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.