An evening with Ms Apurva Purohit

On Friday, July 1, we had an engaging webinar by Ms Apurva Purohit, the 62 nd  webinar in the ICFAI Wise Views series. The topic was:” The evolution of media: the potential and pitfalls for marketers.” The session was moderated by Prof R Prasad and Prof Sudhakar Rao.

About Apurva Purohit

Ms Apurva Purohit is an Indian businesswoman with over three decades of experience in the corporate world. She has been involved in early stage fledgling businesses, setting up new ventures and supervising turnarounds in both mature and declining organizations. Ms Purohit has recently launched Aazol Ventures Pvt Ltd, a consumer products company which aims to create a market for traditional food items made by self-help groups and micro entrepreneurs, by reconnecting Indian consumers with their roots and the local foods of their regions.

Ms Purohit is also an independent director at Mindtree Ltd, L&T Technology Services Ltd and Navin Fluorine International Ltd and Marico Ltd. Ms Purohit   has been a strong advocate of gender diversity.  She is also the author of the two national bestselling books “Lady, You’re not a Man” – the Adventures of a Woman at Work” and “Lady, You’re the Boss!” Through her books, Apurva aims to empower women and encourage them to achieve their full potential.

Ms Purohit has been named as one of the Most Powerful Women in Business by the India Today Group and Fortune India. She was amongst LinkedIn’s Top Voices and YourStory’s Top 10 digital Influencers of 2020. She recently won the Distinguished Alumni award from her alma mater, IIM Bangalore in 2022.

Ms Purohit   holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and completed her PGDM from IIM- Bangalore. She was a state- level hockey player and played for Tamil Nadu State and Tamil Nadu University.

Introduction

Media has evolved significantly in the last three decades. There was a time when we had only one television channel, Doordarshan. All we had to watch was the 9 pm news, the Chitrahar (movie songs) once in a week and the Hindi movie on Sundays. In recent years, with rapid changes in the way media operates, it has become necessary for marketers to understand the implications. Ms Apurva spoke about the Meta Trends and the Macro Trends.  Meta Trends are related to the environment in general. These are applicable to all industries and not just media. A good example is the tectonic changes in the last years due to the pandemic. Another meta trend is inflation going up, pushing down margins even as companies have to invest and exploit the emerging trends.   Macro Trends are related to the media industry namely hybridization, phygital et al.

The last two years have marked a period of seminal change. While the pandemic has been devastating for both the economy and human health (physical and mental), it may well lead to rejuvenation and repair. Amidst the uncertainties created by the pandemic, there are exciting opportunities. Ms.  Purohit explained in detail five major trends, that marketers should try to understand and capitalize on.

Hybridization: The new reality

The phenomenon of hybridization is now becoming pervasive. We have hybrid cars (combination of electric and internal combustion engines), hybrid education (face to face and online), hybrid shopping (physical and digital or phygital) and hybrid media (digital and traditional). Coming specifically to the way consumers are purchasing goods and services, hybridization has become important. Customers are blending online and physical experiences in different ways. Thus, they may do their research online but buy the product in a store. Or they may see an attractive product in a store and then go online to get the best discount.

In this scenario, marketers have to move away from the false binary mindset. It is not about this or that but is really about this and that. It is about TV and OTT and not TV or OTT. It is about print and digital rather than print or digital. It is not outdoor or television but outdoor and television. The media consumer has always been hybrid. Even as digital has grown in importance, television and radio continue to be important. The overall consumption of media has increased. New media create more space rather than replace an existing media. Customers get the stimulus to purchase in many ways. So it is not wise to depend exclusively on one media. A hybrid media plan will be more effective. With every medium growing, it is today the age of the hybrid media consumer.

By combining different media, the impact can be amplified. This is called the resonance effect. Each media feeds into the other and acts as a reinforcement. If 10% of a given TV budget is redeployed in radio, the efficiency of the campaign in building awareness increases by 15%. Outdoor and radio if combined can boost awareness by 22% compared to using any single medium. Print + digital leads to a 17% uplift in brand health measures and produces a 3.4 times multiplier effect.

