Future for New Age Media in developing countries

Post for Nov 13th, 2010

Over the past few weeks I have examined various aspects of new age media in developing countries. I looked at how digital media is relevant in third world regions in spite of the digital divide and how it is evolving. I examined it’s impact on culture, education, advertising, marketing and healthcare sectors along with the associated challenges. From my observations, the third world regions seem to be in a rapid stage of advancement with respect to adoption of New Age media.

As the last blog entry for this series, I am going to examine what the future entails for New Age media in developing countries especially at the grass root levels.

According to the United Nations, more people have access to a cell phone than they have access to a clean toilet! There has been a tremendous growth in mobile technology in developing countries including Kenya, India, Brazil, South Korea and Afghanistan. An interesting blog from the Worldbank observes that this growth is going to make social media ubiquitous in the developing countries.http://blogs.worldbank.org/ic4d/looking-at-the-future-will-mobile-social-media-fuel-improved-governance-in-developing-countries

That opens a wide area for transparency and improved governance in developing countries. There is going to be voice, accountability and freedom of expression in some of the restricted regions of the world and it is going to be difficult for censorship and corruption to make inroads into essential grass root changes that can be effected through the use of social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Orkut, etc. There are already plenty of examples (please refer the link above) where social media is being used to improve transparency and governance.

The entertainment and media markets are projected to register a higher rate of growth in developing countries. Due to the shift to the digital space, ‘newspaper extinction’ seems to be highly predicted for the western world. However it is not the case with the developing regions. An article on the Economist http://www.economist.com/node/11792392

says that circulation has gone up more than 22% in the last five years in developing countries. India, China, Pakistan and various Asian countries continue to see growth in the industry and the trend is definitely on the upward curve. This could partly be attributed to the digital divide, where rural populations still rely heavily on newspapers for their daily news and entertainment gossip. Advertisers still thrive in these markets. So the future for newspaper industry and traditional media is still bright.

This does not mean that digital media is not making inroads. I see a parallel growth and equal opportunities for both. In the sense ones’ growth is no necessarily harming the other as both mediums target a very different socio economic demography. Livemint featured an interview with Andrew J. Swinand, President, Global operations, at Starcom MediaVest Group on the future of digital media in India and China. http://www.livemint.com/2009/09/28214559/The-future-of-the-digital-medi.html. Andrew feels the industry is poised for growth even though the rate of adoption has been slow.

I would like to end this blog with some trends that I think is shaping up or will shape up in the future to bridge the digital divide through new age digital media in developing countries.

· Mobile phones and digital access will get cheaper and penetrate most households. Young and old alike will adopt this technology.

· Digital technology enabling the Agriculture sector and farmers will be given priority for development and use in the future, especially since developing countries thrive on an agricultural economy.

· Older adults and less literate population will move to the online platform for social networking and e-governance.

· Journalism will shift towards citizen journalism and stories will emerge from the laymen using simple digital technology like a Flipcam.

· E commerce, social marketing and social networking will be adopted at a rapid pace to reach not just the urban but also the rural masses.

One of the advantages for third world regions in being slow adopters of digital media is that they get to learn from the mistakes of the western world and incorporate improvisations for their target audience.

Influence of New Age media on Advertising and Marketing in India

Image taken from Vodafone wallpapers

November 6th 2010

This week’s blog will focus on how New Age media has evolved the marketing and advertising sectors in India with some examples from the private and public sector.

If you were living in urban India a couple of decades back, you would still be waking up to news and ad jingles on the radio, and begin your day sipping hot coffee with a copy of the day’s newspaper. You would be viewing huge color ads on the first page and an entire supplement paper devoted to advertisements, discount offers and advertorials. You would be watching the prime time news at 8pm on television with your family and engage on a critical discussion on corruption, politics and sports with your friends and family during the TV commercials. If you are considering investing on a new product, especially a high end one like a car, or a new laptop, you would ideally go and ask your extended family and friends on their recommendations and seek feedback on products they have used or visit a couple of top branded stores in your neighborhood to gain more knowledge.

Today the scenario in India is very different. With the advent of digital media, the average urban Indian consumer has a whole range of options. Advertising and marketing is slowly shifting from the traditional print and television space to the online or digital medium. Today consumers have access to product reviews, social networking groups, (where they can seek expert answers), discussion blogs and forums online to learn more about the product. Advertisers have penetrated the digital space aggressively to market their products. According to a recent report by Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) and eMarketer the digital ad spends in India is expected to reach 1,021 crores ($US 230 million) by end of 2010. http://www.alootechie.com/?q=content/digital-ad-spends-india-may-reach-rs-1021-crore-end-2010-report.

There are several Indian brands that are waking up to the concept of social marketing and trying to stay ahead of the competition. India has th11th highest number of Facebook users in the world and top brands are entering the social networking space. For example Vodofone ZooZoo has around 692,000 fans and Tata Docomo has more than 200,000 fans. These brands connect with their customers through contests, videos, blogs, discussions and actively engage the target audience. So the private sector is latching on to digital media in a big way. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/67210/20100930/advertising-india-facebook-online-marketing-fastrack-zoozoos.htm.

But let’s take a look at the public sector. How are the laymen and the below average consumers being influenced? Let’s consider the government of India and how it has captured the digital space to reach the masses. The classic example is e-governance and the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC). It is a government of India enterprise that offers passengers an option to reserve railway tickets and books tours online.

This is a service that was introduced recently in India (in year 2002) and has been a HUGE hit with the masses. Prior to the online service, people had to physically stand in queues for hours together in a railway ticketing center to book a ticket. Today IRCTC has 16 million registered members with a revenue model of Rs.6748 crores (approximately US$ 1.5 billion) http://www.soravjain.com/2010/10/looking-into-ecommerce-india-from-irctc.html and it takes 15 minutes to make a reservation online from the convenience of your home. IRCTC has been competing actively with all the private travel portals and established partnerships that help the public get access to great tour packages at affordable rates and good quality. Their partnerships with travel agents have immensely helped masses in rural India to make online reservations. IRCTC spends heavily on digital advertising and has also entered mobile commerce which is touted to be the next biggest platform for advertisers in developing countries.

As mobile phone and internet penetration increases among the masses, the advertising and marketing platforms are increasingly leaning towards digital media not just in the private but also the public sector.