Starcom MediaVest Group launches Web+TV optimiser in India

Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) has rolled out a fused 'TV + Web' optimiser across offices in India. The new optimiser will allow media planners to evaluate plans fluidly between TV and digital, according to the agency.

This optimizer will sit within the TARDIIS suite – SMG’s proprietary optimiser, which has been in use since 2006. The optimiser runs on the local Television Audience Measurement (TAM) and Web Audience Measurement (WAM) datasets. India is one of the few markets where SMG has launched this product, an SMG statement said.

Malli CR, CEO, SMG India, said, “There are several vehicles in digital whose reach is substantial and yet inertia and a lack of currency prevent investments. With this optimiser, a planner can seamlessly build plan options between TV and digital. Does taking 10 per cent of the budget from TV and putting on to digital build better incremental reach?  A planner would be able to do this on an on-going basis and raise the quality of the conversation between planners and brand managers. Every client’s biggest complaint is about how plans for different target audiences look the same. This product is one of several things that will help change that. We have been testing the product internally since March and are seeing paradigm changing results. For a Female, 25-44 SEC A plan, the percentage of investment on digital can quadruple! A lot of decision making in media happens through heuristics (thumb rules), and one needs new currencies to break out of the inertia of old thumb rules.”

He noted that one of the biggest challenges in digital was in increasing the share of spends of FMCG companies."Our experience on TARDIIS Web + TV from other markets on FMCG clients has shown that it can lead to a totally different worldview on digital and increase spends substantially. TARDIIS Web + TV is one of the first tools with scale in this market that can accelerate digital spends and investments” added Malli.

Puja Shah, director human resources at SMG, commented, “We want to enable all our planners to be digitally oriented. This is one of several steps in this direction SMG India has planned out in the next six months."