29-03-2012, 04:56 PM
A STUDY ON EMERGING TRENDS OF MEDIA
22_22_mobile_marketing_project.doc (Size: 976 KB / Downloads: 62)
INTRODUCTION
Mobile phones today have moved beyond their fundamental role of communications and have graduated to become an extension of the persona of the user. We are witnessing an era when users buy mobile phones not just to be in touch, but to express themselves, their attitude, feelings & interests. Customers continuously want more from their phone. They use their cellular phones to play games, read news headlines, surf the Internet, keep a tab on astrology, and listen to music, make others listen to their music, or check their bank balance.
Thus, there exists a vast world beyond voice that needs to be explored and tapped and the entire cellular industry is heading towards it to provide innovative options to their customers. Spoilt by choice, the mobile phone subscribers are beginning to choose their operators on the basis of the value added services they offer. The increased importance of VAS has also made content developers burn the midnight oil to come up with better and newer concepts and services.
Organization Profile:
Mediaedge:cia (MEC) is the first global communications planning and implementation agency. They get consumers actively engaged with their clients' brands, leading to positive awareness, deeper relationships and stronger sales.
Their services include brand and consumer insight and ROI, communications planning, media planning and buying, interaction (digital, direct, search), sport, entertainment and cause partnerships, retail consultancy and Hispanic marketing. Their 4,500 highly talented and motivated people work with local, regional and global clients from their 250 offices in 84 countries. They are a founding partner of GroupM, WPP's media investment management group
LITERATURE SURVEY
According to Sethi, (2006) Telecommunication is one of the prime support services needed for rapid growth and modernization of various sectors of the economy. Although the sector has grown rapidly in recent years, its growth needs to be accelerated further. It is equally important to accelerate structural changes in this sector in line with trends in other countries to ensure that the telecommunication services are not only made available on the scale needed to sustain rapid growth in the economy as a whole but also that the quality and cost of these services come up to the requirements of a modernizing economy.
Information Technology - Policies and Prospects
Automatic approval for foreign equity in software and almost all areas of electronics is permitted. Automatic approval is accorded for foreign technology agreements in all areas of electronics except aerospace and defence, subject to specified conditions. 100 percent foreign investment is permitted in units set up exclusively for exports. Such units can be set up under anyone of the following schemes; EHTPs, STPs, Free Trade Zones/EPZs, and 100 percent EOUs (Sethi, 2006)
KEY FINDINGS
All the respondents surveyed were using Value added services in some form or the other i.e. sms, caller line identification, missed call alerts, participation in contests, etc.
The age groups of 18-30 are the highest users of value added services.
The awareness level of value added services increases with education level of respondents. Some services like caller tunes and contests are popular across all the respondents.
Value added services directed towards entertainment are most popular amongst students and those directed towards information like news updates, banking etc are more popular amongst professionals. Contests are more popular in house wives.
Most of the respondents were concerned about the perceived value of the value added services and the prices became secondary as compared to the perceived value.
The services were mostly popular with the respondents using costly handsets as compared people using low-end handsets.
The Value added services like participation in contests, opinion poll through messages and gauging contestants through sms voting have become a bridge between the new media and the viewers.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Marketing activities should specifically directed towards the age groups of 18-30.
Special focus should be given to increasing the awareness level of value added services to under-graduates and graduates.
Marketing and advertising should address consumer concerns about perceived benefits because higher the perceived benefits, higher the usage.
Pinnacle technologies should come up with innovative and engaging contests and competitions that complement the television.
CONCLUSIONS
According to the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the mobile subscriber base in GSM and CDMA has grown from 88.48 million in January 2006 to 93 million (GSM 65.2 million, CDMA 27.82 million) in February. But behind the scenes all the telecom operators are struggling to increase their average revenue per user.
Concept of VAS: Rising demand for handsets has led operators to offer services other than voice calls. Thus, the content or value-added services (VAS) market comprising music, wallpapers, ringtones and gaming is growing rapidly. With the number of mobile users growing, there is a growing opportunity for content providers. In India, wireless operators, music and film companies, comics content developers, game developers and musicians are all entering the mobile content market for ringtones, gaming, mobile imagery and streaming audio and video. The increased interest in and demand for personal expression applications across mobile users is driving the applications and content market. Entertainment and content applications offered by content publishers, aggregators and operators are increasingly central to the revenue and competitive positioning.