Quite unlike his peers in the traditional advertising agencies, Harsha J is grateful for the downturn. As advertising budgets come under intense scrutiny in a depressed market, his Bangalore-based web marketing firm Adventure is making the best of the situation, convincing his clients to increase their spends on the online and mobile platforms.

Adventure designs web-based marketing material such as e-mailers and websites, along with developing and running Google AdWords campaigns for its clients. “Almost two-thirds of our clients are thinking differently now.

Earlier the focus was more on conventional mass media but they gradually realised that online and mobile advertising could be effective and measurable modes to reach their desired target group. We have seen a growth of at least 10-15% over the last couple of months,” he says.

It’s not hard to see why. Compared to television, print, radio and even out-of-home advertising, Internet and mobile based communication is more easily measurable and interactive. And while the share of such media in overall budgets is still small, it’s growing significantly.

A report by IMRB International and the Internet and Mobile Advertising Association of India (IAMAI) estimates that online advertising—including display, search-based and other methods—increased from Rs 425 crore in 2006-07 to Rs 700 crore in the current year. The 250-million mobile user population too makes mobile marketing a lucrative communication channel for brands.

Digital marketing firm Pinstorm estimates that the mobile advertising industry including WAP and SMS has grown from Rs 20 crore in 2006-07 to Rs 50 crore in 2008-09. And while the digital advertising industry has not observed shrinkage its current rate of growth at 24% is slower than the anticipated 35%.

Ask Samsung’s director marketing for South-West Asia YY Kim who’s sold on the benefits of this new age medium. “Online advertising works very well for our technology-based products like MP3 players, notebook PCs, mobile phones, LCD and Plasma TVs. Our online campaign for notebook PCs in November, 2008 was a success as it doubled visitor traffic to one lakh in the following month,” he says. Online advertising comprises 1% of Samsung adspend in India and is likely to grow to 2% this year.

All this spells good news for the scores of startup firms that have emerged around Internet and mobile advertising in India. Aashish Solanki, founder of yet another Bangalore company Net Bramha Studio is among them. It works with other startups to help build their online brand presence from scratch.

“We work for startup companies like Game Kraver, My Piction and Nemo Solutions, helping position them and conducting viral marketing campaigns. It helps them get better ROI,” says Solanki. “Even our big clients like Shell are investing in online advertising.”

Accountability is one of the biggest draws of such tech-based media. “Today every advertiser wants to know where each dollar is being spent and the result of it. In a recessionary time, advertisers move money to more measurable mediums,” says Naveen Tewari, CEO of mKhoj, a mobile advertising firm started two years year ago.

“We have grown 10 times in the last six months and expanded to 25 countries.” mKhoj’s campaign for Reebok involved creating a WAP portal where visitors could participate in a lucky draw to get a phone call from their favorite stars, and also allowed them to locate the nearest exclusive outlet. According to the company’s website, this campaign drove 450,000 visits to the WAP portal, with over 12% of them locating the nearest Reebok store.

“Around 70 to 80 per cent of a brand’s audience can be reached on internet and hence it is up to advertisers, agencies and publishers to churn out innovative ways to address the users effectively. Only then we can hope that the medium can grow faster,” agrees Rahul J Jethva, CEO of Spring Communications, which is also into this space.

“There’s a good 30%-35% cost saving on web vis-a-vis print,” says Subhash Lal of Thinkingdesign, a Delhi-based startup. Launched five months ago by Lal, an NID graduate, the firm provides brand identity, language and strategy services to clients in the fashion, home decor and jewellery businesses.

However, web ads were not a big initial priority for the five-man company. “The downturn forced three or four really good clients to put their plans on hold; others, started insisting on web advertisements instead of print to save on costs,” Lal says. The company is currently designing an online campaign for Taurus, a new women’s wear brand.

What’s even more hot on the scene now is a host of mobile-based applications that enable brands to target customer better, wherever they may be. “There is a high number of mobile and Internet connections and even 3G is round the corner, which would increase activity in that space. With the mobile handset functioning almost like a computer and more user friendly applications available, advertisers see an opportunity for their brands in that space,” says Prathap Suthan, NCD, Cheil Communications.

HSBC conducted a mobile-based promotion with High Networth Individuals (HNIs) at international airports’s departure lounges, offering them applications that would be useful in the country they were travelling to—such as tips on communicating better in the new language or locating a bank branch. According to Vinod Thadani, regional head, mobile, Group M, South Asia, which conducted the campaign for HSBC, a valid database of 14,000 was generated of which almost 30% was converted.

“The reach and engagement of mobile is an important factor for this medium. Initially it used more by the finance and travel industries but in 2008 other sectors like lifestyle, apparels and FMCG also joined in. At least 10-15% of digital ad budgets are now planned for the mobile medium,” says Thadani. But while startups are getting a significant share of the online and mobile advertising pie, he cautions that it could be difficult for them to sustain.

This is because of the infrastructure requirements as well as the reputation that most large to average level advertisers require to put in their money. “Another challenge, especially for mobile advertising companies is providing a non-intrusive platform as they are considered very personal media,” he adds.

According to Suresh Narasimha, co-founder of TeliBrahma, a provider of Bluetooth-based communication services to brands, the penetration of Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones is increasing. He says acceptance of Bluetooth advertising is 10-15% in retail locations, 30 - 40% in hangout places and more than 60% in events.

“There’s more value in digital media, and brands can benefit if they can integrate planning and measurement. Small companies would benefit with increased penetration and change in the mindset,” he says.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3986438,prtpage-1.cms