Havas ME’s Alejandro Fischer: Shaping Advertising’s Landscape with Tech Brilliance
In the ever-evolving landscape of media and advertising, we bring you an exclusive interview with Alejandro Fischer, the visionary Senior Vice President of Strategy and Product Innovation at Havas Middle East. With 13 years of industry expertise, he takes us on a journey through the dynamic realms of strategy, innovation, and the pivotal role technology plays in creating meaningful connections.
As an advocate for the next generation, he shares insights on embracing change and fostering curiosity.
Could you tell us about your background and experience in the advertising industry?
I began my journey in the world of digital media planning almost two decades ago and made the move to the Middle East 12 years ago. Always eager to volunteer for global new business pitches, I gained invaluable experience. Since joining Havas, I’ve navigated two major career shifts. The first involved transitioning from digital planning to a more upstream strategy role, focusing on broader challenges and media needs for our clients. The second shift led me to my current position, where I oversee multi-discipline strategy across Media, Creative, and PR for Havas Group in the Middle East.
We see a lot of CGI-based advertising in the MENA region. How have technology, AI, and the Metaverse influenced and transformed the advertising landscape?
Questions about technology, whether it’s CGI or any other innovation, are inevitable. There’s often debate on whether certain tech applications are just trendy or even gimmicky. However, the reality is that we have a responsibility to understand and maximize the impact of the technology available to us. We’re in the business of connection. If a piece of tech has the power to spark desire or sell, it’s our job to explore its full potential.
In that light, AI is an absolute game-changer; I see it as an equalizer. It supercharges everything we do, from content creation to deep analytics. What excites me the most is its versatility. At Havas, we use AI for everything from the first visualization of an impossible idea to finding new segments and niche audiences and advanced media optimization. Far from replacing human creativity, it amplifies it.
How do you stay on top of not just technological changes, but also evolving consumer demands?
Staying ahead of trends requires an obsessive focus on people. I believe empathy is key; it’s crucial to continuously connect, interact, and get feedback from real people. At Havas, we have a unique capability for Insights and Market Intelligence. We’re constantly observing, questioning, and decoding shifts in consumer attitudes. We even venture into topics like frugality and social activism, questions that others in the market are not asking but should be.
Can you discuss a recent successful campaign HAVAS Middle East deployed and what strategies you implemented to make it successful?
The Adidas Liquid Billboard campaign holds a special place for me. The challenge was to address the cultural barriers preventing women in the MENA region from swimming comfortably. We didn’t just promote a new swimwear line; we initiated a social movement through a swimmable billboard in Dubai. For me, it epitomizes what we aim for at Havas—meaningful impact.
What could you tell us about the Saudi Vision 2030 and how do you plan to make sure that HAVAS aligns with it?
Saudi is central to our growth strategy at Havas. For me, it’s about doing justice to the monumental transformation that the nation is undergoing. We need to challenge the old paradigms of engagement because audiences there are changing at a breakneck speed. Entrepreneurship is rising, arts and culture are becoming focal points, and the media landscape is fragmenting rapidly.
What are some of the shifts or changes that you have witnessed over your decade-long tenure in the MENA region?
The digital landscape has seen a seismic shift, but what’s more intriguing is the cultural awakening. Arts, social activism, and entrepreneurship are rising as dominant forces. The narratives are changing. This has deep implications for our industry, requiring a more nuanced approach to brand messaging and positioning.
What are some of the key trends that you see emerging in the next few years and how do plan to approach them?
Two critical trends I see are the mainstreaming of AI and a growing focus on authentic social responsibility. Our approach is straightforward—stay ahead of the learning curve on tech while ensuring that we don’t lose sight of the ‘human’ in our campaigns. Meaningful change, driven by data and augmented by technology, will be our north star.
What tips would you provide to young professionals hoping to work in the advertising and marketing industry?
Don’t be afraid of change; embrace it. Learn when to listen and when to question—both are invaluable skills in advertising. Stay perpetually curious. Make it a point to learn something meaningful about every client and every industry you interact with.
Equativ Partners with IRIS.TV for Enhanced Contextual Ad Targeting
The world’s top independent ad platform, Equativ, has officially partnered with IRIS.TV, the only data platform designed specifically for organizing, connecting, and enabling video-level data. Through the collaboration, a new marketplace will be able to provide brand-appropriate, contextual ad targeting for online video and CTV advertising using IRIS_ID’s smart content identifier, IRIS.TV. Equativ takes pride in its brand- and privacy-safe approach to optimizing ad impact while upholding customer rights. Media buyers will be able to use publisher-declared content, AI-assisted contextual targeting, and metadata. It will guarantee that advertisements are shown next to the content that is most appropriate for their audience and brand,
What is IRIS_ID?
