Combining experiential marketing with traditional marketing strategies enhances a brand's reach and impact. When traditional marketing is paired with experiential marketing, which offers immersive, memorable experiences, the result is a powerful synergy. This combination not only increases engagement and emotional connection with consumers but also drives higher ROI. The integrated approach maximizes visibility, fosters loyalty, and ultimately boosts sales, delivering substantial returns on investment.
GroupM, just like several other agencies, amalgamates experiential marketing with its traditional marketing efforts. Running standalone experiential campaigns is also its forte. iTV, an independent experiential company was started in 1996 by Ajay Mehta. GroupM went on to purchase a majority stake in the company in 2008 and later on, acquired it entirely. Mehta, thus, transitioned into a new role at GroupM heading the experiential marketing arm which got under its gamut – OOH, in-cinema advertising and experiential marketing.
In an exclusive tete-a-tete with Everything Experiential, Ajay Mehta, Managing Director – Cinema, OOH & Experiential Marketing, GroupM, underlines the evolution of the company that he founded, how 2023 fared for GroupM on the experiential front, the popular campaigns initiated by the agency, and more.
Edited excerpts:
Starting iTV in 1996 and going on to sell the majority stake to GroupM in 2008, how do you see the evolution of the company that you founded? How has the takeover by GroupM enhanced the company’s position in the market?
GroupM picked up the stake way back in 2008. But a few years ago, it took over the entire company and post that, the company has been on a tremendous growth path.
iTV is in the business of, in-cinema advertising. And once it came under Group M, the access to clients, the focus on delivering client delight, whether it is in terms of measurement, monitoring, or figuring out how cinema can fit into the larger integrated media planning - all these factors have led to tremendous growth and creating arguably the strongest in-cinema advertising product across the world. And that is because post the GroupM takeover, we've been able to create several industry-first tools, which help us tell with a great amount of accuracy which movie will open well and which is based on social media listening - it is called Buzz Index.
We have a tool which we've developed with Kantar called Cam, which addresses the problem of monitoring in-cinema. We also do measurement in terms of measuring the recall and impact of the advertising.
So in everything, whether it is a product, whether it is integrating cinema with the larger media plans or it is getting access to clients and understanding client needs, it's been a huge benefit to the company.
Also, you have completed a year in your role at GroupM. What kind of a transition has your role seen, and what has changed in this one year?
We have brought cinema, outdoor advertising and experiential together and it's been beneficial for all three units. At one level, there are a lot of commonalities or a lot of synergistic points between the three businesses.
Cinema, of course, is part of the larger out-of-home ecosystem. In India, it is the largest out-of-home (OOH) entertainment, so there is a direct link between out-of-home advertising and in-cinema advertising. Experiential is another way of activating audiences once they are on the move or they are out of home.
So, we now provide complete OOH solutions, rather than work in silos, so we can recognise the need and requirements of the client and tailor-made solutions, which may be one of the three services that we offer, or all three, or pick up a combination and integrate it with conventional media as well.
It is a client-first approach which has happened, and it becomes far more valuable to the clients as far as the last year goes.
Also, it's not as if for experiential, the clients look at it very differently. Clients are very clear that they want a return on investment (ROI) and they need to know what their ROI is. What experiential offers them is a deeper engagement and a deeper connect with their target audience, with their markets. But that aside, today experiential also needs to be measured.
Today, experiential is not just about on-ground activation. It is about rural markets. It's about reaching media dark markets. It's about using digital to amplify what you may do in limited markets. So, it has to integrate with the larger marketing objectives and with the larger marketing strategy. So from that perspective, experiential is another part of the marketing or the media mix. It's simply a case of recognising what the client’s objectives are and tailor-making solutions which can help them deliver their business goals.
How has the year 2023-24 been for GroupM on the experiential front?
2023 has been a year of explosive growth. We've grown across all three verticals very strongly.
If I look at cinema, 2023 was the year when movies did extremely well. It was the best year for the Indian box office in terms of gross collections ever. And that was on the back of big, monstrous hits like Animal, Pathan and Jawan. And that helped bring the audiences back to cinemas post-covid.
The year 2022 was good because the Southern movies did extremely well. 2023 became even better because even Bollywood started working. So that enabled us to assure clients that cinema is as relevant a medium as it ever was.
If you look at OOH advertising today, a large chunk of advertising in the outdoor segment comes from transit media, which may be airports, metros, etc. And, it's been a record-breaking year for them.
Clients today realise that audiences/consumers are back to travelling. We've seen a lot of revenge travel. We've seen a lot of corporate travel coming back. And every second day it's in the papers how the aviation industry is creating records. That, coupled with the availability of digital OOH at airports, has caused an upsurge in the kind of advertising which is happening there. With the metro going on to more and more cities, clients are learning and realising that we spend a lot of time in our daily commute, and more and more people are taking on to metros. So that becomes an opportunity for them to advertise.
