Wooing Generation Next
From telecom to apparel & credit cards, companies are reaching out to today`s youthful high spenders. Is youth marketing new? Definitely not. But today, what’s changed is that companies and products of every hue are unleashing a spate of Generation Next products and services aimed at 15 to 30-year olds. And even those with established products are going back to the storyboard to sport a young-at-heart persona.
It might have seemed like an unusual move by Himalaya Drug Company. A few months ago the company decided to make a splash with its honey-based products in Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) outlets.
So, it designed a new bottle-shaped menu card which also carried an advertisement for its Forest Honey and put its honey products on sale at the CCD counter.
Why was Himalaya Drug Company selling honey at CCD? Because it wanted to turn Forest Honey from a “household” product into something trendy, and was riding piggyback on CCD’s youthful clientele.
Himalaya Drug Company isn’t the only one reaching out to youngsters via outlets like CCD. More recently, toiletries and food major Hindustan Lever has extended its blitz at Cafe Coffee Day to launch its Liril Orange soap. Liril Orange is also hoping to reach out to youngsters.
From soap and honey, it’s a big jump to electronics. Take a look at the unlikely new contenders for youthful mindspace.
There is, for instance, Philips India which is shaking off its dowdy image and has, in the last few months, launched a string of hip, new products.
Or, there’s Asian Paints which used to address its messages to families or to women. Suddenly, it has put youth in the cross-hairs.
From white goods manufacturers, two-wheelers to credit cards, chocolates and mobile phone players, they are all making a beeline for India’s most happening target segment — generation next.
Is youth marketing new? Definitely not. Traditionally, beverage, motorbike and apparel makers have always pitched at a youth audience.
But today, what’s changed is that companies and products of every hue are unleashing a spate of Generation Next products and services aimed at 15 to 30-year olds. And even those with established products are going back to the storyboard to sport a young-at-heart persona.
Why are they rethinking strategy? Because all the research figures indicate that youngsters have more money than ever to spend — and they aren’t afraid to put their cash on the table.
“Let’s not forget India is a young country which makes it attractive for us,” says Gunjan Srivastav, business head audiovisual entertainment group of Philips.
Of India’s current 1 billion population, 47 per cent of the country is under 20 years. There are almost 160 million in their teens. This segment will explode to 55 per cent by 2015. At the moment, the marketing men say its annual discretionary income is a whopping $3 billion, with families supplementing it with an additional $3.7 billion.
The fact is that 60 per cent of jeans, soft drinks and chocolates are gobbled by teens. Says Jagdeep Kapoor, head of Samsika Consultants, “With the earning power reduced by 10 years, the catch ‘em young phrase is working its magic.”
Adds Madhukar Sabnavis, Head of Planning, at ad agency Ogilvy India, “The youth are wealthier with no baggage of past generations and have been born into a consumption society.”
Around the world it’s youngsters who keep the airwaves buzzing and the mobile phone companies in business. That’s true in India as well. Mobile company Reliance Infocomm says 90 per cent of its pre-paid customers are youth.
Also, youngsters send more SMSes than any other age group and upgrade their handsets faster than anyone else.
At cybercafes, the young and trendy constitute more than 95 per cent of the clientele. And outlets like Barista and Cafe Coffee Day could easily double up as college canteens, with 16-28-year olds quaffing 82 per cent of its coffee.
It’s the same even in the 14 million Indian credit card market where youngsters abound. “They are frequent users of plastic money,” says an executive at a credit card company.
The credit card companies refuse to give precise figures but they believe India will be one of their biggest markets in a few years mainly because of youthful spenders.
Says Vikram Raizada, vice president marketing at MTV, which has a co-branded credit card with Citibank, “We are part of the youth lifestyle and come at them from a 360 degree angle. We have gone beyond television into different merchandise and on-ground events. They even wear our clothes.”
Such youth stories, and the fact that 30 per cent of urban India is under 30 with a 10.6 million consuming class residing in the top 23 cities, are realities that marketers are not taking lightly.