For video-level data, IRIS_ID is a global content identifier. Outside of fenced landscapes, it is utilized by the IRIS.TV Contextual Video Marketplace to enable marketers to target the topic of video across any screen in real-time and at scale. An IRIS_ID is given to a video when it is ingested into the IRIS.TV Contextual Video Marketplace. After that, this identifier is sent to several data partners via the bid stream, where they utilize it to evaluate the video content and supply contextual information. Buyers use this information to assess whether inventory is appropriate for a particular campaign. IRIS_ID is a useful tool for publishers as well as marketers. It benefits publishers by acquiring more revenue from their video content and enables marketers to reach their target audiences with relevant ads.
Premier Full-Stack Integration for contextual targeting
It is IRIS.TV’s first full-stack partnership. Equativ’s advanced ad server, supply-side, and demand-side platforms (SSP and DSP) can now use granular video-level data thanks to the partnership with IRIS.TV. Equativ will establish a new marketplace through direct integration where publishers will have easier access to demand from media buyers and be able to easily integrate the IRIS_ID to provide contextual ad targeting that is appropriate for brands for online video and connected TV (CTV) inventory. By leveraging comprehensive insights about on-screen digital content, the smart content identifier facilitates secure data sharing and makes it simple to effectively drive relevant advertising.
Benefits of the partnership
- Simplified and safe revenue generation- The IRIS_ID gives publishers a shared data signal that they can use to boost CTV and video ad revenue while keeping strict control over their priceless assets.
- Smart contextual targeting- Ads are positioned next to content that is most appropriate for their audience and brand when media buyers use AI-assisted contextual targeting, which is twice as effective as demo and publisher-declared content metadata.
- Scalable deal configuration- This refers to the flexible ability to optimize and arrange multi-publisher deals in the manner that buyers desire. This is all while creating distinct deal IDs that are easily obtainable by any DSP of their choosing.
- Strict guidelines- Data management procedures adhere to the same standards as large display advertising. These include brand suitability segments created in accordance with the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) framework. Furthermore, it ensures compliance with the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).
Read More: Equativ Partners with Utiq for Ethical Programmatic Marketing Practices
Privacy-by-design solution for publishers
The privacy-by-design solution offered by IRIS.TV enables publishers to safely share video-level insights with advertisers. It assigns an IRIS_ID—a universal content identifier—to each video after seamlessly ingesting and normalizing all of the metadata for that video. Data partners have access to this IRIS_ID. These include Pixability, Oracle Advertising, and GumGum’s Verity for advanced enrichment and segmentation that is enabled by AI frame-to-frame analysis. Publishers can pass the IRIS_ID into the bid stream through Equativ’s platform. It will allow flexible programmatic transactions via direct, private marketplace (PMP), and pre-bid deals.
Deprecation of third-party cookies
This collaboration occurs at a time when persistent changes in data access and usage are shaking up conventional methods of digital media buying and monetization. The impending removal of third-party cookies in 2024, along with growing data privacy regulations, is making more contextual-based solutions necessary. Contextual approaches that can provide consumers with more engaging and privacy-compliant ads are becoming more and more popular. Brands, agencies, and advertisers are realizing how important it is to investigate alternative data sources. This is especially true in the rapidly expanding CTV space.
Here’s what they said
Sean Holzman, EVP, Ad Platforms and Agencies at IRIS.TV commented,
Accessing content data at the video level has been a major challenge for many contextual intelligence solutions looking to enter the video and CTV arena. The IRIS_ID is engineered around solving this issue and supporting an open ecosystem where video owners, distributors, and advertisers can tap detailed video-level data to deliver the right ads in the moments that matter. By integrating the IRIS_ID with Equativ, we look forward to providing advanced ad decisioning capabilities that are unique in the marketplace. This integration will also enable players across the industry to access and connect to high-value and privacy-centric data. This access will help them achieve deeper audience understanding and, ultimately, provide a better user experience.
James Grant, SVP and Head of Agency & Enterprise CTV Partnerships at Equativ added,
Maintaining addressability is essential to not only accelerate growth in the CTV space but also help protect its future viability. While subscriptions are becoming an important element of monetization strategies, the exploding popularity of FAST platforms means there is a growing need for technologies that help supply and demand side players connect and trade efficiently. We are committed to constantly honing and extending our CTV capabilities, developing contextual and curation tools that fuel greater yield without relying on cookies, and moving to become an ID-agnostic platform. Working with IRIS.TV to access content signals via the IRIS_ID is the next phase of that progression, which will bring a rich new avenue of data to make ads even more impactful.
