The Ideal Marketing Mix for your Startup

“If you do not change, you can become extinct!”
― Spencer Johnson, ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’

Every innovation/jugaad/idea has a shelf life. We have all been through the different phases of music, fashion, technology, language and even social networking.  The world of advertising is no different. There is a new trend with the internet becoming a huge place with infinite possibilities for advertising. Needless to say, more and more marketers are moving towards social media marketing and utilizing the other platforms available in the web space. There is definitely a false impression in general that out of home advertising is not progressing at the same pace and that it is losing its touch. As a result, newbies are misguided into investing in lopsided campaigns. Thus, it is important to highlight that innovation in traditional modes of advertisements has also been steadily increasing and has ensured their survival.

 

According to the Mckinsey Global Report 2015, traditional (offline) media still command power with television, audio and out-of-home contributing 37.6%, 6.4% and 7% respectively to the global statistics, in 2015. Although, with better and larger coverage of internet services, digital (online) advertising will undoubtedly grow yet the trust in older format shall not only remain steady but will also increase with time. In Asia-Pacific region, outdoor advertising is well established yet it is expected to be the fastest and largest growing industry compounding a growth of 8.6% annually. As consumer confidence strengthens, brands are inclined to make greater investments in order to retain their brand reputation and also to expand. Consequently, the global market also grows and as a matter of fact, it is expected to reach 50.7 billion USD by 2020 with USA seeing maximum expenditure in advertising followed by Asia-Pacific and European countries.

A study conducted by Nielson with the advertisers in USA, showed that 56% of the surveyed population preferred the outdoor media as a trusted ad format. This was preceded only by TV and print media. It is perhaps, safe to conclude that when the West with all its technological prowess and better internet connectivity is still relying on traditional sources, India for sure is likely be even more dependent on it. However, when one refers to traditional platforms , it is also important to acknowledge that there have been drastic improvements with the coming of digital and interactive media along with robust advertising campaigns which are provide a strong backbone.

 

Indian advertising industry has evolved over a period of time from a fledgling to a fully fledged industry and is second only to China in Asia. Figures show that the share of ad spends in India’s GDP will be around 0.45% by 2018. OOH being an essential instrument and not just as a support media has garnered the interests of marketers in India. In 2013, the physical segment of OOH alone accounted for around 96.5% and the digital ad space is now expected to grow faster due to its novelty factor .The lifestyles of the Indian population have been providing a major thrust for the growth in demand for the OOH advertising sites. Additionally, the rising number of people who are exposed to the transit media is fueling the demand for high growth of this sector.

 

But to understand this growth, it is imperative to note the drivers behind the growing trend. One of the reasons why marketers prefer online marketing for their brands is due to the availability of data about the number of hits, likes etc. This was earlier believed to be the biggest drawback of the OOH but we now have starts up like AdmyBrand emerge which provide intelligence inputs based on extensive research and model building for better ad campaigns which would ensure higher return on investment. In addition to this, there is freshness in the way brands communicate with newer ideas and attractive campaigns.

The industry too, is transforming into a more accountable and transparent system. The problems of lack of common currency such as TAB in the USA is also being tackled with AdmyBrand already boasting of a model made in a similar fashion but uniquely adapted for Indian conditions. Not only this, they can also answer pertinent questions with reliable analytics which every brand will be concerned about, i.e., the impact factor of their ad campaigns. In addition to this, as more and more start-ups are turning to OOH for their campaigns, the need for reasonably priced media agencies has led to a paradigm shift. AdmyBrand and similar start-ups in the same sphere offer easy ways to book ad spaces and plan their campaigns as well.

The young and energetic professionals who are joining this sector are goal oriented and more emphatic about customer satisfaction, precise plans and targets.

There is only good news in store for outdoor advertising industry. It has already proved its might in the past and will continue to do so even with the tides changing. As per the statistics of 2014, conventional outdoor grew by 13% as against its targeted 7%. Transit media showed a growth of 125 against the projected target of 10%. The total outdoor spends grew by 12.9% and it has continued to maintain its share at 6% of the total advertising pie with a revenue of Rs 2,233 crores.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The authors Pratyush & Aishwarya are associated with ADmyBRAND generating unique insights for ATL marketers in India. An environmentalist by education, Aishwarya, swings between her studies during the day and writing at night. An avid reader and a frequent blogger, she enjoys poetry and loves to travel. Pratyush is a content designer, a data researcher, a webmaster, a Coder by day and blogger by night, a geek, a technologist and beyond everything a free thinker.