawali is more about younger women who are planning to get married. Elle straddles the middle path and Elle Décor is for people who already have their own home. Through these three magazines, we address similar women at different stages of their life. Elle existed for four years in India before we came up with Elle Décor. So I don't think it was premature. We did believe that we needed to firmly establish Elle before we got into a second magazine. Indiawali Brides came about a year later but since both Elle Décor and Indiawali were started as quarterlies, it worked for us. It gave us the time to get a footing in the market without rushing in with a monthly and then having problems.
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Lionhearts at Cannes
The Indian lion hunters have had their best year so far. Cannes Lions 2006 is an even bigger whirligig of Advertising and the business of marketing advertising. And much more. Anurag Batra, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief – exchange4media Group, who’s in the thick of it all with his ear to the ground, writes from the French Riviera
The Indian Bull Run continues at Cannes as wego into print. Film is one category that might add further to India’s already
respectable tally. There were a healthy number of entries too,from India this year – 738 against the 602 we sent in last year.
Sometimes, the list of winners doesn’t do justice to those that came so close to a Lion. So, for the record, and also in appreciation of all the blood, sweat and tears that went into each and every glorious short listed Indian entry at Cannes Lions 2006, Impact is printing the list of the short listed entries.
THE INDIAN SCORECARD:
At the time of going into print, JWT has two Gold Lions for the count, with fi ve entries in Press (Levi’s) bagging Gold, and one Promo Lion for Pepsi’s urkure. O&M and Rediffusion DYR won one Outdoor Gold each, for clients Discovery and MidLand Bookstore respectively. Also in the Outdoor category, Leo Burnett won Bronze for Dinodia Photo Library, and so did Everest for clients Cancer Patients Aid Association.
In Press, O&M’s work for Indian Association for Promotion of Adoption and Child Welfare won Silver, with its two entries. Leo Burnett bagged the Bronze Lion for its campaign for Maneland Jungle Lodge. In the Lions Direct competition, ediffusion DYR raked in Silver, for work on MidLand Bookstore.
Among the Media Lions were Leo Burnett and Madison. Leo Burnett won Silver for Prerana, while Madison Communications bagged two Bronzes – one for P&G Home Products and the other for Cadbury.
Our favorites like the Ariel ‘Corners’ campaign didn’t feature even in the shortlist, leaving us bewildered. But that’s the beauty of Cannes. You can’t really track who has done what and entered what in each sub category. Having said that, except for the Promo Lions winner from JWT, most other pieces are familiar works recognized at several awards.
At last count, we won four Golds, three Silvers and fi ve Bronzes. (See list of winners) And the Film Lions holds promise. We’re getting there.
UNIVERSITY OF CONVERSATIONS
I listened to Maurice Saatchi on Thursday, spellbound by his “One Word Equity for Brands” concept. Saatchi’s ruthlessly imple philosophy boiled down to the word being the word that a company wants associated with its brand. Google can be described through the One Word Equity by the word Search. Saatchi‘s call inspired and impressed me a lot. I also try and follow what I learn and implement it in my daily work. What is the point of knowledge if one does not apply it? We are not
into it for intellectual and visual masturbation.
When I sat to write about Cannes for Impact, I said to myself I should be able to describe Cannes Advertising Festival in a single word. The two words that competed in my mind for that single word were: ‘University’ and ‘Conversations’. I am not sure the festival organizers necessarily think the same.
Before I elaborate on the choice of my words, let me start by telling you a story about Roger Hatchuel. Hatchuel was the founder of the Cannes Advertising festival which is regarded by most as the “Olympics of Advertising”. Now that could be another expression for Cannes. Romain Hatchuel, Roger’s son, who was the festival’s chief executive till 2002, joined EURO RSCG in a senior position after disagreements with his dad over shifting the festival’s London headquarters to Paris, and this led to Emap communications taking over the festival two years ago. While Emap has tried to broaden and professionalize the appeal by initiatives like the Media Person of the Year, giving a separate award and jury for outdoor, it would be fair to say that Hatchuel has created and left behind a masterpiece and laudable celebration of advertising creativity. What continues aspart of his legacy is the weeklong stint at Roger Hatchuel Academy by international students studying advertising and communications.
