Brands
Economic slowdown impacted ad spend in H2 2019
MUMBAI: Economic slowdown in 2019 brought the country, as well as the media industry, to a standstill. It visibly impacted advertising spends. This view was shared by advertisers present during the sixteenth edition of the Video and Broadband Summit 2019 that took place on 11 December in Mumbai.
The panel was moderated by indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari, with panellists ITC Ltd head media and PR Jaikishin Chhaproo, Havas Media Group managing partner west and south Kunal Jamuar, Godrej Consumers Pvt Ltd VP and head of media services Subha Sreenivasan Iyer and Madison Media vice president Vandana Ramkrishna.
Chhaproo, in his opening statement, said, “There has been a yo-yo syndrome since January 2019 and the only two media-mela events (Indian Premier League and World Cup) in the first half of the financial year saw some advertisement growth.”
He further added that since June people have been quite cautious about advertisement spend.
Agreeing to Chhaproo’s perspective, Jamuar said, “2019 has been something like that of 2008 double dip. And, with respect to advertisement spend on television is as similar as of last year.” Many of Havas Media Group’s clients are from the auto and finance sectors.
All of the four panellists were of the view that along with other sectors, the advertisement spends on television has also been slow and has hardly seen any growth this year.
Accepting the slowdown in the market, Iyer said, “This year had made us re-look at all our advertising plans due to lack of resources and we have been far more prudent in terms of evaluating the need for further spend with quantifiable ROI."
Meanwhile, Ramkrishna believes that one of the reasons for the slowdown could be because of the poor performance of world economies.
According to Ramkrishna, her agency being associated with retail brands, the festive season has not turned up to be a happening one. Adding further, she said people are very cautious on spends and there’s a fear that the economy is going to crash.
However, despite facing a slowdown, Iyer said that in terms of volume, the company’s growth is very strong, which is a positive sign. This goes with competitors as well, especially, in the FMCG sector.
She added, “Consumers are not completely cutting down on their basic essentials, especially in segments where value for money is core.”
In the same context, ITC’s PR head said, “Consumers seek value for money and this is what is happening in the current economic situation. Moreover, there have been steady volumes all over.”
Ramkrishna, talking about NTO’s impact on advertising spend, said, “GEC and movie channels continue to be there and the new order has hardly affected the brands' television spends.” However, she pointed out that the smaller set of channels will certainly have an adverse effect.
GPCL’s media head said there has been a vast difference between DTH and cable networks in data capturing granularity and that helps brands to decide on advertising spends on television.
Havas Media’s managing partner questioned the importance of a proper measurement of audiences’ rating that has seen improvement after DTH’s existence. He said, “Today, niche channels are offering niche content, making the existing eco-system a bit difficult.”
Iyer said that companies are ready to test any medium, just that accurate third party data is needed.
Brands
Balaji Krishnamurthy becomes chief financial officer at Uber
Internal finance veteran steps up as Uber enters next phase of growth
SAN FRANCISCO: Uber has handed the keys of its finance function to Balaji Krishnamurthy, who has taken charge as chief financial officer, marking a promotion from within the company’s strategic finance ranks.
Krishnamurthy steps into the role after more than six years at Uber, where he most recently served as VP, strategic finance and investor relations. Over that time, he worked across the company’s mobility and delivery businesses and led its investor relations efforts, building a reputation as a steady hand behind the numbers.
Announcing his first day in the new role, Krishnamurthy thanked outgoing CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah and chief executive officer Dara Khosrowshahi for their support, calling the appointment both a privilege and a responsibility.
He said he was stepping into the role at a “moment of strength” for the company, pointing to accelerating growth across consumers, drivers, couriers and merchants, along with expanding cash flows that would be used to invest in long term growth while returning excess capital to shareholders.
Krishnamurthy also highlighted Uber’s focus on innovation, particularly in autonomous vehicles, and praised what he described as a “go get it” culture within the company.
Before joining Uber in 2019 as senior manager, investor relations, he spent more than eight years at Goldman Sachs as vice president in equity research, covering US hardware and communications technology companies. His earlier roles included stints at Irevna and iTrust Financial Advisors in India, where he worked in equity research and wealth management.
In addition to his responsibilities at Uber, he also serves as a board member at autonomous trucking startup Waabi.
With an internal finance veteran now at the helm, Uber appears to be betting on continuity as it shifts from growth-at-all-costs to a more measured, cash-generating ride.
