We’re eyeing over 30% growth compared to last Onam: Manorama Online’s Boby Paul

Manorama Online Network, the online division of the Malayala Manorama Group, boasts of various properties in its kitty, catering to distinctive strata of audience and demographics. From OnManorama for English news, to Global Malayali for non-resident news, to Chuttuvattom for hyper-local news, it is an eclectic blend.

With Kerala’s biggest festival, Onam, coming up in a few weeks, Manorama Online is gearing up for a high-decibel campaign targeting brands, media planners, and buyers.

Click here to check the Award Categories

In an interaction with Adgully, Boby Paul, Senior General Manager – Marketing, Manorama Online, said, “Onam is the biggest season for Kerala and also the start of the festival calendar for India; so we will ensure that the Onam stories, engagements, and festivities reach our discerning audience and at the same time, help brands tap into these audiences.” He further said that Manorama Online’s plans this year include the launch of a premium subscription product, which will deliver personalised news and information to the users.

Excerpts from the interview:

Online media saw a surge in viewership during the last two years of the pandemic. Was there a concomitant increase in ad spends during the period? Have the ad spends returned to the pre-Covid levels? Have you witnessed shifts in brands’ behaviour, especially after the effects of the pandemic ebbed?

Yes, there was an encouraging increase in the online ad spends during this pandemic period because there was no other media which is as good as online for fulfilling the last-mile audience reach due to social distancing and curtailment of physical movement during these times.

Yes, I do personally see a slight shift in the brands’ behaviour as the physical activities are back, though with caution. But a multichannel media route will rule, with a skew towards digital.

What are the innovative campaigns for advertising on-boarding for the upcoming Onam season? What kind of ad spends are you expecting? Which categories will see greater traction?

We will be having a high-decibel online trade campaign, which will nudge brands, their media planners and buyers to take note of the upcoming Onam opportunities for their respective brands.

Onam is the biggest season for Kerala and also the start of the festival calendar for India; so we will ensure that the Onam stories, engagements, and festivities reach our discerning audience and at the same time help brands tap into these audiences.

We are looking at an overall growth of over +30% in comparison to last Onam season, and it will predominantly come from fast fashion, food delivery, entertainment, hospitality, and CE/white goods.

How are your properties faring among the diaspora audience? What are your plans to further solidify and expand the international presence?

ManoramaOnline Network has distinct websites and sections under its hood, starting from ManoramaOnline for Malayalam news, OnManorama for English news, Global Malayali for non-resident news, Chuttuvattom for hyper-local news, and Manorma News for video-centric news, each catering to distinct audience and geographies.

We have active traffic from more than 200 countries and have significant traffic from markets like GCC, the US, the UK, and Australia, other than pan-India. GCC is the largest market for us outside of India, and we are looking forward to consolidating our market leader position further this year using innovative content and engagement formats for our GCC readers.

How does the future look like for Manorama online and the overall industry? What are your outlook and growth projections for this year? Any plans to launch new properties?

The future looks bright for the vernacular digital publishers like us in India, as we all know the next billion of Indian Internet users are going to come from native language speakers.

We have set an ambitious target of significant traffic and revenue growth this year. We have also planned to launch our premium subscription product this year. This will enable us to deliver personalised news and information to our users along with a sizeable zero-party data, which will enable us to serve better ads to our distinct audience buckets.