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Will mobile ads replace traditional media in India?
Highlights
As discussed in the previous column, it is evident that there are new technologies emerging each day. These technologies may be functioning exceptionally well, but the bigger question is whether they are more efficient than other contemporary media.
The rapidly increasing smartphone market in the country and the decreasing prices of devices are an added auxiliary to the fact that smartphones will give advertisers and marketers a scope to be part of a consumer’s life 24x7
As discussed in the previous column, it is evident that there are new technologies emerging each day. These technologies may be functioning exceptionally well, but the bigger question is whether they are more efficient than other contemporary media.
For instance, the present generation’s fad for technology- smartphones; the smartphone ecosystem is rapidly growing and like any other media, even this medium is housing a big share of advertising and marketing in India and across the globe. It’s shocking to note that the revenue spent on mobile ads were Rs 455-480 crore last year. And all this advertising is excluding the traditional SMS, MMS and P2P messaging.
With estimates guaranteeing a phenomenal growth in mobile ad spends in the year 2015, with a projected Rs 720 crore, there is a need to look at the media and its possibilities and limitations and address them accordingly. Market maturity is the biggest question when it comes to dealing with an emerging and dynamic medium.
There is no doubt that the market share of smartphones is rapidly growing; but it hasn’t reached the maturity level yet. Moreover, the proportion of people exposed to this medium are comparatively very less than that of the conventional media like the TV and print.
It is to be noted that major firms are investing big money in mobile advertising, totally unaware of its reach and the target audience.The key behind the idea of mobile advertising is hugely being fuelled by the fact that India is one of the world’s fastest growing smartphone markets, marking a growth rate of over 50 per cent.
The success rate of mobile advertising is comparatively lower than conventional media because of the feasibility. It is simple - more Indians have access to newspapers and TV than smartphones. Estimates show that only 25 per cent of Indians have access to smartphones while those with access to TV and newspapers are close to 80 per cent.
While we can argue that mobile advertising will take long to beat its competition, we cannot ignore the fact that unlike newspapers and TV, the audiences of smartphones are nearly inseparable from the phone and that’s precisely what a marketer and advertiser is looking for.
Smartphones are giving advertisers a scope to be a part of the potential consumer’s life 24x7, making it a one-of-its-kind medium.
What can be called one of the chief drivers of mobile ad spends in the country is the increasing penetration of smartphones, which is highly influenced by decreasing smartphone and data prices, increasing the consumption of content.
An excerpt from exchange4media suggests that ecommerce (amazon, flipkart and ebay), support and affiliated services and classifieds (OLX, Quickr) represent more than half of mobile ad spends.Bottom line is that as the medium matures, brands and agencies develop a better understanding of the use of medium; we can observe non-traditional sectors taking to mobile advertising.
However, the potential barrier in this process can be issues of connectivity and speed as India is one generation behind other countries in this regard. Also, there is a huge scope of dynamic changes in the communication designs on the platform. The improvised target ads in mobile advertising will take a lead in the field.The biggest challenge ahead is to reach the 80 crore customers, who are yet to own smartphones.
By:Tushar Kalawatia
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