Month: October 2016

Piracy of Movies

Shabbir Chunawalla

Recently in India, Great Grand Masti  crashed at the box office as it was leaked on line 17 days before release. Even while submitting a film for certification to the censors, movie makers now submit an encrypted copy. Dishoom is the first film to use encryption while making submission  for certification.

There are organisations which help the movie makers to tackle online piracy. Aiplex, Bangalore-based organisation, helps some of the largest studios in the country, e.g. Yash Raj Films and Eros International. It also works with studios such as universal, Italia Films and Sony pictures in 25 other countries.

Aiplex uses a multi-pronged approach. It set as DMCA or Digital Millennium Copyright Act notifications to infringers, protected domain providers, registrars and to the infringing website’s hosting service providers. DMCA does not apply to some countries who are not signatory to the Bern Convention. However, most traffic to such countries originate from India. It is crippled due to John Doe orders or Ashok Kumar orders. Basically theses are injunctions sought against someone whose identity is not known at the time they are issued. Aiplex has a database of 30 million infringers documented over the years. It is supported by evidence such as screenshots, notices dispatched, email addresses and contact numbers. The evidence is given to the legal team to facilitate the securing of Joe Doe or Ashok Kumar orders.

They also attempt to educate the viewers before the release of the movie. They upload thousands of decoys on popular websites with a message to illegal viewers stating  ‘piracy kills and please watch the movie in theatres.’

They partner with trusted websites to delete pirated content. They partner with hosting websites to enable a take down programme. They partner with payment gateways, advertising brokers to withdraw support to infringing websites.

ISPs do not co-operate immediately in blocking a websites since it is a non-billable process.

Big Data Assists Broadcasters

Shabbir Chunawalla

In online advertising, we have seen how programmatic and real-time-bidding ( RTB ) have changed the complexion of media buying. Earlier buying was manual and took time. These days it is through software for online display, social media ads, mobile and video campaigns.

This trend is now extended to broadcasting.TAM and now extended to broadcasting. TAM and now BARC do audience measurement to guide advertisers about the viewing preferences of the audience. In TV the viewers change channels and leave a trail. This is the basis to decide the audience preferences. It ultimately decides the relevant content.

Advertisers these days tend to leverage big data. advertisers are sourcing data from other sources apart from audience measurement data . The reason for this is the widening of the data points available, over and above TV. There are multiple devices which engage the audience. It is better to derive insights from various data sources to understand media tastes and consumption preferences.

A number of media tech and data analytics companies have emerged in India to provide big data. Information is sourced from various consumer touch points.

Media companies offer OTT services, which  provide billions of data points which are used to their advantage.

Big data also helps to acquire new customers. Content can be customised and personalised to a specific target group. Today, there is generic catering. Big data enables broadcasters to provide content promotions and advertising specifically designed. Big data complements audience measurement system.

A disadvantage here is the deflection of the marketing, programming and sales teams in the face of too much data. It is necessary to generate a standardised output that provides actionable insights.

Media Investments

Shabbir Chunawalla

India has 300 million newspaper readers, 900 million TV viewers and 343 million people online. Despite this, the returns are not so good excepting a few listed newspapers. Still, as there is potential, every major media company has registered its presence in India.

India has a desperate shortage of screens. It could as well double the number of screens. If TV and films, two major components of industry, cannot reach their full potential in the absence of infrastructure, what one can say about the print and digital media. Media firms are being set up abroad, say Dubai or Singapore using the Indian talent to create large, scalable business.

The total amount of FDI inflows into the media was 1.61 per cent of the total FDI inflows between April 2000 and September 2015.

Threats to Freedom of Expression

Shabbir Chunawalla

According to Ramchandra Guha, India is a democracy in some respects, say elections and free movement of people, but lacks democracy in some respects e.g. threats to freedom of expression. He has identified eight major threats. Archaic laws such as section 124 A of the IPC, the so-called sedition clause places limits on freedom of expression. Lower judiciary is too ready to put curbs on art and artists. The reason could be the hurt feelings of a section of the people. Identity politics is one more threat. You cannot criticise Tagore or Shivaji in even mildest terms.Police force that sides with the lumpen elements is another threat. Timid politicians do not side with the artists. They do not want to offend a constituency. Govt. ads subdues the media. Last, ideologically driven writers are a great threat to freedom of expression.

Maker Movement Affecting Agencies

Shabbir Chunawalla

An individual could be a creator of things as well as a consumer of things. Maker culture promotes learning through doing. Advertising business is affected by the maker culture. There is a shift of focus from just creating ads to making things, experiences, tech and content. Some agencies are making new technologies, apps, products that bring a brand’s idea to life, new distribution platforms and much more.

Volvo’s safety idea was manifested by the agency in a new way — Life Paint.Cyclists can spray the invisible paint onto their clothes, bikes, bags etc. It glows at night, making them visible in the dark. This paint is retailed at Volvo stores. It creates buzz for the brand.

Dominos agency made Twitter an ordering platform. It initiated Tweet-a-Pizza by twitting a pizza slice emoji.

Ad agencies have to treat the media as partners and collaborate with them. All brands do not require 360 degree communication. You have to target. And one has to try new things without being foolish. Always think in terms of what I can make.

