Positioning an Online Art Platform

Shamit Bagchi, 2008048

Faculty Guide: Prof S Ramesh Kumar, Marketing Area, IIM Bangalore.

Rise of Consumption in india

• Annual disposable income in India had reached 1061 billion USD in 2010 as against a gross income of 1119 billion USD. 58.2% of the total income was earned by 45% of households.

• Consumer spending habits compared to 2002 revealed that the expenditure on entertainment had increased significantly. Indians now constituted a fifth of the world’s citizens below the age 20. A youthful generation.

• Existing art buyers are HNI – High Networth Individuals• A rise in sales of art which can be categorized as

'affordable' in the range of Rs 20,000 to Rs 75,000.

Art Market

A recent phenomenon is sales through Art fairs – India Art Summit – 26 crores sold in 4 days

Indian Art websites

• Saffronart: Claims to be one of the most comprehensive and definitive sources of modern and contemporary Indian art.

• IndianArtCollectors - It is a forum for collectors and artists of Indian contemporary art to buy sell art online.

• Artjini - India's largest online art store brings to the Indian consumer more than 150,000 poster images, tapestries and canvas transfers.

• Artflute is an online creative community where you can buy and sell original art. Its an ideal place to discover new talent.

• IndianArtIdeas - IndianArtIdeas aims to bring the color of Art to each and everyone’s life by use of internet.

Dhonuk - Description

• Dhonuk - www.dhonuk.com - is an online platform for art lovers, art enthusiasts and artists with an in-built online social network. It provides an online space for creativity in the arts, and a platform to connect the artist and the artsumer (art consumer - organizational or individual)!

• Letting artists share, showcase, interact, learn, collaborate. Acting as a repository of fresh, interesting art content and an energetic ecosystem - it can be consumed for free. Customized or premium content is paid for! We facilitate this monetization of the content.

Art types

Fine Art Abstract Art

Art Types

Figurative Art Digital Art

Positioning – Pre Survey

No distinct brand personality/positioning

Scope for being more experiential

Problem Statement

• Adoption rate has not picked up• 350 members after 1 year is low

Objective

To find out the target segments associated with Dhonuk through the usage of the appropriate

aspects of consumer behavior and appropriately position Dhonuk (4Ps)

Literature

• Activities, interests and opinions by Wells, William D.; Tigert, Douglas J., Journal of Advertising Research, Vol 11(4), Aug 1971, 27-35.

• Latent Variable Models of Need for Uniqueness by Kelly Tepper; Rick H. Hoyle, (1996) -Multivariate Behavioral Research, 1532-7906, Volume 31, Issue 4, 467 - 494

• Measuring the Involvement Construct, by Zaichkowsky, Judith Lynne (1985), Journal of Consumer Research, 12 (December), 341-352

Survey

• Questionnaires for: • Lifestyle:– Activities– Interests– Opinions

• Uniqueness• Purchase/Consumption Involvement

ACTIVITIES – Sample Questions• I often go to theatres:• I read the newspaper everyday:• I follow news on the arts• I use my credit card quite often• I buy art and often visit art galleries• I do a lot of shopping• I shop heavily online• I browse online social networks everyday• I browse through websites sometimes up to five hours per day• I search for information on areas of interest on the web• I often visit parties, social gatherings• I visit resorts and natural spots often• I think a lot about various topics• I read a lot of books, magazines• I go to the temple often • I discuss art and general topics a lot with friends• I go to the cinemas often or buy movie DVDs

Methodology

• Questionnaires and assisted interviews:– India Art Summit at Delhi– IIMB Unmaad 2011 - Dhonuk Art Exhibition– Chitra Santhe – 1 day annual art market,

Bangalore– Interviews with art collectors, art buyers– IIMB community – art buyers, potential art buyers

Analysis

• Due to nature of the data, its depth and diversity, the presentation of data was been done with mutual exclusivity of the three dimensions of consumer behavior namely lifestyles, need for uniqueness and involvement levels.

• If they were combined for specific respondents and then clustered into combinations, the data analysis would have become complicated.

• Such combinations would have lead to a large number of clusters, giving raise to patterns that would be unpredictable and unusable due to lack of coherence.

Analysis - Lifestyle

• Segment classifications:– Intellectual types– Nature Lover– Socially Active : Captured by existing types– Heavy Online Users: May not be interested– Avid Shoppers: High Net Worth Individual– Arts Aesthetes: Art Collectors - Captured– Spiritual folks– Entertainment Freaks Eliminated

Analysis - Uniqueness

• Classification:– Willingness to defend one’s beliefs – self

satisfaction– Lack of concern regarding others– Desire not to always follow rules– Extraversion – Flaunting their uniqueness

Eliminated

Analysis - Involvement

• Types of Involvement– Low Involvement– Medium Involvement– High Involvement

Eliminated

Target Segments

LIFESTYLE UNIQUENESS INVOLVEMENT

Entertainment Freaks Don’t follow rules Medium Involvement

Intellectual types Personal Satisfaction Medium Involvement

Spiritual, Nature Lovers Personal Satisfaction Medium Involvement

Entertainment Freaks

• The entertainment freaks are already attuned to sensory experiences.

• Create a more vibrant community feel and also the look and appropriate imagery.

• They will be the consumers of figurative art in the contemporary art caterings on Dhonuk.

• They may also be interested in the digital artworks such as characters from animation movies etc.

Intellectual Types

• The intellectual types are usually intent on gaining details and more data can be provided.

• Knowledge on arts and this can be added functionality provided on Dhonuk.

• They can also interact and share knowledge. • They also prefer the digital artwork which

sometimes comprises of very intellectual ideas and thoughts or concept art.

Spiritual & Nature Lovers

• Self satisfaction as one of the main means of uniqueness

• Enjoy the work or decorating their homes. • A lot of artwork on Dhonuk also pertains to

nature and natural scenery and spiritual symbols• Abstract art available on Dhonuk also connects

well with people who are looking to interpret art for themselves including intellectual and spiritual type buyers.

Positioning - Post Analysis

Due to the understanding of the psychographics the brand personality dimension can be tailored to match the chosen segments.

Positioning - Post Analysis

The experience also will cater to the chosen segments and will be more fulfilling for the targeted segment.

Possible Marketing Mix• Marketing Mix

– Price: Artwork price range on Dhonuk is from INR 5000 to INR 100,000. – Product: Products include digital and contemporary art. Contemporary art

works will be displayed with prominent themes relating to nature, spiritual symbols along with ample data provided about each of the artworks. Details of technique, history of the artist’s shows to establish their reputation will all be documented in greater detail.

– Place: Online availability is definitely the key differentiator to provide greater accessibility. Online transaction gateway to enable online buying is in the plans for the near future.

– Promotion: Promotion will be through word of mouth and targeting the psychographics identified through advertising, PR campaigns, and social media usage along with art exhibition event promos. • We will also tie up with events that have a greater cultural inclination at special

occasions or festivals etc during the Indian calendar. • Another way is to customize the artwork specific to games, characters and movie

personalities or fan art (as is becoming quite prevalent in the west).

THANK YOU