Enhancing versatility of television to fulfill advertising objectives

Adgully’s premier Marketing event, CMOs’ Charcha – Delhi Chapter 2024, took place on January 23, at Radisson Blu Plaza in Mahipalpur, New Delhi. The theme for this edition of CMOs’ Charcha was ‘Future roadmap for pursuing growth in new ways’.

The event saw an engaging panel discussion on ‘Enhancing Versatility of Television to Fulfill Ad Objectives’, which featured distinguished industry leaders, including Session Chair Lloyd Mathias, Business Strategist & Ind. Director; Jignesh Kenia, President & Head - Corporate Strategy & Digital Transformation, Times Network; Neelima Burra, Chief Strategy, Transformation & Marketing Officer, Luminous Power Technologies; and Vidit Jain, Co Founder, kindlife.

The session commenced with Lloyd Mathias stating, “We know for a fact that television reaches approximately 90 crore Indians, around 900 million people in this country. Therefore, it is the one medium that no mass brand can do without when aiming to penetrate deeply into the country. However, despite television’s continued importance, what we’ve observed in the last decade, particularly since around 2017 with the post-Jio phenomenon, is the emergence of digital as a very significant medium.”

He went on to ask the panellists, “As a digital-first brand, how do you approach your media mix, and where does television fit into your overall media plan?”

Vidit Jain responded by saying, “We are a startup focused on capturing the digital audience first. We analyse the ROI of our media spending carefully. While television may provide some ROI, it might not meet our exact expectations. We anticipate considering TV as a medium in another year or two, around four years into our journey. Once we have built a basic audience, we aim to expand to a larger audience while ensuring our brand awareness in the market, that’s when we will consider TV as a medium.”

Neelima Burra added here, “Luminous, a 35-year-old brand known for inverter batteries, primarily invests in television advertisements. However, for newer connected and renewable energy products, such as solar panels, they focus more on digital channels. While TV remains crucial for creating awareness, other mediums are explored for driving conversions, especially during peak and off-peak seasons.”

Lloyd noted, “In terms of broad data, digital advertising revenues last year were close to Rs 70,000 crore, surpassing television’s advertising revenues. This shift has made digital the largest single advertising repository for Indian advertisers, offering a wide array of news and entertainment channels.”

When asked how Times Network plans to attract advertisers back or increase spending on its bouquet of channels, Jignesh Kenia replied, “Traditional advertising in terms of ad spots will continue, but advertisers are increasingly interested in storytelling. They want to convey their story through content integration, which I refer to as media consulting. This involves TV professionals understanding the brands’ businesses and challenges, and collaborating with them to develop unique solutions to achieve their objectives. This deeper content integration, also known as content marketing or branded content, has always existed but is now becoming increasingly important.”

These are edited excerpts. For the complete panel discussion at CMOs’ Charcha, watch below: