With a large share of the marketing budget pie, digital marketing is not only vitally important, but also a need of the moment. With new technologies emerging on a daily basis, it’s imperative that the marketer stay ahead of the curve with his TG. Digital marketing is important not only for acquiring new customers, but also for retaining existing ones. In his weekly BrandWagon Ad Talk series, industry experts highlight what has changed in the last few years and, more importantly, whether that change will continue. Ageas Federation Life Insurance’s Chief Marketing Officer and Product Officer, Karthik Raman, discusses digital marketing dos and don’ts, best marketing his campaigns and more at BrandWagon Online.
What’s the difference between launching a brand in today’s digital age and before?
From my own experience spearheading rebranding efforts in this digital age, the brand team has to be smart on all fronts. Digital continues to be the most cost-effective platform and offers the highest her ROI. But it’s also a very crowded space, so thoughtful and strategic planning can ensure your brand’s voice doesn’t get lost in the crowd.
First, technology has allowed brands to make storytelling more engaging. We see brands telling their stories using a variety of disruptive digital tactics, from celebrity influencers to user-generated content to virtual avatars. But trends change quickly, so it’s imperative that brands regularly audit the performance of their content and adjust their strategies accordingly. Analytics allow you to measure the performance of your content on digital platforms in real time with engagement scores and other metrics. So brands can quickly understand what content is working and what isn’t being clicked on.
Another important aspect of any digital marketing plan is knowing exactly who your content is targeting and, more importantly, their current mindset. With this well-defined TG in mind, we develop bespoke content.
What’s the best recent marketing or advertising campaign you’ve seen and why?
Inspired by the Federal Bank’s recent brand campaign “Lishta Aap Se Hai, Surf Up Se Nahi”. Although the Covid-19 pandemic was a disastrous time, one of the positive things to come out of the pandemic was India’s rapid digital adoption, especially in the BFSI sector. But as digital took over our lives, the need for human interaction inevitably diminished.
The Federal Bank’s campaign brilliantly honored the value of human interaction and social connection. He stressed the importance of treating customers as people, not just account numbers. While other industries focus on speeding up processes, reducing turnaround time, and making services more convenient, this campaign highlights how beautiful relationships can be built through something as impersonal as banking. You stood out in the chaos by showing what you could do.
How have brands made the most of digital in the last year?
In the next five years, Gen Z, Millennial, and Gen X consumers will use augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality to It has been suggested that you may spend 4-5 hours per day in the metaverse. (VR) device. The Metaverse is a trending sector globally and over the last few months we have seen a number of Indian companies entering the space in various sectors, targeting the next generation of customers with their own campaigns and initiatives. I’ve been Some brands such as Tanishq and Celio India use the metaverse to launch new products and collections, while others such as Hershey India and Nutralite use the metaverse as a way to increase consumer engagement. I’m here.
In a post-COVID-19 world, what are the do’s and don’ts of digital marketing?
Since COVID-19, people are spending more time online than ever before. And it has dramatically changed the way people search for information, consume content, communicate and shop. So what can brands do to effectively engage and connect with their ever-evolving target audiences?
Create bite-sized content. Attention spans are shrinking, and long-form content is rapidly losing its appeal. In an increasingly crowded digital space, brands need to create crisp, engaging content to break through the clutter and keep customers engaged.
Customize your content. Brands need to communicate with their customers in a highly precise manner. In the past, you could segment your customers into age and gender demographic segments, but now you can use data analytics to segment your customer data in more ways. For example, customers can now be targeted not only by state or city reason of residence, but also by PIN number. Brands that use data-driven insights to target customers with personalized campaigns and messages are likely to be more successful.
Customer experience is extremely important. The entire customer experience is critical to a brand’s success. Ads have certain promises, but customer trust is severely impacted if the experience at every point in the customer journey fails to live up to those promises.
Tell me about a bad ad you’ve seen recently and why.
A recent advertisement by a food tech platform to mark World Environment Day is a great example of this. While the brand’s intentions about promoting recycling and reducing plastic waste seemed good, the ad ended up being casteist in nature. The brand tried to show humor, but that’s at the expense of a marginalized segment of society, and it’s a complete no-no.
