Jonathan Howlett, Director - Advertising Sales, BBC World News Ltd
Both from the domestic and international points of view, I am as enthusiastic about India as I was 18 months ago. There are different sets of clients that are coming, but they are there, and the task is to have that sensitivity and have a good enough product that gives a relevant return on investment to the advertisers. The two characteristics that we see are that a number of corporates are cutting down the number of media partners they are working with, but there are other companies that are increasing their spends even as they are asking for better ROI, accountability and value. That is where we need to be able to demonstrate and articulate the value of advertising on BBC.
The BBC has had a simple, but a growing game plan in India for years now. BBC World News created some noise in the market in 2007, when the channel actively looked at engaging the BBC brand with viewers through its India-centric communication. Last year, BBC Worldwide took centre stage for the launch of its brands BBC Entertainment and CBeebies. The Indian market posed its own challenges on fronts like distribution, and not much was heard from BBC Worldwide in the last year.
However, Jonathan Howlett, Director, Advertising Sales BBC World News Ltd, is not too perturbed. Howlett states that India is a very strong growth market for the BBC and despite the slowdown, the growth plans, market targets or investments for India would not change. ‘You would hear much from the BBC in 2009’ says Howlett to Noor Fathima Warsia in this interview, where he speaks from the expected growth in mobile and news-on-demand to the expected growth in revenues from India. Q. Last year, the sales teams of BBC World News and BBC Worldwide were aligned. How has that worked out for India?
Remember that BBC as a commercial business has been there since 1920 with radio times. BBC then developed a programme sales business, and the core of BBC internationally was in that. BBC Worldwide decided to amend its strategy and become a B2C business than just a B2B business. The thought was to put BBC programmes on BBC channels. The digital opportunity also came forth at the time, so there was the sales opportunity of BBC.com. I had to look at how do we structure, and we decided that, globally what we do is have one advertising sales team. So, if you want to talk about buying into audience group, you talk to Seema (Mohapatra, BBC World News India).
BBC has been developing its own channels in various areas, including that of factual programmes. We have been launching that in different markets, over the last 15 months, as the local channels, and they have had good success; the success has been different in different markets. In some markets, BBC Entertainment, BBC Lifestyle, and Knowledge have done very well. The great surprise, in fact, has been the Lifestyle has done well. As we increasingly engage with advertisers, we can give them properties across our span of businesses based on their requirements.
Q. So 25-30 per cent?
Q. It still would be difficult to demonstrate ROI without numbers...
Q. So, the slowdown is not impacting you at all...
It is, but is interesting how we are seeing it. The last time there was a recession, we felt it, as a business, a little early. Globally, a lot of our advertisers are corporates or brand advertisers. In a recession period, people look at driving sales and bottom-lines, and the advertising focus changes to retail, so on and so forth. It has been very difficult to interpret what is usually said. Some categories have been hit – people talk about automobiles and airlines – but we have a number of brands from these categories that are advertising with us right now. The finance sector is still very strong with us. I was with the head of a global bank, and they were affected very early on in the current situation. I had asked then when they would re-engage with their customers again. They said we would do, but not at this time, and this is around last May-June. This week in London, we have a brief from their agencies for a campaign.
So, the market situation is varying. Not that the worst is over, but there are clients that are coming back to advertise again.
Markets are reacting differently too. For instance, in Dubai, some categories like property have a problem, but Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi are still very robust markets. The lesson that I am seeing at the moment is that it is very difficult to categorise by market and region, there are opportunities even in this climate to go where the business is, and fish where the fish are. It is exciting really.
Q. Do you work with WWM at all to grow any of the common brands like ‘Top Gear’ or ‘Lonely Planet’ soon?
Q. But when you say ROI, it has a very arithmetic, or rather a ratings connotation to it...
I do not think that is necessarily true. For a long time, the dimension has been is your cost cheaper than mine, or is your rating better than mine. That is still important, but it is changing. Today, it is also about specific consumer-targeting, and that may be through just WOM.
Different agencies have different propositions over the last few years and, we all know who the cheaper price agencies, or the media neutral agencies are. Every agency is after ROI, but they all want it the best way. While being cheap is a way, it is a careless way of interpreting ROI.
Q. Does India feature in your top delivering markets?
Q. What are you seeing India?
Q. Yes, but that would still be far from an India point of view, isn’t it? How is the Worldwide business shaping up in India?
Q. So, where is BBC Entertainment in India headed?
Q. I would just wish Seema all the luck with the 70 per cent, but my final question to you is, where do you see the BBC brand placed in overall Indian media scenario in 2009?
Q. So, what can we hear from BBC in 2009?
You would hear a lot of BBC developments in this market – it can be digital products or channel products, but would hear a lot more this year, as India is still going to be very much a growth market, no matter what the conditions are, for BBC in 2009. The individual business heads, when they come to India, would talk to you about their products and how they are growing.
In 2009, from our core product, BBC World News, we want to continue to be a compatible and complimentary product to the other media news brands here. We are looking at a small segment, but it is a growing segment. In addition to that, mobile is going to develop as well. BBC’s offering on mobile this year is going to be fantastic. I can tell you that till a year ago, I didn’t get the mobile medium at all. I do now, and I think it would be massive. BBC would have a great mobile product. How we commercialise it, we don’t know. But as soon as 3G becomes more available, and the way mobile is going to grow given the amount of thought that is being put up behind the medium, we are very excited.
From a commercial point of view, one area I see a lot of business coming from is video-on-demand. It is a massive market in the US. It has been a virtual sell-out. If I look at just the click-through rate, they are massive enough to ring the bells of the blessed media planners in India. I have aged and they are a strong group! I love them dearly – some of them are still very good friends. I know their psyche a little bit; it has been branded on me now. But seriously speaking, I do think we have something that they would be interested in.
Q. So, since everything is in place for you, there are no changes in the projected targets for this year, in light of the slowdown?
Q. The BBC just hosted the Spirit of Golf in Delhi… How does an initiative such as this help the BBC brand in India?
Q. So, you are looking at a 35-40 per cent growth target this year?
Q. With a 2 or 3...
Q. Was there a second thought before doing the event given the current economic slowdown?
Not at all. There is a global downturn. If your growth rate moves from 7 per cent or 8 per cent to 5 per cent, that still has issues and social consequences. There is intense slowdown in the GDP of most places, and markets like Europe and the US were destined have it worst. That said, our business strategy growth and the investment here continue to be very strong. Our growth in terms of BBC World News and BBC.com is very strong.
I strong believe that this is the time when we should not just be maintaining our relations with our customers, but also making news and growing even further. I believe that the next six months would very difficult. When the wave is with us, everyone is carried forward with its momentum, but when that is missing, a good team builds its own momentum and differentiates itself.
Also, from the user’s side over the last nine months, some of the big stories are the big international stories as well – whether it is the economic downturn or the Mumbai terror attacks or Obama. It is a great time for the BBC to show its ability of bringing the global impact of these developments.
Q. You are not looking for advertising revenues from CBeebies and BBC Worldwide in India?
