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Tag: digital marketing

  • Throwback2020: Not in moolah but digital marketing grew in virtue

    Throwback2020: Not in moolah but digital marketing grew in virtue

    NEW DELHI: It has been quite a few years that the digital marketing industry is enjoying a fabulous run rate in India. It is a no-brainer that growing internet penetration, cheap data rates, and just the sheer availability of digital entertainment and logistical options have contributed to its stellar rise. While the traditional modes of advertising have been struggling to keep the  cash registers ringing, partly because of the continuing dip in the economy and partly due to the Covid2019 lockdown’s impact on businesses across the spectrum, digital marketing enjoyed quite a positive stay in an otherwise positively uncomfortable 2020. 

    The year was a mixed bag of challenges and opportunities for the digital marketing industry, though the latter were overpowering. Despite a slump in growth numbers, the industry seems to be staring at a rather bright future. Tech advancements, positive sentiments within the industry, and the sheer scope of growth ahead makes the ride an interesting prospect for the future too. 

    The spike in digital adoption

    For nearly two-months, starting March, the whole country was forced to stay indoors following strict lockdown rules, courtesy the global viral pandemic Covid2019. It forced people to work online, connect online, shop online, teach online, consult online and do what have you online. This led to a crazy uptake in digital adoption. 

    Logicserve Digital founder & CEO Prasad Shejale said: “The pandemic has definitely caused a huge shift in the industry. While the country’s economy and GDP took a massive hit, the digital industry has been rapidly growing with regards to its consumption, penetration as well as engagement. The global e-commerce sales growth and number of digital adopters accelerated in the initial three months; in the normal course that would have taken three years.”

    According to a Kantar report released in May this year, India’s monthly active internet user base is estimated to reach 639 million by the end of 2020, from the currently estimated 574 million. The country had clocked 734.82 million wired and wireless broadband subscribers up to 31 October 2020 according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of Indian monthly telecom data reports.

    Mobile became the preferred choice of internet consumption and the average time spent on smartphones in a day grew with average usage growing 11 per cent to 5.5 hours in March 2020 (pre-Covid) from about 4.9 hours on average in 2019. This further grew by another 25 per cent to 6.9 hours April onwards (post-COVID), a report by Vivo and CMR highlighted. 

    India also saw the biggest jump in video consumption, of 40 per cent to over 2.9 billion hours during the week starting 22 March as compared to the last week of December 2019, when it was 2.1 billion hours, as stated by an Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Nielsen report. 

    Naturally, this sharp spike in digital consumption had a positive impact on digital marketing and advertising too. 

    Digital marketing growth story 2020

    At the beginning of the year, a DAN report had predicted that the digital advertising industry would grow 27 per cent in 2020. However, that might not turn out to be the case entirely. 

    The sector, much like every other business, took a hit in Q1 FY21, because of the market uncertainties and lockdown. Ad rates went down as much as by 15-20 per cent according to an industry insider. 

    A panel discussing the widening scope of digital marketing with Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari in June stressed that the growth digital marketing has clocked in the year will not be immediately visible in the CAGR, but will be a defining factor in how the advertising pies of individual marketers changed. It insisted that after six months of struggle in 2020, the industry will have a very prosperous six years ahead. 

    iProspect India AVP-strategic solutions Nihal Nambiar had said: “Digital, in 2020, will definitely not have a similar CAGR of 27 to 30 per cent as it has been recording for the past few years.” But he mentioned that he is looking forward to some positive quarters ahead in terms of brands moving to digital platforms.

    Shejale pointed out: “Various reports suggest that in spite of the slowing economy, the digital segment has seen a growth of around 20-27 per cent by November 2020. The numbers might vary in different research articles. However, this is the broad range within which the growth is seen, and it’s very promising.” 

    However, GenY Medium co-founder & CEO Yashwant Kumar is more hopeful and is expecting that the industry will grow by 35-40 per cent in 2020-21. 