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ShareKids have emerged into an assertive consumer group, says KidSense study
So you’re buying a car? Or an exotic summer holiday package for the entire family? A washing machine, perhaps, to replace the one that’s, well, outlived its lifespan, or an air conditioner? Or Insurance, maybe? You’ve compared prices, specifications, colour, plan, features, whatever, right? And made a decision about what to purchase? Good. But wait. Don’t bring out that cash or credit card yet, because if your toonager or tweenager, or even your tot of a toothager prefers something else, chances are you will change your mind, give up your own selection, and end up buying what your kid prefers.
So you’re buying a car? Or an exotic summer holiday package for the entire family? A washing machine, perhaps, to replace the one that’s, well, outlived its lifespan, or an air conditioner? Or Insurance, maybe? You’ve compared prices, specifications, colour, plan, features, whatever, right? And made a decision about what to purchase? Good. But wait. Don’t bring out that cash or credit card yet, because if your toonager or tweenager, or even your tot of a toothager prefers something else, chances are you will change your mind, give up your own selection, and end up buying what your kid prefers.
So – and much more – say the findings of a study conducted by Disney, the leading media brand, and GroupM, the world’s leading full service media investment management company.
KidSense, which Rajat Jain, MD, The Walt Disney Company (India) describes as “ a strategic initiative to bring insights into the world of kids,” is a comprehensive single source study on Kids in India that combines both quantitative and qualitative research.
And why did Disney and Group M decide to venture upon this joint endeavor to explore the exciting world of kids in India?
Because kids have been largely ignored by the media and marketing fraternity due to their insignificance and their relatively lower spending power. Hence they have for long been classified into a holistic segment of ‘4-14 year olds’ which was rarely researched into. This led to the failure to realize the potential of this knowledge to create better and relatable products for Indian kids.
Says Jain, “The study was jointly launched to explore the world of kids and share insights with the media and marketing fraternity. Kids have increasingly emerged as savvy, sensitive and an extremely important consumer segment today. As global leaders in this genre, it is our responsibility to understand kids and provide a knowledge-house for all the stakeholders.” Jain hopes that the findings of this study would act as “a credible reference-point for the industry, our business partners and help grow the business in this industry as a whole.”
Ashutosh Srivastava, CEO, GroupM, South Asia, says, “The association of GroupM with Disney is all about unlocking value in this growing market segment of young consumers. An important learning for all is that kids like to be spoken to in their own environment – their schools, their play areas, their homes and their shows. Disney’s KidSense shows new realities of influence from this genre on purchase decisions in categories ranging from confectionery to cars and insurance companies.” In other words, if marketers want to sell more, they need to influence the parents through the kids. And how do they do that? Simple. As Srivastava puts it, “talk the kids language to enter their homes.” And if you want to connect with kids in the 4-14 age group, you’ll have to speak not one, but three languages. That’s right, but more on that in a bit.
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New Age Media: Wanna read my newspaper? Sorry – it’s personal!
The first thing that begins our morning everyday, along with the mandatory cuppa is the newspaper. People from all walks of life- vegetable vendors, businessmen, savvy housewives and inclined-towards-art souls read it. While there are some news pieces which are relevant to all, quite a bit of the content as well as the advertisements fail to evoke the desired interest in some readers.
We have come a long way from having print editions to the online avatars. A logical step ahead would be a possibility that would accommodate customized content and advertisements based on the reader's preferences.
This will bring about a shift from a pushed content to a pulled content. The possibilities are vast. There can be translated versions for people who want news only in a particular language. There can be kids who will be happy with a personalized edition that features stuff on their favourite games. The stock market buff will be delighted to go through his unique personalized newspaper that has anamysts' say on the ongoing boom or bearish trends as the case may be.
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Baby I’m A-want You!
