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| Measurement and accountability is the name of the game |
| Advertisers across India put in their money in the digital medium with the assurance that every buck is accountable. There are three main players that help the advertisers measure their ROI and digital media planners plan their media efficiently: |
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US based comScore |
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AC Nielsen |
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Komli’s Vizisense |
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| While Komli’s Vizisense has met with mixed reviews, AC Nielsen is still in the process of completing its ‘handshake’ with various publishers to ensure that the industry at large gets accurate data. That leaves us with comScore. The package has been around since 1995 and is widely accepted in the industry. However, if we wear a planner’s hat, we figure that even the so called leader has some gaping holes when it comes to methodology, interface and data presentation. This newsletter is our attempt to channelise some concern about the measurement bodies for an industry that is largely sold as being ‘accountable’. So without much ado, here’s our list of planner (comScore) woes: |
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| 1. What is being measured? |
| comScore essentially uses the attract, recruit and measure policy when it comes to tracking audience behaviour. Essentially, what this means is that people are recruited into the panel via an online survey, and once the respondent agrees and provides his basic demographic information; his/her net surfing behaviour is monitored and accounted for in pre-defined demographic buckets. |
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| However, a critical point to note here is that this recruitment, monitoring and analysis procedure is restricted only to home or office computers and excludes and usage from cyber cafés. Should it concern us? Well, yes because about 45% of the internet users in India access internet from cyber cafés (Source: Juxt Consult India Online 2008). Can a package that excludes such a wide chunk really be used as the guiding force behind all digital media investments? That’s a question that bothers the savvy planner right at the onset. |
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| Our score 2/5 |
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| 2. Limited audience segmentation |
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| Let’s now look at defining the target audience—one can choose gender, age band and type of access (broadband/dial up) and… that’s all! There’s no further qualifier to help one fine tune the audience within a given demographic subset. So, whether you are targeting the young executive (Male 25-35 age group) for a luxury product or low tariff mobile package, your choice of media vehicles is likely to be the same (unless you use your judgment of course). |
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| Also, the fact that comScore provides data on India as a whole and not split by regions or markets makes it not so robust as a planning tool for a market as varied as India. Including sub markets, occupation/MHI could therefore be a starting point in making this software more planning friendly. Consumption patterns of key lifestyle products, segmentation basis consumption of other media would also be a welcome addition. |
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| Having said that, the segmentation basis light/moderate/heavy internet consumption is an interesting utility. Essentially, what comScore does is that it splits up the total internet basis time spent into heavy (top 20%), moderate (next 30%) and light (balance 50%). This segmentation is also available on a genre level. One can then use various key measures across these segments to target a certain subsegment more effectively. To understand how varied these subsegments are in their net usage behaviour, see the table below: |
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Heavy |
Medium |
Light |
All |
| Total UV ('000s) |
6,835 |
10,253 |
17,089 |
34,177 |
| % UV Average |
20% |
30% |
50% |
100% |
| Daily Visitors ('000s) |
3,824 |
3,452 |
2,383 |
9,659 |
| % Daily |
56% |
34% |
14% |
28% |
| Total Minutes (MM) |
13,757 |
5,502 |
1,917 |
21,176 |
| Total Pages Viewed (MM) |
22,092 |
9,560 |
3,331 |
34,983 |
| Total Visits ('000s) |
4,13,349 |
2,17,879 |
95,380 |
1,95,719 |
| Avg. mins. per visit |
33.3 |
25.3 |
20.1 |
24.3 |
| Avg. visits per visitor per month |
60.5 |
21.3 |
5.6 |
21.3 |
| Avg. pages viewed per visitor per month |
3,232 |
932 |
195 |
1,024 |
| Avg. hrs. per visitor per month |
3.4 |
0.9 |
0.2 |
1.0 |
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| Our Score : 3/5 |
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| 3. Reporting structure on websites |
| One of the key questions any digital planner would have would be to look at what are the top websites for his/her region/target audience. comScore does provide a detailed listing for this, however the reporting nomenclature is a little confusing and time consuming to sift through. See the table below for the top websites (News/Information) run through comScore. |
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| Items 1 to 274 |
Total Unique
Visitors ('000s) |
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Total Internet: Total Audience |
34,177 |
