AgTalk | Brand building through online advertising is an important criteria for success: Microsoft Advertising's Neville Taraporewala
Boasting of tremendous amount of experience in media publishing, entertainment and digital media, Neville was instrumental in setting a digital division in Mid-day. At TOI, he launched the new media and interactive division in charge of online media sales and marketing and content development. He also launched websites for TOI as well as of Economic Times.
Today, Neville Taraporewalla holds the baton for Microsoft India in their APSG (Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group) providing his expertise in strategic field for long term marketing success and a novel digital platform for consumers participation.
A national athlete who loves reading, Neville Taraporewalla caught up with Adgully on the present scenario of digital advertising and marketing, strategies to actively involve consumers and his vision for the "digital" future.
Adgully (AG): In India digital is still treated by marketers for more of response generation (performance) rather than brand building. As publishers what has been the endeavour to change the mindset in this regards...
Neville Taraporewala (NT): Any new medium will bring a number of opportunities. Digital advertising is a far more measurable medium than print, television, radio or outdoor. Some category of advertisers are experimenting with this medium to understand consumer behavior post click to conversion.. It works for some business models and is a necessary for others. But the flip side is that the marketer is missing out on the majority of those who may have clicked on a communication but are fence sitters in terms of consuming that communication. So in real terms the marketer has lost out on a large percentage of users who may have been interested in the product or service.
Consumers today are a wired community. There is a sharp increase in the number of internet users in India; we are already the world's third largest internet market, after the United States and China. Growth is now coming from smaller towns in India as well. Consumers are finding Brands online through a PC, smartphone or tablet? Typically, the next step for them would be to start a conversation with peer groups in order to understand the benefits of a particular brand. There are many, brands who are beginning to understand that brand building through online advertising is an important criteria for success.
AG: Although clients have moved over from spending small monies on digital but still top dollars are awaited. When do you think the Indian market will be ripe enough for advertisers to give the due respect to the medium and spend sizable amount of their mktg budget on digital?
NT: Marketers are progressively leveraging digital advertising tools to create immersive online experiences for their brands to enable them to target their customers. Our work with Samsung is a great example of what is possible using the set of suite of Rising Star advertising units that Microsoft is offering .Samsung recently used Microsoft Advertising's award winning and global IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) Rising Star, rich media story telling format called Filmstrip, for the first time in India, to launch the Galaxy Note. The all -in-one ad solution which showed quick panels with key messaging helped users to get an interactive feel of the phone's features in under a minute. (Attaching the video of the creative rendition for your reference)
All Advertising Expenditure reports clearly shows digital leading the pack on a Year on Year basis which augers well. At a +33% growth rate in FY12 we will see many new customers online and I see this adoption rate growing faster in the coming years. Every market is at different levels of maturity and will naturally react differently. Marketing communities in India can be conservative but it is now clear to most marketers that there is a unique opportunity that digital advertising brings to the table . They need to grasp this opportunity and make it work for their companies. Connecting with consumers digitally will help bring down marketing costs
and improve margins and profits for their companies. We have recently seen P&G take a step towards realigning their marketing dollars and changing their mix heavily inclined towards digital and targeting via devices.
As far as categories are concerned, the automobile sector has leveraged the web very well. Hyundai, Maruti, Tata Motors, Volkswagen, General Motors are large online spenders.
Research shows us that rich media banners consistently outperform simple banners, with click through rates which are 185 percent higher and conversion rates which are 95 percent higher (Source: Eyeblaster Research,2009). As online advertising becomes richer and more interactive, the number of marketers who want to take the digital route will rise and businesses will be ready to back this space with good budgets. We are already seeing first signs of that with some FMCG brands. For example, companies like Hindustan Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, Cadbury's and Tata Tea have increased their digital ad spends up to 8-10 per cent (of total spends).
AG: Can you share your thoughts on increasing usage of data and analytics by Marketers.In the Indian contest how does Microsoft use data and analytics to better user experience and give more value to advertisers?
NT: Metrics, no doubt, can play a huge role in providing information for brands about how their campaign is performing. At Microsoft Advertising, our goal is to provide advertisers the extended reach they want and the platform to customize their campaigns as per their budget, target audience and marketing objective. As an industry player, the priority is to make sure that the ads are run based on where they perform best. To do that, we have an ongoing process of research to understand what different segments of consumers are doing online, and how they are consuming and co-creating information. Let me give you two recent examples of this, we recently conducted the Pre-Family Man Study which measured the internet consumption pattern and preferences of single men. Last year, we conducted a study entitled 'Living with the Internet' which studies the factors driving web behavior. These surveys are very helpful in providing us valuable insights into audience behavior and preferences.
