It is time now to shift the battlefield from rate charts to content driven advertising.

Recession 2008 was feared to be the worst slowdown since the great depression of the 1930s; the recession had its spiraling effect on the global economy. The closure of giant multinational banks and companies sent the world economy into a tizzy and the panic that permeated the world workforce was there for all of us to feel.

A liberalized nation, India boasts of the presence of a huge number of international and multinational companies that provide employment to the people, revenue to the economy and a significant contribution the country's GDP. The Indian economy to a large extent withstood the global downturn, but could not totally evade the ripple effect of the phenomenon. Jobs cuts, salary cuts and cost cuts hit the corporate world.

Largely thriving on the marketing budgets of corporate houses, the downsizing of marketing budgets of almost all corporate houses impacted the media industry to a large extent. Rates of selling commercial time took a beating even as costs of technical set ups, technicians and artistes remained at the same level. Television revenues spiraled down, ad revenues dropped and film producers were seen cutting budgets and negotiating artiste fees.

Mapping the road to recovery was no easy task. Hard decisions had to be taken. Revenue expansion was not really an option, cost cuts was the order of the day. Coping with the crisis became harder by the minute. The media industry saw many companies pack up. There were production houses small and big, news channels, entertainment and GEC's all going bust- the others struggling to stay afloat.

The bursting of the advertising bubble, and the ensuing economic repercussions, posed a monumental challenge to the media industry like many other industries and forced corporate introspection and re-examination. Many companies were caught fat and somewhat flat-footed after feeding off the healthy climate of the mid-to-late 1990s; but even lean companies found themselves forced to reassess their business models.

When a similar market malaise stalled business in the early 1990s, media companies became creative in the development of new revenue streams, a collective move of new offerings that benefited B-to-B customers as well as brands. The principles of value added entered business models; companies boosted their intellectual strength by building robust databases; and custom publishing, trade shows and events emerged as strong brand extensions of established titles.

As in the economic struggles of the early 1990s, the time post recession has forced us in the media industry to think creatively and boldly-to develop new tools and leverage established ones in new ways. Though only the latest in the ongoing global economic ebb and flow, this recent period has also been unique in that it has spawned groundbreaking advances driven by technology. Without jeopardizing our print products, B-to-B e-centric offerings (e-newsletters, RSS, blogs, digital delivery), rich data/business information and continuing education have emerged as building blocks of tomorrow's business.

All these new tools are additive to B-to-B brands and create potential revenue streams. But just as exciting is the fact that these tools enable B-to-B media to reach new audiences and deliver knowledge through new vehicles.

Vis-a-vis cost controls, a reality stood stark before the media industry. The cost of human resources had escalated to a never before price. Till just before the slowdown, the HR costs in the media industry like in several others were going through the roof. Recession saw job cuts and the so called almost indispensable human resource held on to their jobs despite drastic salary cuts. The others who had to go were forced to reinvent themselves and offer more as a human resource in order to remain in business in the market.

Due to the high initial investment required in the media sector the 
Indian media industry was one of the last to expand. The years of its boom saw venture capitalists and industry stalwarts from outside the media field venturing into it. I believe the influence and power of the media guided many this way. Several wished to use the media as a tool to better their prospects in their other businesses. The initial entry of such industrialists gave plasticity to the sector, but their lack of knowledge in the field led to increased insecurity. Post recession, they were the first to be hit and the first to exit.

The recession has spawned parallel thought processes and pushed the need to shift the battle field from existing TRP rating charts to that of unique programming catering to target audiences, based on which advertisers can choose their preferred channels for advertising.

For any sort of content the target audience may be defined. Post which customized content can be drawn and offered to the audience. For instance, the typical GEC sagas on television today do cater to the tastes of the Indian housewife. Music and movies have the younger audiences glued whereas prime time news and sports columns fetch miscellaneous viewer ship. For instance, B.A.G. Films & Media Ltd's NEWS 24 caters to the mid level mid age group audiences whereas E 24 pitched as Bollywood's first news channel- with 24 hour Bollywood news and songs and karaoke appeals to the younger, movie loving viewers. An NDTV Good Times has an upper class audience viewer ship whereas Star Plus catches the uninterrupted attention of housewives and older women. Given these facts, I believe the wrestle for advertisements can be on the basis of who is watching rather than how many are watching. It is no rocket science to guess where an advertisement for first class travel on an international airplane will feature and where a commercial for a cooking masalas will land up.

Being in the content business myself, I understand thinking and hoping that advertising can be content based and not TRP driven is easier thought and stated than done. Yet, the recession has given the workforce in every industry to innovate and seek opportunity in crisis rather than shrink in gloom in the disillusioning environment. I believe it is a great time to sit up and in all literal and figurative terms shift the battle field; from rate charts to content driven advertising- and move the cheese in A Who Moved My Cheese situation

Today even after the media industry has picked itself up, brushed off the initial shock and damage of the recession, the first impact of the global slowdown still reverberates through the media. Not totally, but content driven revenue streams are definitely better equipped to resist economic volatility as opposed to ratings. I also believe, such revenue streams can effectively drive content creation to new heights, with classier content being supported by niche product advertisements.

As the world market recovers, the media industry too inches towards revival and resurgence. It is important to emerge but more important is to emerge stronger. I hope that the media industry does choose the less tread roadmap to recovery.