Ankush Aggarwal, Senior Manager, Marketing‚ Harman Professional India

On market and technology trends

A striking development in the Indian pro audio segment is an increase in competition among the various players and foray of several international brands into India. As the Indian market matures, there is a need to invest in the right technology to compete on an international level. For example, India has developed into a world class post-production destination. This is creating a high demand for premium products so as to compete with facilities around the world.

Factors like quality has taken the center stage in this environment where the consumer spends are driven on quality and experience of international standards. This is a very important factor for the various pro audio players to maintain and uphold in order to retain a competitive edge.

India has seen a steep rise in national and international events that require premium sound equipment - International level rock gigs like Metallica, mega sporting events like Formula One, entertainment destinations like Kingdom of Dreams, world class multiplexes mushrooming in Tier II cities. In terms of rental activity, technology has been a driving factor and many of the sound rental companies are purchasing or upgrading their current inventory in order to match the international technical riders. Unplugged sessions with musicians (Coke Studio and MTV unplugged) are gaining popularity. These are very positive development as pro audio companies are being competitive in order to match the best quality required by the customers.

Customization, ease of use, design and installation, maintenance, and customer service are the key differentiators in terms of pro audio equipment manufacturers who have their presence in India.

The overall trend and consumer demand for matching up to international standards in audio is driving up the demand for technology and new higher standards.

The concept of digitization seems to be taking India by storm, with technology driving the market trend in terms of digitization. The proposed plan to switch over from analog to digital in many fields, especially broadcast, is ensuring that resources are being employed to make this change successful.

Technologies like audio video bridging (AVB) is being touted as the next big wave of technology that will enable the delivery of audio, video and highly time sensitive content with perfect Quality of Service (QoS) seamlessly over an Ethernet network.

On key factors driving the market

The post recovery sentiment after the economic meltdown evokes mixed responses across various countries and trade zones. However in India, the economic slowdown has only created growth opportunities for several sectors like never before and this holds true especially for entertainment industry. According to leading estimates and reports, India has increased its entertainment and media spending by 11.2 percent over 2010.

This growth is driven by several factors, but the most important factor for pro audio is consumer- and end-user-led spending in a gamut of entertainment options. The professional audio industry in India is growing at an estimated CAGR of 15-20 percent with a dynamic combination of varied segments.

Broadcast and Recording. With the advent of HD technology in all spheres - audio and video, there is increased demand for high quality audio. Broadcasters are investing in upgrades and new equipments in order to meet the international standards of broadcasting. Regional channels, specialty shows, and reality TV have opened up a world of opportunities for professional audio equipment in this sector. Regional growth in channel penetration is expected to be strong, including the rising rate of investments by the private sector and foreign media entertainment (M&E) majors.

Install Sound. With the tourism demand, hospitality sector is expected to get an investment of 10.3 billion US$ by 2015, which will create 60,000 rooms with foray of international hotel chains. Monuments of national and regional level have greater opportunities for AV installations. Studios (pre and post production facilities) and entertainment destinations such as Kingdom of Dreams, theme parks, shopping malls, and office spaces with world class facilities and auditoriums hold great potential for audio installations.

Cinema Sound. There is an increase in the number of multiplexes and cinema chains across metros and tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Growth in this industry comes from factors such as expansion of the film industry, multiplex screens, enhanced penetration of home video, and an increase in the number of TV channels, which are fuelling demand for film content and demand for audio.

Tour sound. Rising popularity of music competitions and college gigs attracts fresh talent across the country. The increasing number of international events, even in tier-2 cities, has created a new benchmark for rental/sound companies' exposure of latest/international technology, equipments/gear and services resulting in a gradual growth of the replacement of technology and inclusion of new products from sound rental companies.

Musicians. Musicians are seeking the best quality equipment for their gigs and recordings. This is due to increased awareness through networking medium. Organized form of retailing of music gear is helping in driving the demand for the pro audio equipment.

On the USP of products

Harman International India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Harman International, a US$ 3.8 billion company with 30+ locations across the globe, designs, manufactures, and delivers a wide range of premium audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer, and professional markets supported by 15 leading brands. Harman's professional segment includes the brands with their product range - AKG Acoustics (microphones & headphones), BSS Audio (digital signal processing), Crown International (digital amplifications), dbx Professional (digital signal processing), JBL Professional (loudspeakers), Lexicon (digital signal processing), Soundcraft, and Studer (digital mixing consoles).

In India, Harman's industry benchmarked products are used in varied segments: recording and broadcast, cinema, tour sound, commercial sound, portable PA, and installed sound applications. Its customers range from Recording studios, Rental companies, MI, singers/musicians/bands, sound engineers, acoustics consultants and architects, cinema & multiplex owners, broadcasters (TV and Radio) , film studios, event management companies, installed sound (hotels, pubs, educational institutions, auditoriums, stadiums, convention centers and theatre production companies).

Plans for 2012

Without any doubt, India is a key focus market for Harman International due to continuous development, paradigm shifts happening across all the industries. If we consider the professional audio industry in particular, there is overall growth in the various business segments such as television industry, Indian film industry, cinema, live events, broadcast and recording, AV installations - all reaching greater heights in terms of technology usage. In order to augment the technical base with business growth, we have further expanded our footprint by appointing key personnel to develop core markets in the country such as Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai in the professional audio space.

The last fiscal year has been quite eventful in terms of the projects we have executed. Harman India has won several tenders and orders with leading broadcasters, entertainment destinations, cinema multiplexes; has powered leading gigs and events installed at studios supporting some unique formats (Coke Studio), hotel installations (Crown Plaza, ITC, etc.), and several new multiplexes in India (Cinepolis, PVR), all supported by the growth of entertainment options and infrastructure options available.

The magnitude of growth and market penetration would not have been successful without a well-defined distribution network in order to ensure that Harman professional product range is easily available and the right support in terms of application and service is accessible for all our customers in India. In the professional segment alone we have four key distributors - one of the country's leading professional audio players, Hi-Tech Audio Systems (distributor for the Harman range - AKG, Crown, dbx, Lexicon, JBL, and Soundcraft); AVF India, a leading channel partner for the broadcast space (for the Studer range); Furtados (Digitech range) for expanding our range into the musician segment; and MRH Digital Systems, enabling greater penetration of Harman products into the cinema segment.

Marketing plans. In the dynamic arena of B2B marketing, the personal connect is most essential with customers. Apart from the regular, advertising, and promotional activities we lay a clear emphasis on word of mouth and customer experience initiatives on a regular and real time basis. One cannot under estimate the power of social media, where Harman Professional India's presence sees tremendous potential.

Also in order to provide sound professionals with the essential tools and training necessary to design, install, and use the most effective Harman systems we believe in constantly conducting trainings, live demos, interactive seminars, road shows and a creating larger platform to ensure that there is higher level of best practice sharing and exchange of ideas among the sound professionals. Our participation in trade shows in various segments has further provided us an opportunity to interact with customers and showcase our product range on a regular basis.

Looking ahead, we can say that all our bets into establishing our presence in India have created an exceptional platform for us to firmly establish our foray and growth in this vibrant economy.

On major customers

In India, the company has a distinguished clientele which include popular artiste - Ranjit Barot, Nise, Niladri Kumar, Sivamani; leading broadcasters - NDTV, Doordarshan, AIR, Commonwealth Games 2010; entertainment destinations - Kingdom of Dreams and leading hotels - ITC Sheraton Group, Crown Plaza and leading sound rental companies which trust Harman equipment to power several large gigs and events; leading cinemas, such as PVR, and Cinepolis are equipped with Harman's professional audio equipment.