Online music service Saavn launches advertising platform in India

Advertisers stand to leverage the potential of the platform, called Impact, to further reach out to Saavn's listeners on its web and mobile services.

As digital advertising gains further steam on the web and mobile, online players are looking to best exploit the available opportunities and in turn provide more prospects to brands for better communication.

Popular online music streaming service Saavn (South Asian Audio Video Network) has launched a digital and mobile advertisement platform called Impact in India. Saavn claims that its service boasts of more than 10.5 million unique listeners in India and overseas, and the platform will enable brands to identify, connect and engage better with users on web and mobile.

It may be noted that earlier this year, music streaming portal Dhingana also launched an advertising platform. Dhingana, too, claims a reach of more than 11 million subscribers across the world.

Offering brands 100 per cent share-of-voice, Saavn's model - Impact - will give advertisers access to all advertising units on the Saavn website and mobile apps. The units include custom skin, web display, web audio, mobile spotlight, mobile display and mobile audio.

According to Vinodh Bhat, co-founder and chief executive officer, Saavn, Impact serves as a powerful solution that enables advertisers to build an emotional connection with their target audience. He says that the opportunity for brands makes for more sense, particularly in India, with the kind of role music plays in people's lives.

"The Saavn Impact model is based around engagement, curation and social sharing rather than the archaic click-through. Brands are able to measure ROI in meaningful ways such as increases in perception, awareness, recall and purchase intent,"

says Bhat.

Saavn has roped in brands such as Samsung, Lays, Pantene, Pepsi, Nokia, Vodafone, Airtel, Hyundai, Domino's Pizza, Nielsen, MakeMyTrip, Max New York Life, Google and Intel, among others, for advertisements on the platform.

US-based Saavn delivers licensed Bollywood, Indian and regional South Asian music from more than 200 content providers. Its website and mobile apps utilise proprietary search, adaptive streaming, sophisticated ad-serving algorithms and robust infrastructure.

In addition to its web, iOS, Android and J2ME platforms, Saavn is developing its offering for launch on Symbian, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile platforms as well.