Read More: Equativ Incorporates NinaData for Enhanced Contextual Targeting
Proximic by Comscore Partners with Cadent for Advanced ID-based Audience Targeting
Proximic by Comscore, a division of Comscore Inc. and a top supplier of audience and content targeting solutions for programmatic activation, has partnered with Cadent, the largest independent provider of advanced TV advertising solutions. Proximic by Comscore’s ID-based audience suite and Cadent Aperture Platform have gone live as the first phase of the two-part agreement. In the second stage, the Aperture Converged TV DSP will be integrated with Proximic by Comscore’s Predictive Audiences and content targeting capabilities.
Enhanced ID-based and ID-free Audiences
Aperture is driven by Cadent’s proprietary Viewer Graph technology. It will help advertisers activate promotion across the convergent TV landscape by tracking and managing campaign coverage and performance. In addition to the Data and Measurement Marketplaces, it links audience intelligence to screens with access to over 300 million home device IPs, 400 million+ connected device IDs, and over 100 million+ Home addresses. Through this relationship, Aperture Platform and Proximic by Comscore can offer better ID-based and ID-free audiences. Marketers will be able to use the combined solution to plan, target, activate, and measure their campaigns. It will use the Aperture Platform while adhering to stringent privacy regulations, guaranteeing optimal scalability and cost-effectiveness.
What’s in for advertisers and publishers?
Comscore’s Proximic offers both ID-based and ID-free audience targeting for a wide range of granular TV and CTV-watching audiences, which are sourced from the biggest TV panel in the business. With comprehensive user profiles that target audiences based on a wide range of interests or purchasing patterns, it offers precise, scalable demographics to assist publishers and advertisers in achieving the best in-target rates. Along with TV and CTV-specific content subjects and a distinctive set of bespoke capabilities to reach audiences based on parameters like website and search behavior, TV program, ad exposure, and more, Proximic delivers a comprehensive range of brand safety and compatibility filters. Advertisers can access all segments with or without IDs. ID-free audience targeting guarantees optimal scalability and cost-efficiency. Moreover, it adheres to stringent privacy regulations, making it the ideal complement to ID-based tactics.
Read More: ThinkAnalytics’ Contextual Advertising Solution Joins AWS Clean Rooms
The ID-based audience suite Proximic by Comscore debuted in the Cadent Aperture Platform this fall. It plans to release more content targeting tools and Predictive Audiences in the upcoming months.
Here’s what they said
Tony Yi, EVP, of Business Development and GM, of Platform Sales at Cadent said,
Cadent Aperture Platform is built to unify the fragmented data ecosystem of converged television, a challenge that any advertiser that needs to target across households and devices faces. By integrating Proximic by Comscore, we are enabling holistic targeting and measurement with their syndicated and custom audience segments.
Lee Blickstein, Vice President of Targeting Solutions, Proximic by Comscore added,
With more than 5,000 advertising clients already relying on Proximic by Comscore’s privacy-compliant, ID-free audience targeting to complement their traditional behavioral targeting solutions, we’re excited to partner with Cadent to continue building on this strong adoption. This integration allows us to open the door for more advertisers and marketers to achieve added reach while remaining focused on performance.
About Cadent
Cadent serves as the hub of the TV advertising ecosystem. They support publishers and marketers in identifying and comprehending their target audiences. Furthermore, they also support launching campaigns and tracking the important metrics for any TV show or platform. Its unified TV platform, Aperture, streamlines cross-screen advertising. It combines identification, data, and inventory with hundreds of integrated partners in a single, efficient workflow.
Read More: Comscore’s Proximic Unveils New AI-Powered Contextual Solutions for Programmatic
Nazara Technologies announces Nazara Publishing, its game publishing arm
Gaming and sports media company Nazara Technologies has launched Nazara Publishing, a new division dedicated to game publishing. Its goal is to release high-caliber games for the Indian and global markets. Nazara intends to work with multiple Indian and international developers to modify and release these titles for the vast Indian gaming market. Additionally, they will make it easier for games made by Indian developers to be published worldwide. The games will be available for PCs, virtual reality (VR), mobile devices, and the web3.
Nazara Publishing – the novel game publishing arm
The gaming industry in India is fortunate to have Nazara Publishing on board. The company helps developers with things like game design, localization, data analytics, quality assurance, beta testing, and distribution in addition to monetization. This is accomplished through platform partnerships and wise user acquisition spending. Developers will also have access to mentors who are leaders and experts in the industry through the Nazara Publishing platform. The overall goal is to help game studios not only launch games successfully but also overcome obstacles, grow faster, and leave a lasting impression on the Indian gaming industry. Nazara offers the top esports platform in India, Nodwin, along with PublishME for the Turkey/MENA market, Sportskeeda, and Pro Football Network for sports media.