In terms of measurement of the impact of digital advertising - yes, there is need for more effective metrics to measure how online advertising campaigns for brands are influencing consumer behaviour. It is great to see that leading industry players are investing in this field and better metrics are emerging. For example, Nielson's "Online Campaign Ratings" (OCR) are now being used to track customers' online behaviour and map their entire journey from clicking on ads to finally making the purchase decision. Like television, OCRs will provide GRPs for online advertising campaigns, this would allow for the first time consistent cross-platform reach and frequency metrics, enabling measurement of digital campaigns.
AG: 2011 saw Social Media making waves in the Indian Market how would you want to react to it...
NT: Today, the consumer is in control. Every consumer is a storyteller and a micro-caster. Everybody is carrying a smartphone, tablet or a camera, with which they can capture some very personal experiences and are very happy to share them with each other through the large number of social tools and platforms. So, they are already telling stories to each other in real time. This has massive implications for brands, since in a much more fragmented content world, the brand narrative is ever more important. Also, there are new technologies that allow one to tell stories in much more rich, interactive and engaging ways. This ranges from going deep into content and learning about products or services, to being able to instantly share opinions with each other about brands on a social network, messenger, or on a portal like MSN. We think it is a very important stage in the marketplace, particularly given the amount of money being spent on brand advertising.
AG: 2012 is seeing lots of buzz on the mobile domain is it still early days to get the necessary dollars from marketers or it will see the initial buzz and then taper off?
NT: This is a trend that is going to sustain. While there may be ups and downs, overall mobile advertising has the potential to be one of the biggest emerging opportunities over the next few years. The penetration of smartphones is increasing at a rapid pace which provides advertisers with a newer medium and instant and direct reach to the consumers. The challenge will be location-based services So that consumers get content which is customized to their location. So, a big part of our strategy revolves around how mobile search integrates with location-based services. Also, the app-based environment of mobile devices means that brands will have to build much more customized app-based environments, with focus on absolute content. That is the future of mobile advertising.
AG: How is Microsoft looking at strengthening its position in the Indian market?
NT: Microsoft Advertising offers marketers a platform to reach 20 million consumers in India. MSA combined with Windows Live Hotmail is committed to bringing to the Indian market best digital storytelling formats which can then be adapted for local audiences. We are working with brand managers to enable better use of online options .As part of our commitment to standardized formats, Microsoft Advertising is also partnering with industry leaders to make it easier for brands to launch digital campaigns at scale. . The six IAB Rising Star ad formats help brands to ramp up their stories - in digital and at scale. Each format has its own unique personality and appeal.
AG: Off late there have been some very engaging campaigns by various clients can you tell us a bit more about the same.Is there a focus on providing customized solutions to clients?
NT: We are actively working with several brands in the Automobile, IT and FMCG sectors to plan ad campaigns which are both customized, holistic and interesting for the Indian audience. A recent online advertising campaign of SLICE which had created a lot of buzz was- The 'Katrina ka number, bottle ke under' ad campaign by Slice. MSA provided Slice with the very innovative format of the homepage takeover. This was one of the most challenging creative renditions as the messaging was the same across media, be it print, television or digital. Another very successful campaign is the recent Renault Pulse which displayed their advertisement, using for the first time in India, the IAB GLIDER' format on MSN. The Coca Cola commercial song (Ummedon Wali Dhoop) was rendered online through the use of BILLBOARD format on the MSN Front page. For example:.
AG: Can you share your thoughts on Microsoft's 'Stroytelling' theme and why will it appeal to Brands?
NT: People want to tell stories about their real-life experiences and use these stories to create a meaningful 'personal' brand around their passions, beliefs and activities. With the click of a button on a smartphone, a mother in India or a political activist in the Middle East can use social communication tools such as Messenger, Facebook and Twitter to tell a story instantly to a mass audience. Storytellers also have new technologies at hand, which lets them make a huge impact with communication that is instant, richer and very visual .The fact is that today a great story can - and should - travel around the world in five minutes. Preparing for this represents a huge shift in thinking for the CMO. Brand managers are very aware of the importance of this trend. Microsoft Advertising's commitment is to make it easier for brands to connect with the stories consumers are relating all the time with our range of new and powerful canvases upon which to tell their stories.To help them further, Microsoft uses the IAB Rising Star formats that help brands to sell their products; tell stories in much more rich, interactive and engaging ways.
Share
Facebook
YouTube
Tweet
Twitter
LinkedIn