MAM
A new formula to ‘Engross’
The biggest threat for advertisers is rapidly climbing as the rate of ‘ad avoidance’ crosses the 70 per cent threshold across all media, among both active and passive avoiders. What’s more alarming is the fact that ad avoidance is higher in rural India than in urban areas.
As this trend is expected to go even higher, Intellect, a part of the Lintas Media Group in association with Hansa Research Group released the findings of a study titled ‘Engross, a media engagement and ad avoidance study.’
Lintas India Pvt. Ltd director media services Lynn de Souza addressed a gathering of media planners, owners and clients, alerting them of the implications of this growing menace for the industry.
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“We have all been battling with ad avoidance for a while,” says de Souza. “What we certainly didn’t expect were such high avoidance levels, even in rural areas, and even on the internet. That is clearly a reflection of the consumer’s overall disapproval of the enormously high and growing ad clutter levels and is an issue that media owners should seriously take on board. In an attempt to reduce per unit prices they often simply increase the inventory on offer in an ad sales package, which results in high clutter, and high avoidance of the very ads they are trying to get more of!”
What emerged as a result of the findings, de Souza said, was not that this group of ‘heavy media consumers’ disliked advertisements altogether, but instead they choose to avoid the growing clutter that they perceive to be dominating the media landscape. Encompassing all mass media including TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, outdoor and internet, her advice to fellow media experts, was that flooding the environment with an overdose of brands will ultimately lead the consumer to turn away from advertisements.
With specific reference to television, this will pose a big ‘risk’ to the so-called burgeoning branded entertainment industry, which is just beginning to bear fruit in India. What’s more, the changing technological media environment will aid passive ad avoiders to quickly become active in doing the same.
Spanning two months, October and November, Intellect engaged Hansa Research to update its biannual ad avoidance measures. This year the study included an understanding of how various consumer segments engage themselves with different genres of mass media, including sport, news, movies, education, fashion, serials etc.
Besides narrowing in on an urban sample size of 1,073 respondents (SEC A, 15-40 year olds, students, housewives, working people) across Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad, the study also captured the behaviour of the rural audiences. The Bharat Barometer (Intellect’s joint venture with ITC’s e chaupal network) was used to estimate the same measures by contacting 892 people in rural UP, Maharashtra and AP. These included 606 e chaupal Sanchalaks and 286 rural women.
On having conceived the study, Initiative senior vice president Premjeet Sodhi said, “We are still discovering new nuggets of information each time we analyse the findings. This study is directly applicable to the media planning needs of our various clients who focus on the key youth, housewife, and working segments, and also provides us with data on the ‘upper market’ rural audiences which the industry has never had at such a detailed level earlier.”
Focusing on two verticals within the framework of a consumer’s media interaction – content and ambient design. The former drives engagement while the latter generates avoidance which has greatly risen from last year across media. Based on the content vertical, the study highlighted the degree of engagement taking four main factors – Content, Relevance, Interactivity and Personalisation (CRIP score). Thus, Intellect has devised 305 CRIP scores across 61 genres and five target groups to be used by media planners to improve media selection.
Speaking about the method used to administer the study, Intellect associate VP Julius Augustine says, “The most important part of the study was the development of the statements that would measure engagement across the four parameters of content, relevance, interactivity and personalization (CRIP).
“We needed to measure engagement not just at the media but also at the genre level. Hence, part of the questionnaire was self administered, guided by the interviewer. The respondent had to place all the genres simultaneously on an engagement scale at the same time for each statement separately. Hence, if needed, the respondent could go back and change his ratings as each new medium was presented (For example, he began to compare news on TV with news in dailies) till he had rated all genres to his or her satisfaction.”
Using the CRIP score which is synonymous with engagement, Engross concluded that the more engaging the content the lower the ad avoidance (except for magazines). More specifically, the more consumers are engaged with a particular genre, the less likely are they to avoid ads in that genre.
Some of the findings also revealed data that would provide a ray of hope for the umpteen news channels, as news on television has emerged as more engaging than in newspapers.