That’s what each women’s magazine seems to be telling every potential reader. Women's magazines arguably have a certain homogeneity to them. The glossy look, the thin, preposterously dressed women, the endless perfume and make-up ads. Yet we love the escapism they offer. The Indian market place has exploded with brands and magazine in the last 10 years, and now, there’s another – Marie Claire’s India edition, launched on the 2nd of June. Shalini Amarnani casts an analytical look at the world of Indian Women's magazines – which are definitely bracing for renewed battle with one more aggressor – and tries to see where Marie Claire is likely to find its place.
The battle for the Indian Woman's mind-space began some 10 years ago. Till then the English magazine-consuming population had a limited choice reading women Eve's Weekly, Femina and Women's Era.
The paper quality was poor, as was the photographic element. The content was mainly about how to be a blushing bride, handle your in-laws and dish out the most scrumptious food. Woman' Era is still stuck in that era.
Foreign magazines like Vogue, Harper Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Marie Claire and the like would come to you only if you had friends coming from abroad, or you could catch a year-old issue at the raddiwala.
Enter stage left : Marie Claire
After a decade we are seeing the entry of another big international name. The entry of Marie Claire in the Indian market from the solid Outlook Group has rattled a few quarters. The advertising pie will be redistributed, as will the readership. Claims Suresh Selveraj, the magazine’s Associate Publisher, “Marie Claire's entry in India will change the journalist standards amongst the women's magazine in India.”
Marie Claire is known worldwide as a fashion magazine for the thinking woman. So, besides a lot of elegant fashion and beauty they have strong features content. Says Editor Shefalee Vasudev, “We have first-person articles, special investigative reports, relationships, photo stories, and hope to develop a lot of bold and beautiful reports that tell people about India and not the rich urban India. We believe in being real. So we will talk about issues in India as they are. Our fashion content is slick and doable – it doesn't come from a dream factory but it shows women possibilities in fashion. And leaves them with many good ideas.”
The older players are shuffling along
The change in Women's magazines in India came with the entry of Cosmopolitan and Elle in the Indian marketplace. It shook the players out of their slumber and got them rethinking their strategy. In this story, one has attempted to analyze the major players in this arena, and their strengths and weaknesses.
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Research shows how B2B sites can achieve success
Anew research study by the International Federation of the Periodical Press (FIPP) has unveiled key methods used by business-tobusiness (b2b) magazine publishers to create some of the world's most successful and profitable b2b websites.
Anew research study by the International Federation of the Periodical Press (FIPP) has unveiled key methods used by business-tobusiness (b2b) magazine publishers to create some of the world's most successful and profitable b2b websites. The Routes to Success for Business-to-Business Publishers' Websites study has found that around 66 per cent of websites surveyed are in profit, compared with only about 25 per cent in the same survey four years earlier. The proportion of sites making a loss has fallen from about 50 percent to less than 20 per cent. The objectives of the survey were: to examine good practice online among publishers of printed b2b magazines worldwide; to learn how success has been achieved; and to better understand how publishers are using the internet in conjunction with their magazines.
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Will Bangalore move to the Mid-day beat?
Word on the streets of Bangalore is that The Hindustan Times is looking to enter the market. Admittedly, Bangalore is next on the Deccan Chronicle's agenda too. Rumors on the next stage of DNA's ambitions featuring Bangalore are doing the rounds too. But all these are rumours. And then, there's fact. About a publication. t h a t ' s mastered the art and business of the English tabloid in India. Midday, the paper whose t a g l i n e professes it's for - and profiles -- Mumbai on the Move, is on the move itself. Midday, it's been confirmed, is Bangalorebound.
Word on the streets of Bangalore is that The Hindustan Times is looking to enter the market. Admittedly, Bangalore is next on the Deccan Chronicle's agenda too. Rumors on the next stage of DNA's ambitions featuring Bangalore are doing the rounds too.
But all these are rumours. And then, there's fact. About a publication. that's mastered the art and business of the English tabloid in India. Midday, the paper whose t a g l i n e professes it's for – and profiles -- Mumbai on the Move, is on the move itself. Midday, it's been confirmed, is Bangalorebound.
Four weeks from now, a team of 50-odd journalists and other staffers that comprise the team of the forthcoming Bangalore Mid-day, will heave a collective sigh of relief. Many of them were hired as long as three, even four months ago, but were sort of kept on hold, doing nothing much.
