The pandemic has brought about notable shifts across industries, and the case has been no different for marketing. Today, digital marketing has become a crucial aspect in order to acquire new customers and retain existing ones. In our weekly BrandWagon Ad Talk series, industry experts highlight what has changed over the past two years and more importantly, are these changes here to stay. Shai Samtaney, co-founder and director, Jungle, talks to BrandWagon Online, about the dos and don’ts of digital marketing, best marketing campaigns, and more.
What is the difference between launching a brand in today’s digital era versus earlier?
To sum it all up in one word: interactivity. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution anymore—brands are looking at building customer loyalties with very specific target audiences in mind, and ads are getting hyper-localised as a result. Big data allows for consumer segments to be divided according to extremely precise attributes, and the screens we use to consume advertiser-led content are becoming increasingly interactive. It’s not just about pan-India storytelling anymore, it’s also about finding your niche and then engaging in a result-oriented conversation with them.
What are the recent best marketing or advertising campaigns you have seen and why?
Personally, I love what Tanishq has been doing, on a national scale, of late. I believe that effective branding is always about good storytelling first, and product features later. With their recent ads, Tanishq has managed to craft beautiful narratives celebrating different kinds of individuals and relationships, and their messaging has been progressive without being preachy. For me, that’s a brand which has got its communication spot on.
Which brand in the last year has made the best use of digital and how?
Digital itself is such a diverse term right now, so I’ll just answer this by citing my favourite futuristic ad of the past year. That definitely has to be the Michelob McEnroe vs McEnroe spectacle. Just the amount of work that went into creating McEnroe’s digital avatar, and then for McEnroe to play against his own self, his toughest opponent—it’s nothing short of genius. And finally, all of it ties back so beautifully with Michelob’s tagline: “It’s only worth it if you enjoy it”. Human at heart, but ever so futuristic in form. Absolutely delicious!
In a post-Covid world, what are the dos and don’ts of digital marketing?
In my opinion, the basic dos-and-don’ts remain the same as pre-Covid: don’t take your audience for a ride, try to build a genuine connection with your core audience, and find newer and better ways of engaging them with your brand story. In the past two years, we’ve been on an AI binge, and I personally can’t wait to enter a world where striking visual storytelling is seamlessly blended with the unlimited personalisation potential of artificial intelligence.
One recent case of bad advertising you’ve seen, and why?
A bad advertisement would be one which works on hackneyed tropes or preachy and pedantic messaging. There’s more-and-more visual stimulus everywhere around us, more-and-more brands are humanising the way they converse with their audiences. In this scenario, no one has the time for a 30-second ad spot lecturing them on what to do or ads which rehash the same old, perhaps previously successful tropes. No one name comes to mind, but if after reading this you can immediately think of a brand, well then, that’s my answer.
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