MAM
Social distancing makes clients, agencies bond well
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: With the whole country at a standstill because of the Covid2019 crisis, there is hardly anything that seems positive to businesses across the spectrum. It has been well reported that media spends are being cut as clients deal with massive liquidity issues raised by problems in supply and distribution chains. But what this crisis has managed to do beautifully is create human relationships, which are going to be the spirit of agency-client bonding in the years to come.
According to industry insiders, this time has given them an opportunity to bond well with their clients, which are more trustworthy and dependable.
There have been significant examples of brands and agencies working remotely yet coming together with great pieces of work. Some time back, Indiantelevision.com had covered how Ogilvy came on board with brands like Asian Paints and Tata Sky to shoot videos from home.
Elaborating more on how the client-agency relationships have improved in recent times, Publicis Worldwide MD Srija Chatterjee said during one of our virtual roundtables: “We have started understanding each other more. There is much more transparency now. As an agency, we know what the issues are that they face with the cash flows and we are trying our best to help them out.”
She elaborated that they are tackling each client’s problem with a different approach, catering to their specific needs. “Clients are going through a tough time and we are working with them on a 60-90 day plan. We workshop together and discuss ideas. For example, for a client like Cars24, we are expecting that once the lockdown is removed, the demand for second-hand cars may rise as people who did not have a vehicle in their house faced mobility issues and the brand must benefit. So, we are creating hypotheses like that and working on it.”
Madison Media and OOH group CEO Vikram Sakhuja shared that while clients are facing issues with cash flows right now, customers like to get some reassurance in times of a crisis. “We are trying to tell brands that these things (advertisements) will help in the longer run. Strong brands will come out stronger and we are encouraging them to advertise.”
DDB Mudra Group’s CEO and MD Aditya Kanthy said: “There is a lot of work but its nature and form are different from business as usual. It is more consultative in the spirit of client partnership; working together to find answers to the hard questions that are emerging each day for their businesses and ours. It is important to acknowledge that change regardless of increased media consumption.”
Digitalkites senior vice president Amit Lall says that brands are understanding the needs of consumers right now and creating ads according to that. "The consumer is not in the right frame of mind; the sentiments are relatively low. The thing which is important to him now is something he can survive on. Hence, for categories which are supporting consumers, whether it is to boost his immune factor; like Dabur Chyavanprash or sanitizers, the sales which have gone up. From the advertising point of view, purchasing is out of the radar. At this challenging time, it is important for brands to come forward and speak in a motivational way."
Ogilvy India CCO Sukesh Nayak also feels that brands have a role to play during the time of crisis. "It has happened with both the brands; Tata Sky as well as Asian Paints. At the end of the day, consumers are your guide. Ads are created for them. Today we all are at very challenging times in our lives. Everybody is struggling with their own fear, anxiety, and pressure," he said.
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MAM
JioStar unveils ‘The Winning Edge’ playbook for live cricket advertisers
Data-led guide shows multi-screen, sponsorship strategies drive higher impact
MUMBAI: JioStar has launched ‘The Winning Edge’, a data-backed advertising playbook aimed at helping brands maximise impact on live cricket, positioning the sport as one of the most powerful marketing platforms in India.
Built using billions of impression-level data points across marquee cricket properties and validated through studies by Kantar, the playbook offers practical insights into how brands can drive measurable outcomes such as awareness, recall and purchase intent.
The findings make a strong case for live cricket as a growth engine for both new and established brands. According to the report, new advertisers on live cricket campaigns saw up to 6.9 times higher brand awareness and up to 10.8 times higher purchase intent compared to industry benchmarks. Established brands also recorded gains, with up to four times higher awareness and nearly five times higher purchase intent.
Speaking about the initiative, JioStar head of sales sports Anup Govindan said, “The Winning Edge, developed in partnership with Kantar, is built on rigorous, data-backed analysis of how real brands have performed on our platform across categories, objectives, budgets, formats and tournament phases. The study reaffirms that when it comes to driving real outcomes such as awareness, consideration and purchase intent, nothing matches the intensity, scale and impact of live cricket. The depth of attention and emotional engagement during live moments creates a multiplier effect that non-live environments simply cannot replicate.”
One of the standout insights is the advantage of multi-screen strategies. Campaigns that ran simultaneously across linear TV, connected TV and mobile delivered up to seven times higher purchase intent than single-platform campaigns, with minimal audience overlap ensuring incremental reach.
The playbook also highlights the impact of combining formats. Brands using both video and display formats saw up to 7.4 times higher brand awareness compared to those relying on video alone.
Sponsorships emerged as another key lever. Brands with formal sponsorship deals recorded up to nine times higher purchase intent and up to eight times higher ad awareness than those opting only for standard inventory buys. Adding pre and post live studio programming further boosted aided awareness by up to 2.1 times.
Crucially, the report identifies high-impact in-match moments such as Super 4s, Super 6s, DRS and fall of wickets as prime opportunities for brands. Campaigns aligned with these moments delivered uplifts of up to 10 times in awareness and up to seven times in recall, reinforcing the value of contextual advertising.
Echoing these findings, Kantar managing director and chief client & solutions officer Soumya Mohanty said, “Numerous Kantar Brand Lift Studies have demonstrated the incremental impact of live cricket advertising, with results consistently ranking at the top end of Kantar’s Brand Lift database. This playbook distils those insights into actionable media planning and creative recommendations to help advertisers drive stronger outcomes in live cricket environments.”
With live cricket continuing to draw massive, highly engaged audiences, JioStar is positioning ‘The Winning Edge’ as a blueprint for brands looking to move beyond visibility and towards measurable impact.
As the competition for consumer attention intensifies, the message is clear. In the world of sports marketing, playing smart may matter just as much as showing up.
