The impact of the pandemic was often clearly seen across all sectors. The essential services industries were operating uninterrupted to fulfil the surge in demand, different sectors like retail, entertainment and hospitality were struggling. For marketers, however, the pandemic has opened a lot of opportunities.
Consumer behaviour is evolving because the world adjusts to a brand new traditional, wherever social distancing, work from home and virtual conferences are the new normal. Demand for at-home digital media has grown considerably.
OTT platforms and digital media have already been attracting new customers.
Time spent on smartphones has increased significantly from three hours twenty-two minutes pre-covid to three hours fifty-four minutes in April 2020 and stable to three hours thirty-seven minutes with the primary stage of unlocking. Video streaming has increased into ninety-six per cent of India’s metros and mini-metros and ninety-seven per cent of its tier-one and tier-two cities. Mobile payment has reached seventy-three per cent of the metros and min-metros and seventy-five per cent of the tier-one and tier-two cities.
According to recent data by BARC, the ad spends on news and social media platforms, music, streaming TV, and games has increased during these times.
The greatest shift in viewing and consumption patterns has been witnessed amongst children. According to data compiled by television monitoring agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), the children’s genre has witnessed a 39% growth since the start of the lockdown. Channels dedicated exclusively to children’s content have seen even higher viewership spikes.
This shift towards digital sources of entertainment, when combined with ease of access and a multitude of platforms both digital and traditional from which to choose, have combined to create an environment ideal for the rise of dedicated children’s content. With schools across the nation remaining shut and social distancing measures being strictly enforced, the ways in which children can spend their time have been further limited, thus driving many to seek entertainment through animated content on digital platforms.
YouTube, Ludo King and WhatsApp emerged the top three most-trusted media brands among Indian kids, according to a survey done by Ormax Media.
The survey was conducted during December 2020 and January 2021, among kids in the 6-14 yrs. age group across 10 cities in India, who scored 44 media brands, across television, digital, social media, gaming, streaming and film exhibition, on the trust factor that brand holds for them.
YouTube has emerged as the No. 1 most-trusted brand among Indian kids, with a Brand Trust Score of 71%, followed by Ludo King (65%) and WhatsApp (63%).
Three online games that are Ludo King, Subway Surfers & Garena Free Fire feature in the top 5 list. With benefits ranging from entertainment and relaxation to social interaction and image projection, mobile gaming has emerged as the category with strongest connect with kids in this report.
The top rank among TV channels belongs to the channel Hungama, which is followed by Hindi General Entertainment Channel SAB TV. Cartoon Network and Nick are the other two television channels in the top 10 list.