Key Benefits of Nazara Publishing for Game Developers
- Financial Commitment: Nazara Publishing plans to release up to 20 games in the next 18 months, with a minimum investment of INR 1 crore per game. It will assist developers in covering their expenditures.
- Expertise: Developers will have access to knowledge about game publishing, marketing, and distribution thanks to Nazara Publishing.
- Comprehensive Network: Nazara Publishing has a robust gaming industry partner network that will enable developers to reach a larger audience.
- Promotion: Nazara Publishing is dedicated to providing worldwide exposure to Indian game developers.
Read More: Gamers8 2023: Riyadh’s Premier Esports Event Powered By Generative AI
India’s maturing gaming market
The development takes place at a time when user behavior and gaming habits indicate that India’s gaming market is developing. The industry is about to undergo a shift in terms of size and willingness to pay. This is motivating local studios to try and make games that are bigger, better, and more intricate so they can eventually compete with their global counterparts.
In Asia, India’s video game market is expanding at the quickest rate. It is anticipated that in 2023, gamers’ revenue from PC and mobile games will total $868 million. In FY22, revenues from the online gaming sector in India amounted to $2.6 billion. Moreover, it is anticipated to grow at a 27% CAGR to $8.6 billion in FY27.
Nazara Technologies’ investment secured
The Nazara Tech Board authorized the issuance of equity shares at a face value of INR 4 each. The goal is to raise up to INR 410 crore from SBI Mutual Fund in September. On July 10th, the board gave its approval to a proposal to issue equity shares in order to raise up to INR 750 crore. By investing INR 4.15 crore in Israel-based game developer Snax Games Ltd. in August, the company was able to acquire five-year exclusive rights to publish its games in the Middle East and India. Already publishing titles like World Cricket Championship, Animal Jam, and Kiddopia, the company’s revenue in FY23 came from these games alone.
Here’s what they said
Nitish Mittersain, CEO and Joint MD, of Nazara Technologies said,
Nazara Publishing is poised to revolutionize India’s gaming landscape, aiming to become the country’s premier game publishing platform. We are dedicated to nurturing both Indian and global game developers, providing resources, expertise, and a robust network to bring top-tier gaming experiences to India’s vast audience. With a special focus on supporting Indian developers, Nazara sees a significant opportunity in the Make-in-India initiative, and as part of this initiative, we will also promote Indian game developers globally.
Read More: Cricket’s Advertising Blitz: Boundaries Beyond the Game!
DoubleVerify Announces Expanded Measurement Coverage with S2S Integration
DoubleVerify, an industry-leading software system for data, analytics, and measurement in digital media recently announced that advertisers using Twitch inventory and Amazon custom audiences in Amazon DSP with server-to-server (S2S) integration would now have greater measurement coverage. With S2S integration, DV is the first third-party measurement provider that gives advertisers on Amazon DSP complete media quality and performance solutions for measuring and optimizing ads served to Amazon custom audiences.
DoubleVerify’s expanded measurement with S2S Integration for Amazon Custom Audiences
Using Amazon DSP, brands can directly reach and re-engage with consumers through custom-built segments known as Amazon custom audiences. Moreover, advertisers can easily implement DV’s viewability, fraud/IVT, and in-geo measurement solutions on Twitch, an interactive live streaming platform for a variety of content including sports, music, gaming, and entertainment, using Twitch Ad Server or Amazon DSP. With DV Pinnacle—DV’s industry-leading, unified service and analytics platform that provides access to quality and performance insights across devices and buying solutions—advertisers can access comprehensive campaign metrics and insights across Twitch inventory and Amazon custom audiences.
Read More: DoubleVerify Acquires Scibids, Reinforces AI-Powered Solutions
Programmatic offerings via Amazon DSP
DV has powered various programmatic offerings through Amazon DSP over the years, such as DV’s CTV Activation Certification, Custom Contextual, and Authentic Brand Suitability. Advertisers can now take advantage of DV’s independent measurement solutions for a greater range of media buys thanks to this recent integration.
Here’s what they said
Steven Woolway, EVP, of Business Development, at DoubleVerify said,
Amazon Ads continues to break new ground in driving real business outcomes for advertisers while ensuring campaign measurement can be independently verified. We’re thrilled to build on our successful integration with Amazon DSP and expand our measurement coverage – enabling advertisers to seamlessly activate DV third-party measurement solutions across Twitch inventory and Amazon custom audiences.
