Filed under: Consumer Insight, luxury marketing, media, travel/hospitality | Tags: advertising in BRIC nations, bric infrastructure and development, bric investment, BRIC marketing, BRIC media buying strategy, international advertising, international advertising strategy, international brand strategy, international marketing, international media, international media buying, international media strategy, marketing in BRIC countries, media buying research, media buying strategy, media planning and buying agency, media strategy
This is the second article in a 3-part series on the growing phenomenon of baseball in India, as an introduction to BRIC media consumption habits, and media’s influence on consumer preferences in India. By Dah-un Hau of Criterion Global (dhau@criterionglobal.com).
It’s the World Series. Bottom of the ninth with the score tied. Bases loaded with two outs and a full count. An extra two million people might be turned-in to watch Danesh Patel and Rinku Singh throw the last and final pitch. These local heroes from Uttar Pradesh, in Northern India could potentially attract millions of additional viewers to this traditionally American sport.
The question for MLB is how to increase awareness in a country that knows so little about baseball – and one so loyal to cricket for that matter?
Baseball was first brought to India by the Amateur Baseball Federation of India in the 1980’s, and the game’s popularity is growing slowly but surely. Indeed, proponents of the sport in India are shocked by the number of players with experience at the University level. But baseball has the potential to gain a greater following. Supporters expect more promotions on the scale of the “Million Dollar Arms” TV show, along with TV, cinema, and radio ad campaigns to boost the sport’s visibility.
With a growing middle class tuning in, TV seems like the most broadly effective media buying channel for this purpose: Roughly half of all Indian households own a television, which is exceptional for a nation in which 77% of the population lives on less than Rs.20 (US$0.50) per day. Additionally, cable television is growing at a rate of 8-10% per year, according to Wikipedia. Of course, India is geographically large, and demographically nuanced by generational, class, and regional preferences, and while mobile advertising is soon expected to take off, India is a market particularly responsive to TV. A 2009 MTV Networks International study on youth consumers worldwide showed a vast majority of young people in India have a favorite channel (88% in India compared with 70% in Germany, 73% in the UK, and 80% in the US).
More importantly for advertisers seeking adoption by Indian consumers, young people in India are deeply brand conscious. In this same survey, Indian youth were found the most likely to talk about brands, with two in three saying they do so ‘a lot’. Perhaps an even more staggering finding: the study also found that Indian youth associate brands as trends and as “a way of belonging,” with 25% of respondents agreeing.
In all likelihood, television would be considered the best way to increase awareness. Targeting younger people, specifically in sports marketing, builds long term loyalty, and is ideal since baseball is meant for younger people to learn and love the game as they are growing up.
Baseball’s adoption in India would amplify interest in the game on a global scale, and after all, an extra million or two viewers cheering for Danesh Patel and Rinku Singh in the World Series wouldn’t be a bad thing for MLB’s franchise.
Filed under: Consumer Insight, media, travel/hospitality | Tags: advertising in BRIC nations, bric infrastructure and development, bric investment, BRIC marketing, BRIC media buying strategy, international advertising, international advertising strategy, international brand strategy, international marketing, international media, international media buying, international media strategy, marketing in BRIC countries, media buying agency, media buying research, media buying strategy
This is the first article in a 3-part series on the growing phenomenon of baseball in India, as an introduction to BRIC media consumption habits, and media’s influence on consumer preferences in India. By Dah-un Hau of Criterion Global (dhau@criterionglobal.com).
Photo via SportsIllustrated.CNN.com
In 2008, a sports management company in California created a reality TV show in India called “Million Dollar Arms.” The contest was simple: Throw as hard and as accurate as you can to win. Using print ads and TV broadcasting to get the word out, over 30,000 contestants came and tried out.
In the end, two contestants came out on top: Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh (the eventual contest winner). The two were given the chance to go to America and train to play baseball, be courted by major league scouts for the chance to sign with a Major League team. They spent months learning how to pitch, and with the final days looming, were finally signed to a minor league contract by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
With their great success so far, both Rinku Singh and Danesh Patel have the chance do what no other Indian person has done before: pitch at the Major League level. As for MLB, they are following in the footsteps of countless multinational corporations in recognizing India’s potential.
With a population of 1B+, it’s a great recruitment market, but perhaps MLB’s move seeks to influence the country’s cultural preferences toward sports as well to further its expansive licensing franchise.
In the next article, we will discuss baseball’s growing following in India, and how smart media strategy can amplify the presence of MLB and other potentially multinational brands in this emerging market.
Filed under: Consumer Insight, media | Tags: consumer marketing, consumer segmentation, digital marketing, digital media, interactive advertising, interactive media buying, interactive strategy, internet advertising, internet marketing, mobile marketing, mobile media buying, mobile media usage, online, online advertising, online marketing, online marketing firm, online usage
A survey by KPMG in the UK finds that 60% of those polled said they would rather watch advertising onlin
e in return for free content than pay for it. This is another blow for services expecting users to pay for content, but positive news for advertisers and the publishers who love them!
Only 16% of consumers said they would rather pay for content and avoid ads. The survey’s results proved true for internet, as well as mobile platforms, with regard to video, article, music, or other content provided free with advertisers’ support.
Filed under: Consumer Insight, media | Tags: apparel marketing, audience segmentation, consumer marketing, consumer segmentation, fashion marketing, media buying strategy, retail marketing, retail marketing strategy
In consumer media, the current recession has taken a grin-and-bear it tone with Holly Hobby headlines offering “tips” on bargain-hunting and doing more with less. Echoing this consumer charge, it seems as though American Apparel examined its own product line with an eye toward repurposing its merchandise for new prospective consumers: the expecting.
As remarked on retail blog RackedLA, and women’s blog Jezebel, American Apparel’s foray into materity isn’t actually a new line of products, just a reassemblage of spandex and stretchy garments, well, stretched onto a new silhouette.
For marketers, re-purposing products can be a genius move. Anectdotal research has found at least 30% of Preparation H sales are for its affect on undereye bags, an unintentional but effective secondary purpose. The benefit of secondary segment marketing is that it broadens the audience of prospective consumers, ideally without alienating the original consumer base.
American Apparel’s move cleverly continues the unpredictable tone of its marketing (which recently stirred up the neurotic ire of Woody Allen for an unauthorized, insulting use of the director’s likeness for billboard spots; Allen has launched a lawsuit over the imbroglio). As for its real prospect for penetrating the maternity market, spandex jumpsuits aren’t terribly practical for mums-to-be, but American Apparel can be lauded for adding some edge and pinache into a rather dismal corner of the fashion market.
Thinking of repurposing your retail brand to fit a new audience? Call Criterion Global for media strategy and guidance – even in a downturn, bright ideas and sound execution can breath life into your brand.