Falling Revenue in Film Industry

Shabbir Chunawalla

Film industry gets more than three fourth of its revenue from the box office ( Indian theatrical and global theatrical collections ). The other revenue streams are TV rights and other sources. India has been losing screens at an alarming rate. There are barely 10000 screens, from about 12000 some five years back. The ticket prices being high has made multiplexes the preserve of the rich. The average occupancy of the multiplexes is 30 per cent. Single screen theatres have been downing shutters. The number of Indians watching films has fallen consistently in the last five years. In 2010, we had an audience of 82 million. In 2014, we have an audience of 78  million. Here is the major crunch. There is pressure on talent costs margins. It is time to rethink the business model. OTT platforms offer opportunities to monetise better.

Revenue numbers show a rise as the ticket prices are high, but in fact footfalls have actually fallen.

Hollywood deals with business risks efficiently. It banks on franchises, special effects and creature films. It works since more than 2/3 rds of its revenues come from global markets. In India of the total revenues, 90 per cent come from the local Indian cinema.

There are techniques of MR, predictive analysis, focus groups and script testing to reduce risks.

Agency Compensation

Shabbir Chunawalla

Many factors come into play on high value brands. It is difficult to isolate the role of advertising alone.Still, there is a demand to be compensated on the basis of output or performance. It motivates the agency to perform. Pay-for-performance ( PFP ) could work to an extent for new economy companies that need traffic driven to their apps. Even downloads depend on many factors. How to define performance metrics is a moot point. It is possible to go in for PFP where the cause and effect relationship is clearly established. To generate sufficient quantum of remuneration, we can opt for PFP in case of high value brands. Apart from the agency’s execution, what matters are the inputs of the client. In such a relationship, it becomes difficult to convince the client to pay for output. The output is a combined effort. PFP model has one plus point. It does not allow the agency to be complacent. It keeps the creative team on edge. There could be a hybrid model of a fixed component of agency’s pay and a variable amount tied to certain performance metrics.

Blockchains

Shabbir Chunawalla

Blockchain is a secure record of historical transactions, collected into blocks, chained in chronological order and distributed across a number of servers. In bitcoin transactions, it can be accessed by all those who choose to pay and receive payments in bitcoins. There is no need for a central record-keeping authority.

Blockchain has the potential to transform finance. Kotak Mahindra is initiating blockchains in certain international payment corridors by tying directly with multi-national lenders. A few banks in Australia and Europe are using this technology for cross-border payments. When a large number of players will take the plunge, an eco-system of players can be created.

Blockchain can be used in KYC. NPCI had arranged an ideathon to understand how the new technology would change the future. Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology, an RBI arm has formed a panel to look into blockchain.

Native Advertising

Shabbir Chunawalla

Native ads, storytelling and content marketing do not work in the short-term. They are just part of the blind race to do mobile and digital. It is a long- term brand building exercise. It takes 4-5 years to work. If you want immediate results, do not use native. Most who use native are using it due to the fear of missing out ( FOMO ). Media such as newspapers and magazines are rightly doing content. Their product is content. Before going into content, companies need to understand first the business problem. If you are selling chocolates, you should be clear who you are selling to, understand the demographics and target audience  and the segment you would like to cater to. Accordingly you should put up the content in the right publication. Start with the consumer and then work backwards.

Programmatic Buying

Shabbir Chunawalla

In programmatic buying, there is distinction between human programmatic buying (HPB ) and artificial intelligence buying (AIB).

For instance, HPB would be a fixed amount of Rs. 400 on any visitor that visits an advertiser’s site in the last one month or 30 days. An AIB scores each impression autonomously. It uses predictive analysis. It bids a dynamic amount using a complex formula arrived at by factoring in several thousand factors including the site visit in the last 30 days. The other factors could be the weather, geography, the time of the day etc. The bidding formula itself and subsequent optimization decisions have been derived by algorithms, rather than by human input.

Programmatic acknowledges the movement of a consumer across the channels and touch points. Owned touch points are the marketer’s website, mobile apps, Fb page and email. Earned touch points are created by consumers themselves.

Programmatic buying is automated buying of ads based on data and targets. The ads could be display, mobile or video ads. Programmatic buying is accomplished through a DSP.

Data of interactions across devices, channels is consolidated on a single dashboard. This dashboard develops a unified overarching strategy to engage the audience. It increases effectiveness by assigning a value to each impression. It uses this value to avoid ad wastage by targeting non-interested people. Programmatic benefits the ad buyer, as well as the consumer, by giving relevant messages.

As a web page loads, it carries ad space that is available for RTB. The information about this web page and the user viewing is transmitted to the ad exchange. Ad exchange is nothing but a platform to auction off the available ad space to the highest bidder. The ad that wins in the auction will appear on the web page when its loading is finished. The auctions are conducted in milliseconds it takes for the web page to load.

The available ad space is also called an impression. Every time an ad appears it is called one impression. Some impressions are more valuable to certain advertisers or marketers, considering the content, relevance and likelihood of a click on the ad.

The price of an impression is decided by what the buyers are willing to pay in real time.

Advertisers use demand-side platforms (DSPs ) to enable them to purchase ad impressions. A DSP is a fully automated piece of software that bids on impressions from an ad exchange.

All this obviates the need to do the buying manually.

Ad inventory is the amount of ad space a publisher has available to sell to an advertiser. RTB bypasses a fixed sum of money set aside for a set period of time for a website. It enables the targeting of the relevant people across a wide range of sites. Budgets are managed in real time. It is a method to resolve the highly fragmented industry that advertising has become.