As strategic business consultant Rama Bijapurkar says, “Earlier many products were aimed at youth and the rest for others. Today, youth marketing is mainstream marketing.” Adds Naresh Malhotra, chief executive officer of Cafe Coffee Day, “They are the decision makers and trend setters.”
That’s why even HLL has finetuned the advertising message for its Close-up gel toothpaste. Last year, when the account moved from one HLL group agency J Walter Thompson to another — Ogilvy India, it tried to enhance its youth positioning.
It introduced the catchy Close-up karte hain commercials and the relaunched brand now has an even younger protagonist responding to an animated pack.
It isn’t the only one that has fine tuned its advertising message. One year ago Reliance Infocomm made its debut with its Kar lo duniya mutthi mein (take the world in your hands) tag line, which aimed mainly to point out how different the Relaince phone was from others.
“We had to make the market notice that there was a different offering from Reliance,” says Kaushik Roy, head, marketing at Reliance Infocomm.
Now, with the launch of its prepaid cards four months ago, its Mujhme hain woh baat campaign is aimed at aspirational youth.
“If you have a product with enhanced features and bundled offerings, it is easier to sell it to youth than older people, as it is an experience they enjoy,” adds Roy. Even Pantaloon Retail, which was earlier a family store, now displays a ‘fashion destination’ tag.
“Even categories conventionally addressing parents are including kids to get them to voice their opinions in their favour and influence decisions,” says Ogilvy’s Sabnavis. That’s why Asian Paints used ‘painting a child’s room’ as a trigger to appeal to the emerging new family in its ‘Har Ghar Kuch kehta hai’ campaign last year.
Hemant Sachdev, corporate director-marketing, Airtel, believes youth is no longer a niche segment. “Sixty per cent of the world’s youth population is in Asia,” he says (youth being defined as age 15 to 24 years). He reckons that around 40 million Indian youngsters are ready to buy Airtel’s products.
So how different are today’s youngsters? “Three years ago, youth was a different animal. Today, it is more decisive, knows what it wants and has money. So pubs are passe and cafes are the hangout places,” explains CCD’s Malhotra who claims 30 million footfalls at his 153 cafes nationally.
Adds Reliance’s Roy, “It is a more discerning target audience today. The difference is that you can actually push through a product not purely on price.
According to MTV’s Raizada, catering to a youth market involves constant evolution. “Aspirations change. Trendy is short term while trends are long term and we have to catch both.” One campaign that attempts to reach youngsters differently is MTV’s Roadies 2 show.
Another factor that has changed youthful attitudes is that they have more money now than ever before.
According to an MTV survey, 54 per cent of youngsters are earning money while studying. This has been triggered by the mushrooming of call centres and business process outsourcing (BPO) units in the last three years. With outsourced jobs popping up in practically every major city, a survey by India Consumer Markets data shows that there are more than 34.6 lakh people who have been hired in the last couple of years.
Then, with multiplexes, fast food joints and cybercafes, everybody is hiring young. “With people earning young, the indulgence is even more. So a lot of the out-of-home consumption is targeted at youth,” says Jagdeep Kapoor.
And with youth spending more time out of home, aspects like attire and accessories like shoes, watches, glares, cosmetics are seeing a surge in sales.
This is obvious in the changing face of the MTV advertiser in the last two years. In 2002, fast moving consumer goods categories — beverages, personal products, confectionery and liquor and pharma brands were the top five.
Last year, the personal products were joined by new categories like telecom, music labels, two-wheelers and consumer electronics. In the first five months of 2004, consumer electronics including technology are numero uno with confectionery and apparel making a comeback.
Take a look at how companies are reaching out to a younger audience. Airtel, for instance, has tied up with MTV and introduced a funky, 32K Sim card with a variety of ringtone downloads and greater storage capacity.