Read More: DoubleVerify Unveils Industry-First Holistic MFA Protection Solution
Paramount Launches Conduit that Directly Integrates Major Programmatic Platforms
Paramount developed an additional layer to its connected TV ad tech to control where advertisements appear for its streaming apps across various distribution channels. Conduit is a new product from Paramount Advertising that seamlessly integrates with CTV programmatic platforms to promote scalability and interoperability for advertisers. The platform is made to address a few challenging issues in the fragmented CTV market, such as tracking ad frequency and preserving rival brand separation in ad blocks. It is the programmatic ecosystem’s first worldwide direct integration layer in the industry.
Conduit – Helping connect the dots
Broadcast partners have been under pressure from advertisers to provide more interoperability. However, in the past year, marketers have increased their pressure on programmers to enable ad buying from a variety of SSPs. The company has been working on Conduit since the launch of EyeQ in 2020—Paramount’s CTV ad-selling platform that combines Paramount+ and Pluto TV inventory. Conduit is referred to by Paramount as the best global direct integration layer for the programmatic ecosystem. This includes vital demand solutions from Amazon Publisher Services as well as Magnite, Google Ad Manager, and all other significant SSPs. Conduit’s goal is to standardize everything related to connected television, including ad choices and operations. The system is already live, in-market, and fulfilling more than 600 million bid requests per day. Furthermore, it serves more than 50,000 unique bids.
Read More: Paramount Elevates CTV Advertising with Interactive Product Suite Expansion
CTV Solution for Programmatic Scalability and Efficacy
Currently operating on the market, the system processes over 600 million bid requests daily. Additionally, it handles over 50,000 distinct bids. Conduit is just Paramount’s most recent announcement of an advertising solution. The product is an intelligent, real-time, neutral integration layer for EyeQ. It offers exposure data, clean, actionable planning, and ad frequency management. Conduit, according to the company, is based on a unified instance of FreeWheel, which enables Paramount to swiftly and effectively adjust to partner needs. A buyer using an SSP that wasn’t linked to FreeWheel can still access CTV inventory directly from Paramount via Conduit.
Here’s what they said
The company in its statement said,
At Paramount, we take this problem seriously. We have dedicated enormous resources to find a way to solve this problem. With all systems connected, every deal type is eligible on every ad break and key data is known to eliminate repetition and coordinate a TV-quality ad experience. Conduit allows Paramount to finally delivers the true promise of addressable advertising in CTV: the right ad, to the right person at the right time.
FreeWheel general manager Mark McKee added,
Our unified ad-decisioning platform was designed to allow clients, like Paramount, to build upon our capabilities to meet their specific programmatic needs. In this case, Conduit utilizes the FreeWheel platform to make a unified decision on Paramount’s behalf, enabling advertisers to tap into the scale of Paramount’s global portfolio in a way that optimizes ad spend and maintains a premium advertising experience for consumers.
Magnite senior VP, of platform revenue Mike Laband stated,
We’re excited to expand our partnership with Paramount to include integration with its Conduit solution. Magnite’s ad server, SpringServe, is integrated with Conduit to enable monetization across Paramount EyeQ and its other properties through Magnite Streaming.
Read More: Paramount to Utilize iSpot As Currency Measurements for TV Ads
Omnicom Acquires Flywheel, the Pioneering Digital Commerce Company
Image Credit: Mert Damlapinar’s LinkedIn
Omnicom has revealed that it has reached an agreement to purchase Flywheel Digital, Ascential’s digital commerce business, for a net cash purchase price of about $835 million. 11 Ascential digital commerce brands were integrated into Flywheel as part of this acquisition under a new entity. With the help of Flywheel’s services, leading brands can sell more products more effectively on hundreds of online marketplaces, including Alibaba, Amazon, and Walmart. This acquisition serves as more evidence of the eCommerce industry’s growing significance. Furthermore, it also underscores the necessity of integrated, data-driven marketing strategies for retail media.
Flywheel at the forefront of digital commerce
Flywheel is the pioneer of digital commerce. It has been creating a range of best-in-class solutions since 2014 that are specifically meant to accelerate the growth of the biggest brands in the world. In addition to media executions, retail commerce operations, and market intelligence, Flywheel employs over 2,000 professionals. Flywheel Commerce Cloud, their cutting-edge technology platform, reinforces these services with near-real-time insights to enhance decision-making and increase sales. This strategic positioning will guarantee Flywheel’s wealth of knowledge and expertise is fully utilized and take advantage of Omnicom’s vast resources. Additionally, it will open up new opportunities for research and dominance in developing digital platforms and markets. Omnicom has shown its willingness to change and grow in the ever-changing world of digital commerce.