Increasing volumes of content but decreasing credibility

The volume of content is increasing but the trust in content is low. Across 40 countries, only about 38% of people trust news in general and only 48% of people trust the news they consume. Trust in search (32%) and social media (22%) is even lower. Populists, politicians and brands are stuffing the internet with any kind of information. We are getting inundated with false news. The scenario is so bad that it is a challenge even for genuine brands to gain trust. The highest credibility seems to be in the traditional media: print, television and radio. The media credibility index is 62% for print, 57% for radio and 56% for television, compared to 32% for social media and 29% for messenger services. The older, nostalgic brands are looking far more credible.

Trust is nothing but consistency over time. Brand managers have a tendency to change things in the name of rejuvenating or revitalizing the brand. Thus a shampoo may be positioned for shiny hair today and may be sold on the promise of preventing hair fall tomorrow and so on. These kinds of changes only erode trust. As Ms Purohit put it:” The customer is not a fool. She is your wife!"

Credibility/ trust is built over time by delivering the same message again and again. Consistency may look boring but it increases trust: e.g. when we see the same look and feel each time and also get the same taste, on opening an Amul butter pack or we get the same treatment when we walk into any branch of a bank.

We must not get influenced by fads. One such fad is the use of micro influencers. They are not silver bullets for dealing with a brand’s problem. Indeed, a wrong micro influencer can even undermine the credibility of the brand. Some influencers quickly amass millions of followers. Then brands chase them. Soon, they start endorsing various brands totally unrelated to each other. How can this inspire trust?  Can a fashionista credibly endorse a child nutrition product? We must be clear about the target segment and the role of the micro influencer.

Increased consumer engagement with media

In the 1990s, consumers had a passive engagement with media like television and cinema. They had to absorb what they received. It was described as the Voice of God talking down to the consumer. Subsequently, customers became more discerning. They began to track where else the ad was being featured. Today, there is a significant amount of interaction. The customer is engaging with content actively. The customer is both a consumer and producer of content. There is no difference between the consumer and the media. Currently, the key metrics used are: Reach/ Recall/ Awareness/ Engagement/ Credibility and Propensity to Buy.

Note: OTS = Opportunity To See. The gross reach is the number of persons reached regardless of the number of times the ad has been shown. The net reach is the number of persons reached once. The OTS value is obtained by dividing the gross reach by the net reach.

Increased commoditization of media buying and selling

Media agencies (buyers) are under pressure to deliver value to clients. With the availability of a range of tools, it has become possible to measure various metrics such as cost per engagement, propensity to buy and the credibility of the media. But media sellers have not changed the terms of engagement from cost per thousand to cost per conversion. So, the only discussion is price and the value is demonstrated only though a lower price. In spite of a dramatic rise in media consumption, the per capita spend in India is still low ($ 32 compared to $ 2260 in the US and $ 222 in China.)

The courage to ask customers to pay for content

Media companies must have the courage to ask customers to pay for content. The credibility of the content will not be high if a media company depends only on advertising for its revenues. In that case, there will be pressure from advertisers to tinker with the content. Customers should also realize that quality content cannot come free. New York Times, Washington Post and Business Standard are great examples of companies that charge for their content.

During the Q&A, Ms. Purohit added that content should pay for itself. She recalled that in 2003, while at Zee TV, she and the promoter, Subhash Chandra decided that 50% of the revenues had to be generated through subscriptions. Few people took them seriously. But that is what Zee achieved 10 years later. Television is doing better than print because of subscriptions. Print is losing money because of its dependence on advertising.

Another point made by Ms Purohit during the Q&A was that there is no need for the media houses to project themselves. They should focus on the content or service they are providing. The content should be relevant and customer friendly. The brand behind the content is less important than the content. Making high quality content for different target groups is key. This holds for both news (The content should be reliable and trustworthy.) and entertainment (The content should be engaging). The content should speak for itself.

Q&A

On Aazol

The venture is aligned with Ms. Purohit’s mission of women empowerment, perhaps drawn from her 25 years of rich experience as a CEO. The idea is to source tasty foods from rural Maharashtra made by women attached to self-help groups. The hope is that many women entrepreneurs will be encouraged. At the same time, customers will get a healthy and wholesome food. Thanks to the pandemic, we have become more health conscious. So this venture will promote healthy food and that too made locally.

