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. Swati Nathani, co-founder and CBO at Team Pumpkin 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?
If you want a simple analogy, traditional advertising is a spray-and-pray campaign while digital advertising is targeted at a specific audience. There were limited options available for advertising and it was mainly mass advertising than target based. Digital marketing has shifted the paradigm and today we have a multitude of options across mediums to serve personalized campaigns to the right audience. Digital marketing also has smart analytics that helps you track the progress of your campaign by the minute so that mid-course corrections can be made in a jiffy. The world is a very different place today and digital marketing helps brands and businesses connect with their audience efficiently and effectively.
What are the recent best marketing or advertising campaigns you have seen and why?
There have been several eye-catching campaigns but if you ask me to pick one, it would have to be Prega News – She can Carry Both. Conceptualized by Team Pumpkin for Prega News, this was a powerful message about motherhood and how a woman is naturally built to shoulder both responsibilities of a career and a family with a smile. It was a campaign that resonated with the audience because of the compelling storytelling.
Which brand in the last year has made the best use of digital and how?
As a new parent, I will say FirstCry – not only from a sales perspective but also their content game to help parents with all relevant questions. In a digital world, all of us reach out for our phones to find the answer to every single question. A brand that understands the needs of its target audience and is proactive about addressing their concerns via useful and relevant content that effectively addresses doubts is doing digital right. The idea of digital marketing is not only about pushing sales, it is also about building deeper bonds with the target audience. According to me, FirstCry has ticked all the boxes.
In a post-Covid world, what are the dos and don’ts of digital marketing?
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us to anticipate the unknown and the impossible and be prepared for it. In a post-Covid world, brands and businesses have learnt to be more agile and flexible in their approach. They are now ready to anticipate and change according to the demands of the situation. In my opinion, adapting to dynamic situations is an absolute Do for digital marketing. On the other hand, woke washing is a strict Don’t. It is important to believe in your cause and genuinely contribute to it instead of using every cause for commercial gains.
One recent bad case of advertising you have seen, and why?
One campaign that jumps to my mind is the Layer’r Shot ad. It was inexplicable how the brand thought it could get away with something so blatant. It was not a case of oversight because the entire theme was wrong on so many fronts. It clearly objectified the woman and the double entendre was in very poor taste. Sure enough, it faced a barrage of protests and the ads had to be taken down. It definitely managed to create a wrong image about the brand and may have impacted their sales.