Overcoming Short Attention Span A Big Challenge For Advertisers, Says Sam Balsara
Day 2 of Goafest 2023 began with ‘Media Planning in a Digital World’ masterclass. Sam Balsara, Founder, Chairman & MD, Madison World, shared his insights on why the digital medium needs to be leveraged for brand campaigns.
The masterclass included of a presentation where Balsara presented insights on ‘Dramatically changing media habits where the digital penetration has increased by 300 million in the past five years; GenZ, the multimedia king, is a group that more marketers are aiming to reach, and audiences increasing short attention span proving to be a challenge for advertisers where they are paying for the audience to view the ad but the latter is not viewing it.
As marketers operate with the above in mind, Balsara observed, “What has not changed is the marketers confidence in advertising to build brand and market share. It has remained intact if not grown. "
The discussion turned to how the growth of AdEx was consistent with shifting consumer behaviour brought on by habits, Covid, low-cost data, and low-cost phones. Balsara stated,"Digital advertising in a way has considerably democratised entrepreneurship and business as it reaches smaller businessmen and even housewives".
Along with the strength of digital media, Balsara stressed its shortcomings that advertisers and media strategists must address intelligent individuals on the board. The lack of spillover was also emphasised. Unlike digital, television can reach viewers outside of its intended audience. Due to its click-per-minute purchase model, digital is ineffective for a broad audience. Viewability on television and films provide 100% coverage, while digital formats are only measured in 2 seconds, have more congested screens, and have shorter dwell times.
Stating that, “Advertising is all about building brand equity, which is why advertisers are in business,” Balsara advised large brands to incorporate digital in their media plans because of the digital’s unique capabilities and because time spend on TV is coming down.