“Our research shows that youngsters tend to talk in clusters,” says Sachdev. Hence the group messaging facility. There are also intriguing concepts like the “Rescue Ring”, devised specially for younger women and girls.
The Easy Charge scheme, which enables customers to buy cards in denominations as low as Rs 50 and Rs 100 — this too is targeted at youngsters who might not have much cash in their pockets. Airtel also has tie-ups with Radio Mirchi — dial a number and you can listen to music while on the move — and with Cafe Coffee Day.
In all these co-branding exercises, the biggest beneficiaries appear to be the popular youth hangouts like cafes, restaurants, multiplexes, even college festivals.
Take a look at Philips. Ever since it relaunched its mobile handsets, it has preferred one-to-one interactions with its target segment instead of mass media advertising. It conducted a “create your own ringtone contest” at the annual fetes at both the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai and at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
“It creates an association, top-of-mind recall with people who can influence businesses tomorrow, says Arshit Pathak, general manager, mobile phones at Philips.
So much so, at Philips’ Rs 950-crore electronics division, business head Srivastav says that new products like its swank audio range account for 40 per cent of turnover. Six months ago, it tied-up with Nike stores to push its sports audio range.
Clearly, call it pester power or peer pressure, the young crowd is calling the shots.
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Social Beat wins SEO mandate of Tata CLiQ tag rss
The account was won after a multi-agency pitch
e4m e4m Social Beat has won the SEO mandate for Tata CLiQ, one of the fastest-growing omnichannel marketplace in India. Social Beat has been entrusted with optimizing existing content, as well as launching new, optimized category pages systematically on Tata CLiQ’s platform to scale monthly organic traffic by 2x over the next year. The account was won after a multi-agency pitch and will be serviced by Social Beat’s offices in Mumbai.
Shishir Kataria, Director - Marketing, Tata CLiQ, “Shoppers, e-commerce or otherwise, continue to heavily rely on search and discovery throughout their shopping journey, be it engaging with the latest fashion trends or hunting for the best buys. No wonder a platform's ability to be a part of this journey organically drives significant consideration for it amongst potential shoppers. We, at Tata Cliq, are confident that Social Beat will help us develop and optimise content that is highly discoverable to grow our engagement and revenue. Our goal continues to be to drive more and more shoppers to our platform with optimised and curated products and relevant content.”
Vikas Chawla, Co-Founder, Social Beat said, “We are thrilled to partner with Tata CLiQ in their growth journey. We aim to scale traffic to the Tata CLiQ platform manyfold over the next year. Our team of specialised SEO and Content strategists will be working closely to achieve this”
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ShareWill OOH dazzle this festive season?
As the celebrations begin, experts tell us the trends and challenges for the OOH sector this season
Be it the flower-clad taxis in Mumbai for Made in Heaven Season 2 promotion or Zomato’s ‘kheer mangoge kheer denge’ billboards, India's OOH advertising sector has undergone substantial transformation and expansion in the recent years. Even though the medium was severely hit during the pandemic years, it has now managed to rebuild its status. Now, with the onset of the festive season, elections and the cricket world cup, OOH is expected to see more and more advertisers come on board.
Amarjeet Hudda, Chief Operating Officer, Laqshya Media Group, believes most of the clients spend a lot of money during the festive season, especially for Durga Puja, Dussehra and Diwali, targeting their customers in a festive mood. The categories that spend heavily during these months are Auto, Consumer Durables, Real Estate, Organised retail, and E-commerce.
According to Dipankar Sanyal of Platinum Outdoor, there was a huge surge in the festive season last year, and he expects the same this year too. “Last four to five years have turbulent for outdoor. It was picking up in 2019, but then Covid came and everything went flat for two years,” he mentioned.
According to EY-FICCI’s M&E Report 2023, OOH media grew 86 percent in 2022 to Rs 37 billion. The value includes traditional, transit and digital media, but excludes untracked unorganised OOH media such as wall paintings, billboards, ambient media, storefronts, proxy advertising.
