IPL: Super Bowl for Advertisers

Cricket is most watched game in India. It may be because of famous cricketers like Sachin, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni and others or it is due to back to back cricketing action. Despite five months of regular cricket, the hype around the sport is far from waning. Advertiser’s interest in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is proof of this. There were many successful campaigns launched between these time periods including the most successful #MaukaMauka campaign in India. 

IPL tournament is similar to Super Bowl in US, the annual championship of the National Football League (NFL), which is known for Brands showcasing of their biggest campaigns of the season. There are some of the big spenders in on advertising in the popular cricketing league this year. Amazon India latest campaign and its biggest so far have managed to capture the attention of audiences with its catchy jingle and tag line: ‘aur dikhao’ (show more). The advertisement has been created by Orchard Advertising.

Hector Beverages Pvt. Ltd has rolled out its first television and multimedia campaign for its range of Indian ethnic beverages under the Paper Boat Brand. Vodafone India has chosen to lead its biggest campaign so far this year by highlighting the speed and efficiency of its 3G network. The mobile commerce firm Paytm continues with its advertising spree on television and other mediums. The company has said it is setting aside Rs 50 Crore just for this season of IPL out of total advertising budget this year.

The cola brand has taken to crowdsourcing for its latest campaign for IPL crash the Pepsi IPL. As part of the global Pepsi Challenge Program, the company is asking consumers to make a 30 second advertisement showing their love for brand. Winners will get exciting prizes. Snapdeal has roped in Hindi movie actor Aamir Khan for its latest campaign, with the tagline, ‘Dil ki Deal’. These advertisers are spending Crore in outreaching customers and compete with their competitors.

There are other advertisers who are not spending in TV ad but are spending in getting their names placed on Players jerseys and caps. Mankind, Rupa, Nokia, Aircel, Hero Honda, Royal Challenge, Videocon, UltraTech, WHSmith, Spice Jet, Just Dial are among the ones. In my opinion it is a tournament where advertisers are spending around 1000 crore this year. This is a good symbol for Indian Economy and other leagues in different sports will make companies to spend more money on advertisement.

Things to know about Net Neutrality

Net Neutrality has been in the news and on social media these days. Everyone in the world is talking about Net Neutrality. Some people are in support of it and some are not. The debate over net neutrality has now snowballed into a national movement and this is good news for a consumer. Here are few things to know about Net Neutrality.

A neutral internet is one in which all the websites are equally accessible on all internet connected devices. All of these should be accessible at the same speed and one should pay the same amount for said data regardless of the kind of content one is looking for. The fuss triggered by Airtel Zero which is a new platform created by telecom major which allows other corporations to pay, so that user get access to a particular service for free.

The TRAI has put up a consultation paper on regulatory framework for over the top services (OTT) on its website. It defines typical OTT services as Viber, Skype, Whatsapp, Chat On, Snapchat, Instagram, Hike, Line, e-commerce sites, videos and gaming sites. The telecom service providers aim to more closely watch and control these OTT services so that they can charge more or differential rates.

Telecom and Internet companies have spent huge sums of money on setting up infrastructure and that cost needs to be recouped. Their argument is that hugely profitable companies that provide OTT services have built massive profits by utilizing neutrality. All of these companies use internet pipe for free and in turn profit from millions of consumers. As an individual one must care for net neutrality.

If one don’t care or support net neutrality then in future one will face difficulty in accessing data on internet. There will be fast lanes and slow lanes of internet traffic. A company which pays more to an internet provider will come under fast lane. Access to information could be controlled online. E-commerce or other business sites can pay internet providers to block negative reviews sites. One might have to pay more and separate for different type of content online. As a whole one must support net neutrality and make these things to stop happening in future. After all, Internet can make India a trillion economy and there will be no living without Internet. 

Rural Connect is boon for Indian MNCs

Seven countries in Asia (India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Philippines) and three in Africa (Nigeria, Egypt and Ethiopia) collectively include about 2.2 Billion rural consumers out of more than 3.4 Billion rural consumers in the world and 3 Billion rural consumers in Asia and Africa. In India, more than 800 Million consumers live in rural markets and more than 150 Million rural migrants living in urban centres maintain links with their families, visiting them during festivals, weekends, and other occasions.

Rural Migrants living outside India are connected with their families through Skype and mobile phones. In BRIC countries Brazil and Russia are most urbanized with less than 15% and 26% of their population living in rural areas. Brazil is more urbanized than USA. USA urban population size is more than 80%. India and China are far away from USA. Now, it becomes very difficult for a company to grow in these markets. In India, progressive company grows by having an inclusive strategy that focuses on both on Urban and Rural consumers. It is in their DNA.

Consider HUL, although it is a European MNC but its DNA in India is rural along with Pakistan and Bangladesh. HUL caters need of more than 1 Billion rural consumers. Reaching Rural Consumer by “Missed Call” is the new thing adapted by companies in India. Even the Indian TV Industry is using Rural or semi-rural settings and stories to create successful TV serials. Many NGOs are helping rural people to connect them with urban areas and inclined them towards technology.

In my Opinion, the rural DNA of Indian MNCs is their biggest strategic asset that will be hard for any other country to match. They understand how to appeal to the aspirations of rural consumers amidst lack of infrastructure, economic and language diversity, and unorganized retail markets. Technology will drive Indian MNCs and rural consumers to connect with each other and make India a better country in the world.

New Government vision of 100 smart cities will turn out to be positive factor and Indian MNCs will grow more. Their strategy of connecting with people will shift more towards consumer aspirations and service, not to build awareness. To make a better future and country Round Robin work has to be done, and then only we will be counted as citizen of developed nation.