The last two years have forced brands and advertisers to reimagine their communication strategies. Increasingly brands have begun to seek business solving issues as opposed to running just a run-of-the-mill campaign, Dheeraj Sinha, CEO, Leo Burnett, South Asia and chairman, BBH India, told BrandWagon Online. “The fundamentals of advertising, which is about solving problems both at the business and human level, hasn’t changed. What has changed is the palette that’s available for use. From technology platforms to data, and video, a large number of options are available that can be leveraged today,” he added. Sinha spoke on the sidelines of Goafest 2022.
As per Sinha, the shift towards digital platforms has allowed advertisers to experiment with their communication strategies. “In order to break through the clutter on digital, it is important to become a part of people’s lives by telling stories and narratives that people want to engage with,” he added. Furthermore, with various platforms available to advertisers today, it allows brands to connect with different audiences in different ways and scale up. For instance, a particular brand can run an emotional brand narrative on TV, or a how-to video on YouTube and an influencer-led unpacking on other digital platforms.
For Sinha, purpose has to navigate or travel through the core of the brand’s premise and should not be a means to get quick popularity. He cited an example of feminine hygiene brand Whisper’s campaign The Missing Chapter which addresses the importance of menstrual education. The campaign was created on the back of the fact that 2.3 crore girls drop out of school when their periods begin, and 71% of adolescent girls in India are not aware that menstruation occurs until they begin their period. This purpose-driven campaign is in line with the work that Whisper as a brand enables, he said.
Furthermore, he added that creativity powered by technology will play an important role moving forward. For instance, he added that HP Lubricants and Leo Burnett India came together to innovate Roads That Honk, an anti-collision vehicle management system for dangerous hairpin bends, in a bid to minimise fatal accidents. “The key is to solve a human problem and enable brands to communicate that,” Sinha stated.
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