2022 was a year of promise and discoveries for the marketing and advertising community, especially after two pandemic-impacted years. From AI and hybrid working modes to a greater focus on brand purpose, marketers and advertising leaders recap the big trends and achievements that shaped the industry this year.
AI totally transforming consumer engagement
By Nadia Chauhan
Joint managing director
& CMO, Parle Agro
Metaverse is a new channel that has made its way into mainstream media, thanks to marketers and advertisers. In an era when brands are looking for new, engaging ways to communicate with consumers, the metaverse presents itself as an innovative way to do so.
This year, we had brands from diverse industries such as fashion, lifestyle, auto and more build their presence on the metaverse. Aside from leveraging the virtual space to create unique shopping experiences, a slew of marketing campaigns, product launches and live brand-sponsored events were conducted in the metaverse. The innovative marketing potential of this hybrid digital/physical world is near-endless.While the market of metaverse is still at a nascent stage in India, it is likely to dominate the digital space in the years to come. Whether it is to analyse consumers to better understand their behaviour and create more personalised experiences, or to drive engagement, AI is changing the way we understand marketing. It holds great promise and potential for advertisers to make their marketing more effective.While e-commerce brands have been using this strategy for a while to suggest products to consumers based on factors like purchase history, the tool has been leveraged a great deal this year to personalise messaging. Brands have created digital avatars of their brand ambassadors and sent personalised messages from the celebrity to their target audiences. AI is completely transforming consumer engagement and is definitely the new wave in marketing.
Technology made hybrid work a success
By Aditi Mishra
CEO, Lodestar UM
Disruptions lay down the path for new discoveries. The last couple of years disrupted our traditional work models, paving the way for new ways of working. We recast the perception of being a function that needs teams to always physically huddle together. As we have become familiar with hybrid modes, technology has played a big part in making it a success. It has allowed us to open up to a better balance across teams. What it also brings is the possibility of opening our doors to a larger talent pool. The other big shift has come in from the changing consumer behaviour and adoption of new formats for content consumption. The high cost of quality content now being monetised across multiple screens and the potential to engage cohorts in a targeted manner are opening up the option of media solutions being more specific and accountable. There will be bigger shifts and marketers will need to be on top of their game to match the pace.
The year that redefined client-agency relations
By Mithila Saraf
CEO, Famous Innovations
The second half of 2022 hit us like a hurricane, with brands, people and partners returning to the game with renewed vigour, far beyond pre-Covid levels. Everyone was hungry for the fun, fame and fortune we’ve had to let go of for the last two years. The defining shift has been that we are now entering the era of more meaningful, high-value and selective relationships. Because of the rise of in-house creative teams, the fragmentation of our ecosystem (content creators, influencers, production houses and OTT platforms are all competing for the ad agency’s job) and democratisation of creative capabilities, agencies can only stand apart based on their expertise in a brand, a category and a consumer. However, this isn’t possible if you are working with 50 brands at one time. Agencies will have to stop being machines and start acting as true accountable partners.
Brands focused on purpose, not just profits
By Nitin Saini
VP-marketing,
Mondelez India
2022 has truly been a remarkable year for the advertising world and we saw couple of themes emerge.
The first one is around harnessing the power of technology when it comes to media and advertising. Tech took centrestage in the marketing space, and many brands drove innovative campaigns with it. At Mondelez, we are committed to staying agile, open to experimentation and are collaborating with different partners to engage with consumers through multiple touch points, leveraging the power of data and tech. We led by example and added a layer of tech-enabled solutions to celebrate small and big meetha moments of storytelling. We believe that technology should never be a starting point. Instead, it should always start with a consumer insight and the role that the brand can play and then engage with people.
One of the other themes gaining prominence is brands working towards bringing their purpose to life. Consumers today connect with brands with a strong purpose that resonates with them, while making a positive impact in the world. Beyond communication, consumers are also expecting brands to act on their purpose. This has been a key priority for Mondelez and will remain so as we enter the new year.
(Compiled by Christina Moniz)