    He noted: “Digital advertising has gained tremendously during the pandemic and has become the preferred medium with a huge surge in e-commerce across categories together with consumers spending a lot more time with their families at home on their connected TVs and mobiles. Digital has been consistently growing at 27 per cent CAGR over the past few years ahead of television, print and outdoor. We are seeing a significant movement towards digital in Q2 and Q3 this year after a slow Q1. My expectation is that digital advertising will grow by 35 to 40 per cent for the year 2020-21.” 

    While the industry has contrasting views towards the growth numbers, KPMG’s ‘A Year Off Script’ report released in September indicated that online advertising is expected to result in a 12 per cent growth overtaking traditional media like television which will contract by 17 per cent this year. 

    The report added, “At ₹22,300 crore, total digital advertising revenue will beat the ₹21,700 crore revenue of TV over FY21.”  

    Trends that defined the industry in 2020

    The biggest trend that strengthened the roots of the digital marketing industry in 2020 was the sheer influx of rural users in the internet world. As per a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Nielsen, rural India had 227 million active internet users, 10 per cent more than urban India’s about 205 million, as of November 2019. A Kantar report further suggested that this number will increase to 304 million by 2020. “Local language content and video drive the internet boom in rural India, with a 2.5 times increase in penetration among the population in the last four years,” it added. 

    This, added with digital retailers going deep into the heartland India, led to a great jump in the need for “hyperlocal” content by brands. This kept the digital agencies busy through the year. 

    Additionally, giants like Facebook, Swiggy, and Instagram entering the local market with thier own shopping platforms, growth of edtech companies like WhiteHat Jr, Vedantu, and Instagram releasing a new content section called Reels, were some new found opportunities for the digital industry to explore. 

    Wavemaker India chief client officer and head-west Shekhar Banerjee had mentioned in an earlier conversation with Indiantelevision.com that brands went heavy on performance marketing in 2020. “Apart from the usual search, social, and e-commerce mix, one platform that has become the biggest gainer during the period is the e-groceries section, taking a huge part of the digital pie. Going ahead, hyperlocal platforms, with their changing business models will be more conducive to advertising.”

    Another interesting opportunity for the digital marketing industry came in the form of online events. Almost 95 per cent of the physical events moved to online platforms giving digital agencies great opportunities to work with brands. It included marquee events like IPL, which was hosted without a live audience and saw viewers engaging with it either through TV or digital platforms. 

    OTT platforms also saw a remarkable rise in viewership during 2020. Kumar highlighted, “According to one industry report (Velocity MR Study), Amazon and Netflix saw +60 per cent growth in their subscriber base in the AMJ '20 quarter. Similar numbers have been reported for other platforms like Hotstar, YouTube and others. This massive shift towards the OTT platforms becoming the go to destination for entertainment, sports and news is driven by increased consumption of video content by consumers across all the age groups and demographic segments. Daytime video usage by the working professionals has become the new norm as they have started watching TV or streamed video content during their work breaks or while actively working.” 

    Additionally, what moved the industry significantly was FMCG brands getting more serious about digital platforms. As per industry experts, FMCG brands increased their expenditure on digital platforms to 12 per cent, compared to around 7 per cent in 2019. 

    This also paved the way for a significant hike in influencer marketing activities. 

    Mompresso co-founder & COO Prashant Sinha said, “Digital marketing has seen transitional growth in the year 2020. The majority of advertising and marketing spends by brands this year has been towards digital channels and with no doubt, this will continue to grow further in 2021. We can also expect to see big portions of these budgets to go towards influencer marketing and macro and micro-influencer led campaigns. The overall digital marketing industry has seen a boost this year, where creators, brands, and marketers have learned to work together. Brands have revaluated the metrics and shifted focus to prioritize channels where they receive the most engagement. While video content has dominated the space, more diversification is expected. Live streaming and user-generated content will continue to be popular among influencers and marketers.” 

    The growth in the e-gaming industry resulted in increased ad spends by players and also the development of a whole new media option for the brands. While most of the marketers still sat on the fence about exploiting the medium, it is expected that it will flourish in the coming quarters. 

