A 360 campaign by default will incorporate digital channels as part of the mix and, therefore, digital can play a role in every campaign a marketer runs. Experience and familiarity with traditional channels are the only barriers that marketers have in exploiting digital channels to their advantage. The key is not proposing a 360 degree campaign for the sake of ‘ticking the boxes’, but taking the time to assess each channel in turn (digital and traditional) and decide on its importance for the target audience.

exchange4media Staff Jun 27, 2014 12:00 AM

Radio as a platform has a better reach than most other mediums and it is a powerful ancillary for ensuring ‘call to action’ from print and other media, however it cannot be used in isolation. Instead of radio being an advertising afterthought, it can be a pretty great source of inspiration. In the age of social media and composing tweets, radio doesn't seem quite so limiting.

exchange4media Staff Jun 9, 2014 12:00 AM

Manpower is the biggest problem. Right now you do not get quality manpower in numbers in this segment. Quality resources who have in-depth understanding of this medium and who have been with this medium for some time are hard to find.

exchange4media Staff May 16, 2014 12:00 AM

There are always distribution challenges in every country. There are substantial numbers of cable operators in India and we are looking to further breakthroughs as well. However, news channels are weeping when it comes to carriage fees as they pay a huge amount.

exchange4media Staff May 10, 2014 12:00 AM

Brands must be clear about the presence of its target consumer at the on-ground locations. The location must be such that the consumer has time to connect with the brand, absorb the message and hopefully that generates interest leading to action... A creative blend of activity design and messaging, while maintaining the authenticity of the brand, is vital for any campaign of the brand. Finally, the execution of the on-ground activity has to be par excellence.

exchange4media Staff May 8, 2014 12:00 AM

The fundamental belief is that in today’s digital age, the media, consumers and brands have been transformed. For consumers, this shift has been most prevalent through social and mobile technologies. For brands, these external forces have meant that all organisations are now media companies in their own right.

exchange4media Staff May 3, 2014 12:00 AM

After print and TV, radio is the lead medium for advertisers to talk to consumers. I look at it in two ways. This is a day and age of competition. So, firstly, you align your resources in the medium that you operate in and the second is that you align yourself to competing media, example, print and TV.

exchange4media Staff Apr 30, 2014 12:00 AM

The outdoor industry needs to be more organised with structured operations and feedback mechanism; campaign measurability and execution excellence can be the hallmark for OOH media. Innovation would sustain the outdoor medium for a long time. Trust is built by the way you see and perceive a medium and the results it gives.

exchange4media Staff Apr 29, 2014 12:00 AM

Social media has been a huge focus area and we have utilised this platform to add value to our brand. It is also a great medium for brands like us to get a validation on anything we want within seconds. Given the reach of this medium, the relevance to our consumer and the fast pace of growth, we see this as an integral part of our marketing mix.

exchange4media Staff Apr 21, 2014 12:00 AM

There are three pillars to our strategy – the first is brand building, while the second is member servicing. About 60-70 per cent of our members are on Facebook, therefore, it plays an important role for us. The last thing is customer acquisition, which is of course driven by business goals. When it comes to brand building, we use social media, YouTube and a combination of what we do for acquisition and customer servicing.

exchange4media Staff Apr 21, 2014 12:00 AM

There will be a lot of focus on digital endeavours, which will continue post the elections. Going forward, there are plans to push the News 24 channel internationally. We have already started beaming the channel in the Middle East region... Our focus is going to be the US and Canada, wherever there are Indian viewers.

exchange4media Staff Apr 18, 2014 12:00 AM

Radio, when used creatively, can be both tactical and brand building tool. A look at what others are doing in the category gives us a good idea of the required frequency. Ideally, the frequency should be higher for more brand recall targeting the peak hours.

exchange4media Staff Apr 4, 2014 12:00 AM

We are committed to India and are putting in money not only to create products, but also for marketing activities. There will be changes you will see in the coming months. We will be very consistent with our communications and you will also see us increase the frequency of communication about the products.

exchange4media Staff Apr 4, 2014 12:00 AM

Our digital strategy is focusing on multiple fronts, not just marketing. Our aim is use technology to remove barriers. We are investing a lot in content and conversation. Another thing that is emerging in digital is that I can convert my engagement to business. So, we are working on how the customer can get an end-to-end interactive experience online, whether it is purchase, discovery, education or engagement. The dream is to make HDFC Life a truly online insurance company.

exchange4media Staff Mar 24, 2014 12:00 AM

You cannot think about digital and offline in isolation any more. This is the biggest shift that has happened in our thinking and I think this has happened in the industry, in general. It is so much a part of our lives today, that our approach also has to be integrated taking into consideration how consumers’ decision making and the way they consume information has changed.

exchange4media Staff Mar 24, 2014 12:00 AM

More than anything else, consolidation is at the core for survival and success. With consolidation, the bigger entities will stay relevant and be better equipped to deal with the media buying community. Efficiencies through consolidation should lead to more investment in product improvements, including measurement.

exchange4media Staff Mar 24, 2014 12:00 AM

Advertising as we know it, which is placement of content in a location you have bought, is to a certain extent dead. This is so because what platforms like mobile, Internet and social have done is made media infinite… The advertising sector is still moving forward on its own inertia. There is still a lot of money being spent on traditional advertising, which is going to carry on, but if they don’t start transforming themselves drastically, they will come to a stop once the inertia runs out.

exchange4media Staff Mar 7, 2014 12:00 AM

The 'Create or Else' philosophy comes from David Ogilvy's 'Sell or Else'. The creative process is messy, frightening and filled with insecurity. And that's the fun part. We are in the business of creativity that is changing in many ways, and this is the age of the story-teller so 'Create or Else' would tell stories everywhere. It is interesting to note that the business has changed, but the only thing that hasn't changed is story-telling. I strongly believe that the cardinal sin is to be boring.

exchange4media Staff Mar 3, 2014 12:00 AM

We want to build a strong creative culture. Delhi is the headquarter of opportunities, while Mumbai is the headquarter of execution of big ideas. To build the perfect balance between the two by syncing the talent pool in Mumbai to opportunities in Delhi is also going to be key focus for us.

exchange4media Staff Feb 21, 2014 12:00 AM

Mobile is going to be huge. We will be putting tremendous effort in creating innovative products based on consumer insights. At CES 2013, Marissa has announced ad product offering, mobile products, and two new digital magazines. She also mentioned that there will be a huge thrust in our communication products such as Yahoo Mail. These are all global offerings. We are all set for phenomenal growth.

exchange4media Staff Feb 14, 2014 12:00 AM