Sharing the brand’s perspective, Shivam Ranjan, Head of Marketing, Motorola-APAC, said, “We are going into this festive season with a strong mix of media, including OOH. Within OOH, we are focusing on digital OOH, due to its capability of programmatic serving, measurability, and near real-time insights that allow us to be agile with the communication and optimisation of our campaigns.”
With urbanisation, improved infrastructure, rising consumerism and an increased spending power, clients' expectations from OOH advertising too have evolved. “The clients expect better ROI on every investment, best in class innovations, tech-led planning and execution. Today, technology plays an important role starting from planning the campaign, to measuring metrics to ROI,” Singh explained.
Another trend that Sanyal has observed is that traditionally advertisers looked at spending on OOH nearly two weeks prior to the festivities, but now, most advertisers have now started advertising a week earlier so that they can get maximum eyeballs. Additionally, the digital OOH advertising (DOOH) has also emerged big. The digital OOH screens increased to around 100,000 and contributed eight percent of total segment revenues.
“Now with digital, there is more space for advertisers to come in one frame. Because of this, you can see it is getting more attractive. The innovations too are coming in at a much lower cost and creating a greater impact,” shared Sanyal.
The only challenge with the medium, according to Ranjan, is OOH being a fragmented industry with lack of measurability and agility. This becomes a serious issue for ROI-centric brands. However, the growth of DOOH, which is dynamic, agile and measurable, is giving marketers the confidence to invest in the medium backed by relevant data and outcomes.
Adding to this, Hudda highlighted that availability of good media spots is the biggest challenge in this season as media assets are limited and demand is very high. Due to the gap in the festive season, many clients are not able to fully optimise their campaigns. Rather sometimes, clients are even compelled to divert their budget which adversely impacts the industry, he shared.
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Banking on positive consumer sentiment: BFSI optimistic on doubling festive AdEx : Cache
Some categories within the sector, however, may spend more in the quarter that follows the festive season
The BFSI sector is expecting a surge in demand for loan during the festive season and is looking at increasing its ad spends to cash in on the celebration spirit. Industry leaders say they are hopeful of witnessing a good growth in the number of applications for auto loan, home loan, credit card and health insurance during October, November and December due to positive consumer sentiment this year. However, though most of the BFSI players are planning to double their advertising budget this time compared to the previous year, there are some who are not investing too heavily on marketing during the festivals as they plan to save the money for the fourth quarter.
According to Shailendra Singh, MD & CEO, BOB Financial, they witness incremental growth every year during the October-December quarter, and they anticipate an increase in consumer spending as well as new enrolments for cards this year too. “There remains a surge in customer demand for credit during the festive season,” said Singh.
Singh shared that the company is fully geared up for the launch of #FestiveShoppingRewards on all Bank of Baroda credit card variants under the theme ‘Reimagine Festivities’. They would kickstart festive offerings with the start of Navratri.
The festive season does not just see the demand for credit go up, but there is an increase in applications for health and motor insurance too during this time of the year.
Aabhinna Suresh Khare, Chief Digital & Marketing Officer, BajajCapital Ltd, shared that among insurance products, health insurance and motor insurance reign supreme during festivals. According to Khare, the demand for mutual funds and SIPs too sees a hike.
“Overall, the festive season presents an opportune moment to secure insurance coverage. A plethora of attractive products and services are on offer, with financial institutions extending special discounts and promotions to entice new customers,” said Khare.
The company launched #BlessMeGanesha campaign during Ganesh Chaturthi. “Our goal for this festive season is not only to provide financial solutions but also to create memorable experiences and deepen the connection with our customers,” said Khare.
Though all major sectors spend heavily on advertising during the festive season, within the BFSI sector, some categories spend more in the quarter that follows the festive season.
