The Hindu Business Line : Optimum Media Solutions launches Brandcast unit

OPTIMUM Media Solutions (OMS), the media specialist arm of Mudra Communications, has taken the initiative to define a way of advertising brands where the brand is integrated with `entertainment content.'

To achieve this, it has announced the launch of its latest division called `Brandcast.' In an industry where professionals are still divided over the issue of divorcing creative from media planning for advertising effectiveness, OMS feels that in this fiercely fragmented media environment, if brands desire to further a relationship with consumers and aspire for longevity, it can only happen by dovetailing creative with media. Not in the traditional advertising sense, however.

Elaborating on the concept of effective integration — the basic foundation of Brandcasting, Mr Sandeep Vij, President, OMS, said, "Brandcasting allows marketers to leverage a brand's personality in a way that consumers find it entertaining and enjoyable, so that when the consumer views the content, it does not appear to be a piece of advertising. Engaging the consumers is what is important. With fragmentation of media and viewership, where simultaneous consumption of media is a reality, advertising audiences are dwindling. People are watching less advertising compared to say, five years ago."

To create the same impact for an ad, the media person has to buy three to four times the number of spots. Advertising is getting less effective, therefore, marketers need to connect with consumers in different ways. Branded content allows for relating to consumer in different ways." The Brandcast division has a team of creative content ideation specialists who, in conjunction with strategic planners, craft initiatives.

The first to come on board, in the capacity as a Creative Consultant, is Mr Siddharth Rao (partner of Webchutney). A recent example is Brand Electrolux, which is focused to connect with the Indian woman and empathise with her dreams and hopes. OMS Brandcast along with Sony Television has created films, in which Manasi Roy (Kkusum in the serial Kkusum) and Pallavi Joshi (Rewa Kapoor in Kkehna Hai Kuch Mujhko) talk candidly to the viewer and express their aspirations and dreams, thereby strengthening the Electrolux connect with the Indian hope manager. Expressing his pleasure about Brandcast being a medium for reaching out to the target audience, Mr Rajeev Karwal, Managing Director and CEO, Electrolux Kelvinator Ltd, states, "I do believe that OMS brandcast is an idea whose time has come. In today's cluttered environment where commercial avoidance is for real, it is critical for marketers to connect with audiences in more creative ways."

While there are a handful of such examples, it's important to note that brands can no longer be `placed' as idle props, with no relation to the content. Brands have to leap to the next level, where the brand and its values have a cerebral function in the content, and don't stick out like advertising signboards. More importantly, `content' need not stay within the confines of what is traditionally defined as entertainment. Any branding opportunity that provides the right connect for brand integration can fit the bill. "The media and entertainment industry is truly emerging as the sunrise industry," Mr Vij said.

"ICICI Ventures is hugely proactive in investing in this space. Bollywood is getting corporatised. This time, the broadband market is for real. The gaming content market is growing ... Suddenly, valuations in this sector are getting real. Consultancies are springing up, verticals are being set up."

Other recent examples of Brandcasting done by OMS are: The Grasim brand position created by O&M is the `Power of Fashion.' For the Grasim brandcast celebrities such as Suneil Shetty, Sanjay Suri and Arshad Warsi were used to talk about the Grasim Power of Fashion and what it meant to them. This was clearly seen by viewers, with their hunger for stars and their ways, as content. What the brand managed to do was to wrap the content with the brand position.

As an agency, Brandcast is a critical investment for OMS. It has already begun to aggressively drive its initiative with a clear game plan for gaining an early mover advantage. With this done, it hopes to usher in a new way forward for the advertising industry for effective integration of brand values and entertainment content.