After 10 years of trying to sell the Internet Media in India, the one big stumbling block I have finally figured out is the ‘Mamaji Effect’
This is linked to the undying faith that the marketing folks (I regularly chase) have in Television Media, as their most preferred media choice.
It’s the Kanpur wala Mamaji (uncle) who calls up a couple of days after media breaks and says to my elusive brand owner ‘wow beta, I saw your company’s ad on TV… wah wah… very good stuff.. looks like you are doing well, keep it up’
That one call signals reach, recall and effectiveness to the brand owner! The ad has worked, the media has delivered – After all, the Mama’s and Mami’s are calling
And so unfortunately, Mr Mamaji hasn’t surfed Orkut or my Games2win or any of the other websites we do campaigns on and therefore not called my client up.
The point is that while there is no denying the scientific reach and effectiveness TV can achieve, the Internet in India has arrived and how!
We have 40+ million users. Sites like Orkut alone can singularly deliver 10 million + unique users per month. With rocket science technology like Behavioral Targeting and simple frequency capping, Internet media today can deliver such an effective bite to a marketing persons marketing objectives… if only we got a fair chance.
Our ads can be measured, tracked, creatively changed by performance, used to dynamically capture reactions and direct consumer data – so much more than what TV delivers, yet we remain a fraction of TV buys. I am not even bothering to compare costs of Internet campaigning vs. TV buys.
I am patiently waiting for the new generation 25 year old marketer who is now getting into the decision making groove in the big Fortune 500 brands. A couple of years later their buddies will call and say ‘ hey dude – saw your facebook app – amazing branding and interactivity – way to go’
My phones will never stop ringing from that day on.
*********
on rodinhood.com