Explaining the trend, Samir Sethi, Head of Brand Marketing, Policybazaar.com, said that the festive season has varying impacts on the BFSI sector. In the banking sector, for instance, the demand for loans surges as many individuals purchase items and undertake home renovations. Conversely, in the insurance category, the festive season doesn't result in significant changes. Instead, the insurance industry experiences its peak season after the festive period, particularly during the fourth quarter of the financial year.
“As the festive season approaches, there is a noticeable increase in car sales though, leading to a surge in the demand for motor insurance. Consequently, we see a significant uptick in the requests for motor insurance policies. During the festive period, there is an upswing in demand for various categories, such as electronics. However, in the insurance sector, this period doesn't significantly affect us, so we don't run specific campaigns targeting festivals. Nevertheless, we do roll out multiple campaigns throughout the year, and some of them may coincide with the festive season,” said Sethi.
According to the TAM AdEx report on BFSI sector across media for H1, the advertising volume of the sector grew on TV, radio and digital, but declined in the print medium. The report indicated that ad impressions on digital saw 91% rise during Jan-Jun '23 over Jan-Jun’22. The increase was 32% for radio and 4% for TV. The ad space of the BFSI sector decreased by 7% in print.
Speaking on media mix, Singh shared that BOB Financial has a good mix of customer segments belonging to Tier I, II and III. So, understanding their needs and preferred form of media channels, the company will reach out to them through relevant media promotions. “For the easy discovery of our offers, we shall have a dedicated offers page with regular promotion of top offers on our social media and other digital channels,” said Singh. Without disclosing the figure, Singh shared that the company’s promotion budget has surely increased from last year and it will be visible through their multi-channel promotional activities.
According to the TAM report, in the BFSI sector, life insurance is the leading category on TV and radio whereas mutual funds is the top category on digital.
Khare highlighted that in recent times, Bajaj Capital has observed a significant growth in audiences on online platforms and the changing preferences of their clientele. “This observation led us to recalibrate our marketing approach, placing a heightened emphasis on digital avenues,” said Khare.
He further added, “Our promotional efforts are primarily digital-focused, accentuating areas like social media engagement, search engine outreach, content-driven marketing, and targeted online advertising. As we approach the festive season, we've fine-tuned our online approach. By harnessing the insights from data analytics, we aim to grasp our clients' needs and inclinations better, ensuring our content is both tailored and pertinent.”
Khare also mentioned that Baja Capital has doubled its advertising budget compared to the previous year.
“This increase in our ad spend signifies our confidence in the opportunities this festive season presents. This impressive surge in our budget allocation underscores our dedication to maximizing the potential of this festive season and driving significant expansion within our business. We firmly believe that this increased investment in advertising will not only elevate our brand presence but also lead to an exceptional uptick in customer engagement and sales.”
For Policybazaar.com, the media strategy primarily involves a blend of television and digital platforms, an approach that has remained consistent in recent years and is expected to continue in the foreseeable future.
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OMD appoints Dileep Raj Singh as Head of Digital for APAC
Singh will report to Charlotte Lee, CEO of OMD APAC
OMD has added a Head of Digital (HOD) to its Asia Pacific (APAC) regional leadership team with the hiring of Dileep Raj Singh.
Singh is a digital native and brings with him a wealth of experience across product, media agency and client side in APAC, North America and the United Kingdom. His last 10 years have been spent building diverse digital marketing teams covering areas like performance marketing, digital media planning, ad/martech, product marketing, branding and measurement.
As HOD, he will accelerate OMD’s digital leadership agenda, rooted in helping clients address their business challenges and digital ambitions. He will be supporting OMD’s local teams in APAC on operational excellence, and digital transformation frameworks and roadmaps; and the development and implementation of our digital leadership agenda. He will also be working hand in hand with both our regional and global networks to initiate complementary workstreams for our clients in APAC.
“We will continue to invest and win in digital as part of our wider goal to be our clients’ most trusted business transformation partner,” said Charlotte Lee, CEO of OMD APAC.
