Will the net kill the TV star?

Just how does one electronic medium affect the other? Words from a panel debate.

"Will the Internet do to TV what TV did to the radio?" was the theme of a panel discussion at "Verge" "" the OgilvyOne Digital Summit recently held in Mumbai.

The question, though, appears to be a little out of place with the Indian government just having given 120 new FM frequencies to private players.

Moreover, TV has become a lot more interactive with cable players getting into "Triple Play" "" voice, video and data "" and direct to home (DTH) and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) making inroads in this market.

The fact was not lost on the panel speakers who agreed that it would be difficult to herald the demise of the radio or the TV for the matter.

There was a consensus that mobiles and the Internet were media to watch out for. Of course, in this case, the stress was on "whether the advertising money would shift from the TV to the Internet".

"The point is how marketers can make use of the convergence," according to Dalip Seh-gal, executive director, new ventures and marketing services, HLL.

He pointed out that various companies, including HLL, had installed interactive kiosks in rural and urban India. Marketers should take note of this new medium, he urged, adding, "They need to figure that there are different segments of consumers."

Sunil Lulla, CEO, Times Global Broadcasting, opined that there was no question of the TV being sidelined by the Internet at any time. Lulla, who ran a portal earlier and now is with TV has seen both the worlds.

"We as a society like to do things together. In other words, we like to watch TV together. This is a big barrier to change," he noted.

He recalled that when the SMS voting idea for Indian Idol was being discussed with phone companies, "none of them, except BSNL "" ironically, a government undertaking "" was enthusiastic. Yet, at Sony (at a time when he worked there), we received nearly two million votes in the first three weeks."

The Indian Idol show has received more than 45 million votes via SMS to date. "Isn't this interaction via TV?" asked Lulla.

Earlier in the day, Brian Fetherstonhaugh, CEO, OgilvyOne Worldwide, said: "The consumer is seizing control of information." He cited the example of the iPod, where "the consumers control the playlist".

He said clients should take note of e-marketing, search marketing (buying words in the client-specific category and seeing how it increases the hits on the website) and mobile marketing as part of their marketing strategies.

He added it is time companies "bring sight and sound (audio and video) to online marketing. While it increases the persuasion factor, it also improves the efficiency by two-and-a-half times."

"Why is your message not integrated if there is so much integration of the digital media?" he asked clients. He suggested India should capitalise on its strengths: storytelling ("You Indians are fantastic story tellers"), attractive cost structure, openness and innovation.

Is mobile marketing intrusive?

It's a million dollar question hounding both customers and service providers. Even the courts have now joined issue. Little wonder, it also figured as a discussion topic at the "Verge" (see above).

Hutch's chief marketing officer, Naveen Chopra, was blunt: "Yes, it is intrusive. Very often, for reasons not propagated by the service provider. Mobile advertising needs to be done responsibly."

Raj Singh, executive director, ActiveMedia, corroborated this statement. Yahoo India's director and country manager, Neville Taraporewala, concurred: "The media needs to be responsible. For instance, we have built interactivity for our clients with positive results. Everybody wants to spam the user. However, we are extremely careful about parting with sensitive data."

Lloyd Mathias, director, marketing, mobile devices, Motorola India, opined that advertising would "look beyond just SMS marketing".

He referred to Motorola Screen 3 "" a technology solution that lets consumers get news, sports, entertainment, and other premium content and services directly from their mobile device home screen (no buttons to push, no browsers to launch).

"This is push technology from us. However, the user can click for more data only if he feels it's useful," explained Mathias.

Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and national creative director, O&M, summed it up rather well: "The medium gives you an opportunity to experiment."

Why abuse it?