Cos seek new ad spots as TV viewership goes on the blink

NEW DELHI: Television’s efficacy as an advertising medium is seriously under threat. And it’s no longer just about audiences spending less time with the medium.

According to a recent Mindshare Consumer Insight data, the last three years have seen a drop of almost 25% in programmes, across genres, with television ratings at less than 3. Thought it’s hard to correlate the two, during the same period, the number of consumers ‘who like staying at home vis-à-vis going out’ has dropped 4%.

So what does this mean for brands? A lot, say marketers, as they gear up to face the situation where consumers are spending more time outside the home, and less with the idiot box. Pepsi, Motorola, Microsoft and LG, for example, are now talking of a 3D marketing strategy in an attempt to take a step forward from just a mere 360-degree approach.

The latter took cognisance of the importance of other non-traditional media, but still put television at the heart of every brand communications strategy.

“As consumer mindsets and lifestyles change, the impact is being felt on TV viewing patterns. People prefer to go out as there is a fatigue in the kind of programming being aired today,” says Sanchayeeta Bhattacharya, national director, Insights, MindShare.

Controversy-dogged cola major Pepsi, which recently launched its ‘Blue Billion’ campaign, is hoping to cash in on various platforms in addition to the electronic media. And the attempt is to focus less on the tube to home in on a ‘big idea’ and spread it all across — be it the internet, the outdoor or the mobile. Says Vipul Prakash, executive VP-marketing, PepsiCo India, “A full 3D approach is one that can catch consumers today and a good marketer has to take cognisance of it.”

Even durable brands like LG and Samsung have started participating in out-of-home activation in a big way. Brand stores in malls, sports marketing and presence in movies are just few of the ways to get close to consumers. “We want to capture audiences in cafes and malls as this is one great way of brand-building,” says Sandeep Tiwari, marketing head, LGEIL. LG spends as much as 20% of its total ad spends on non-traditional, out-of-home media.

Increasingly, the trend is followed by brands catering to young consumers — led by tech-oriented categories like mobile phones, gaming devices and other digital products.

Motorola, in an effort to reach out to this segment, launched its ‘Guess the Moto Star’ teaser campaign in colleges across Delhi and Mumbai along with a good net presence. “Despite the base of TV viewership growing, there are sharp niches being drawn, which leave the marketer with a fragmented audience to cater to and this is the challenge we face,” says Lloyd Mathias, marketing director, Motorola India.