Starcom Delhi's success percentage can be pegged as almost 50 per cent last year and the agency's executive director Anita Nayyar is upbeat about the year ahead.
In a freewheeling conversation with Indiantelevision.com's Hetal Adesara, Nayyar addressed problems that the media industry in India is facing, the increasing clutter on television and her take on the re-launch of Kaun Banega Crorepati and the response it will garner from advertisers.
Excerpts:
What's your overview of the industry? In 2004, the industry growth has been about 12-13 per cent, which is not such a bad year, considering few years back the industry was not really up to the mark. So, a 12-13 per cent growth seems like a decent growth and it has essentially come from telecom sector and, to some extent, the insurance sector. |
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Is this 12-13 per growth an annual growth? |
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What has contributed to this growth? I think telecom will continue to be a big spender this year too with more circles opening up and a few more players coming in. Insurance didn't pick up in a big way, but added to the bottomline expenditure. Banking and finance is another sector that is coming up in a big way. The moolah, of course, will come from the FMGCs. As far as media is concerned, television has seen a growth, which is not very huge. But print certainly is consolidating itself. While for the last few years, print's share was consistently dipping, in 2004, it has been decent. Outdoor medium has also come up. But the percentage contribution of advertising of these media is small --- outdoor 4-5 per cent; radio on a comeback trail clocks about 2 per cent; cinema is about 1 per cent. The rest is divided between print and television. The figure is debatable, but if the total ad pie totals up to 100, then television would be about 55 per cent with the print medium following it. |
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But there were some reports, which said that last year print actually overtook television? |
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What is your take on the media agencies scene in India today, including the problems being confronted? If you look at the recent Tata AOR disintegration, for instance, FCB has picked up a lot of business and TME has lost out. But, sooner or later, there will be very few media houses remaining. Though from the point of competition, 8-10 companies will be there, but the actual survival would range between five-six media houses. We are now actually witnessing a polarisation on the basis of how clients consolidate their media. And, there are no two ways about the fact that Group M is where everything is getting skewed. |
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So, would we see a lot more mergers and acquisitions (M&As)? |
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Would M&As eliminate independent Indian agencies altogether? Also, there aren't too many indigenous Indian clients. Some Indian clients like All Out, Paras and Manikchand are still there, but they have been overshadowed by the multi-nationals. |
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Lately, the clutter on TV has increased new channels being launched. Do you think TV ads are still as effective? Still, I feel there is a lot of clutter-breaking and innovative advertising that is happening on television. For example, we did a commercial with Sony, wherein we had used Ye Meri Life Hai's brother-sister pair for World Gold Council's raakhi promotion. Sony and Jassi... are two live examples of how one can market products innovatively. Even, on Indian Idol the likes of Nokia, Lays and Rejoice did a lot innovation. However, I feel one has no choice but to get on to television as a medium because its reach is far more effective than other media and it slowly grows on the viewer too. This reason will ensure that TV stays despite the clutter. |
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Do you think clients give too much importance to TV as a medium of advertising vis-?-vis the other media? |
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Do you think the re-launch of 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' will excite advertisers as much as its launch did in 2000 because of AB and increased prize money? If earlier, the TRPs were, let's say, 20, today I don't think it would touch that. Though KBC started the trend of appointment viewing, today people have more options. |
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What, according to you, are some promising shows and trends on TV at present? However, in the last couple of years, news, as a genre, has really come. |
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With so many news channels around, do you think there has been an overkill? But for targeting the male audience, the news genre is still exciting. It's all a question of how best a perspective is brought on by a news channel for the viewer. |
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What is your take on non conventional media like the Internet and mobile telephony, which have seen a rapid growth in the last one year or so? |
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Are clients more open to advertising on these new media or like to play safe? |
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For an advertising agency, wouldn't the billing get fragmented because they need not necessarily have expertise in both the mediums? |
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The media agencies and the rates issues have always been a topic of controversy. Everyone talks about it but nothing is being done about it. Why? I don't think the media business is looked at that seriously in terms of spends and how to get the best impact. |
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How would you assess Starcom Delhi's performance in 2004? In 2004, we picked up the AOR for Atlas and DLF, comprising real estate and DT Cinemas. The biggest campaign was Congress', where we partnered Leo Burnett. Apart from that we also picked up Hugo Boss and Ricoh printers. Then we got empanelled along with Leo Burnett, for Oriental Insurance. Towards the end of the year, we got empanelled on Gail and won Tetra Pak along with Leo Burnett. Sony Electronics and LVMH watches have been with us since 2003. |
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What was Starcom's success ratio in 2004 by way of the number of accounts pitched for and the number won? |
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What, according to you, are going to be the new trends in the media space this year? |
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If there was one thing that you could change about the way the media agencies in India function, what would it be and why? It is important for advertisers to realise what value a media services agencies bring to them, apart from just lowering rates. That is something that needs to change and the media agencies should be remunerated accordingly. I think that's something that is lacking. |