The Client is Always Right. Full stop.
I wrote this note a few days back and revisited it today:
– After my advisory meeting at the India Ad Tech Board meeting in Delhi on Monday.
Around the table amongst the leaders of Indian Internet, we were more pre-occupied about why the Indian Internet has not taken off rather than showing what more can be done.
– I read Ajit Balakrishnan’s comment on his frustration with Rediff.com revenues (we are stuck at 60-70 crores for years) this morning and just wanted to pen down my candid thots.
Its easy to blame clients for not understanding what the Internet is ‘really supposed’ to be delivering to them such as huge 1 to 1 interactivity, involvement etc..
So for instance, when clients buy ONLY CPC campaigns, its so easy to blame them for missing the Woods (CPM) for the Trees (CPC).
But, they are RIGHT. Clients want an immediate reaction – which in the Internet World is a ‘visit’.
And Oh, by the way, Clients like IMPACT, but when it is LOUD – not SILENT.
When Clients advertise on TV, they get an immediate reaction – friends, family, relatives and colleagues call up and say ‘WOW – Saw ur Ad – Wah Wah’. This is IMPACT.
To date, not even the big Roadblock campaigns on Yahoo get clients the same ‘calls’.
And sure, we will argue that 99% of the folks calling clients were NOT supposed to be the watching the ad anyway, so it is not a sign of successfully reaching the target TG- but thats not what makes clients! Clients are HUMAN – they are emotional – they get excited when they get famous.
Now, as far as CPC goes, the other complaint is that clients want the lowest cost and the maximum clicks in the shortest time.
Tch, Tch – is that so unreasonable?
I dont think so.
Clients may seem to be in the dark – but they are always right!
Compare traditional media. If a Car Company advertises on a large daily national newspaper, they immediately get lots of calls and probably some footfalls into their showrooms that day itself.
Companies and advertisers want IMPACT and RESPONSE – which the Internet does better than anyone else. However, what we lack is VOLUME.
Traditional media does all 3 (Impact, Response and Volume) , thanks to the massive coverage of distribution they have. In return they extract MASSIVE PRICES for this leverage – and not because they want to get away with big profits (see the red tainted balance sheets of Newspapers in International Media), but because they are INEFFICIENT in targeting their audiences….
So, what we need is VOLUME in the Internet in India ( think when it becomes 300-500 mn UU’s). Then, with Interactivity, Targeting and Responses, the media world will be ours.
Till then lets not complain.
Also read – https://rodinhood.com/mamaji-effect
Aji (Digital Marketing)
There is more to digital media, we have few clients who are very happy with the coverage. We do both, we advertise, and also we send one on one emails to bring more and more people including their closed friends. Now we are trying with some more Indian brands (we are keen on the FMCG sector, we even launched https://www.anhour.in to educate them) …
It also depends on the product. Now people are also connecting the other media to digital media, like ad ad and press coverage about vaseline’s FB profile picture lightning app 🙂 … With this apps there are privacy concerns though https://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/07/15/see-facebook-skin-whitening-widget-at-work/ ..
Digital media has a long way to go, I am looking for Google TV, ipad as these all are going to impact the other media … just that still a large mass will be away for this connectivity.
Thanks,
Aji Issac
Aji (Digital Marketing)
I read the mamaji effect now, it is cool Alok ….
When the average Mama ji will be using Internet, we will have bigger success …. I think we should launch a campaign … “Digital Mama ji” 🙂
None of my mamaji’s use Internet 🙂 … I am mamaji too and I use internet … hmmm … its almost there I guess 🙂
Aditya Singh
Offcourse no one can meet that argument ….”Its my money, i can do whatever i want” 🙂
Digital is damn damn scalable even now as we talk. We need to make it work. Clients like Ford have proved it. They spent a huge % of their marketing only on Digital and Figo is one of the most successful cars this year.
Abey John
There is a vein of dissonance that runs deep in this reasoning but I can’t seem to nail it. On the face of it yes the client can demand x results on Rs. y (even if x and y have no right to exist on the same A4 sheet) and is also entitled to measure impact by the ego stroking delivered by friends and family but…. something stinks….let me find the dead rat and get back to you 🙂
Aditya Singh
I can’t believe this mamaji thing ……are they really THAT foolish people…