Imagine you’re stuck in traffic, while traveling via cab/bus, after a tiring day at work, or you’re waiting for your flight which is delayed by an hour, or maybe you’re traveling by road/train and getting bored as hell. In any of the three situations, what are you most likely to do? Chances are you’ll take your smartphone out of the pocket and entertain yourself with some content available online.
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Gone are the days when you had to be present in front of a TV at a particular broadcast time to watch your favorite show. The days, when you sometimes had no option but to watch the content your parents liked. Today, you can choose your favorite content and watch from wherever you are, whenever you want to. Now you don’t have to be present in front of a TV screen at one point of time to watch your favorite TV show. Your daily dose of entertainment can come to you through Content-On-Demand services.
What is Content on Demand?
Content-On-Demand (COD) are systems which allow you to choose audio-visual content like movies, videos, and music from a library of available content and watch it whenever you want to. This is contrary to the conventional Television systems wherein you have to tune in at a specific broadcast time. COD streams content via the internet directly to your device, instead of using cables or broadcast towers.
Why is there a shift towards COD consumption?
1.Improvement in Mobile Devices
The technology powering the Mobile Devices has undergone a transformation in the past ten years. Nowadays, the gadgets have become lightweight, compact and easier to use. The devices have higher resolution displays, more memory space, longer battery life and faster processing speed which enable you to run a plethora of applications.
2. Improved Connectivity coupled with availability of cheap and fast internet
Internet coverage and internet speed have improved tremendously in the past ten years. Telecom operators are constantly expanding their network to reach even the remotest of areas. Companies like Google are also taking initiatives to take the internet to the masses in India. Recently, because of Reliance Jio, a critical mass of smartphone users in India was able to experience 4G and LTE speeds for free which actually increased the consumption of online visual content.
3. Availability of cheaper Mobile Devices
Over the years, as the technology has progressed the costs of producing smartphones and tablets have come down. Many players have emerged in the budget smartphone and or tablet category like Xiaomi, Micromax, Karbonn, Reliance Lyf, Lava etc. which are in stiff competition to produce the cheapest variant of mobile devices.
4. Demands of the Millennials
Millennials in India account for one-fifth of the world’s youth population. This breed of is the most demanding lot of consumers. Following are some of the characteristics of Millennials which make them a different category altogether:
1) Are Impatient: Millennials are impatient primarily because of the variety of alternatives available to them. They would rather choose a quicker alternative to satisfy their wants than to wait during the course of another way, which might take some time.
2) Have Diverse Interests: Being born in the age of information, they develop a wide variety of interests.
3) Are Explorative: Millennials don’t like to stick with the norm, they like to experience the thrill behind finding something new.
4) Demand Personalization: A “one size fits all” approach doesn’t work for Millennials. They want personalization in the choices they make so that they can get the satisfaction of “owning” the product or service.
COD vs TV Advertising
| COD Advertising | TV Advertising |
| · Can be personalized
· Precision targeting at socio-economical, demographical or technological levels can be done · Viewers can be tracked and data pertaining to the duration of the content they watch, the category of the content and the time at which they watch can be obtained in real time · Dynamic Ad Insertion is possible |
· Is same for the masses
· Minimal level of targeting is done based on the type of the content being showcased. Chances of your ad being shown to the wrong audience are high · Advertisers have to rely on the research reports published by firms like Nielsen to receive insights about the consumer · Dynamic Ad Insertion is not possible |
How does the COD ecosystem in India look like?
The on-demand entertainment ecosystem was developed by YouTube in India where content creators like TVF and AIB shot to the limelight. YouTube is still the leading on- demand video streaming service. However, local players are trying to get them hooked to their Video-On-Demand (VOD) services like TVFPlay, ALTBalaji etc. The idea is to earn more by keeping Ad Revenues to themselves and/or make viewers pay a subscription fee. Realizing the potential of this growing entertainment category, Star launched its VOD service Hotstar. Foreign players like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix have also entered the Indian market.
How are brands leveraging COD?
Brands have started to shift their marketing budgets from traditional TV advertising towards digital VOD advertising. They are using different ways of engaging with the audiences. Brands either pay YouTube to place their ads on relevant videos or they sponsor the content creators who come up with their own Web Series. There are numerous examples where brands have engaged in Branded promotions where the brand is embedded in the content of the web/TV series they are sponsoring, thereby creating a strong appeal to their target audience. Some of the examples are mentioned below:
- Tata Tiago sponsoring TVF Tripling: The sibling trio in the web series go on an unplanned road trip in a Tata Tiago, which aligned well with the brand qualities of enjoying life on the go.
- Lakme sponsoring Y-Films Bang Baaja Baaraat: Lakme sponsored Bang Baaja Baaraat to bolster its brand image as a styling product used during the wedding preparations. The bride in the show is shown using Lakme products
- Ola Cabs sponsoring TVF Permanent Roommates: Ola Cabs was the title sponsor for the second season of “Permanent Roommates” where they introduced a character by the name of Purushottam Ji who is an Ola Cab driver who is in love with his Ola taxi named “Shabnam”
- Kingfisher sponsoring TVF Pitchers: In the web series, four budding entrepreneurs are seen chatting and making plans about their upcoming startup while sitting in a Kingfisher bar and having a pitcher of Kingfisher Beer. The “Tu Beer Hai” dialogue was a hit among the viewers of this Web Series.
Brands like Ola Cabs and TrulyMadly even went a step further to create ads in collaboration with AIB. The #PeekeMatChala was an excellent execution which garnered 1 mn+ views on Youtube. This Ad was launched on the New Years Eve focussing on the party-goers, urging them to take Ola instead of driving on their own when they are drunk.
The Branded Promotions route has been a hit with the millennials. The primary reason behind this is the fact that such kind of ad campaigns have a strong message, whether it is conveyed in a serious or in a humorous form. Strong messages almost always strike a chord with this generation and if the brand is embedded in that message it easily clings to its target audience’s memory.
Conclusion
Because of the rise in the consumption of on-demand entertainment, digital marketers are looking at a whole new avenue to promote themselves and reach out their target audiences in ways which were never thought before. The millennials are driving the change towards an individualistic culture. This makes it all the more necessary for brands to offer personalized offerings to cater to the changing demands through effective utilization of the Content-On-Demand platforms.
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This post first appeared on Virtual Reality: The Future Of Digital Marketing, please read the originial post: here
