by teamrecHUL, the biggest advertisers in Indian Advertising Space has been going all out on the concept of complete road block on all channels of one TV network for a day, showcasing its entire basket of products. It has done so twice in this month, first on Star TV on 17th September and next on Zee TV on 24th September, when all the channels of the TV network carried advertisement of only HUL products spending nearly Rs. 18-20 crores a day. This concept was first initiated in 2007, when Hutch changed to Vodafone. The idea behind this type of activity is greater consumer engagement and creating positive impression about any product of the company.
In India, total TV homes are around 140,131,681, which is 65% of total households in India and subscription TV contributes 64% of the same. From the early days of its introduction, commercial television has been a matter of great enthusiasm and heartburn at the same time for the companies whose brands are advertised on the air and even more on the part of agencies which write the advertisements. The enthusiasm and heartburn has even gathered more momentum despite the strange fact that market research industry was quite unable to measure how television advertising actually worked to grow sales and build brands. Advertisers seem divided on how they utilize the media mix but TV and digital media will continue to challenge and erode the print media’s number one position.
According to TAM’s Adex Service, in the past ten years, there has been 89% rise in number of advertisers using television, with HUL maintaining the top spot. What is new that has emerged in past ten years, is that the top ten advertising sector contributes 45% of overall revenue as compared to 76% earlier. TV sustained 40% share of advertisement spend and it is expected to maintain that level. As per Pitch- Madison survey, print media pocketed largest ad spend in 2008 with 47.4% of the share, followed by 40.2% of television and digital media, but other media forms are also making their presence felt like outdoor advertising with 6.8%, radio with 3.2%, internet with 1.7% and Cinema with 0.6%.
A relatively new concept is emerging which is buying visibility at Supermarket chains. Big retail chains having their presence all across the country with high number of dedicated consumer footfalls, own constructed retail space to arrange visibility, the end place of retail distribution channel. The investment by retail chains to display products is giving a new meaning to advertisement because cost of acquisition of consumers is very low, results more direct and visible.
While TV media has been holding its premier position, but with the rapidly changing market scenario, economic profile of the consumers (undergone a lot of change in past one year), social dynamics, consumer behaviour (from being adventurous a year back to cautious now) various new segment has got added in already numerous existing consumer segments. It is now challenging the old advertisement and communication fundamentals.
Gone are the days of Doordarshan, when there was only one government owned TV channel with limited television programmes, commercials got maximum attention, but with nearly 200+ TV channels scene has completely changed today. With the social scenario prevalent in the country, role of regional media and in particular print media has been growing continuously. In electronic media, fragmented viewership has led to various niche channels. Not only have the channels become niche but the content as well. While the prime time is especially dedicated to housewives on various entertainment channels, business news channels are more focussed towards upmarket working professionals. Entry barrier and cost of advertisement is also high in electronic media as compared to other media providers. Moreover cost of advertisement on TV depends on TRP of the television programme, which is ever questionable due to it’s method of deciding the popularity of any programme based on their study of peoplemeter installed in nearly 8000 households.
Further, there are number of technical difficulties in ways of measuring advertising effects, in particular isolating the impact of advertisement from other sales stimulus like retail distribution network and sales promotion which is other than product quality, pricing and value for money. In early 1990s, more simple but realistic research techniques were developed to track individual household’s purchasing of identified brands and also reception of television advertising of the same brands. The technique called Pure Single Source Research is conceptually simple but extremely costly and complicated to carry out. One leading research organization eventually invested large sum of money and resources and installed hand held scanners in a large number of households to identify specific brand purchased in each. They also installed peoplemeter in each household to identify actual brands advertised in the commercials entering the homes. The result was pure and uncontaminated measure of purchasing of a brand in the household that had received advertising for it during the seven days before they bought it and purchasing of that same brand by the household that had not received such advertising. The Short Term Advertising Strength between the two levels were quite startling and very high as double, but the overall range of STAS effects were variable depending upon the advertising idea embodied in the campaign. Altogether, 30% of the brands generate strong STAS effect, 40% produce positive but rather small effect and 30% have campaigns has caused reduction in sales. This is because campaigns in question are too weak to protect the brand from the creatively stronger campaign for the competing brands which are run at the same time and consumers buy the latter, thus depressing the sales of the brand whose STAS is being measured.
Success of any product depends on various factors and all constituent factors come at cost; which has anyway to be paid by the consumers ultimately. With higher level of education and awareness in the Indian consumers than what it might have been 15-20 years back, they hardly make any buying decision without asking hundreds of question and satisfying themselves with answers. They don’t rush to nearby retail stores after seeing an advertisement on television the previous night. A housewife does not buy anything unless and until the benefits communicated to her by any mode of advertisement is actually measurable in terms of money, takes care of the health interest of her household and matches her social aspiration. Success of private label brands, albeit at a smaller level, of retail chains are also an example of challenge being posed to traditional belief of advertisement through conventional media and more importantly television.
I am not questioning the importance of TV media in communicating the brand to the target consumers but it’s cost vis-a-vis impact on sales. I am sure this will make the advertisers, media buyers, advertising agencies, TV network owners sit down, re-draw their strategy and come out with more realistic result which can be measurable in terms of money for every stakeholder.
Note: Numbers in the write up is collected from various websites.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mr. Mukul Bhartiya is currently working as National Category Manager with Aditya Birla Retail Ltd, looking after pulses category. He has 10+ years of experience in the field of Sales and Marketing in Food FMCG, Food Retail and Commodity Futures.
He is a MBA from Center of Management Education, VAMNICOM, Pune run by Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.
He has shaped up and established the business of different organization in different geographical locations, i.e., Staples business of ABRL in Mumbai, Staples business of Reliance Retail in Rest of Maharashtra, Commodity Futures business of MCX in Bihar/Jharkhand and Retail & Consumer marketing business of NAFED in all over India. He has also worked on formulating business strategy of agriculture commodity marketing for NAFED for 2 years and designed strategy for procurement and disposal of oilseeds under Price Support Scheme during the period of 2002 to 2005.
He has been given appreciation letter for presentation and review of business activities of NAFED by Estimates Committee of Parliament, which reviews the non-plan expenditure of Government of India.
He has done a project of International Trade Development among cooperatives in India, Iran, Kuwait and Sri Lanka for International Cooperative Alliance. This project was presented in different meetings of ICA at Thailand and China during 2004-05.
He has published an article titled “Edible Oil Market Scenario” in market outlook segment of May-June 2003 issue of Oils & Fats Today.
