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Brands to rebalance media spends between online and offline: Kantar
MUMBAI: Many online-first and disruptor brands will be investing in offline modes of advertising, as they seek to “redress the balance between short-term performance marketing and long-term brand building,” reveals the latest Media Predictions 2020 report, released by Kantar. Not just this, multimedia advertisers will make efforts to better integrate their marketing efforts with offline experiences.
In the report, Kantar expert Duncan Southgate writes, “This rebalancing will take many forms across the marketing landscape, so let’s consider a few different perspectives. For online players this will mean more attempts to bring their brands to life in the real world and build closer connections with consumers.”
Southgate shares the examples of Mozilla, owner of Firefox browser, which had recently reduced digital marketing spend by 10 per cent and shifted more dollars to offline marketing efforts including events and content marketing.
“Brands like eBay are rebalancing their media spend in favour of brand-building traditional channels. This makes sense, as we know from our CrossMedia database that digital media spend is far less likely to be cost-effective for brands where digital exceeds over half of the budget.”
With the trend to getting back to reality taking shape in 2020, it is expected that a slowdown in the global digital advertising growth. However, with 31 percent of the marketers struggling to integrate their media and non-media touchpoints, it will be important for them to break down down the silos to achieve the desired growth.
Other important trends highlighted in the report included an upsurge in ‘voice search’ thus heralding a new age of audio advertising.
“We expect podcasts to be one of the fastest growing channels for ad spend: according to our Getting Media Right 2019 study, 63% of marketers say they plan to increase spend in podcast advertising over the next 12 months,” writes Kantar North America’s Heather O’Shea.
Another trend shaping up in the year, with many browsers disabling cookies that were a prime source of data collection for digital advertisers, and countries taking stand for data privacy, would be an influx of direct integrations between publishers and measurement partners, which will enable true cross-publisher measurement for the first time.
“What is certain is that campaign measurement will become ever more complex. Marketers will need to future-proof their measurement frameworks and reduce their reliance on cookies for tracking. And many will turn to third-party measurement providers like Kantar to help them navigate the evolving media landscape,” shares Jane Ostler.
Campaign measurements will surely get tougher during the year, therefore prompting the marketers to seek for new and innovative ways to keep a tab of their ROI.
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Barista partners Ginny Weds Sunny 2 with mango campaign
Cafe chain blends cinema buzz with summer menu and 20 per cent offer.
MUMBAI: Love may brew slowly, but marketing clearly doesn’t especially when coffee meets cinema and mangoes steal the spotlight. Barista Coffee Company has partnered with the upcoming hindi film Ginny Weds Sunny 2 as its official beverage partner, in a move aimed at tapping into youth culture through entertainment-led engagement. The collaboration is not just a logo placement exercise. Instead, Barista is translating the film’s high-energy vibe into its cafés with a themed summer menu titled “Main Hoon Mango”, accompanied by a limited-period 20 per cent discount on combo offerings across outlets.
Actors Medha Shankr and Avinash Tiwary feature in the campaign, seen engaging with the mango-themed menu inside Barista cafés, a visual cue designed to blur the lines between reel and real-life consumption moments.
The strategy reflects a broader shift in how consumer brands are leveraging hindi film industry not just for visibility, but for immersive, on-ground engagement. By embedding the film’s narrative into its product experience, Barista is aiming to drive footfall, especially among younger audiences who increasingly seek experiential touchpoints over traditional advertising.
Barista Coffee Company CEO Rajat Agrawal described the partnership as both a branding and growth play, focused on expanding reach beyond the existing customer base and aligning with evolving consumer preferences.
The emphasis on a seasonal, flavour-led hook mango, one of India’s most culturally resonant ingredients adds a timely layer to the campaign, aligning with summer consumption trends while riding on the film’s promotional momentum.
For Barista, the move is part of a larger positioning shift. Rather than operating purely as a coffee retail chain, the brand is increasingly framing itself as a lifestyle destination, one that intersects with entertainment, conversation and shared experiences. By integrating cinema into its physical spaces, Barista is effectively turning cafés into micro-extensions of the film’s universe, where consumers do not just watch a story unfold but participate in it sip by sip.
The 20 per cent offer further nudges trial, lowering the barrier for consumers to engage with the themed menu while amplifying recall through a tangible incentive.
Brand-film collaborations are hardly new, but their execution is evolving. Where earlier partnerships relied on co-branded ads or product placements, the current playbook leans towards immersive storytelling and retail integration.
In that sense, Barista’s “Main Hoon Mango” push is less about promotion and more about participation inviting consumers to experience a slice of the film within a familiar, everyday setting. As the film industry continues to act as a cultural amplifier, such partnerships underline a growing truth, in today’s attention economy, it is not enough to be seen brands must be experienced.
And if that experience comes with a mango twist and a cinematic backdrop, all the better.
