"We will build a premium publishing network": Ravi Garikipati, Flipkart

The Flipkart Ad platform will be launched in beta in January next year, with a full roll out expected in February.

Flipkart has forayed into advertising with the launch of Brand Story Ad Format, which unlike Snapdeal Ads, will be available not just to sellers on the platform, but also to other brands for lead generation.

Currently in the pilot stage, it will be launched in beta in January next year, and a full roll out is expected in February 2016.

This puts the e-commerce giant directly in competition with search giant Google, which dominates the online ad space, as well as Facebook, which is bullish on wooing advertisers in the country.

Unlike search and social advertising, Flipkart is positioning its platform on 'commerce advertising' based on superior data it has on the buying habits of millions of consumers who visit its platform.

Speaking to afaqs! about the move, Ravi Garikipati, entrepreneur in residence, Flipkart, says, "The fundamental problem in advertising today in any platform is the notion of irrelevance and noise. A brand would want to engage with the consumer in a manner that enriches consumer understanding of them. It has to be communicated in a story telling manner."

Currently, Flipkart will leverage the carousel format of advertising where various aspects of the brand will be collated in a logical format. Advertisers can also hyperlink the campaign to their brand store or website for further engagement.

"It is largely images right now, but with time, it may get into videos. It will truly be multimedia," informs Garikipati.

The company has a team of creative resources which will work with partners to create interactive and immersive campaigns.

"We offer data that leads to highly immersive experience and precise targeting. It will help brands to target consumers with the purchase intent, time and branding message. Currently, Flipkart is not bullish on videos as slow data connectivity issues are there, which will be overcome in the future," he further explains.

The edge that the Flipkart Ad platform will have over others will be to provide advertisers with good reach, impact and transparency. Full funnel view, says Garikipati, is not provided in search or social marketing.

"People with commerce intent do not go on a search on the social media platform, but instead come to an e-commerce platform like Flipkart. Since the commerce intent is moving here, advertisers can launch a campaign, reach the big audience, and witness the efficacy of their campaigns," Garikipati asserts.

Flipkart clarifies that user data will not be shared directly with its brands. It will strictly be analytical insights. The company also says that a third party brand category which does not make sense for a consumer will not force fit on the platform.

Apart from the first party brands that retail on Flipkart, the company is focussing on brands across categories like real-estate, BFSI, auto, and telecom companies.

Currently, the platform offers homepage ads for awareness-driven campaigns and category specific pages where the user is already expressing intent to purchase. Over time, it will be extended to product detail, checkout pages, and other areas.

"We will build our own premium publishing network. At this point, the exchange is coming to play as well. When we go and re-target some of the users, we map these audiences with what we have on the exchange and re-target accordingly," says Garikipati.

The company plans to extend the advertising platform to Myntra as well.

Flipkart currently generates revenue in three ways: through banner ads, by charging sellers extra fees to promote their products, and by brand promotions.

On November 30, Flipkart's competitor, Snapdeal also announced the launch of Snapdeal Ads, a platform to help sellers drive discovery of their products and increase revenue through targeted advertising tools. Developed in-house, the advertising platform allows the seller community to reach customers through product advertisements, enabling faster discovery across web, mobile web, and apps.