A few got so bored, they left. But now, it is final. Under the stewardship of Editor Anil Thakraney and Publisher Sundar Kondur, Tariq Ansari is now ready to unleash the Bangalore edition of Mid-day, with the same tagline: Bangalore on the move. And so, Bangalore will soon witness intense action in the print daily space in English, in the months to come. Vijay Times, the last entrant into Bangalore's English daily market, from the. publishers of the leading Kannada daily (ABC) Vijaya Karnataka, has grown appreciably since its early hiccups. Market leader The Times of India is still miles ahead, and Deccan Herald from The Printers (Mysore) is ahead too, but by a much smaller margin
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It’s EMVIES time again
The time to celebrate media initiatives are here again. The
Bombay Ad Club instituted Media awards, EMVIES are
just around the corner. In keeping with its annual
schedule, this year the awards are planned on June 22,
2006. Action around the EMVIES has commenced with
the Bombay Ad Club inviting entries for the event. In the
past four years, EMVIES has seen the trend of increasing
the number of entries that it has been getting last year
seeing a peak of over 350 entries. EMVIES Chairperson
Apurva Purohit states that this is what The Ad Club is
expecting this year as well.
To take a closer look before commencing action around the
awards, the Ad Club had organised a pre-judging cocktail,
inviting professionals from the industry to given their
opinions on the awards and the judging process. “We
received a very positive feedback from these industry
leaders and they commended the Ad Club to be able to out
together such an event for the media,” informed Ad Club's
Bipin Pandit.
The EMVIES has seen in participation year-on-year, the
number of entries in the first year was 78, which steadily
notched up to 125 plus, 200 plus to the 350 plus mark last
year. Purohit puts in a word of caution here. Purohit said,
“Getting the mark of 400 was a sense of peak as every
agency had participated last year with a decent number of
entries.We are expecting to secure the margin this year as
well.”
She believes that between the addition of new categories
and streamlining of some of the existing categories, the
said target can be achieved. Another noteworthy factor
that was seen in 2003 were the different industry bodies
that participated in the EMVIES. Moving beyond from just
the media agencies, research agencies, marketers,
channels and interestingly creative agencies had
competed to take home an EMVIE. “And we had seen some
very good work coming from all of these organisations,”
emphasised Purohit.
She further added, “EMVIES really are pan industry
award for media innovations and I expect the same kind of
participation this year as well.” Another area of
expectations comes from the quality of entries. Purohit
said, “Without doubt, every year we have seen
improvement in the kind of entries that have come and
this year wouldn't be any different either. Especially in
categories like new media, out-of-home, never before used
media, we have seen some genuine innovations.”
Hopefully TV and Print will also show the next level of
media innovations this year. Nonetheless, all said and
done, the expectations from the industry to feature some
ground breaking work is also high. EMVIES forms are sent
across to agencies and can also be downloaded from
exchange4media.com. The last date isMay23, 2006.
The awards has roped in Times Now as the title sponsor.
The category sponsors are indiatimes.com for the digital
category and Radio Mirchi for the radio category. TAM
continues with the award sponsorship of the 'Best TV
Research' category. exchange4media.com is the official
media partner.
Explaining more on the reasons why TimesNowpartnered
with the event, Partho Dasgupta, Vice President and
Business Head of the channel elaborated, “Times Now
supports advertising and media fraternity.We even have a
weekly show called the Brand Equity dedicated to this
audience. We were associated with the Ad Review 2006,
International Advertising Association, the Brand Equity
Quiz and with Abbys. EMVIES takes us a step further in
our celebration of good work by media agencies.”
While Dasgupta “wishes to recognise the excellence in
media industry through EMVIES”, Prashant Panday, Dy
CEO, Radio Mirchi opines that as a media event, EMVIES
has come a long way. “Given the kind of industry
initiatives we have been associating with, EMVIES surely
fits our scheme of affairs perfectly.”
The countdown has begun. Can MindShare retain its
Champion status?Will Lodestar claim back 'Agency Of The
Year' Award? Will agencies like Maxus and Initiative,
Starcom take home the Grand EMVIES?
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