It has been talked about as the ultimate threat as well as ultimate opportunity for media houses. For more than a decade, we have heard about its disruptive and transformative powers. But for most media houses in India, Convergence had remained just an esoteric word till recently because of low Internet penetration and a lack of understanding of what Convergence can do. That has decisively changed now.
Convergence has finally arrived in India with a bang, and how! In just about a year or so, Internet penetration will touch 100 million. And as prices start falling, the number of regular Internet users will zoom upwards just as the number of mobile phone users zoomed upwards after reaching an inflexion point. Don’t be surprised if the number of Internet users crosses 300 million by 2015. In any case, even 100 million Internet users along with 600 million mobile phone users must be something that media houses can no longer ignore. If they do, they will soon be extinct.
What can smart media houses do in this age of Convergence in India? Well, there are a few lessons media companies can learn from the experience of corporate players in other Indian markets. The first lesson is that the Indian consumer is extremely fond of the value for money proposition. No fancy gadget, or application or Facebook hits will lure the Indian media consumer if she thinks that the content is not worth the price. Very soon, more than 50 million upwardly mobile Indians will be accessing news mostly on their mobile phones. And most of it will come free. A smart media house would develop a strategy that can use the mobile handset as a tool to lure the consumer to its more traditional forms of content-print or television. The second crucial lesson that a smart media house must learn is that localisation is the key to success in the Indian market. There is no doubt that English language media is still considered by the elite to be the ‘in-thing’ in the country. But the last two decades have shown that success lies in local markets. Look at the relentless growth of media houses like Sun, Ananda Bazar Patrika, Malayalam Manorama, Dainik Bhaskar and Dainik Jagran to name just a few and you will realise the importance of going-and staying local. In fact, analysts say that one of the key reasons behind the success of so many editions of The Times of India is the manner in which the newspaper has successfully localised its various editions. And of course, you have the Hindi language behemoths who have more than 60 editions!
The third thing that smart media houses will do is to make their content younger. More than two thirds of India’s population is already below 35 years of age and the next generation of media consumers will be incredibly young. Almost all of them will be using mobile phones, Facebook, Twitter and other new technologies aggressively. This young cohort will also be different in the sense that they would want content that is in your face yet no-nonsense. This generation – contrary to what many Pundits say – is also very engaged with important social and political issues. So a smart media house would address these issues and not talk down to the reader and the viewer. Sure, gossip, sex surveys et al attract young media consumers. But they do not shy away from the rot in the judicial system, poverty, corruption and mismanagement. The last lesson would be one about interactivity. Social media has already demonstrated that media consumers no longer want to be passive recipients of content. They want to engage the media house that provides the content in a conversation. The more interactive you are, the more successful you will be.