    The year was a mixed bag of challenges and opportunities for the digital marketing industry, though the latter were overpowering. Despite a slump in growth numbers, the industry seems to be staring at a rather bright future. Tech advancements, positive sentiments within the industry, and the sheer scope of growth ahead makes the ride an interesting prospect for the future too. 

  • New-age tools for digital platforms to optimise their revenue generation

    New-age tools for digital platforms to optimise their revenue generation

    NEW DELHI: As the world moves to the digital space in overwhelming numbers, people have several questions about opportunities to make money online. Contrary to public opinion that there are several challenges in earning from digital promotions, many new tools now allow bloggers to earn, without the need to attain technical knowledge.

    Digital marketing budgets of companies are receiving traction owing to the efficacy of online platforms. Products are marketed to reach larger audiences, thereby increasing sales by huge margins. Consequently, publishers need to utilise these tools to achieve better results and revenue. Through a compilation of five exquisite tools mentioned below, online content creators can make the most of the current times.  

     1. Moneylink

    The Moneylink tool helps save a significant amount of time, as it eliminates the need to replace all the links with affiliate links manually, while providing opportunities for publishers to work with over 30,000 advertisers. The biggest draw for publishers and advertisers is the fact that monetisation is made easy. The ability to earn more has increased after widening the audience base, making it suitable for beginners, novices, or highly proficient publishers alike.

    When Moneylink is integrated in a blog, users are relieved from viewing distracting, flashy ads, or banners. Instead, they see just the advertisers' links highlighted in the content they’re reading. Publishers (bloggers/content publishers) earn from the clicks by users, and purchases are made on the e-commerce websites. It is a preferred tool for those who run blogs and content-based platforms. The access to Moneylink is streamlined, as publishers can connect the tool directly through their Admitad account.

     2. Admitad Bot

    Designed as a bot on Telegram Messenger for publishers, content creators, etc, the tool is known for its agility and no-frills applicability. It can be used easily through mobile devices, allowing the swift creation of affiliate links from devices. In addition to this, it also checks deep links, supporting features on product pages of major e-commerce websites, and provides open access to over 30,000 advertisers.

    It is instrumental in building traction for brands through social media influencer channels, as followers are more organic than mainstream marketing avenues. The simplicity of setting up the tool is an attractive feature for publishers, as it has been built exclusively for a younger audience that prefers using smartphones for handling everything.

     3. Chrome Extensions

    It is a link creation tool which is in the form of a browser extension. The design fulfils the requirements of bloggers, content sites, and those giving recommendations to people who wish to make money.

    Registering for an Admitad Extension gives applicants a unique ID, which is inserted automatically into each link generated through the extension. It is created directly on the page of the partner store, as a single link to be copied. When a user clicks the link and purchases, the system records the response. It then indicates the link's location and lists all the details while rewarding the publisher for the transaction.

    Recent updates on the tool allow publishers to add links to a list of favourites, which comes in handy for planning the content. It further simplifies the procedure of recording information, or documents, as the extension saves all information.

     4. Universal Search

    Search engine optimisation (SEO) has become the new focus area for advertisers to get better ranked during searches online through keywords. The Universal Search tool bases itself on the user searches and a concept called contextual advertising. If a user is looking for watches, the API and JavaScript integrated tool shows information on the brand as one of the first options to consider.

    When people follow the links of the brands, the direct link is replaced by the affiliate link. It opens up the possibility of rewards to the publisher based on the actions that follow. Therefore, publishers can monetise using these tools as well. Apart from contextual advertising, traffic can also be built organically.

     5. Unique promo codes

    When video hosting sites like YouTube or Instagram make it impossible to use links that  convert to affiliate links, promo codes are a safer bet. Content creators usually showcase details in the description out of compulsion, or present unique promo codes.

    However, this tool allows the publisher to create a unique campaign according to his/her channel, through a promotional code of their choice. Every action taken through the code is registered with the system, making it easier even for offline operational modes, with brochures, receipts, catalogues, etc.