Media owners have invested significantly. There's been a use of a lot of technology in OOH, whether it is anamorphic advertising or it is using CGI, or even programmatic digital OOH. Also, the availability of digital OOH has increased.
And 2023, in a city like Bombay, you saw Western Express Highway, having a lot of good, top-class digital OOH options, which has enabled video and moving pictures to be used - it has caused a lot of interest in clients. So, these are some of the reasons why OOH has grown.
Experiential also was very badly affected by Covid because we spent more and more time inside our homes. So every year post 2022 started the recovery process, and 2023 has only added to it.
Which are the memorable experiential campaigns that have been executed by GroupM – that you think have attracted consumer engagement?
As part of Coca-Cola's global Christmas campaign, we created a 10-second 3D anamorphic video using advanced tools from our AI platform. We aimed to convey the message that AI has the power to transform ordinary holiday wishes into extraordinary expressions of joy and warmth. The video evoked feelings of nostalgia, happiness, and excitement, thereby creating memorable experiences for audiences during the festive season.
Another campaign that we executed in India was for Sprite. During the India vs. Pakistan cricket match in Ahmedabad on 14 October, Sprite and Swiggy offered fans a unique experience. A digital billboard near Narendra Modi Stadium mirrored the game's intensity by adapting its temperature. Fans could scan a QR code to enjoy a virtual Sprite experience via the Swiggy app.
Any other specific tools or technology that have probably been utilised on an international front and which you plan to get to India as well? As we usually see with the network agencies - they do get their tools to India.
We've used a lot of projection technology, and have done some really interesting work with projection on monuments or buildings, using technologies which may have been used internationally. In Dubai, for example, a lot of projection is used. So, we look at that kind of stuff.
In OOH, anamorphic is becoming more significant with the growth of digital OOH.
Again, activations are not just classically going out to a place and trying to generate leads. The activation can be on a pack - using QR codes on packs, we've done gaming activities, which is the use of technology. We have used QR codes for a client where scanning it, got the person onto a gaming platform and there was branded content and branded gaming available over there, which leads to a deeper engagement. So, activations using digital to amplify it is another use.
We also did a music concert wherein for one of our clients, we've used RFID technology to use wearables and do that.
We've used robots in supermarkets to communicate and engage with the consumer. So multiple technological interventions have been used.
The Indian market is witnessing an upsurge in investments in areas such as sports events, music fests, test drives etc. by brands across various categories from the consumer perspective. What are your views on the burgeoning experiential market which the brands are thirsting to explore?
Today's consumer seeks experiences above all else, prompting brands to invest in sports events, music festivals, and interactive engagements. This shift in strategy aims to build deeper emotional connections and enhance customer loyalty, especially with Gen Alpha, who have the lowest levels of brand affinity.
Experiential marketing helps brands stand out in a crowded marketplace by offering unique, immersive experiences that resonate with tech-savvy, younger audiences. For instance, we worked with brands like Pernod Ricard and launched successful IPs like Boombox, a fast-growing Bollywood music event.
We organised the Seagram’s Royal Stag presents Royal Stag Boombox, a unique musical phygital experience blending Bollywood melodies and Hip-Hop. Featuring original tracks and videos, created by artists such as Amit Trivedi, Armaan Malik, Badshah, Nikhita Gandhi and more, it toured five major Indian youth hubs—Pune, Indore, Bhubaneswar, Manipal, and Jalandhar - offering headline acts, food, culture, and merchandise. The event gained 181.5 mn+ video views (meta video plays + YouTube complete views), 13.8 mn+ interactions, had a 54 per cent share of conversations and 95 per cent positive sentiment.
On the other hand - for automobile brands, we help brands such as Volvo with its C40 recharge launch, create comprehensive on-ground experiences, integrating activities and entertainment to engage high-net-worth individuals. Partnerships with niche sports like golf, polo, and pickleball have proven effective.
During the ICC, we collaborated with Confirm Tkt to create memorable experiences for cricket fans, resulting in significant engagement and a 133 per cent increase in website traffic.
ConfirmTkt's ‘Journey to the World Cup’ experiential campaign featured contests, allowing superfans to join influencers like Jordindian and Danish Sait on thrilling train journeys to the World Cup. The contest received 30K entries over the entire duration of the campaign, and also gained a CPV (Cost Per View) of 0.43. The engagement rate was 31.44 per cent. The app saw a download of 4.05 million.
What is your opinion about the utilisation of technological innovations – AI, AR, VR, metaverse etc. – in building consumer experiences?
Technological innovations are transforming brand engagement. We pioneered AR/VR to establish a battery brand’s superiority in rural India, using QR codes and Augmented Reality to boost interactivity and create CGI content for multiple brands.
We also collaborated with an airline to develop a café with digital screens that teleport consumers to their chosen destinations. For a confectionery brand, we used Generative AI for customised birthday wishes and built an online gaming studio for another.
The power of these innovations is immense, limited only by our imagination. Clients have shown great receptivity to these technological advances. Moving forward, combining technological innovations with eco-friendly implementations will be crucial, offering clear value for clients.
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