Occupying a major share of the marketing budget pie, digital marketing is not only crucial but the need of the hour. With newer technologies sprouting every second day, it has become essential for marketers to be ahead of times and cater to their TG. Digital marketing is important in not only acquiring new customers but also retaining existing ones. In our weekly BrandWagon Ad Talk series, industry experts highlight what has changed over the years and more importantly, are these changes here to stay. Karthik Raman, chief marketing officer and head – products, Ageas Federal Life Insurance, 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?
Speaking from my own experience of spearheading a rebranding exercise in this digital era, I think the brand team has to be smart in all aspects. Digital continues to be the most cost-effective platform, offering the best ROI. But it’s also a very crowded space, so having a well-thought-out and strategic plan ensures your brand’s voice is not lost amongst the crowd.
Firstly, technology has allowed brands to make their storytelling much more engaging. We see brands using different and disruptive digital strategies ranging from celebrity influencers to user-generated content to virtual avatars to tell their stories. But trends change at the blink of an eye, so it’s imperative for the brand to regularly audit the performance of their content and tweak their strategy accordingly. Analytics allows us to gauge the performance of our content on digital platforms on a real-time basis with the help of engagement scores and other metrics. So, brands can quickly understand what content is working and what content is not clicking.
Another important aspect of the digital marketing plan is knowing exactly who you are targeting with your content and more importantly, their current mindset. Develop tailor-made content keeping in mind this well-defined TG.
What are the recent best marketing or advertising campaigns you have seen and why?
I was impressed by Federal Bank’s recent brand campaign ‘Rishta Aap se hai, sirf App se nahi’. While the Covid-19 pandemic was a harrowing time, one of the positives to emerge from the pandemic was India’s rapid digital adoption especially in the BFSI sector. But as digital took over our lives, it inevitably reduced the need for human interactions.
Federal Bank’s campaign beautifully paid tribute to the value of human interactions and social connections. It emphasised the importance of treating customers as people rather than just an account number. While others in the sector focus on faster processes, quicker turnaround times and greater ease of service, this campaign stood out among the clutter by showcasing how beautiful relationships can be forged over something as impersonal as banking.
Which brand in the last year has made the best use of digital and how?
A study done by McKinsey in 2022 called the Metaverse Consumer Survey suggests that in the next five years, Gen Z, millennials and Gen X consumers may spend between four and five hours a day in the metaverse, using Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) devices. The metaverse is a trending space globally and over the last few months, we have seen a lot of Indian companies across sectors venturing into this space and targeting the next generation of customers with unique campaigns and initiatives. While some brands like Tanishq and Celio India have used the metaverse to launch new products or collections, others like Hershey India and Nutralite have used the metaverse as a way to better engage with consumers.
In a post-Covid world, what are the dos and don’ts of digital marketing?
Post-Covid, people are spending more time online than ever before. And this has drastically changed the way that people seek information, consume content, communicate and shop. So, what can brands do to effectively engage and connect with their constantly evolving target audience?
Create bite-sized content. Attention spans are reducing, and long-format content is rapidly losing its appeal. As the digital space becomes more crowded, brands need to create crisp, engaging content to break through the clutter and retain customers’ interest.
Customise your content. Brands need to communicate with their customers in very precise ways. While earlier customers could be divided into age and gender demographic segments, today, using data analytics, we can slice and dice customer data in so many more ways. To give an example, customers can now be targeted by not just the state or city in why they live but even by their pincode. Brands that target their customers with personalised campaigns and messages using data-driven insights are likely to see more success.
Customer experience is vital. The entire customer experience is vital to a brand’s success. Advertising makes a certain promise, but if the experience at all points of the customer journey fails to live up to this promise, then the trust of the customer will be severely impacted.
One recent bad case of advertising you have seen, and why?
I think the recent ad by a food tech platform on the occasion of world environment day is a notable example. While the brand’s intentions about promoting recycling and reducing plastic waste seemed to be good, the ad ended up being casteist in nature. The brand attempted to be humorous, but it was at the expense of a marginalised section of society which is a complete no-no.