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News/Information |
13,763 |
| 1 |
[C] |
Yahoo! News |
4,107 |
| 2 |
[P] |
New York Times Digital |
2,893 |
| 3 |
[C] |
The Times of India |
2,340 |
| 4 |
[M] |
ONEINDIA.IN |
1,748 |
| 5 |
[P] |
The Hindu Group |
1,714 |
| 6 |
[M] |
NDTV.COM |
1,382 |
| 7 |
[P] |
The Indian Express Group |
1,210 |
| 8 |
[P] |
HT Media Ltd |
1,197 |
| 9 |
[M] |
BBC |
937 |
| 10 |
[C] |
IBN Live |
844 |
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| The nomenclature used by comScore is as follows |
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| [P] |
Property |
| [M] |
Media Title |
| [C] |
Channel |
| [S] |
Subchannel |
| [G] |
Group |
| [SG] |
Subgroup |
| [E] |
Custom Entity |
| [N] |
Ad Network |
| [A#] |
Alternate Rollup |
| [X1] |
Extended Network |
| [H] |
Full Hybrid—Used to identify entities that are measured and reported completely based on Panel-Centric Hybrid (Panel + Census) measurement. |
| [h] |
Partial Hybrid—Used to identify entities with at least one child entity that is Full Hybrid, but not all. |
| w/History |
Trend combines media previously reported under different parent and/or different level |
| * |
Indicates that the entity has assigned traffic to certain pages in the domain to other entities |
| ** |
Indicates that the entity is an advertising network. |
| ... |
Indicates data used fell below minimum reporting standards and/or data not available. |
| N/A |
Indicates data is not available in the data set for reporting for the specified time period. |
| # |
Caution—small base may result in unstable projection. |
| ## |
Directional purposes only—base too unstable for reliable projection. |
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| The user needs to manually sift through the list and shortlist the entities. This, therefore, provides room for human error on the most basic run that would be required for planning purposes. |
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| Our Score : 2/5 |
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| Inspite of having highlighted these key concerns, one cannot deny the value that the software brings to table. It provides a standard yardstick for planning and effectiveness measurement and thus aids in fairer comparisons of say two media plans/deals. Yes, we need the interface and the reporting structure to be customized to the market. Yes, we would love the comScore guys to wear a planner’s hat and look at the entire process in light of that for the information need gaps. But till that time, it’s a good friend to have when one is groping for some direction in the big dark digital space. Overall, we rate the package at 3/5—meets the requirement but there’s scope for lots of improvement. |
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| And no, this does not mean that we close the doors on this software. Inspite of its limitations, there is a host of information available through this software and the discerning mind can use the stories that these numbers tell to his/her advantage. To give you a sampler: |
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Comscore data reflects that the netizens are flirting with
new genres |
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| Genre |
Unique
Visitors
('000s) |
Growth
rate |
Average
visits per
visitor |
Growth
Rate |
| News/Information: Politics |
1145 |
497% |
58.6 |
-26.38% |
| Services: Incentives |
1554 |
193% |
53.4 |
-0.44% |
| Retail: Sports/Outdoor |
367 |
145% |
62.9 |
-9.58% |
Career Services and Development: Job
Search |
1930 |
135% |
52.3 |
-16.61% |
| Retail: Retail – Food |
256 |
135% |
60.08 |
-18.83% |
| Retail: Computer Software |
4432 |
130% |
3331 |
-12.91% |
| Directories/Resources: Classifieds |
4311 |
127% |
51.5 |
-13.71% |
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| The above table reflects genres that have shown a growth of 100%+ in unique visitors as compared to last year. As is evident from the numbers, more people are flocking to these genres, thus resulting in higher UVs; however the repeat visits are low. This is getting reflected in dropping rate of average visit per visitor. |
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| The 15-34 age band is driving most of the growth on net |
| The above table reflects genres that have shown a growth of 100%+ in unique visitors as compared to last year. As is evident from the numbers, more people are flocking to these genres, thus resulting in higher UVs; however the repeat visits are low. This is getting reflected in dropping rate of average visit per visitor. |
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Unique Visitors
(growth %) |
15-24 yrs |
25-34 yrs |
35-44 yrs |
45-54 yrs |
55+ yrs |
Growth
Rate |
| Genre |
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| News/Information: Politics |
516.37% |
752.54% |
393.57% |
273.85% |
104.61% |
497% |
| Services: Incentives |
216.25% |
272.63% |
187.14% |
34.23% |
42.15% |
193% |
| Retail: Sports/Outdoor |
150.72% |
87.85% |
127.82% |
12.50% |
NA |
145% |
| Career Services and Development: Job Search |
184.22% |
144.49% |
93.96% |
0.46% |
94.57% |
135% |
| Retail: Food |
256 |
267.49% |
101.75% |
NA |
NA |
135% |
| Retail: Computer Software |
143.97% |
166.04% |
92.32% |
41.78% |
79.25% |
130% |
| Directories/Resources: Classifieds |
172.30% |
164.70% |
63.25% |
27.54% |
22.63% |
127% |
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| Please Note: NA has been stated for the segments where no data is available |
