Talking About a Revolution
For most of my working life, I have been associated with some or the other form of Media or Communication. For all of that time, I have also been passionate about Technology, following its explosive evolution from the erstwhile pre-Internet era to the now-ubiquitous Email and Google. Naturally, I was pleased to come across these Internet and Mobile statistics on India from the very reliable – Emergic.org :
India’s Per Capita Income: $600 [Population: 1 billion]
PCs: 18 million; growing at 5 million/year
Internet users: 35 million; growth 50%/year
Cybercafes: 100,000; accounts for two-thirds of Internet access
Landlines: 45 million (declining slightly)
Broadband users: 1 million (most additions in 2005)
Broadband: $5 per month for 256 Kbps with 100 MB download
eCommerce: $250 million; growing at 100%
Online Advertising: $35 million; growing at 30%; 1.2% of total advertising spend
Mobiles: 75 million; growing at 4.5 million/month; 77% pre-paid; 75% GSM; 25% CDMA
Mobile Voice calls: 3c/min (avg); SMS: 2c/message
In India, calling party pays for calls. There is no charge for receiving SMSes.
GPRS-enabled phone: $80+
GPRS Tariff: $8+/month for 100 MB download (plans vary across operators)
Mobile VAS: $90 million; growing at 40%
Mobile ARPU: $8.50 [Split: Voice: 70%; Rentals: 20%; VAS: 10%]
Mobile VAS Split: Person-to-Person SMS, Caller Line Identification, Roaming: 70%; Content: 30%
Content: Ringtones, Ringback Tones, Games, Wallpapers, Interactive Voice Response, Person-to-App SMS
Content Providers get about 10-30% of revenue for their content
(For easy conversion: $1 = Rs 45; $1 million = Rs 4.5 crore)
There’s a treasure trove of information, right here in these statistics… for those who are seeking an opportunity, that is. But, the key will be to analyze the market well, make the right assumptions, and plunge in it with all you have. Mere half-hearted (read: safe) efforts will not work.
Ever so often, organizations and entrepreneurs alike, have bet their monies on a part of this exciting growth-sphere, only to find themselves engaged in more and more brand-building, instead of first building the category. Personally, I have seen this to be true of media as diverse as mobile telephony and FM radio, at least in the Indian context.
Circa 1999, private cellular providers did not realize this when they first started carving out a brand positioning for themselves, without, first, educating consumers about how a mobile phone would benefit them. Five years later, with the privatisation of FM radio, once again, history repeated itself. In fact, till date (and over 3 years since the opening up of the radio space), most radio stations in Mumbai still sound the same as any other, and have yet to invest in building the category to truly leverage the unique advantages, the medium has to offer!
The way I see it, once again, we stand at the brink of a revolution.
If you have access to a computer and are familiar with the Internet, have you ever used Wikipedia or taken note of the increase in blogs, lately? Have you heard of geeky stuff like RSS, XML, news aggregators (both, personal and public!)? Have you paid any attention to some of the features in the latest smartphones and pocket pcs, or are you still living with the notion that a mobile phone is about making phone calls?!
Any day now, some of us may chuck well-paying middle/senior management positions to take the entrepreneurial plunge, or associate themselves with an exciting new venture. Some of us may already be in such an organization, brainstorming with their teams to develop the next BIG idea. While, for others, the wave will just be another news story…. after the wave has subsided.
Coz, some of us, all we can do is talk about the revolution.
The well heeled in India can get access to any technology that they take a fancy to. Although these impressive statistics speak volumes about the growth in the telecom industry and the surging usage, success will be when the millions in rural india get affordable access to telephony on devices they can afford without bells and whistles. When these people in towns and villages embrace it , credit can truly go to the operators for having made a strong proposition that is high on utility and low on price. India must grow as a whole and not in parts.It does not take much to get the upper crust of society to part with their money to try something novel or sophisticated. The proof of the pudding is in the penetration into rural india where most of the poor live.
HiI’d like to think that building a brand especially for a first mover in a category subsumes the responsibility of educating the targeted market about the product or service and the commitment to meet the expectations. moreover can a entrant in a category claim credibility without a brand that must stand for some values ? building a brand takes time and cannot be achieved with just PR.It must offer a strong case for its product or service.in a way the first mover advantage comes with a price which is that of creating a market for a perceived need or perhaps transforming a want into a need. i suppose for every other player building a brand is essential to create differentiation from the established player which could be the first mover.In a sense even a niche that is carved out by a player can be construed to be a distinct market in itself so as you suggest the market can be expanded and innovations can spawn by educating the consumer.
Once again, I find myself responding to a comment posted on the blog – this is getting interesting by the day !I fully agree with Daniel Jackson’s thoughts on the subject : Building a category and building a brand are not (and should not be) mutually exclusive, or even sequential. The problem arises when a marketeer gives priority to brand building over category building, in effect releasing the brand out in the market… too soon.The ideal approach, in my humble opinion, would be a hand-in-glove exercise that achieves both objectives simultaneously.