    Therefore, the proliferation of new tools in the affiliate industry is helping shape the marketing decisions for publishers and advertisers. They are delivering solutions for all kinds of stakeholders, and the integration of the next generation of technologies will disrupt the ecosystem for content creators even further.

    (The author is country manager, Admitad India. Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to their views.)

  • Meghna Chettri joins UTI Mutual Fund

    Meghna Chettri joins UTI Mutual Fund

    NEW DELHI: State Bank of India’s senior digital marketing manager Meghna Chettri has moved on from the organisation. She has joined UTI Mutual as senior associate vice president.

    Chettri drove the digital marketing function for SBI and led several successful campaigns under her leadership. She played a key role in pushing the recall of Yono, #GhasSeBanking, #GoVocalForLocal, and others.

    She has over eight years of experience and has had stints with Accenture and Cognizant in the past.

    During her career, she has won several awards and is a regular speaker at multiple forums.

  • Over three decades, marketing has seen a paradigm shift

    Over three decades, marketing has seen a paradigm shift

    MUMBAI: On a long trip, the mode of travel may encompass an assortment including air, train, road, boat. Even within these legs, the experience could differ significantly, for example driving on a mountain road, versus regular old ride through the city.

    Similarly, a marketer’s journey over the last three decades has seen multiple metamorphoses, entailing a continuous need for change and adaptation.

    Those were the days, when planning media spends was a simple matter of allocating monies between Ramayana, Hindi feature films, and Chitrahaar on DD, with the option of throwing in Krishi Darshan for the adventurous rural marketer. The satellite TV boom, bringing in hundreds of channels and programmes, added complexity to media planning, and forced marketers to slice and dice the communication target group in terms of multiple demographic parameters. “Focused communication” really took shape in the nineties.

    And then the internet explosion, along with the advent of smartphones, dramatically changed the rules of the game. Digital marketing and social media are the buzzwords now. Engaging the viewer is paramount. Communication can now be targeted at a specific age group, even at a micro level of a city. Youth today interact with the world through their devices. TV viewing and print media are almost skipping this generation. Even a few years ago, advertising on live sports telecasts was a sure-fire way of reaching the youth. Today, even that is transitioning to the Hotstar and Cricbuzz of the world.

    This is having a significant impact on consumer buying behaviour, and the purchase decision-making process. The erstwhile classical marketing’s five step process – spanning problem identification, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and post-purchase behaviour – is passé. The three Moments of Truth (MOT) theory has been flipped on its head.

    As per traditional theory, the first MOT is when the consumer interacts with the brand for the first time, say, on a supermarket shelf, and decides to pick up a brand, over others. The second MOT is when she experiences the brand, which may be once (for example, in a restaurant), or maybe multiple times (like a shampoo). A few proceed to the third MOT, and become advocates (positive) or critics (negative), based on their individual experiences. This journey has now been collapsed to what is termed the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT). Thanks to the explosion in internet usage, every new brand or product is now researched, where consumers are vicariously exposed to the entire journey at one shot, through others’ experiences. Managing social media is critical now. For example, while evaluating options to buy a car, if one comes across half a dozen negative comments about a specific brand, it is very likely that this brand will drop out of one’s consideration set.

    A few decades ago, there was allegedly a thumb rule across the world – that a happy consumer will tell five others, while a dissatisfied consumer will crib to 21 people. Today these numbers have magnified manifold, and are probably in thousands, if not millions, thanks to the power of viral posts in social media.

    30 years ago, fashion and lifestyle trends in the western world would take their own sweet time, maybe two to three years, to catch on in India. Today all brands need to keep pace with global innovations, since consumers are constantly exposed to these. Discerning powers of consumers, thanks to the plethora of information available, have taken quantum leaps. Earlier, ‘value-for-money’ was the key for mass marketing. Today’s informed consumer is willing to pay for value-added features, leading to the ‘money-for-value’ concept.

