‘Connected TV will be a crucial part of the media mix for any marketer’

In a panel discussion at e4m Connected TV Conference 2024, industry experts mulled over Unlocking Synergies: Converging linear TV & non-linear mediums for omnichannel success. The panel included Pavan Singh, General Manager- Marketing, Amul India, Tushar Malhotra, Director Sales and Marketing, Bisleri International Pvt., Siddharth Dabhade, Global Commercial Board Member
& Managing Director, MiQ, Ankit Desai, Head - Media, Digital Marketing and Brand PR (India & Global Centre of Excellence), Marico Limited, and was moderated by Vishal Chinchankar, CEO, Madison Digital.

The Moderator, Vishal Chinchankar, initiated the conversation by asking Ankit Desai to share his thoughts on the spill for FMCG that always works on television and how he measures the hardworking angle related to market share movement.

Acknowledging his question, Desai initiated by going a little back in time and highlighted First Media metrics and any mass business. “It's finally about growing penetration or growing share right in both cases you will need to find newer audiences all the time”, he explained.

Turning to Tushar Malhotra, Chinchankar presented the same question with a little different approach and asked if there is a formula that suggests putting 30% of the budget towards CTV audiences and 60-70% towards linear TV audiences, or if there is a specific media mix that he plans on using.

Taking a very simplistic approach, Malhotra answered, “When you look at the fragmentation of media especially in a post-pandemic world promoting FMCG brands was a no-brainer as we aim for GRP targets and compete with others. However, digital media has now become a major part of the advertising landscape, accounting for around 30-35% of all so-called above-the-line (ATL) spending for FMCG brands. Furthermore, Connected TV is now becoming an important part of any marketer's media mix.”

Emphasizing the importance of the large screens and the market share movement, Ankit elaborated, “We do know that large screen sizes still matter so while there is a lean in which we talk about for mobile phones there is this element of large screen impact leading to association with the brand and its scale as well. So, all of these factors put together I think is the way forward and that's the way we look at it.”

Highlighting the importance of keeping up with the changing trends in the industry, Siddharth highlighted some great statistics that around 3-4 years ago, 70% of viewership for FMCG brands was on linear TV, while only 30% was on Connected TV. However, this trend has now completely reversed, with 70% of viewership on connected TV and only 30% on linear TV. Therefore, going forward, the industry can expect to see a continuation of this trend.

Vivek explained that what the industry is currently witnessing is not a separation of TV and CTV as two distinct segments. It is more like TV is evolving into CTV. “From a production standpoint or for those who cater to different audiences, we see that it might not be the TV audience that has moved away from TV, but rather watch time that is being distributed”, Vivek added, describing the shift in consumer behavior.

Elucidating the importance of why brands should consider using CTV as part of their marketing strategy, Vivek explained, “CTV is crucial for reaching consumers who still prefer long-form content. This is important for brands because they can send their message through the content and increase their reach.” 

Moving forward, highlighting the effectiveness of PIN code level targeting and how it can be used for micro-segmentation of audiences, Pavan Singh elaborated, “As digitization will happen it is not about only media, it is about how do you holistically solve your problem so for those dealerships where inventory is high and sales are low. I would increase the intensity and do that personalization and localization.”  

Singh explained that in dealerships or areas where inventory is high and sales are low, the solution is to increase foot traffic and use digital data integration and the appropriate digital medium, whether it be Connected TV or mobile, to solve the business problem for the brand.

Vivek concluded the discussion by making a clear distinction between CTV and linear TV in terms of revenue. “Linear TV would generate more revenue because it is traded at effective rates, which is different from how things are traded digitally. Various factors determine effective rates, such as perception, loyalty, and repeat usage. On the other hand, if one is involved in the CPM War, they are not necessarily talking about quality CPM. Until we reach HQ CPM, which is high-quality CPM, it is more like linear TV will be supplemented with CTV.”