According to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation, the Indian media and entertainment industry will grow at a CAGR of 13.5% by the end of FY 2024.
In fact, the Indian media industry is the fastest growing advertising market in the APAC region right after China. This also composes of all Indian media publications including digital news publishers, sports publishers, and others.
Much like the rest of the world, India is also going through a similar period of growth and investment in the digital advertising and media industries.
To discuss this further, we contacted Sushil Kumar Tyagi, General Marketing Manager at Eenadu, who has been a vocal presence in the Indian media space for his thoughts and views on the open market innovation that’s required among Indian publishers.
In our conversation with Sushil, we discussed various issues that Indian publishers are dealing with right now and the state of the web publishing industry in this country from a global perspective.
Q.1. How did you get started in the Indian publishing industry? How has the journey been so far?
It was way back in the late 1990s when I started my journey in the Indian publishing industry. If I revisit the last 20+ years, the journey has been fantastic so far. During this time, I have witnessed immense changes in every form of media i.e. Print, TV, Digital, Radio, Events, and Activation. While handling assignments related to these mediums, I have personally developed a deep understanding of the dynamics of these mediums.
Q.2. What is the primary challenge that publishers face today and how can they resolve it?
I would like to analyze this from a global perspective. The Indian media industry is one of the fastest-growing digital advertising industries. However, it cannot be denied that it is a highly rates-sensitive industry. With a plethora of media options, advertisers are negotiating hard with publishers for every campaign which is impacting yield. Today publishers are facing two primary challenges: firstly, an increase in subscription revenue which remains a difficult task and secondly, advertising revenues are under stress due to negotiations for each activity especially due to the COVID pandemic. Also, content generation cost has escalated. In my opinion, as publishers, we need to focus on value innovation to come out of this situation.
Q.3. What is your biggest learning as an expert working in the field of digital media?
As publishers, we are content producers and dissemination can happen on any platform. We need to accept that technology has taken the media industry to the next level and changes are quite radical. As publishers, we need to imbibe these changes to make our products available in the space our readers are. In my opinion, it is quite difficult for all publishers to develop all facilities and technologies in-house, and that is why the Open Market Innovation approach is the need of the hour. It means that we need to enter into strategic alliances, joint ventures, partnering, outsourcing, etc.
Q.4. What are your predictions for the publishing and ad tech industries in 2021?
Undoubtedly, in 2021, there will be a surge in media consumption. It will positively impact investments and business opportunities for the publishing and ad tech industries. In the coming years, the regional media will play a defining role in this development process.
Q.5. What’s the best tip you can give to publishers in the Indian market?
My suggestion will be to focus on value innovation and value creation with open market innovation. This means that publishers need to reinvent their product offerings and restructure their cost in a way that does not exist in the current marketplace. The core objective of this process is to uplift the value associated with product offerings. This is a continuous process that helps in value creation, for the publisher as well as the advertiser. With an open-market approach, publishers can start evaluating new opportunities outside their well-defined boundaries. This process will either increase the customer value or lower the product cost, thereby creating a competitive advantage.
Q.6. How do you think publishers can prepare for the upcoming January slump?
We can all agree that the January slump is a well-known trend. We can manage and predict advertisers’ investment patterns and product life cycle with the help of research and data analysis. Publishers need not worry about the January slump because of the very basic fact that if media consumptions are not declining, ad revenue will also normalize soon.
Q.7. What are the pros and cons of working with a regional publishing/media house?
We all know how diverse India is with its multi-varied culture and regional languages. The regional media is the voice of our masses. The Indian economy is growing and product consumption graphs are also shifting from metros to tier 2 and tier 3 towns. To reach out to these potential markets, corporates are restructuring and redefining their media strategies. Regional media is the key to reaching the target audience in these fast-growing markets. The cliched perception among advertisers that the English media consumers have deeper pockets and higher spending powers as compared to regional consumers is also changing. Personally, except for these benefits, I don’t think that there are any cons to it.
About Sushil Kumar Tyagi
He is a Print, Television & Digital Professional with 20+ years experience in sales team management, handling complex commercial deal negotiations, and strategic alliances. Sushil is an out-of-the-box thinker with a flair for conceptualizing marketing strategies, launching new products, and contributing towards enhancing business volumes and growth. His expertise is in multimedia solutions, deal negotiations, data analytics, and strategic planning. His core strength lies in strategic innovations, digital marketing, business analytics, and strategic alliances. He is an avid blog writer with several licenses & certifications to his credit. He is regularly presenting papers at various forums and has reputed international publications in his name. He can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sushil-kumar-tyagi/
Shubham is a digital marketer with rich experience working in the advertisement technology industry. He has vast experience in the programmatic industry, driving business strategy and scaling functions including but not limited to growth and marketing, Operations, process optimization, and Sales.
