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TheEconomicTimes
Title:NiceHandset.WhereAreTheAds?
Author:DelshadIraniandAmitBapna
Location:
ArticleDate:12/24/2014
Foramarkettoutedasoneofthefastestgrowing,theIndianmobilemarketingstoryishardlya
potboiler,sofar
Nottwomonthsago,MarkD'Arcy,vicepresidentandchiefcreativeofficerofFacebookCreative
Shop,thepeopleresponsibleforshapingadvertisingontheworld'slargestsocialnetwork,wasin
Mumbai.
Survivingonpracticallynosleepinover24hours,hewas,however,energisedliketheBunnywhen
hespokeaboutPremiumVideo,oneofFacebook'slatestofferingsthatprovidesadvertiserswithnew
andricherwaystomakeadvertisinglookgoodonsmartphonescreens.Hetoldusoftheheated
discussionsthatdominatedcreativecouncilmeetingsattheFacebookHQ:WhenIthinkbacktothe
firstmeetingsofthecouncil,oneofthebigdebateswaswhetherpeoplewillwatchvideoonmobile.
Thatwas24monthsago.Well,Iknowwhowon.Globally,Facebookhas1.35billionusers.Ofthe
total112millionusersinIndia,99millionaccessFacebookthroughtheirmobilephonesatleastonce
amonth.Ifyouthinkaboutgreatcommercials,`EpicSplit'withJeanClaudeVanDammebyVolvo,
whosawthatonaTV?,asksD'Arcy.Everyonesawthatontheirphone.Theseepicfilmswe
surroundourselveswithasanindustryandcommunityandwecelebrate,askyourself,whosawthat
onTV?Whilethepopulationwhichseesepicfilmsduringcommercialbreaksonthetellyis
certainlynotfalling,thenumberwhoseevideosonmobileismultiplyingatapaceonewouldbe
foolishtodismiss.Withoneoftheworld'slargestandmostdiversemobileuniverses,mobileshould
havebeensomethingthatmarketersputfrontandcentreandwhichagenciesoughttobestrugglingto
crack.YetthegoodmobileideafromIndiaismoreexceptionthanrule.
Thebig,innovative,breakthrough,potentialCannesLionwinningmobileideasrevolvearoundthe
missedcallorapp.Mobilefirstcampaignsarerarerthansteakthatstillmoos.Mobile,ifgiven
separatestatusinthelargerdigitalstrategy,ismoreoftenrelegatedtothelastslideinthedeckand
mustsurviveonwhateverbudgetscrapsareleftover.Andtoaddinsulttoinjury,thecampaignsare
mereadaptationsofworkdesignedforothermedia.Or,asRahulPandey,CEOandcofounderof
mobileadvertisingagencyBonzaisaysit'savictimofthefreecreativesyndromeieaskingvendors
toadaptprintadsoranyandeveryformofbrandimagerytomobileplatformsatnoadditionalcost,
thussavingpotsonpriceycreativewizardry.Whenadvertisersspend,abrand'smobilestrategyoften
translatesintoanapponlystrategywiththeminvestingheavilyonbuildinghollowapplicationsand
notcommunications,evenastheexpertswarnthatthelinesbetweenappandcommunicationare
quicklyblurring.ThatmeasurabilityisstillaquestionmarkbiggerthanBigDatadoesn'thelpmobile's
causeeither.Hell,eventheinternetanalyticscompany,ComScore,tillaboutamonthago,didn't
providemobiledata.SaysTanyaDubash,executivedirectorandchiefbrandofficer,GodrejGroup,
Foramarketertospendmoneyonamedium,itisn'tenoughforamediumtobepromisingorhigh
reach.Itmustbepractical,affordableandeffective.Marketersneedtoworkhardatevolvingmodels
thatcanleveragethemobileintherightway.Thattakeseffort,ingenuity,patienceandcommitment

allofwhichcompeteforattentionversusotherbusinessactions.Thusforsome,thecostofthatmay
appearlargerthanthebenefits.
