Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Apr 02, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version | Audio | Blogs
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Apr 02, 2009 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version | Audio | Blogs |
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Brand Line
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Interview ‘Political parties can’t ignore voter base online’
Atul Hegde CEO, Ignitee Digital Solutions Swetha Kannan The Congress party is singing ‘Jai Ho’ all over the Internet. And it’s not just the Congress which has taken a fancy to the online world. Several other political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, are taking to the new media in many innovative ways – through YouTube, social networking sites, and search marketing. BrandLine spoke to Atul Hegde, CEO, Ignitee Digital Solutions, which is the online media agency of the Congress party for the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections, on the sudden interest in digital media in the political circles. What’s different this time in the way political parties are canvassing? Political campaigns and advertising have always been there; political parties have always leveraged various forms of media. But this time around, they have moved into newer media. Today, online and digital media have become big. Whether it is the Internet or digital outdoor signage, political parties have become more technology-savvy. How is the Congress using the medium to promote itself? We are helping Congress use social media such as YouTube. They are also spreading across social networking sites such as Facebook, Orkut, MySpace and Metacafe – through blogs, discussion boards and communities. There are also banner advertising on sites such as Rediff, Sify, Yahoo! and Indiatimes which take users to the Congress official site. The strategy is to tap into various communities and drive viewership to their videos on YouTube. The message ‘Jai Ho’, through heritage films, highlights the Congress’ achievements, whether it’s the computer revolution, Chandrayaan or women’s empowerment. What’s so compelling about the digital media? Political parties are realising that every vote counts. There is a four-crore voter base on the Internet and political parties cannot afford to ignore them. The forward thinking is to reach out to every section, including the youth. And online, it is the youth that rules by default, going by the consumption pattern. The Congress’ YouTube video has received a phenomenal response, with more than 31,000 views and the video has topped the charts. It has credits such as the ‘most viewed video’, ‘most discussed video’, ‘the top rated video’, ‘the most popular video’ and ‘the top most favoured video.’ Digital media last year grew at 45 per cent. This year too, it will continue the growth at 45-50 per cent. It’s an accountable medium, is one to one, and allows pinpointed targeted messaging with zero wastage. We will soon be targeting the mobile platform as well. Online ad revenues estimated to fetch Rs 600 crore More Stories on : Interview | Advertising | Internet | Politics
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