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Tag: ITV guest column

  • GUEST COLUMN: What can be the anticipated future of the creator economy

    GUEST COLUMN: What can be the anticipated future of the creator economy

    Mumbai: It’s no wonder that the digital media industry has shifted tremendously over the previous decade. This shift in focus has given rise to a new type of media personality: the content creator. Content creators are capturing the attention that was previously reserved for traditional media and as a result, they’re transforming content, consumer behaviors, and – maybe most importantly – consumer purchasing. These developments are spawning a completely new industry: the creative economy.

    From restricted IG and YouTube creators to now boasting over a million creators in the country as a result of the development of short-form video platforms and the simplicity of making content – ‘Content Creator’ is now a proper career that a gen-Z youth can now justify to their parents.

    As of now, creators have relied mainly on marketing campaigns and ad money generated by YouTube views. While this is fantastic, very few people can truly get it right and achieving wider adoption is extremely difficult because brands work with a small number of agencies, who in turn work with a small amount of creators. Technology can help companies and creators communicate more effectively but there is currently no dominant player in this space. Instagram and YouTube, on the other hand, have made pledges to develop toward the Creator economy and it will be fascinating to follow where they land.

    All of this is unfolding so rapidly that it’s vital to stop and think about where it’s all heading. What is the creative economy’s future?

    Affiliate – Affiliate revenue is something that fintech developers have been able to fully realise and reap tremendous rewards from. The next phase is to scale across the board. You don’t have to be linked with a brand to sell it; marketplaces such as Amazon reward referrals and affiliate sales.

    Paid subscriptions – This is really exciting for producers who have a strong connection with their viewers and may provide exclusive material or other advantages to their fans. If a creator can attract even two per cent of their viewers into monthly paid customers, there is a lot of money to be made.

    Creator products – Creators benefit from a focused reach, which, when utilised wisely, may result in the creation of incredibly profitable D2C enterprises. A creator is the one who best knows their audience; they understand the gaps and goals in their life and can help cross these by developing various things. Creators are also adept at creating excitement, something conventional businesses must pay considerably in to guarantee their brand narrative is delivered appropriately – it does become a zero-cost game for the creator. To get this right, producers must create high-quality products, engage in authentic communication, and go all out with their digital content to maximise sales.

    NFTs – With all of the hoopla around NFTs, and even once it corrects and comes down a bit. This will be a really vital tool for creators to involve with communities and possibly allow fans to own stock in them. NFTs will play a significant part in creating incredibly tight-knit communities for creators, as well as opening up a variety of new avenues for commercialisation for creators.

    Branded content – This statistic has climbed steadily over the last five years and shows no indications of decreasing, businesses will soon are becoming more ROI and conversions focused on these efforts. With more and more tech tools to measure real sales for such campaigns on the horizon, this will eventually become similar to ad purchasing with pre-determined KPIs, unlocking value for artists.

    It is reasonable to assume that Indian content producers will lead the very next century in global space. We are only getting started, and the times ahead are incredibly exciting for both artists and viewers. All in all, it is believable that the creator economy has a lot of potential and that more monetisation avenues will open up for creators in the future. So, to all the creators, businesses, customers and brand owners who are working and building in this space be in it for the long haul. Ultimately, investing in relationships and communities can never go wrong.

    (About Author: Vaibhav Pathak is the co-founder of The Girlfriend Box)

  • GUEST COLUMN: six trends the Indian animation industry is witnessing in 2022

    GUEST COLUMN: six trends the Indian animation industry is witnessing in 2022

    Mumbai: The Indian animation industry has witnessed a considerable amount of growth in the past couple of years. As the pandemic forced people to stay at home, this increased the need for new content and the animation industry stepped up and delivered some amazing content. According to a report published by FICCI, India’s animation industry has grown by 24 per cent and is expected to reach Rs 180 billion in two years’ time.

    Apart from the lockdown, the positive growth pattern can be attributed to the exponential penetration of the internet which allowed people to seamlessly view content on various streaming platforms. Though this is a positive sign for the industry, the high demand for engaging and quality visual experience means animation studios have to constantly strive for fresh ideas and trends that they can showcase to their audience.

    Here are the six emerging trends in the animation industry:

    Use of restricted color palette: Animators in recent times have started using only a few primary colors instead of a large palette of colors. This gives the animation a simple yet elegant look which is appealing. Though it is challenging for the animator to use a restricted color palate the final outcome often shines out and makes the entire process worthwhile. The use of such a color palette is an extremely popular illustration style on digital platforms.

    Simple characters: Schematic and cubical characters will be one of the 2D animation trends. Creating these characters will be easier and will be more attractive than realistic ones for kids. But for Indian viewers, we should add a dress codes related to Indian states.

    Use of 3D animations: 3D animation helps to add realism to any animation. The more complex a 3D animation becomes, the more it aims for simplicity in shapes and colors. In 2022 the 3D trend is focused on round shapes with vivid contrasting colors. The end result is beautiful to look at, is creative and provides a sense of nostalgia for many as it is reminiscent of the 2D animations.  

    Merging of 2D and 3D styles: Using both 2D and 3D animations is one of the most in-demand animation trends that has witnessed a comeback. Animators are using a mix of 2D and 3D styles to create hybrid types of animation videos that are well received and liked by viewers. The best example of using such kind of animation is by incorporating both styles and also inserting 2D over layers containing movements. This technique is used in both small-scale as well as large projects.

