How Mindshare is using the power of voice to connect brands to media-dark markets

• Mindshare recently collaborated with Cosmic Information and Technology Limited to launch an Audio Conferencing Bridge called ‘mSamvaad’.
• The solution helps connect leading brands of the country to the audience in media-dark areas on the largest voice conferencing infrastructure with a capacity of 25,000 concurrent calls.
• The idea behind mSamvaad, shares Niraj Ruparel, National Head – Mobile, Mindshare India, is to use the power of telecom as the key channel to engage, educate and create awareness through SMS, chat rooms and voice calls for one-on-ones as well as conference connections.

Mindshare recently collaborated with Cosmic Information and Technology Limited to launch an Audio Conferencing Bridge called ‘mSamvaad’. The solution helps connect leading brands of the country to the audience in media-dark areas on the largest voice conferencing infrastructure with a capacity of 25,000 concurrent calls.

A large section of the country cannot be reached through traditional or the new-age mediums. Therefore, it becomes difficult for brands to get over the roadblocks of communication to reach out to this population, that forms a large part of the country. In such a scenario, telecom becomes an effective medium to reach out to this target population.

The idea behind mSamvaad is to use the power of telecom as the key channel to engage, educate and create awareness through SMS, chat rooms and voice calls for one-on-ones as well as conference connections.

Mindshare recently rolled out a high-scaled engagement program for Horlicks using mSamvaad, to reach out to mothers in the media dark areas of Bihar for its new variant that improves nutrient absorption among children. The aim of the program was to generate awareness on the brand's scientific credentials through an audio message recorded in the voice of legendary Bhojpuri star, Ravi Kishan.

Mindshare says that the initiative saw a great response from the consumers. The Horlicks nutrient absorption communication reached 4 million unique users. The 10-minutes conference bridge saw a breakthrough of 29% completed listenership. Close to 81% recalled the new variant for its emphasis on nutrient absorption in children. Horlicks observed an increase of 33% TOM and 12% of L3M usage.

We recently caught up with Niraj Ruparel, National Head – Mobile, Mindshare India, who spoke to us about the scope of this innovation and how brands can effectively use mSamvaad to reach out to media dark regions.

Edited excerpts:

Q) What is the primary idea behind mSamvaad?

Every one of us prefers verbal communication over any other medium as it provides flexibility to express views very easily. Till now, there was no such platform available which could connect masses through this most preferred medium - voice. Most of the other platforms require stable internet connectivity which is another challenge in addition to the restriction on the number of participants on a live call. To address all these challenges, we decided to develop a platform through which large number of people can be connected and addressed live, even on a feature phone having no internet or smart features. That’s how the mSamvaad platform evolved over a period of time.

Q) Are brands realizing the power of voice? Do you see more brands open to experimenting with voice?

As I mentioned, voice is the most preferred medium of communication; especially in media dark areas. We have been working with top brands and advertisers in India and all of them use voice in some or the other form of communication with their TG. Brands are always looking for innovative ways to engage with the audiences and whenever we are able to create novelty in the voice space, they are always open to adopting it. In the past we have created tons of device-agnostic platforms on IVRS ranging from voice based prank call/tambola/gaming/riddle/humor station/music station, to name a few. In 2019, we have created a lot of engagement using voice skills on Google Assistant/Amazon Alexa for smart internet enabled devices.

Q) Can you explain how the technology of mSamvaad works?

The most important element of mSamvaad is the telecom infrastructure, that is, the calling lines and high-end data and application servers. mSamvaad has the capacity to connect 25,000 concurrent users on a live call and hence the infra plays a significant role. As a process, the conference moderator uploads the mobile database of these participants in the system to dial-out calls to all of them in parallel. Within seconds, maximum audience is connected on the platform along with the speaker who can be a celebrity, brand ambassador, or a leader. Now the speaker can interact with all of them. To have a controlled environment, by-default, all the participants except the keynote speaker are in mute stage so there is no noise. There is a live MIS Panel which keeps showing the attendees count along with their name and numbers, so the speaker and the conference moderator can view who all are connected on the call.

Once the speaker’s address is over, the moderator invites questions; anyone can press any key on the mobile keypad to show the interest in asking question. Randomly, moderator unmutes a few participants, one by one, so that they can ask the question which everyone can hear. The speaker answers the question and takes the next question; likewise, few questions are taken. And in this entire process, internet or any other special app/feature is not required.

Q) What are the benefits brands can derive from using mSamvaad?

Personalization is the most important benefit of mSamvaad. Through mSamvaad, brands can connect with their consumers directly, one-on-one to address their queries and provide important information. Also, this is done at a large scale, so time and cost of this personalized communication is significantly less.