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| Good news—this is the audience that is being targeted by most brands. Bad news—the audience is fickle and highly flirtatious as far as the online destinations are concerned. A wider basket of websites would be the trick to talk to this set of audience (budgets permitting) |
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| As we said earlier, there is a wealth of information (some apparent and some not so apparent) in those rows of comScore data. However, one needs to be conscious of the software shortcomings too. Our verdict—use this package as a guiding principle (at least till something better comes up) but keep your mind open, allow for some common sense over riders, provide some room for cross check and you have a great planning framework! |
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| Want a media plan that gives you more bang for your buck? |
| Ignitee has a decade of experience in tailoring media plans that ensure brands reach the right audience. We thus guarantee greater returns on investment. To know how we can increase your profits, contact Ignitee NOW! |
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| Internet Humour |
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| R K Sharma was earlier opposed to his 11-year old daughter Akanksha's gaming habits. Sharma now says he joins her occasionally in a video game match. Sharma isn't alone. A host of parents are now warming up to gaming because of the significant improvement they have seen in their children's problem-solving skills ever since they started playing video games. Rekha Purohit, mother of 10-year old Harshit, won a video gaming championship recently. A beaming Rekha argues that there are lots of things kids can learn from gaming—for instance games based on musical instruments or painting can be good for them. "We realised that a majority of video games require players to follow rules, think tactically, make fast decisions and fulfil numerous objectives to win," says the proud mother, basking in the success of her son. |
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| News |
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| Young India does its bit for online biz model |
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Whoever said that "youth is wasted on the young" should look at the new wave of youngsters who have left their well-paying jobs to start out on their own. Amar Deb, the former Head of Channel V, is busy with his own online venture centred on entertainment content. 26-year old Sorav Narula has even given up his job in London to start an online career counselling business. According to the latest Juxt Consult report, India’s population of young surfers is a huge 40 million. Clearly, the young India is keen to give the online business model a chance as it is about making you worth so much money in a short period of time. And that too, sitting at home, working on a laptop. |
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| Bad times are good for m-banking |
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A recent KPMG survey highlights the huge potential for banks to grow their market with the rise in mobile phone subscribers in India. Anika Sahani, a PR professional, has been using the mobile banking or m-banking application offered by HDFC, but she is reluctant to move beyond checking her balance on the mobile screen. Sahani reasons, “I have an ATM card to withdraw cash so why would I want to use my mobile phone.” At the same time, there are users like Rahul Gehlaut, a Mumbai-based businessman who often purchases air-tickets and transfers money to his family members using his mobile phone. He says, “I began using IDBI bank’s m-banking platform last year and realised that it is much more comfortable than searching for an ATM every time I needed cash.” |
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| Spends on digital media to grow by 44%, mobile 600%: Study |
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According to a study jointly conducted by Webchutney and Juxt, spends on digital media by the top 500 marketers in India is expected to grow by 44 per cent from Rs 278 crore in 2008-09 to Rs 399 crore in 2009-10. The study also projects that the top marketers are likely to increase their ad spend on the mobile medium from the current 2 per cent of the overall digital spends to 9 per cent of the digital spends. “We expect this Rs 278 crore to be not more than 64 per cent of the total spends on the internet by all marketers. Assuming that the top 500 marketers continue to account for only about 2/3rd of the total online spends, then the total online ad spend kitty may well cross Rs 625 crore in 2009-10,” states theDigital Media Outlook 2009. |
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| CTR not a reliable indicator of the success of an online marketing campaign: Study |
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Digital advertising and technology company Komli Media recently conducted a brand impact study to measure the effectiveness of an online banner advertising campaign run by its client Big TV on Komli’s network websites. The study found that a 25.6 per cent lift in brand awareness was derived just from impressions. It was also found that the 728x90 creative unit delivered the lowest CTR (click through rate) and the highest brand lift. According to Komli, this indicates that CTR alone is not a reliable indicator of the success of an online marketing campaign. |
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