For years, cheerleaders have been dancing to the potential of online advertising in India. But now Internet giants are gung-ho on making online advertising more meaningful for marketers, giving fresh hope to those tired cheerleaders, says VAREEN RAY
It was a bright sunny winter morning and Sagar had
just logged on to the Internet to chat with his brother in Philadelphia. While surfing, he couldn’t help but notice the very in-your-face click-able ad of MakeMyTrip.com that popped up on screen. Sheer curiosity made him click on the link, and before you could say Jack Robinson, he was on his way (along with the rest of his family) to Philadelphia, thanks to the irresistible scheme that the travel portal offered through that one ad. A big deal for Sagar and great word-of-mouth publicity for MakeMyTrip.com! The travel portal is not alone in exploiting the growing popularity of Internet surfing within the country, job sites like Monster.com and matrimonial offerings like Shaadi.com are also in the fray.
But apart from sites offering services on the Internet, the vast labyrinth of products and services available in India are still shying away from online advertising. Big ticket players like Pepsi, Maruti (Maruti SX4), ADAG (Zapak) and HLL (Sunsilk Gang of Girls) who have ventured onto the media, have also not tasted expected success. A big reason is the abysmal levels of Internet penetration in the country – just a meagre 46 million users (Internet in India Report 2007 by IAMAI & IMRB), contributing just a miniscule 2-3% to the total advertising expenditure. Prathap Suthan, National Creative Director, Cheil Communications, feels, “If I know that at maximum, I can reach only 5-10% of my total target audience through this medium, I would definitely be less interested in that medium and prefer a mass media, where I can reach the maximum of my target audience.” Even the terrestrial signals of Delhi Doordarshan can reach 87.9% of India’s population. Contrast this to the melancholic 2-3% Internet penetration in India, and you know why online advertising is a poor distant cousin to the traditional mass media.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
It was a bright sunny winter morning and Sagar had
just logged on to the Internet to chat with his brother in Philadelphia. While surfing, he couldn’t help but notice the very in-your-face click-able ad of MakeMyTrip.com that popped up on screen. Sheer curiosity made him click on the link, and before you could say Jack Robinson, he was on his way (along with the rest of his family) to Philadelphia, thanks to the irresistible scheme that the travel portal offered through that one ad. A big deal for Sagar and great word-of-mouth publicity for MakeMyTrip.com! The travel portal is not alone in exploiting the growing popularity of Internet surfing within the country, job sites like Monster.com and matrimonial offerings like Shaadi.com are also in the fray.But apart from sites offering services on the Internet, the vast labyrinth of products and services available in India are still shying away from online advertising. Big ticket players like Pepsi, Maruti (Maruti SX4), ADAG (Zapak) and HLL (Sunsilk Gang of Girls) who have ventured onto the media, have also not tasted expected success. A big reason is the abysmal levels of Internet penetration in the country – just a meagre 46 million users (Internet in India Report 2007 by IAMAI & IMRB), contributing just a miniscule 2-3% to the total advertising expenditure. Prathap Suthan, National Creative Director, Cheil Communications, feels, “If I know that at maximum, I can reach only 5-10% of my total target audience through this medium, I would definitely be less interested in that medium and prefer a mass media, where I can reach the maximum of my target audience.” Even the terrestrial signals of Delhi Doordarshan can reach 87.9% of India’s population. Contrast this to the melancholic 2-3% Internet penetration in India, and you know why online advertising is a poor distant cousin to the traditional mass media.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
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