The Fourth Screen

The mobile phone is taking over as the universal medium for most Indians. It is drawing the internet onto its small screen and turning into a tool that offers more than calls and SMS. This is making the mobile screen an increasingly favoured advertising tool. Santanu, my bro, is a true inhabitant of the wired world. Right from the moment he wakes up to the time he hits his bed, whether it is the last minute changes to the client presentation or to check the latest cricket score or to catch up with friends on Facebook or even listen to some foot-thumping music……. His world starts and ends with his Blackberry. This shows how seemingly innocuous looking gadget is quietly taking control and touching our lives in ways unimaginable.

As mobile telephony grows rapidly, it is used not just for voice communication. Even SMS is passé today. Multitasking is the operative word here with a camera, computer and music player, all packed into the hand held. From downloading software to games, entertainment to accessing content across genres, mobile users are looking for new ways to personalise their handsets with utilities and multimedia content that make their mobile experience richer.

The Indian media and entertainment industry stood at Rs 58, 400 crore in 2008 and over the next five years, the industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12.5 % to become Rs 1,05, 200 crore by 2013. (FICCI ; KPMG) Though internet advertising contributes only 1.8 % of the country’s total advertising expenditure, it has grown a whopping 65% as against 17% growth of advertising on the whole. The newer options for marketing communication are on the shore and are harnessing the hot market of the current time. With the upswing of mobile market and swift rise in their sale, business people are taking the mobile medium as a promising sector for marketing and advertising. For the past few years, marketing practitioners have been suggesting that mobile devices would become the next generation marketing channel and supersede print, audio-visual and email and even web. With 400 million mobile users and 8-10 million more every month, India should be one of the hottest markets for mobile advertisers.

Often called the fourth screen after the TV, Cinema and the Internet, the mobile phone is the way to connect with the next billion and the increasing middle-class consumers in Brazil, Russia, India and China. For consumers, the mobile phone has become more than a communication device, it is now a complete entertainment gadget.. They expect their mobile phones to double as state-of-the-art digital cameras, gaming consoles and web access. These uses increases advertisers’ chances to connect with consumers on the move, who get engrossed in these multi-tasking devices. Mobile advertising will receive another boost because of the shift in the advertising industry itself. Advertisers are focusing away from broadcasting through a one way medium to narrow casting for one-to-one consumer engagement and feedback. Marketing is changing from mass-media-push to mass-customisation-pull… PULL IN ANYONE, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE is the mantra.

Will keep updating the latest marketing moves made by the hand held device, from time to time..