“I have learned that we have to locally develop our clients”
Published in Nov-Dec 2022
MARIAM ALI BAIG: What is
the connection between Media
Pulse and Media Matters?
ALEEM DURRANI: They are
two separate entities, and both
are private limited companies.
Media Pulse is a media planning
and buying agency and Media
Matters deals with PR and
Communications. I founded both
agencies; Media Pulse in 2005
and Media Matters in 2009.
Both agencies have worked
hard on building long-term
relationships with our clients.
This shows our credibility, our
understanding of the market and
our clients’ business.
MAB: Why did you add PR to
your portfolio of services?
AD: In 2010, we began to see
that there was a requirement
in the market for PR. It is very
important that the messaging is
communicated through organic
outreach, rather than paid for.
PR plays a very important role
in brand building and it was an
important step in evolving our
offering and complementing our
social media division.
MAB: By organically do you
mean influencer marketing?
AD: Influencer marketing entered
the picture later. When we
launched the PR vertical, it was
about disseminating information
about our clients. We developed
the industry by providing relevant
information about our clients and
their industry.
MAB: How important is
influencer marketing in your
content mix?
AD: Influencer marketing will
soon become part of mainstream
marketing.
MAB: How has the media
landscape changed in the last
couple of years?
AD: The media has evolved in
the last two years. Electronic
media accounts for 55% of the
mix and digital almost 20%, while
print is around 15%. OOH and
events have faced challenges,
especially during Covid-19, and
have declined to approximately
five to seven percent. These are
estimated figures so there may
be a variance of about plus/
minus five percent.
MAB: Do you see OOH and
activations bouncing back?
AD: Every area will bounce
back. OOH and on ground are
very important components of
360-degree marketing. Events
and mall disruptions will be back
very soon.
MAB: What about radio?
AD: Radio is a recall medium
and it will always have a place,
especially if your audience
commutes by car.
MAB: Given this scenario, how
have your agencies evolved?
AD: We have brought in new
verticals. In Media Pulse, we
added a digital media planning
wing to provide digital solutions
to our clients. We believe that by
providing clients with solid digital
media expertise, we will also
be helping the industry overall.
We have added a social media
division at Media Matters. In the
past two years, we have noted
another growing requirement
from our mid-tier clients, and
that is in the area of content
and creative solutions. We
have partnered with creative
agencies to provide clients
with a 360-degree integrated
marketing platform.
MAB: Which creative agencies
do you partner with?
AD: With several creative houses.
We ask them to provide creative
solutions based on the strategies
we develop for our clients. In
fact, one of our strengths is the
strategic solutions we offer;
these are then complemented
by the different verticals we
offer. Clients have the benefit
of a one-window solution for
their brand communication in
terms of content management,
media planning and buying, PR
and influencer marketing. Most
mid-tier clients do not have very
elaborate marketing departments
and are therefore not in a position
to manage five or six different
agencies doing different things.
MAB: Would you agree that
from a revenue perspective
digital is not as profitable
compared to TV in terms of
production costs and media
placement?
AD: The point is we are
providing solutions according to
the requirements of our clients.
MAB: How has content
evolved?
AD: Commercials used to have a
duration of about 60 seconds; now,
for digital, the duration has been
reduced to about 15 seconds.
MAB: Most of the ads that pop
up on social media are usually
excerpted from an existing
TV commercial. Frankly, they
are not effective, they don’t
make much sense and end up
annoying the audience.
AD: We are working on this. This
is an area where we are trying
to provide clients with creative
solutions.
MAB: Are clients reducing
their media spending given
the economic situation?
AD: I don’t think clients are
reducing their budgets. What
they are doing is pivoting their
budgets from electronic to digital
to PR to communication, to
influencer marketing. In other
words, they are not reducing
spending; they are giving an
equal share to the different
verticals of communication.
MAB: Given the presence of
other media buying agencies
in the market, would you
describe Media Pulse as a
local media buying agency?
AD: Yes.
MAB: What benefits do you
bring your clients compared
to the multinational media
buying agencies?
AD: We are very proud of the
fact that we are a national,
homegrown, top media buying
house. We have developed
our planning and monitoring
software. In this regard, it is
important to mention that the
revenues we make from our
clients remain in Pakistan and
we reinvest them in developing
new platforms and verticals
that will help the industry to
grow. We have seen a gap in
e-gaming marketing and have
partnered with one of the big
platforms in the country to move
into that area.
MAB: How big is e-gaming in
Pakistan?
AD: Globally I would estimate it
at worth more than $200 billion.
In Pakistan, the estimated
accounted-for market would be
somewhere around $50 million
and the unaccounted-for around
$250 million. It is a big area
and a lot of talent is coming up
on this front. It will be a game
changer for our market.
MAB: Almost 80% of local
businesses, if not more, do
not advertise. Do you think
this trend may change given
the impact of social media and
the fact that it does not require
huge advertising budgets?
AD: One of the reasons why
we are one of the biggest
national media-buying houses in
Pakistan is that we are mindful
of what you have just pointed
out. We are focused on providing
360-degree solutions, especially
to mid-tier local clients who do
not have very big marketing
departments. The objective is
to help local companies get
noticed. A few years ago, when
regional TV channels entered
the media scene, they could
not charge the same rates as
the big national channels. We
encouraged some of our clients
to advertise on these channels
and when they did, their sales
picked up and eventually
they were able to move to the
mainstream channels. We are
using the same formula now
for our mid-tier clients. We
want to provide them with a
holistic strategy that meets
their requirements and their
brand profile. I have learned
that we have to locally
develop our clients.
For feedback: aurora@dawn.com
Comments (0) Closed