On women empowerment

In her writing, Ms. Purohit has captured the prevailing scenario for working women with the term “leaky pipeline”. Women do well as students. In the first 3-4 years of their corporate life, things go well for them. But between 26 and 35, most women leave the workforce because of marriage or child birth. Nearly 50% of the women leave their career in the first decade. With such a leaky pipeline, how can we even think of women breaking the glass ceiling? Ms. Purohit’s advice to young women is that they cannot afford to let go. It is a difficult journey but they must keep at it. Hard work will pay off.  True independence is possible only with financial independence. It is definitely possible to have both a successful career and a happy family life.

For older women, Ms. Purohit’s advice is that having already achieved success, they should be role models for younger women. They should motivate younger women to stay in the workforce and not leave. There is a strong need for visible women leaders who can inspire younger women.

On leadership

In her writing, Ms. Purohit has captured the prevailing scenario for working women with the term “leaky pipeline”. Women do well as students. In the first 3-4 years of their corporate life, things go well for them. But between 26 and 35, most women leave the workforce because of marriage or child birth. Nearly 50% of the women leave their career in the first decade. With such a leaky pipeline, how can we even think of women breaking the glass ceiling? Ms. Purohit’s advice to young women is that they cannot afford to let go. It is a difficult journey but they must keep at it. Hard work will pay off.  True independence is possible only with financial independence. It is definitely possible to have both a successful career and a happy family life.

For older women, Ms. Purohit’s advice is that having already achieved success, they should be role models for younger women. They should motivate younger women to stay in the workforce and not leave. There is a strong need for visible women leaders who can inspire younger women.

On leadership

Ms. Purohit feels that the most important leadership trait is personal accountability. A small child does not get upset when it loses a ball while playing. Its mother will retrieve the ball. But an older child feels unhappy and holds itself responsible for having lost the ball. That marks the transition to adulthood. Accepting accountability and responsibility is the hall mark of leadership. If there is a mess, we must take ownership. That is when a solution emerges. Blaming others for the problem will not take us forward. As Prasad added, we should have an internal locus of control.

On the use of technology

It all depends on customers. If customers want AR/VR, the media will follow. The lives of people are changing due to technology. The media will have to evolve accordingly.

On leveraging radio

In 2005, radio was considered as a medium on which the left over money could be spent. The medium was not really meant for brand building. That perception has not changed much over time. This is rather unfortunate. The RJs (who do not have a larger than life image like television anchors do) have not got their due. While micro influencers can harm the brand, RJs can be very effective in brand building. The connection of people with the RJs is intense. RJs can promote consistency and build trust. Some clever marketers are leveraging radio. But many are not.

On social media

There is a lot of power in the social media. It is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to connect with customers. But if it is not thought through, things can go seriously wrong. When the social networking platforms began, it was all about creating and strengthening communities. This community feeling remains but has been eroded to some extent. Any communication has to address the core community. Another point to note is that the communication has to be contextual. Different kinds of communication may be needed even for the same individual while operating on different platforms.

On the best analytical tools for marketers

Ms. Purohit feels that we should always be guided by first principles. There are three objectives in any marketing communication: Reach (building awareness). Frequency (improving recall) and Conversion (cost per conversion). We should track these metrics carefully.

On how influencers compare with word of mouth

Word of mouth (friends and family members) is always more trustworthy compared to influencers. A brand should be able to infiltrate our family WhatsApp groups. Word of mouth remains the most powerful persuasion vehicle. Influencers come a distant second.

On the credibility of news from the social media

Democratization has led to more availability of information. But ultimately, the news is coming from the publishers. The common man does not gather the news. So the democratization of news is quite artificial. Moreover, this democratization does not necessarily result in unbiased and credible news. We mix with people who think like us. So our focus becomes narrower and biased. We filter out what we do not like.

On career opportunities in the media industry

The media industry is open to talented people: not just the creative people but even people who are structured in their thought process. Creativity needs structure. Only structured creativity clicks finally. Both left brained and right brained thinking are needed in the media business.

On startup opportunities

There are many digital consultants today. The market is crowded.  To succeed, we must identify a niche area and be clear about what will work. We should not get carried away by the current hype around digital media agencies.

We thank Dr. Vedpuriswar for bringing out the highlights in the form of this note