Flywheel Commerce Cloud
The business commerce arm has been assembling cutting-edge digital commerce solutions and integrating them into a proprietary platform with a single user interface for the past eight years. Digital marketplaces on the Flywheel Commerce Cloud platform are currently managing tens of billions of product sales and billions of dollars worth of advertising spend. Flywheel Commerce Cloud’s product and transaction data will integrate with Omni’s audience and behavioral data. This will help deliver unparalleled insights and analytics.
Read More: Omnicom, NBCUniversal Pioneer Program-Level At-Scale Reporting
Duncan Painter, the current CEO of Ascential, will serve as the leader of Flywheel. It will function as a Practice Area within Omnicom. The acquisition is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2024. It will be subject to regulatory approvals, customary closing conditions, and assent from Ascential shareholders.
Here’s what they said
John Wren, Chairman and CEO of Omnicom said,
E-commerce sales worldwide are set to increase by 50%, reaching about $7 trillion dollars by 2025. The acquisition of Flywheel significantly broadens our reach and influence in the rapidly expanding digital commerce and retail media sectors, two of the fastest-growing parts of the industry. Together, we will seamlessly integrate our offerings across retail and brand media, digital and in-store commerce, and CRM, ultimately delivering superior results for our clients.
Duncan Painter, CEO of Ascential added,
By connecting Flywheel Commerce Cloud’s product and transaction data with Omni’s audience and behavioral data, we are poised to offer an end-to-end set of services that outpaces the competition. We aim to empower our clients to automate, optimize, and measure their digital commerce and media spend within an increasingly complex marketplace.
Read More: Omnicom Centralizes Leadership for Three Creative Powerhouses
Cricket’s Advertising Blitz: Boundaries Beyond the Game!
The holiday season is almost approaching. The ICC World Cup, which is going on at the moment, making this year’s displays exceptionally dazzling. After this, all eyes are on the advertising industry.
Upcoming events in the world of Sports and Cricket
Marketers are eager to leverage the cricket’s immense popularity, leading to increased competition on digital advertising platforms. Recent developments, including free streaming, innovative ad formats, and precise targeting options, have raised the bar for brand advertising during the tournaments, leaving many curious about the creative campaigns to come.
The Indian sports events market and the Cricket World Cup
Image credit- The Media Ant
The Indian Sports Events Market is anticipated to expand quickly. It is anticipated to have nearly doubled from 2021 to US $1 billion in 2023. Additionally, the market saw a 10% increase in sales in 2023, and a 4.04% CAGR is predicted through 2027. Cricket, a game that Indians love, dominates this sector. The Cricket World Cup is slated to present an unmissable opportunity for advertisers, providing front-and-center exposure to a sizable, engaged, and intensely devoted audience that exhibits a willingness to make purchases.
Cricket and Sports Marketing in India
India’s sports marketing has experienced a spectacular metamorphosis as a result of cricket’s enormous popularity. The most popular sport in the country, cricket, has significantly shaped the sports marketing scene.
The Advent of Digital Media in Sports Marketing
Digital media and streaming services have expanded sports marketing’s reach and engagement opportunities, enticing brands to invest in this lucrative field. Businesses are exploring endorsement deals, sponsorships, and innovative marketing tactics to tap into the passionate sports fanbase. Social media, streaming platforms, and fantasy sports apps offer targeted marketing options, enabling brands to reach specific demographics and boost visibility in the sports arena.
Brands can reach the appropriate audiences, at the right time, and in the right environment using programmatic advertising. Brand recall and brand visibility are two advertising KPIs that marketers can more easily attain than through more conventional media like TV and radio
Image credit- Disney+ Hotstar
Rise of Digital Advertising in Sports
As India’s digitization progresses, Indians are increasingly turning to digital channels for watching the game, such as connected TV, cricket portals, and streaming platforms. As a result, marketers have been able to connect with millions of cricket fans online via various channels, giving them access to new digital advertising opportunities. It is fantastic for advertising, but there is a problem. These digital platforms attract a variety of demographics. They may not be relevant to the target market.
Image credit- Comscore
The Power of Cricket
For Indian TV viewers, cricket is no less than a daily soap opera. It is complete with drama, predictable results, humorous anecdotes, and even some heartbreaking scenes. How can the advertising industry avoid becoming involved when one sports genre has more viewers than the majority of other sports combined? The ad firms see more and more opportunities to be linked with the game as it develops, whether it is putting the brand’s logo on a player’s bat or creating a full-fledged commercial centered on cricket.
Image credit- Statista
Read More: An Innovative Triumph: Burger King x Stevenage FC Case Study
Why Scoring Big on Your Branding During Cricket Matches is a Game Changer
Let’s take a brief look at how advertisers profit from running ads during the busiest time of the cricket season and in between games.
