Adstream launches in India for digital delivery of TVCs

The London based asset management firm aims to break even in a year in India.

London-based Adstream has extended its operations to India. The company deals in digital delivery and asset management for the advertising industry, and provides a single tool that allows brands and agencies to deliver, store and approve all media content from one dashboard.

Digital delivery of television commercials is not a new service in India. The existing players in the vertical are eBus (which was launched through a joint venture between Aidem Ventures and IMD, the UK-based media logistics company) and Prime Focus.

Adstream claims that its cloud-based technology removes the need of hardware installations, thus enabling advertisers to connect with broadcasters faster, without the need to invest in servers at the broadcasters' end.

Adstream officials claim that this tool will enable advertisers to save 15-50 per cent in workflow process, material storage, distribution, transcoding and reuse of original materials. The company has launched in India with 20 advertisers and agencies on-board; however, the firm expects to break even in the first year of its launch and close the year with more than 100 advertisers and agencies.

Adstream India plans to roll out operations pan India, offering services in digital delivery and digital asset management across TV, radio, print and digital media. The company has already tied up with about 250 channels.

Interestingly, the revenues for the company will not come from broadcasters but from advertisers and agencies, through television commercial distribution and digital asset management.

The company spokesperson says that what differentiates Adstream from the competition is that the company is a one-stop shop. Adstream provides help with the whole production process, from briefing until the delivery, thereby offering a wider portfolio for brands and agencies.

"The Indian market is traditionally a high volume and quality conscious market and Adstream, with its global best practice and expertise, will be a differentiator and will add value in the market. India is a very important advertising market for Adstream's customers around the world. The full-fledged asset management solution including finance and resource planning, combined with digital delivery for TV, radio, print, digital and cinema is something that some of our future Indian clients have been waiting for a long time," quips Moritz Wuttke, managing director, Asia, Adstream.

Elaborating on the need to launch the company now, the spokesperson adds that digitisation is the key growth driver in the Indian advertising industry, which was more pronounced in 2012.

Rohit Shivdasani, CEO, Adstream India, explains, "Film studios saw greater adoption of digital prints over physical and it was the first time that digital musical sales surpassed the physical medium. With the regulatory push on the platform, increasing broadband penetration and 3G rollouts, the market for digital distribution platforms are only going to grow. The Indian advertising market is, currently, expanding its reach to second and third tier markets and the need to centralise repository and work in a collaborative environment makes India ready for digital solutions."

For the record, Adstream's global footprint will also provide an option to the brands and agencies to communicate not only to their national but also international audiences faster. Adstream connects to more than 5000 TV stations across 100 countries.