Withadensecloudofambiguitysurroundingthemedium,marketers'waitandwatchapproachis
understandable.What'snotisthefactthatadagenciesstillhaveahardtimemergingcreativeand
technology,thetwoincreasinglyinextricable.Insteadcreativesareslappedontomediaplatformslike
agenericscreenguardonabrandnewsmartphone.Thebottomlineisthenarrativeofadvertisingon
mobileisthestoryofeverynew,unfamiliarmediathatcamebeforeit.Andasusersandmedium
growuptogether,marketerswillbeleftplayingcatchup,renderingsomeobsolete.We'renotpsychic
we'rejustsayingHistoryisapainintheyouknowwhatthathasaninfuriatinghabit.Itrepeatsitself.
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Mobileisallsettoblowup,notintheexplodingbatterysense,ofcourse.Afairlyapparentreminder
ofthemobilerushistheecommerceadboomofthelasttwelvemonths.Interestingly,practically
everyecommercead,acategorythathasdominatedourcommercialbreaks,hasbeenaboutthe
brands'mobileapps.Afterall,60%oftheirtrafficalreadycomesfrommobile.Inordertobeprepared
fortheexponentialgrowth(that'sdespitenetworksthatdon'tfollowyoueverywhereand
temperamental3G,)insmartphoneusageandmobileadvertising(Indiaclockedthefastestmobilead
volumegrowthintheworld,260%sinceJuly2013)marketersandagenciesmustfirsttruly
understandmediabehaviour.SaysAtulHegde,CEO,Ignitee,Whenyouareatyourdesktopor
watchingTVorreadingthepaper,youaredoingmultiplethings,includingusingyourphone.Mobile
facilitatesinteractionsbetweenmedia.Onmobile,however,usersaredoingspecificactivities(search,
social,shop,etc)freeofdistractions.Theuseristhesameacrossmedia,butconsumptionbehaviouris
dramaticallydifferent.Brandsandcontentmustleveragethattechnologyandthespecificactivities
usersaredoingonmobile,insteadofpouringmoneyintotheblackholethatisthebannerad,for
instance,poppingupunannouncedbetweenswipes.
AccordingtoVincentDigonnet,executivechairmanAPAC,Razorfish,advertisingistheworstform
ofcommunicationformobile.Razorfish'DigitalDopaminestudyshowsmorethanhalfofconsumers
saytheywilldoanythingtheycantoavoidseeingads.Loyaltyisbuiltthroughusefulexperiences,
saysDigonnet.Theproblem'srootcauseistheIndianmarketer'sapproachtomobileplatformsand
perhapstheagency'sinabilitytoarticulateasolution.SaysTusharVyas,managingpartner,GroupM
SouthAsia,Mobileisanecosystem,notaspecificmediumwithallformatsietext,voice,image
andrichmedia(video)availableindifferentenvironmentmobileInternet,applications,search,SMS,
voice,couponsetc.BrandsneedtothinkConsumer,CommunicationideaandFormatsinthatorder.
Currently,thestartingpointseemstobeformatoradaptationformanybrandsthismustchangeif
brandsneedtoleveragetheecosystem'sfullpotential.SanjayRamakrishnan,president&country
head,Neo@OgilvyIndia,believes,Innovationstodayonmobilearenotthoughtthroughasan
integratedapproachtomarketingbutassoloideaspresented.Weasagenciesneedtotightenand
presentideasasintegratedandnotasisolatedapproachestoclients.
However,let'splaytheDevil'sadvocate:awesomemobilefirstcampaignshaven'texactlytakenthe
globebystormeither.AtCannesLions,theadvertisingindustry'spremierfestivalandawardshow,
Mobileisjustathreeyearoldcategory.Butwhileentrynumbersaresteadilyrising,goingintofour
digitsin2014,winningcampaignsthatmakenotjustgreatcasestudiesbutalsohaverealworld
applications(seepage4)arefewandfarbetween.Digonnetmightjusthaveafairlyevidentreasonfor
what'slacking.Whileplatformsandpeople'sbehaviourhaveexperiencedseachangesinthepast15
years,takingthewholeindustryinthe21stcentury,advertisingisstilltryingtofunctionona20th
centurymassmarketbusinessmodelinwhichyoupayalotofmoneyforamediaspaceamassive
numberofpeopleiswatchingatthesametime,andyouputafractionofyourinvestmentincreatinga
uniquecontentthatyouwillputinthatspace.Well,digitaldoesnotworkthatway,andevenlesssoin
aWeb2.3era.

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