- Brand Awareness: Live streaming contributes to the expansion of the audience and the brand’s personality. Streaming sporting events aids in attracting a sizable audience.
- Interact with the brand: By using live streaming, brands may create a lasting connection with their audience. It encourages an authentic relationship that viewers can reach from their homes or anyplace else.
- Emotional connection: During any cricket match, people’s passion and emotions are at their peak. It has a significant and enduring psychological effect on the audience.
- Massive Viewership: Advertising during a cricket match provides a huge viewership pool, providing firms unrestricted ad mileage.
- ROI without interruptions: Cricket commercials give advertisers a way to support their companies’ ongoing ROI.
- Engagement: Advertising during live cricket matches provides outstanding engagement with related material, including highlights from pre- and post-live shows.
Image credit- The Media Ant
The Money Game
Making campaigns, especially for a competition, and focusing more of their promotion on the game while putting their products on hold is truly a major risk that firms take. Do they succeed, though? Brands truly began investing in cricket during the 1996 World Cup. The International Cricket Council (ICC) received 900 crores (9 billion) in advertising revenue. Additionally, during the 2011 World Cup, it grew to nearly 15 billion. The BCCI started charging 2 crores every match for title sponsorship, which has since increased to 3.8 crores per match due to the massive amount of money coming in from ads. Imagine that the BCCI will charge INR 11.4 Cr for a tri-series (3 matches), only from title sponsors, plus other sponsorships for television, goods, drinks, and more.
IPL- The advertising haven
With millions of supporters, cricket occupies a special place in Indian sports culture. The Indian Premier League (IPL) has transformed cricket and sports marketing in India. The fast-paced and exciting format enthralled the Indian audience. Since then, it has developed into a marketing phenomenon that has drawn significant investment from powerful corporations and advertisers.
According to statistics, the IPL 2022 produced over
- USD 520 million in advertising revenue.
- Over 300 million people watched the games.
In contrast, IPL 2023 received
- 1.47 billion video views on its first weekend.
- 32 million people watched the last match live on Jio Cinema.
- More than 550 million spectators.
- 61% of IPL watchers used smartphones.
Image credit- Storyboard18
Image credit- AdGully
Image credit- MediaBrief
Making advertising more effective with hand-selected audiences and measurable results
There are two different types of brands when it comes to cricket advertising-
- Includes people who think that brands are based on cricket.
- Those who believe the price is too high.
Cricket advertising provides a chance for brand recall as well as a way to assess the immediate effects on enterprises. Technology and cricket have been combined to provide data-driven insights that enable marketers to assess the immediate effects of their advertising initiatives. Advertisers can determine whether cricket has a real impact on a brand’s financial line by examining website traffic, concurrency, and conversions during certain cricket tournaments. Cricket serves as a catalyst for company success as well as a platform for brand building.
Read More: Cracking the CRED Code: A Deep Dive into its Advertising Mastery
Disney+ Introduces First-Party Audience Targeting, Programmatic Buying Via PMP
Disney+ has intensified its efforts to provide advertisers with more comprehensive and adaptable ways to reach audiences at scale, as the ad-supported tier nears its one-year anniversary. With its first-party audience graph and programmatic buying via private marketplace (PMP), the Disney+ ad-supported tier has introduced audience targeting. In addition, it now offers measurement services for identity, efficacy, verification, attribution, and approved creative ad formats.
Rising Disney+ ad-supported tier and programmatic capabilities
Of new subscribers, 50% select the ad tier. Furthermore, there was a 35% increase in service engagement from March to September 2023. The capacity to provide impact for advertisers grew along with the size of the Disney+ audience that is ad-supported. In order to provide the best possible customer experience, this was accomplished while maintaining a complementary ad load in line with viewing behavior. Disney’s position as an industry leader has been further cemented by solutions for tracking the effectiveness of campaigns. This is in order to fulfill and optimize advertisers’ performance goals.
Advertising capabilities are available on Disney+
Image credit- The Walt Disney Company
Advanced Audience Targeting
With the help of Disney’s acclaimed, in-house first-party Audience Graph, marketers can now target audiences more precisely for the first time across demo (age and gender); geography (State/Designated Market Area); and Audience Segments. Disney’s audience graph, which features 110 million households, 235 million unique viewers, and more than 2,000 interest- and behavior-based audience segments, will now allow advertisers to use first-party data.
Programmatic expansion
Disney is extending its programmatic offerings to encompass biddable transactions, accessible via exclusive auctions or private marketplaces. Advertisers can unlock Disney’s premium content at scale with greater choice and control than ever before. This is thanks to its availability across 30 DSPs that represent large, midmarket, and local platforms.