    Changes, and the necessity to adapt to these, will be keeping marketers on their toes. From print/radio/cinema, to TV (single channel to hundreds), to the internet with its multiple social media platforms, to live streaming and OTT – the milestones and the route map keeps evolving. It’s perhaps foolhardy to even attempt to predict what’s coming next.

    (The author is Navneet Youva stationery division chief strategy officer. The opinions expressed here are his own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)

  • For brands, localised digital content is the way to go: WATConsult’s Heeru Dingra

    For brands, localised digital content is the way to go: WATConsult’s Heeru Dingra

    NEW DELHI: One of the most interesting outcomes of the digital revolution in the marketing space has been an increase in the volume and popularity of content created in local languages. In turn, this has not only got more and more people interested in digital content, but also sizeably helped marketers target their communication better. Therefore, to understand the magnitude of evolving consumer trends in this space, WATConsult, a hybrid marketing agency from the house of dentsu International, conducted a unique research called ‘Digital, Diverse & Multilingual India’. 

    Research is the most crucial step for the marketing and advertising world, believes WATConsult CEO Heeru Dingra. Said she, “With the rise of digital marketing and phenomenal advancements in programmatic targeting, online ads can now be shown to a specific and relevant set of the audience only, saving resources and generating a much higher chance of interaction. The findings of this report can help further customise these ads as it provides language preferences and internet usage patterns for the audiences, among other things.”

    The next fundamental step is: know your audience. Dingra explained: “The report delves into and tries to uncover the behaviour of the audience with respect to a specific aspect – language preferences while consuming content, shopping online or simply browsing the internet. These insights can help the agencies and brands tailor their communications in accordance with their targeted audience’s preferences. The research helps you better know your audience and that is always desirable to the brands and the agencies.” 

    According to her, the insights of the report have the potential to create a much more comprehensive picture if viewed in conjunction as well as in comparison. 

    Perhaps the most interesting and unusual finding of the study was that it estimated close to 70 per cent of all internet users will access the internet in their local language by the end of 2020. “The research also resulted in detailing out different sets of the audience consuming video content on varying video streaming applications. These apps have contributed substantially to the growth of the mobile application market, facilitated greatly by the advent of 4G and inexpensive handheld devices,” added Dingra.

    As per the report, 73 per cent of the audience belonging to the age group of 45-54 years use YouTube to watch online content, so does 30 per cent of the audience belonging to small metros and the top four cosmopolises. The younger audience (under 18 years) however, use video streaming apps like Hotstar, Amazon Prime, along with YouTube to consume content in the local language. Housewives, being an essential audience group in themselves, prefer to use YouTube to watch online video content. 

    The report also highlighted that people prefer to consume video content on technology, dadgets, fashion and sports in English. 

    On being asked how this information can help content creators, Dingra elaborated, “The audience prefers to watch video content on food, entertainment and education mostly in the local language, because for most people educational content becomes easier to understand and entertaining videos become vastly more enjoyable when consumed in one’s regional language. For most, no such feelings are associated with the video content on technology, gadgets, fashion and sports. They are purely for gathering information or gaining hard knowledge, which is why English comparatively prevails as the preferred medium. It basically boils down to knowing one’s content, one’s audience and ultimately what the audience wants, wherein this report might be able to lend a helping hand.”

    The research for the report was undertaken using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Firstly, a quantitative survey was conducted among a sample size of 1474 respondents, which was followed by in-depth interviews with the industry stakeholders in addition to qualitative interviews amongst consumers. Stratified random sampling across age groups, genders, occupations, zones and town classes was used to gather the required data. The research duration was from April 2020 to June 2020.

    Including respondents from different zones of the country viz. north, south, east and west, the research was conducted in towns and cities classified as the top four metros (i.e. Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai), next five metros (i.e. Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Surat) and small metros (i.e. cities with a population between one million to four million). The age group of the respondents was rather expansive, ranging from below 18 years old to above 55 years old, belonging to various occupations – housewives, students, working professionals, etc. The profile of the users was based on internet usage in the local language and accessing it mostly on mobile phones.