Submitted by Avinash Pandey, CEO, ABP Network

Portfolios reflects the ethos of a brand where each existing and new vertical is driven by meticulously catering to customers and market demands. Designing a portfolio is not what you have to offer as a brand. It is to understand the diverse needs of your customers and align them with your capabilities. This process is based on thorough research and analysis which helps to innovate and remain a step ahead of the competition.

The last two decades of the 21st century have witnessed some unprecedented disruptions which triggered significant changes in consumer behaviour all over the world. Unlike homogenous nation like Japan, in a diverse country like India, with different ethnic, linguistic, and religious variations, designing portfolio strategies could be a challenging task. However, these variations offer brands a terrific opportunity to diversify their portfolios and find demand for each segment.

Key Factors Influencing Portfolio Strategy in India

With regards to India too, several developments over the past two decades have constantly kept brands up on their feet. The following are some of the overarching developments that have caused a rethink in portfolio strategies across the country.

Digitalisation - India has rapidly digitalised and has more internet users than ever. As per Statista, by 2020, there has been a staggering growth from 92 million to 749 million Internet users, making India the second largest online market in the world.[1] Consequently, brands have accelerated their growth in the online segment, diversifying their products to attract more consumers from the digital space.

Changing media consumption patterns - Media and entertainment consumption patterns changed drastically in the past two decades. Brands have leveraged the digital media space actively and innovatively. The growing social media avenues have led to the creation of unique platforms for content and communication.

Increased literacy and development - India has witnessed a landscape of change in national growth and development since 2000. This has uplifted a section of the population through employment and education, who have become new target customers for brands.

Agile financial exchange - The modes of financial exchange have become more agile in recent years, with UPI, mobile banking, buy-now-pay-later and others mediums making business and transactions easy. This has helped brands back their products with innovative revenue generating business models.

The pandemic impact - The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the customer behaviour tremendously. People and brands have gone more digital. The focus is more on health, hygiene, and safety. This has allowed brands to innovate products and add value to the customers.

Redesigning the Portfolio at ABP Network

Much like other brands, the factors and recent developments have led ABP Network to rethink its portfolio strategies. Post-COVID outbreak, ABP Network as an industry leader in news media and entertainment has reinvented its portfolio to bring our audiences engaging content in the difficult times. We understood a large population of linguistic diversity needed easy access to reliable news media for staying abreast with latest developments. We realized that viewers needed quality content, which is readily available on mobile devices, digital platforms and preferably in their native languages. Therefore, we successfully forayed into regional markets, with ABP Nadu and ABP Desam digital platform being received overwhelmingly well in the Southern market.

Focusing intensely on diversification, we innovated to venture more strongly into sports broadcasting. We acquired broadcasting rights for Tata Steel PGTI, MP Cup 2021. We also wanted to establish and explore the tremendous potential of ABP Studios. With the aim to produce good quality content for viewers, we produced the critically acclaimed Marathi feature film, Karkhanisanchi Waari (Ashes on the Road Trip) currently streaming on SonyLiv.

Foreseeable Developments that will Impact Future Portfolio Strategies

The year 2022 is highly important for the broadcasting sector. The much-needed Government’s National Broadcasting Policy draft is expected which will impact on current product portfolios. With the advent of 5G data connectivity, new digital possibilities will become a reality. We are aware that immersive world of augmented or virtual reality could become rapidly viable. While that domain develops, brands will accelerate their digital presence even more.

Furthermore, subscription-based content will see growth, offering brands opportunities to design new content monetizing solutions. On the same lines, DTH providers may begin providing viewers more subscription-based content. In 2022, to diversify our products portfolio effectively we will strengthen our sports features and further invest in our studio production arm, ABP Studios, for creating more diversified, home-grown content across genres.

The Way Forward

For this century, major uncertainties might be a regular feature. This essentially does not have to be negative. The uncertainties are so transforming, and technology advances are so exciting that brands across functions would have to continue rethinking their portfolio strategies throughout the century. The brands that customize, personalize and package quality content for specific target customer groups will strengthen their share of the market.

This will push competition and innovation at the same time. One challenge would be to retain customer loyalty, and those who will be delivering quality of product, content, and services will be rewarded. For the viewers and customers, the time is ideal. Products and services would be delivered at home or preferred locations, while customers will be really spoilt for choices.