Read More: Disney+ Hotstar Amp Brand Outreach With CTV Targeting
Diversified Ad Formats
Disney+ is now accepting a wider range of creative lengths (midrolls and:15s to:90s) in addition to choosing content sponsorships, which are now available for the 2023 holiday season. This builds on its history of creating market-defining, consumer-first formats.
Enhanced Measurement and Attribution
Disney+ has kept developing new tools to help marketers reach a wider audience while guaranteeing efficacy through attribution and measurement. More campaign measurement options than ever before will be available to advertisers through it, all of which will highlight the benefits of running ads on Disney+. InnovidXP provides web and app conversion measurement, Kantar measures brand lift. Furthermore, Data Plus Math and iSpot.tv provide reach and frequency insights, and the platform, which previously offered measurement through Samba TV and VideoAmp, now offers the ability to measure the impact of ads on foot traffic through Cuebiq and Foursquare, and Kantar measures brand lift.
Disney+’s growing audience means more chances for advertisers to enhance their connection with the service as the platform continues to grow in size. Disney Advertising is still dedicated to bringing innovations and solutions to its brand partners to help them achieve their goals.
Here’s what they said
Rita Ferro, president, Global Advertising, Disney said,
Consistent with Disney’s strategic approach, we spent the last 10 months testing, learning and listening to our consumers and clients. That’s how we continue to create viewer-first experiences while simultaneously introducing new capabilities, functionality and formats. We’re seeing increased engagement and time spent, and now providing greater accountability for marketers through robust measurement, proving that premium content matters.
Read More: Reliance Industries to Acquire Disney India in a Cash and Stock Deal
Amazon Announces Publisher Cloud to Plan Programmatic Deals in Amazon DSP
Amazon unveiled Amazon Publisher Cloud, a new collaboration tool that lets publishers organize programmatic deals and activate them in Amazon DSP. It is based on the capacity to examine both first-party signals and Amazon Ads insights. AWS Clean Rooms are the foundation of Amazon Publisher Cloud. Publishers and advertisers can collaborate in a privacy-focused manner and utilize interoperability, enhancing customers’ experiences with more pertinent advertising. Moreover, it will support safe and efficient communication between Amazon Ads and its advertiser and publisher partners.
What is Amazon Publisher Cloud?
Amazon Publisher Cloud is included in the group of cloud-based services called Amazon Publisher Services (APS). It assists publishers in creating profitable digital media businesses. Publishers can deliver more relevant ads to their audiences and optimize results with the help of APS’ server-side header bidding solutions and direct-to-publisher supply relationships. APS offers services, infrastructure, and cutting-edge advertising technologies to publishers of connected TV, mobile apps, audio, and websites. As a result, they will be able to generate revenue from their ad-supported content, create unique demand, allow audience-level buying, and obtain a deeper understanding of their own audiences.
Read More: AMC Networks Pioneers Programmatic Ad Buying on Linear Networks
New Clean Room Solution for programmatic deals
Amazon Publisher Cloud is the first and sole clean room solution that allows a publisher to leverage insights from Amazon Ads. It helps in analyzing first-party signals and creating reach-optimized deals. Through a single, efficient workflow, publisher deals are made accessible for activation in Amazon DSP. For example, a publisher can comprehend how its contextual signals match up with in-market Amazon Ads audiences. Amazon Publisher Cloud-based programmatic deals are offered with beta launch partners like DirecTV, Dotdash Meredith, Fandom, NBCUniversal, TelevisaUnivision, and other premium publishers.
APS for publishers
AWS Clean Rooms serve as the foundation for Amazon Publisher Cloud. It offers publishers flexible interoperability. With AWS Clean Rooms, businesses and their partners can analyze and work together on their collective signals more quickly and securely. Furthermore, they can work without having to share or duplicate each other’s underlying datasets. Customers can work with any other business in the AWS Cloud to generate unique insights about advertising campaigns, investment decisions, and research and development. When compared to an unoptimized campaign, Amazon’s Amazon Prime campaign with NBCUniversal via Amazon DSP during the closed beta period reached more than 3.5 times the target audience.
Here’s what they said
Steve Rabuchin, vice president of third-party supply at Amazon Ads said
Amazon Publisher Cloud is purpose-built to provide publishers with durable addressability of their supply. We built Amazon Publisher Cloud to ensure that publishers securely maintain control of their first-party signals with the ability to analyze them alongside Amazon Ads insights, create customized and more effective deals, and easily make them available in Amazon DSP. We’re excited to connect publishers and advertisers and help them deliver more relevant customer experiences.
Read More: GroupM and Amazon Ads Partner for Creator-Led Shoppable Format