“It is our global ambition to continue our leadership position in digital, data and technology. In line with this ambition, we are excited to have Singh come on board the OMD APAC leadership team. His background of agency, in-house and start-up experience position him perfectly to understand and address our clients’ business needs,” added Lee.
“Digital media and access to our audience, as we know it, is changing quite rapidly around us. This puts most of us in a delicate but remarkable position, a position from which we can shape and contribute to conversations about the next evolution of digital media. As we embark on this journey, I want to leverage the strength of the OMD network – people, technology, data, tools and platforms – to help our clients pivot and navigate through all the new and evolved possibilities in digital media. With this, I aim to position OMD as an unrivaled partner for our current and future clients; to dominate and succeed in this incredibly competitive and multifarious digital realm,” said Singh.
Singh will report to Lee, and work closely with the team including Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), David McCallen, and Chief Client Officer (CCO), Sadhan Mishra, to drive and support APAC local markets as well as regional clients on digital, data and technology needs.
Mishra was promoted to CCO of OMD APAC recently in June 2023. He will continue to be CEO of OMD Singapore, a position he was promoted into last August. Mishra has been with OMD for over 13 years and in his concurrent new role as CCO, he will focus on key client relationships, understanding their business needs and ensuring we remain a critical partner on their transformation journeys.
McCallen was elevated to the role of CSO of OMD APAC in April 2022, and was previously the CSO of OMD New Zealand for five years where he helped the agency to attain the top place in the market for new business, overall billings and award wins. Since starting in the APAC role, his focus has been on connecting and elevating strategic best practices across the region, building capabilities across a range of strategic outputs, and supporting new business growth both regionally and locally.
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Chandrayaan 3: Brands over the Moon
Some of the best moment marketing posts on India's crucial lunar mission
The nation is in a celebratory mood with its moon mission Chandrayaan 3 making its smooth landing on the lunar surface on the evening of August 23, 2023. The Pragyan rover is in pursuit of discovering water on the moon and is a vital feat for India's ambitious space research.
To celebrate this momentous episode in Indian space research history, netizens have taken to the internet to express their excitement, hopes and fears for the nation's lunar mission. Joining them are brands who have crafted creatives to mark the historic occasion and capture the emotions of the nation who have their eyes set on the moon. Here is our pick of some of the best Chandrayaan 3-moment marketing posts.
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BCCI rakes in Rs 4670 cr in Women's Premier League team auction: Jay Shah 26 Jan
WPL has broken the inaugural auction record of Men's IPL in 2008, tweeted Shah
As expected, Wednesday turned out to be another historic day in Indian women's cricket with BCCI having a windfall gain of Rs 4,600 crores by auctioning five team franchises for the first season, a higher sum compared to what men’s IPL franchises offered to the cricket body during the launch in 2008.
Adani, IndiaWin Sports, Royal Challengers, GSW- GMR cricket and Capri Global have won the bid, BCCI secretary Jay Shah tweeted.
Shah shared in a series of tweets, “Today is a historic day in cricket as the bidding for teams of inaugural #WPL broke the records of the inaugural Men's IPL in 2008! Congratulations to the winners as we garnered Rs.4669.99 Cr in total bid.”
“This marks the beginning of a revolution in women's cricket and paves the way for a transformative journey ahead not only for our women cricketers but for the entire sports fraternity. The #WPL would bring necessary reforms in women's cricket and would ensure an all-encompassing ecosystem that benefits each and every stakeholder.”
“The @BCCI has named the league - Women's Premier League (WPL). Let the journey begin…”
The country's top corporates had bid aggressively for the league. Over 16 groups including IPL franchise owners, Adani group, Torrent and Haldiram were believed to be in the fray.
Given the popularity of IPL in India, the event is touted to be a big draw for all stakeholders involved.
The BCCI was reportedly expecting ₹4,000 crore gain through team auction.
It’s noteworthy that Viacom18 has won the Women's IPL media rights for Rs 951 crore for the next five years creating euphoria around the league whose first season will be held in March.
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