As digital advertising and online
presence gain grounds for brands, they are increasingly realizing that the
digital world differs greatly from traditional media. A one size fits all strategy is unlikely to
help brands leverage the full strength of the digital platform. Additionally, user engagement in a real time
and dynamic digital environment is a challenge.
To add credibility to visibility, marketers need to continue to make
full use of online by listening and engaging-not just showcasing. In this session, the panelists Ashish Bhasin (CEO, Dentsu Aegis), John Heinsen
(Producers
Guild of America VP of new media, Bunnygraph CEO), Aditya
Swamy (MTV India executive VP,
business head) and
Cvl Srinivas (GroupM CEO South Asia)
discuss,
what it takes to build a successful online brand presence.
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Time was when
traditional media was the only advertising and marketing vehicle. If consumers
did not like an ad, the ad would be modified. In today’s digital world,
consumers dictate the tonality of brand communication. The gap for making
mistakes has reduced. These points were made at a session on ‘Brand building and engagement in a digital
world’ at the media trade event FICCI Frames 2015. Participating in the
discussion, Ashish Bhasin made the point that in a digital world, consumers
dictate the tonality of a brand’s communication. There has to be an emotional
engagement and narrative. This is something that companies in categories like
e-commerce are forgetting, he added. He also noted that the speed of a brand’s
response is key in the digital world. A wrong step by a brand can get magnified
in milliseconds. At the same time, the right move can have a positive impact.
Srinivas
mentioned that things have moved from a slow-moving market approach to a
first-moving one. “While need for speed is important in digital, you also need
to have the right rhythm with speed. Digital has to work in sync with other
marketing vehicles.” He also noted that getting insights and using data to give
inputs to marketers and product managers is crucial. Trend spotting is another
theme. “You have to harness data. Then there is programmatic advertising and
buying. Here the process is automated, hence the importance of technology.”
When asked about how ad budgets are split considering the multifariousness of
the digital world, he said that in the digital world agencies have moved from
measuring outputs to measuring outcomes. Earlier it was about how many TVRs a
TV show got. Now it is more about brand likeability, brand awareness and sales.
Another trend is that now the lines are blurring between media and creative
agencies. “We produce almost all content in digital campaigns. Bhasin added
that there is no going back to a full-service agency model. Clients like super
specialists, but the media and creative agencies need to work together.
Aditya
Swamy noted that the traditional advertising approach used to revolve around
three campaigns in a year. “Today, brand management is a year-round activity.
You have to navigate conversations. Everybody is messing with the format.
Brands are publishers. Users are content creators. Today doors are windows.”
Srinivas noted that in a digital world agencies have to be storytellers. “You
create stories and make brands a part of those stories.” Giving the example of
a Honda vehicle launch last year, he added, “A digital-only campaign was done
and it told a story in three parts. The campaign ran for 60-90 days. We did not
spend a rupee on traditional media. The digital campaign cost 1/10th of what it
would have on traditional media.” He also noted that in a digital world it is
important to see what a consumer wants.
“Digital
platforms are not a silo. They can complement other touch points. Digital
consumers provide useful data. When activation programs are done on the mobile,
ample data can be gathered. The aim should be to tell stories holistically
rather than simply focus on digital as a medium.
John Heinsen noted that the digital world has
resulted in a convergence of traditional media, brands, advertising and
technology. With social media, one now has the notion of community. A brand’s
identity is tied to this community.
Swamy
noted that earlier when television was the only medium, the focus was on
creating content for the lowest common denominator. Now with digital, one can
create niche content. The younger demographic comprises screen-agers and the
challenge is to migrate them from one screen to another. It was also noted that
sometimes ads appear on torrent sites that host pirated content. This happens
because marketers now focus on reach. Brands can be distant from places where
their ads appear and the context in which they appear. Facebook and Twitter now
offer videos. Communities are active on different platforms. If one is
targeting influencers in a subculture, then Twitter might be a suitable platform.
According
to Srinivas, the next big phase for digital campaigns will be in vernacular
languages. He said that in the South digital stars have emerged who will
attract brands to tie up with them.
The session was
summed up by concluding the irreplaceable importance on brand building in
today’s business environment and determining how essential consumer engagement
is going to become in future.
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