Anand Ganesh Rao

Confessions of a Media Auditor. Part 2. We are regularly asked by brand leaders to audit their streaming investments. Almost every time, we see the same pattern: platform dashboards look outstanding while brand search, site sessions, and sales remain flat. This isn’t conspiracy — it’s the byproduct of a persistent information gap in streaming buys. Fragmented supply, fuzzy definitions of “CTV,” and incentive-driven metrics combine to tell a story of success that doesn’t match business reality. Too often, this gap is reinforced by agencies—sometimes masquerading “ad tech platforms” with managed-service offerings—that fail to educate clients on the true variability of inventory. Whether through omission or oversimplification, that lack of clarity amounts to obfuscation. The outcome is predictable: smart brands, lured by the promise of cheap CPMs, eventually conclude: CTV doesn’t work. But before we accept that conclusion, we ask five questions: 1. What inventory are you actually buying? 2. Which devices are your ads truly delivered on? 3. What % of impressions reached your primary audience? 4. Did you budget enough reach to separate signal from noise in your leading indicators? 5. Did you deliver enough frequency to command attention? Today, let’s start with #1. Here’s a real client report excerpt (redacted). Look closely: - “RON” and generic labels (e.g., “OTT Sports”) → broad, exchange-based supply where exact programming is unknown. - CPMs under $6 → far more likely a mix of mobile/desktop/app video and long-tail FAST channels than true large-screen CTV. - Attractive CPAs. Useful in lower-funnel harvesting, but as a north star for CTV it’s a vanity metric. It flatters platforms because it rewards clicks from users already in-market, inflates performance with cheap placements (often mobile/app units), and says little about incremental brand impact. What to prioritize instead: ➡️ Share of impressions on large-screen CTV (not just “OTT”). ➡️ On-target % against your primary audience. ➡️ Reach & frequency sufficiency for that audience. ➡️ Incremental branded search/site-visit lift (vs. baseline). 👉 If your CTV CPMs are in the single digits, you’re not buying CTV.

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If i have to sum up building new age consumer brands in a paragraph, it will sound something like this Have a product proposition which is both relevant to the category and differentiated vis a vis other players. Use that to create a brand proposition which is again relevant to the category and differentiated vis a vis other players. Use bottom funnel performance marketing to acquire initial customers. Make the brand widely available across channels and easy to buy. Create distinctive brand assets and remain consistent with your core proposition. Continue spending on high reach and impactful top funnel media to build brand salience and reduce dependency on performance marketing. Once you reach a certain scale in a category, enter other categories keeping the brand proposition true. Keep at it for 15-20 years No rocket science. But incredibly difficult to execute

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Festive marketing in India is often seen as a battle between the old and the new — TV vs. digital, print vs. influencer. But in reality, it’s not a competition. It’s a collaboration. Newer channels bring speed, precision, and data. Traditional ones bring emotion, reach, and trust. The real magic happens when they work together — amplifying each other instead of replacing one another. Shared my thoughts on why the future of marketing is not replacement, but integration in this piece for Social Samosa. https://lnkd.in/gsRcCfCZ

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𝐔𝐧𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭: 𝐎𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐭'𝐬    Thrilled to share some fascinating insights from our recent analysis on Blinkit , specifically exploring the #PeanutButter and 'Liquid' food category performance! The data provides a clear picture of evolving consumer trends and competitive strategies within India's quick commerce space. Here's what stood out: 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬: A significant lean towards generic searches (65%) initially, yet a notable and growing surge in branded searches (now 35%), indicating increasing brand-led consumer intent. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐧: The 'Liquid' category (including peanut butter) is heavily weighted towards premium price segments (76% market share), suggesting Indian consumers are actively seeking and willing to pay for higher-value products. 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 & 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲: Pintola leads comprehensively, excelling across all price points (value to high-premium) and dominating both crunchy and creamy variants, reflecting robust product and market fit. MYFITNESSS effectively leverages aggressive paid visibility to capture significant market share, particularly in major cities. 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Key metropolitan areas like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru drive the majority of market contribution, with varying operational models influencing last-mile delivery. These observations offer valuable lessons for any brand navigating the Indian quick commerce landscape. #FMCGInsights #BlinkitAnalysis #MarketTrends #IndiaConsumer #DataAnalytics #BrandStrategy #Pintola #Myfitness #TheWholeTruth #Sundrop #DrOetker #Beastlife #Purefarms #Saffola #Skippy #Amul #HeevaPintolaMYFITNESS #TheWholeTruthSundrop Farms Dr. Oetker IndiaiBeastLifefReliable Products Inc | PureFarms Organicic #Saffola #SkippyAmul India Heeva

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