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. Nalin Jain, CMO, Godrej Capital, 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?
Launching a brand in today’s digital era is significantly different and a lot more nuanced than in earlier times. The channels of communication and content consumption traditionally used to be skewed towards television, radio, and print. A single visionary approach to sustain a few seconds run on television and a striking layout in print was working just fine for brands across categories. However, a major transition has taken place over time in the way brands are required to function and communicate with their audience – there’s a clear shift in the channel mediums, the content format, and the mindset. Today, the end-user is not at the mercy of the content being pushed, it is instead being consumed on demand. Brands in today’s age are fighting for thumb-stopping content to cater to the reduced attention span of consumers. While it is becoming easier to reach a wider audience with the presence of social media, internet advancements, and newer modes of communication being introduced every now and then, it is becoming all the more essential for brands to understand consumer behaviour and strategise their marketing campaigns accordingly. It is also pushing brands to adapt themselves quickly to the evolving trends and customer preferences.
Another and the most crucial aspect that the new-age brands need to be able to cut through the noise, and maintain visibility is finding their true purpose. The newer generation is driven towards brands that are not just there to sell, but are also connected to a purpose and a vision of contributing to society in one way or the other.
What are the recent best marketing or advertising campaigns you have seen and why?
As more brands start to align themselves with the changing consumer behaviours and patterns, we are seeing a lot more thought and effort being put into crafting a good marketing or advertising campaign that resonates with the majority of the targeted audience. One such example that comes to my mind is from the Godrej Group itself. Godrej Consumer Products’ launch of Mr. Magic, a powder-to-liquid handwash, through an integrated advertising campaign during the pandemic, is one of the great examples that showcase the use of riding on consumer sentiment, and delivering a compelling message that is not only creative but also impactful. With the campaign hitting the right customer touchpoints, Mr. Magic comes out as the need-of-the-hour product for making handwashing accessible and affordable to people. The campaign appeals to a wider audience and creates a memorable experience for the consumer. Riding on its success, Mr. Magic introduced a series of such products for all household concerns – powder-to-liquid body wash, and floor cleaner – with a similar messaging and delivery model, thereby forming a connection with the audience that never really broke from when their first advertisement for the handwash was launched. The audience starts resonating with not just the product but the brand as well when they are able to pull off something like that with a strategic marketing approach. It’s nothing less than ‘magic’, as they say.
Which brand in the last year has made the best use of digital and how?
I believe Swiggy has been utilising digital effectively for the past few years. Its digital marketing strategies are spread across social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Youtube, search engines and direct-to-consumer communication via its app. Their strategy has unified messaging that creates awareness about their brand and is highly customer-oriented. Swiggy is consistent in its efforts to come up with newer ways to capture the audience and ideate powerful and hard-hitting strategies with its simple yet humorous approach. The brand’s communication is smart, creative, and relevant and they have proven that altering marketing strategies with continuous innovation and agility is the way to go forward and excel irrespective of the domain one is functioning in.
In a post-Covid world, what are the dos and don’ts of digital marketing?
The path to building a brand has changed tremendously over the past few years. The pandemic also led to digital marketing gaining prominence over traditional forms of marketing and opened avenues that helped brands grow faster, cheaper, and bigger.
In today’s time, one of the most important things brands should do to make efficient use of digital marketing is to be extremely right in identifying their target audience. With a plethora of digital tools available in the market, it’s easier now to gather extensive insights into customer behaviour and do precise targeting. By carefully curating and studying this data, brands can design marketing strategies and content that best aligns with their audience. It’s also vital to capitalise on the trends and create engaging and short-form content that catches and retains the customer’s attention and creates a lasting impression on them.
Another critical aspect of doing that is finding your purpose. A purposeful brand image transcends mere marketing or business strategy. It aligns with deeper aspects of human psychology, ethics and broader societal context that contribute to building a long-lasting relationship between the consumer and the brand. Godrej Group’s over 126 years of dedication in contributing towards nation-building through its products and services is a testament to it.
It is essential for brands to continuously optimise these two facets to create meaningful strategies and stay relevant in an ever-evolving digital landscape.
One recent bad case of advertising you have seen, and why?
Bad advertising is very subjective. As long as the subject, theme and narrative of your advertising are not insensitive, misleading or exaggerated, it’s not essentially bad. What causes a lot of advertising campaigns to fail at achieving their desired outcome is a lack of socio-economic awareness and proper research, planning, and strategising. Sometimes wrongly identifying the target audience or a lack of creative vision also renders campaigns ineffective. To prevent this, brands need to conduct thorough pre-market research to rightly identify their target audience, understand consumer intent, think innovatively and bring a product/service of value. Catering to consumers’ interests and wants is paramount in marketing and can prove to be pivotal in strategising any advertising campaign.