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. Jetesh Menon, creative head, Ideas Farm, 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?
Let’s start by defining earlier.
For the longest time, you had to rely on television as the only medium to launch a brand. Before that it had to be done via print. In today’s digital era, where attention spans are fickle and platforms are multiple, I feel any new brand needs to have a strong purpose and a clear value proposition that consumers can relate to in order to stand out.
However, that alone is not enough. As a creative person, I feel with the above factors, you also need a big idea that sets you apart. Once you have these in place, you can leverage all the incredible digital tools which are now at our disposal for maximum effect.
A good example of this would be how personal care brand Sebamed went about its launch in India. They got us thinking about pH values and broke the traditional celeb-led approach that we’re used to seeing in the FMCG category.
What are the recent best marketing or advertising campaigns you have seen and why?
When I think of a campaign, I tend to evaluate it from an integrated pov. Movie marketing campaigns typically do a great job at this. This year, Barbie’s marketing was truly outstanding. The fact that I don’t have to mention specific pieces speaks volumes of what they achieved and that too on a global scale.
From an actual Barbie Airbnb house, giant CGI next to Burj Khalifa to every brand on the planet jumping on the Barbie bandwagon. It was truly a moment in pop culture. I have never seen such frenzy before for anything on this scale. And for those who think big ideas don’t guarantee results, you just have to look at the staggering amount the movie made.
Which brand in the last year has made the best use of digital and how?
I feel the marketing community sometimes lives in a bubble where we create work that’s only noticed within this little bubble. The mark of a truly successful campaign for me is when someone (outside the bubble) invests their time in engaging with a piece of communication, finds it cool and sends it forward. This is what Cadbury has consistently managed to do.
I love Cadbury India’s approach to advertising. They have truly embraced digital as a medium and are typically the first to create a trend. From using generative AI with celeb messaging to letting people create a song as a birthday wish. They’ve mastered the art of blending technology and delivering a message that is memorable.
In a post-Covid world, what are the dos and don’ts of digital marketing?
I’m going to use this opportunity to rant.
Dear, Marketers. Stop letting platforms dictate how your messaging should be. Sure, big tech relies on data to arrive at things like mentioning the brand name within the first 5 seconds or making a 20 second spot cos it’s the “ideal” duration for a piece of communication.
These narrow sandboxes stifle creative thinking and you end up with a templatised piece of communication that only suits the platform that dictates it.
What’s the alternative? Make great engaging content.
Here’s proof. Apple recently released an 8 minute long short called ‘swiped’ and it has 75 M views. That’s more than any other Apple ad they’ve ever produced. The lesson here is, focus on the content. If you make it watch-worthy, people will watch irrespective of how long it is.
One recent bad case of advertising you have seen, and why?
We’ve managed to ban alcohol and cigarette ads but somehow pan masala brands continue to advertise rampantly? So yeah, a bad product by default results in a bad ad. I feel celebrities with such mass influence should act responsibly and re-evaluate what they are associating with considering their impact on young minds.
Not just the influencers, I think collectively we all ought to hold ourselves to higher standards.