Adman Sandeep Goyal, Chairman, Mogae Media, has recently launched a mobile call-to-action tool, StarStar, which he claims would be a game changer in the way brands connect with their end consumers. In a conversation with Ajita Shashidhar, Goyal talks about how StarStar would amplify the impact of traditional advertising. Edited excerpts:BT: Can you tell us about StarStar and how you think it will be a game changer in the world of marketing?
Goyal: Brands have struggled over the years trying to establish a last-mile connect. In the past few years, the last-mile connect actually became the last-yard connect because you needed to reach the customer in that crucial moment of truth when he or she was at the retail counter, contemplating whether to buy or not to buy, and if to buy and what to buy. However, brands struggled and continue to struggle in connecting their mainline advertising to the mobile.
This is where StarStar comes in. It connects the brand to the customer seamlessly and in real time on the mobile. And it does not require a data connection or an app or live internet.
All earlier call-to-action methodologies failed because they were too cumbersome. Customers cannot remember 10-digit mobile numbers or toll free numbers or short codes. StarStar simplifies all of that. With StarStar, you dial a name, not a number. Hence, StarStar addresses the biggest pain point of brands: customers remember names, not numbers.
Our extensive research over the past couple of years shows us that about 80-90 per cent of the response to all advertising is lost to customer forgetfulness. You see an ad on TV, you are interested in the offer, but at that point you are having dinner. Half an hour later when you do want to reach out to avail the offer, you have forgotten the advertised number. StarStar just requires you to remember the name of the brand. The sieve of customers lost to fading memory will get addressed by StarStar.
BT: Since how long have you been working on this application? What was the insight for the launch of this application?
Goyal: Well, in a manner of speaking, work on this application is three decades old! I have been in advertising that long and the need gap for a painless call-to-action was something I always thought about. In 2012 we launched Mogae Media and quickly became market leaders in the mobile monetisation space. We also started to understand mobile as a medium and its versatility much better.
The StarStar platform has been in the making for a little over two years. The insight on the launch of the application was simply that customers remember names, not numbers. If we could enable that, we would have a winner on hand.
BT: How many brands have you signed up with? Can give us a few examples of how brands have benefited out of this service?
Goyal: We have Star TV on board. They have taken **STAR. They have been most supportive and are our founder client. We hope they will take many more domains in times to come.
Discovery Network has taken **TV.
UrbanClap has signed up **URBANCLAP.
Kellogg's has taken **BREAKFAST, **MUESLI and **OATS.
**TEA has been taken by a major beverage company. **BANK is under negotiation. We have one major airline also signed up.
In the next week, two major auto players, perhaps even three will be on board. At least three e-commerce companies are in near-closure stage. Over half a dozen banks and insurance companies are in final stages.
BT: You have been in the world of communications for decades. Does the launch of services like Star indicate the death of traditional advertising?
Goyal: I don't think it is the death of traditional advertising. StarStar in fact amplifies the impact of traditional advertising.
One TRP on television, in C&S homes, pan India reaches 2.93 million viewers at the last count. If 1 per cent of viewers respond to an ad running on a one-TRP program, the brand should get 29,300 calls. A good FMCG brand takes 600-800 GRPs in a purchase cycle. So your response could be 29,300 x 800, which is 23 million responses. If the response rate is 0.1 per cent, then it is still 2.3 million responses in a month.
StarStar is going to shake up traditional advertising. So far, brand managers hankered after performance deliveries only on digital. StarStar will force evaluation of advertising performance on television and even print media. If you run a campaign on television and if the above maths doesn't show up, you need to have a chat with your ad agency or your media agency or both.
BT: Group M's projections of the media and entertainment industry in 2016 shows a 47.5 per cent growth in digital ad spends. Do you see a large portion of spends happening across mobile platforms? How are brands going to engage with consumers on various mobile platforms?
Goyal: Mobile is still a medium which is work in progress. Most clients and almost every agency still does not understand the power of the mobile and how to harness it. Media agencies keep talking about programmatic advertising but with zero targeting or customer knowledge. In 2016 that is set to change. It may not impact revenues in the short run very significantly but it will surely start making inroads in time.
BT: How will Jio and other 4G services change the game?
Goyal: I am not qualified to speak about Jio. But 4G will certainly change the data landscape. The internet will be of better quality and better speed. That will enhance customer experience, which in turn will open up opportunities in content and context marketing.
BT: Finally what kind of goals have you set for Star?
Goyal: StarStar is like owning a mobile domain name. Much as you own www.urbanclap.com, it makes eminent sense to own **URBANCLAP. It is easy to remember and an enduring brand property.
I was meeting a company last week that is into room rentals and hotels. The brand manager was negotiating the value of **HOTEL with me. I told him a nice little story that someone bought www.hotel.com 20 years ago for $99. Today that domain is worth half a billion dollars. We quickly headed towards a closure on the deal!
In the fiscal 2016-2017, StarStar should do Rs 100 crore in revenues. It will be a star performer.