However, the biggest challenge for advertisers comes from ‘student’ consumers, as regardless of the degree of engagement with a particular genre, the level of ad avoidance remains high.
In this day and age when media clutter is commonplace and every brand attempts to adopt newer ways to ‘break through that clutter,’ the essence of creating engaging content somehow gets displaced. All in all the core aim of seducing the consumer also gets blurred!
If you are actively investing to grow your money month after month, you already understand the value of planning ahead. SIPs, long-term portfolios, retirement planning and goal-based investing all point to one thing. You are building a future with intent.
What often gets missed in this process is one foundational question. How well is the income that funds all these plans protected?
Term life insurance fits naturally into this stage of financial planning. It does not compete with investments. It supports them by protecting the income that makes long-term growth possible.
Why Income Protection Is a Core Part of Financial Planning
Every financial plan begins with income. Before money is invested or saved, it is earned.
Over time, this income is allocated across multiple needs:
● monthly household expenses
● EMIs and long-term loans
● savings and emergency funds
● investments aimed at future goals
As responsibilities increase, financial planning becomes layered. Each layer assumes income continuity. Term life insurance exists to ensure that this structure does not become fragile due to overdependence on a single income source.
It adds stability to plans already in motion rather than introducing a new objective.
What does term life insurance do?
Term life insurance provides a fixed payout to your nominee if you pass away during the policy term. The purpose of this payout is practical and clearly defined.
It is intended to:
● replace lost income for a defined period
● help manage outstanding liabilities
● support ongoing household and goal-based expenses
There is no investment or savings component. This keeps the product focused and cost-efficient, allowing individuals to opt for meaningful coverage without diverting funds meant for growth-oriented investments.
Why Term Life Insurance Complements Investing?
Investments and insurance play different roles in a financial plan.
Investments are designed to:
● grow wealth over time
● compound with consistency
● be adjusted as goals and risk appetite change
Term life insurance is designed to:
● provide financial continuity
● protect existing plans from disruption
● remain stable once put in place
Keeping these roles separate improves clarity. Investments are allowed to perform without being forced to double up as protection, while insurance quietly supports the overall structure.
Who Should Consider Term Life Insurance?
Term life insurance becomes relevant when financial planning extends beyond individual needs. This typically includes:
a) Working professionals
When income supports shared expenses or long-term plans, protection becomes essential.
b) Individuals with long-term liabilities
Home loans, education loans and other EMIs often extend over decades. Term insurance ensures these obligations remain manageable.
c) Parents planning future milestones
Education, healthcare and lifestyle goals require continuity over many years.
d) Early planners with rising incomes
Starting earlier allows coverage to align smoothly with career progression and evolving responsibilities.
How Much Coverage Should Be Considered?
Coverage should be guided by financial reality rather than affordability alone.
A well-rounded evaluation typically considers:
● number of years income needs to be replaced
● existing and future liabilities
● long-term goals already planned
● inflation and rising living costs
Many insurance companies offer options starting from 50 lakhs, 1 crore term insurance and higher. It allows individuals to choose coverage based on their income, liabilities and future plans.
How Term Life Insurance Fits Into a Long-Term Plan
Once set up, term life insurance does not demand frequent attention.
It does not require active monitoring, market tracking or performance reviews. Its role is structural rather than dynamic.
By ensuring financial continuity, it allows families to:
● stay aligned with long-term plans
● avoid rushed financial decisions
● focus on execution rather than damage control
When aligned correctly, term insurance strengthens the foundation on which investments, savings and retirement plans are built.
Choose the Right Insurance Partner
Once the need, coverage amount and role of term life insurance are clear, the final and most important step is choosing the right partner.
This decision should be based on:
● clarity and transparency in policy terms
● a strong claim settlement track record
● consistency in servicing and communication
● the ability to support long-term financial planning rather than just selling a product
Term life insurance is a long-term commitment. The partner you choose today will be the one your family relies on years down the line.
When protection is aligned with purpose and backed by a dependable insurer, term life insurance becomes a quiet but powerful part of a well-built financial plan.
