ManoramaOnline, a prominent leader in digital media, has continually evolved to meet the dynamic demands of its audience. Since its inception, ManoramaOnline has strived to provide the Malayalee community worldwide with timely, relevant, and engaging content. The platform’s latest initiative, “ManoramaOnline 2.5,” epitomizes its commitment to innovation and excellence. This ambitious project, developed in partnership with Google, aims to revolutionize the user experience across web and e-reader platforms, ensuring seamless access to high-quality content. In June 2024, ManoramaOnline further demonstrated its innovative spirit by organizing the Roboverse VR Expo in Kochi. This event, a confluence of cutting-edge robotics, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality, attracted significant attention and showcased the platform’s dedication to integrating advanced technologies into its offerings.
Boby Paul, Senior General Manager – Marketing at ManoramaOnline, recently shared insights into the platform’s remarkable journey, its strategic initiatives like Roboverse, and its engagement with the global Malayalee community. He also provided an exclusive look into their upcoming Onam 2024 plans, reflecting the platform’s deep-rooted connection with Kerala’s rich cultural heritage and its forward-looking vision.
Paul emphasized ManoramaOnline’s impressive reach and audience engagement, stating, “ManoramaOnline has always had a healthy mix of traffic from outside the Kerala region. Besides India and the Middle East, our largest audiences come from the US, UK, Australia, and Canada.”
He highlighted the platform’s substantial monthly traffic, noting, “We have managed to maintain around 34 to 36 million unique visitors monthly.” Paul also observed a notable shift in user behavior, saying, “A major trend we are seeing is the growth of mobile and mobile app users, which has overshadowed desktop users.”
Reflecting on the success of their recent Roboverse VR event, Paul shared, “It was a 6-day ticketed event in Kochi that had over 40,000 visitors, averaging roughly 6,000 visitors per day. We experienced a significant brand lift from attending audiences on various social media channels.” He added, “Sponsors are very pleased, and we are looking forward to extending this event to other major towns in Kerala.” He praised their internal online ticketing engine, Manorama Quickerala, for its efficiency, noting, “It worked great for us in generating seamless ticket sales and provided excellent insights into crowd management.”
On-Ground IPs
On-ground IPs like movie promotions significantly impact digital metrics such as unique visitors, session duration, and overall engagement. Besides news, entertainment is the largest traffic driver for ManoramaOnline.
Paul elaborated, “Movie-related marketing promotions have a very short window of opportunity before the movie release, and movie houses want to reach out to our organic daily active users for their upcoming movies.”
He highlighted the variety of events they organize, such as “themed events like Survivors Meet for the recently released ‘Goat Life – The Movie,’ among many others.”
Engagement pillars are crucial for any of ManoramaOnline’s on-ground events – Reach, Connect, and Engage with their audiences. Paul explained their engagement strategy: “The first engagement strategy is to reach out to our day-to-day audience through various digital touchpoints like Web and App. From there, we amplify our communication reach through social media shares, newsletters, display ads, native ads, and other paid promotions.” He also mentioned the importance of online-offline integration, noting that “most call-outs for events happen on our digital channels with well-defined gratifications like winning tickets or prizes, or attending events.”
ManoramaOnline ensures close integration at multiple levels for their on-ground events. Paul detailed their approach: “The integration and cross-promotion levels differ for sponsored events versus non-sponsored events. For the latter, we ensure that sponsors’ demands are clearly articulated beforehand and met.” While audience data is not shared with sponsors, Paul assured that they help ensure sponsors’ communication reaches targeted groups through newsletters and social handles.
Most on-ground events have an online call-to-action element to register or participate in the activity. They analyze this audience data to understand what content or activity types are attracting attention and time, which helps improve content offerings to enhance audience engagement.
Revenue diversification is a prime focus for the marketing team. Paul stated, “Although there is no direct correlation between on-ground events and the digital subscription business, both are active pillars of our overall revenue strategy. Events and activations have turned into a core revenue stream, complementing digital revenue streams. It also created a touch-and-feel moment for our loyal audience, who would normally only interact with us virtually.”
He cited the success of the Roboverse VR exhibition, which “saw over 40,000 visitors, averaging roughly 6,000 visitors per day. The event generated significant brand lift from attending audiences on various social media channels.”
Onam 2024
Onam, a festival deeply rooted in Kerala’s cultural heritage, is celebrated with vibrant enthusiasm, symbolizing unity and prosperity. For media outlets in Kerala, this festive period represents a golden opportunity to engage audiences and enhance brand visibility.
According to Paul, a key figure at ManoramaOnline, this year’s Onam campaign is set to captivate audiences through a blend of tradition and innovation.
Paul shared, “This year, we are integrating various Onam motifs such as Mahabali, Pookalam, and Onam Sadhya into our campaign. Our approach will remain primarily digital, with the possibility of incorporating offline elements to create a comprehensive experience. We are also exploring the creation of targeted digital IPs in collaboration with brands that align with our Onam theme. The core of our strategy is interactivity, which is something other mediums may struggle to offer. To add excitement, we will have numerous contests and giveaways for our readers.”
ManoramaOnline kick-started its Onam Trade Campaign in August, reaching out to national and local brands, digital planners, and buyers. Paul noted, “Our campaign aims to engage a wide range of stakeholders, from brands to digital planners, to participate in our Onam initiatives. We expect this campaign to be significant, given its extensive reach and the interactive nature of our offerings.”
When discussing expectations for sales growth, Paul remarked, “Historically, we see a revenue increase of 20-30% during the Onam season. We anticipate a similar trend this year and are particularly optimistic about sectors such as automotive, consumer electronics, entertainment, travel, food, and fashion.”
On the use of data and analytics, Boby Paul emphasized, “All our marketing efforts are driven by data. We analyze audience behavior and preferences extensively to tailor our campaigns. Onam is a unique period with the return of Non-Resident Keralites and increased local spending due to bonuses. This creates a powerful spending trigger, making it an ideal time for targeted marketing. Our approach ensures that we harness these insights effectively to maximize our campaign’s impact.”
ManoramaOnline’s Onam campaign is poised to leverage both traditional values and modern marketing techniques, promising an engaging and successful festive season.