    Use of virtual reality in animation: With the advent of high-speed internet, technologies like AR and VR are in high demand and have evolved into a major tool to create quality animations.  This produces more realistic animations that are loved by both children and adults. It can be used in educational programmes and the media all around the world.

    Outline animation: Modern and fun

    Outline animation is a style that provides innumerable possibilities. From classy animations to creating fun and goofy, outline animations is the go-to style for many animators. The biggest factor for the popularity of outline animation is that it is simple with endless possibilities. This allows for imaginations to go wild. Outline animation has become a trend as it allows animators to create a diverse range of styles.

    To sum it up, 2022 is a year of incorporating new beginnings and focusing on the positive aspects of the past. The animation industry is also witnessing such trends. Some old ideas have come again and some new trends have taken center stage.  With such exciting things happening in the industry, India is not far behind the global animation industry.

    (About Author: Hansa Mondal is the COO of Ssoftoons)

  • GUEST COLUMN: A complete guide to retail analytics for 2022

    GUEST COLUMN: A complete guide to retail analytics for 2022

    Mumbai: There are a million things that retailers need to do every day. From creating strategies for attracting new customers to finding ways to retain old customers and introducing exciting offers and brand campaigns, they have to also keep an eye on the fierce competition in the market as well.

    But, coming up with strategies and implementing marketing tactics is not enough until you track them right!

    Data analytics must be a crucial part of every retail business these days. Whether the website traffic, engagement rates, inventory, revenues, or expenses, tracking every retail marketing metric is essential. By monitoring your data the right way, you can gain meaningful insights and make better, informed decisions for your business.

    So, let’s dive into what retail analytics is and how it can be leveraged to make your retail business a success.

    What is retail analytics?

    Retail analytics refers to collecting retail data and analyzing it to gain meaningful insights into the performance of the business. That is information about their stores, vendors, products, and customers. Retail analytics allows retailers to harness all the data, discover trends, and make predictions based on the current data values.

    Types of retail analytics

    You can tap into different types of retail analytics that can help you understand the performance of your business in a better way. These include:

    In-store analytics: This refers to the methods you use to collect data from your retail store. For instance, foot traffic, dwell time, conversion rate, etc.
    Web analytics: You must also know how your website is performing. This includes tracking metrics like website traffic, conversions, and sales.
    Inventory analytics: Keeping track of your stock is also crucial in retail analytics. It helps you determine which products are doing better and which are not. The primary metrics here include sell-through rate, stock turn, etc.
    Customer analytics: It is all about knowing your customers—for example, customer retention rate, churn rate, customer loyalty, etc.

    Importance of retail analytics

    When you have all the data you need, you can use retail data analytics to improve various aspects of your business. Here are a few points highlighting why retail analytics is crucial for every retail business.

    1. Better sales and marketing tactics

    Retail analytics can help you understand your customers at a deeper level, making it easier for you to market your products to the right customers and in the right way. For instance, data analytics can help you find out what messaging attracts more customers or which social media channel has the highest engagement rates. This way, you can improve your marketing campaigns accordingly and drive sales.

    2. Improved business management

    Retail analytics plays a crucial role in enhancing day-to-day business management. It allows you to predict which products are being preferred by customers these days, and you can make decisions on stocking, tracking, and restocking the units accordingly. You can keep track of how a particular product sells and understand the current demand in the market.

    3. Enhancing customer loyalty

    Retail analytics helps you keep track of purchase history, shopping patterns, preferences, and other essential metrics associated with every customer. As retail analytics enables you to analyse customer behavior better, you can use this information to provide a better, personalised shopping experience to every buyer.

    4. Better in-store operations

    With in-store retail analytics, you can make changes around your store to attract more customers and increase your sales. For instance, you can determine which store layouts attract the customers the most or which product placement draws maximum attention. You can enhance your staffing, include appealing designs, and implement effective sales tactics to make your offline store a hit.

    Data analytics is not as easy as it sounds

    Many marketers these days struggle with data analytics. According to Marketing Revolution, 57 per cent of marketers incorrectly interpret data and likely get incorrect results. The main problem that retail marketers face these days is the lack of data which leads to:

        Uninformed decisions and underachieved goals
        Poorly performing campaigns since marketers have no idea which aspect of their campaigns to improve
        Unnecessary investment in data analytics tools and vendors

    How to utilise retail analytics for your business?

    Retail analytics can help take away the guesswork out of your business. It gives you a reality-check of how your business is performing and enables you to keep track of every aspect of your business, from sales to inventory and customer experience. Here’s how you can overcome data analytics problems and make use of retail analytics better.

    1. Integrate various marketing channels

    Keeping data from different sources distinctively makes tracking it a difficult task. The first step to retail marketing involves connecting all your marketing channels to a single data platform. Bring data from multiple marketing channels to a centralised place so that you can track data, find patterns and understand your customer journey in a better way.

    2. Real-time tracking

    Track the critical metrics every single day! Real-time tracking allows you to understand the current market situation. This way, you can take immediate action and see results. You can send the proper communication to your customers at the right time and promote your sales.

    3. Represent your data visually

    Do not just rely on spreadsheets for retail analytics. Make use of charts, graphs, and funnels to understand every little detail. Visual representation of data will also make it easier for you to identify patterns and understand the performance of your business in a better way.

    4. 360-degrees retail analytics

    This is considered one of the most important analysis tools for a retail company. It is a compact, easy-to-read, insightful report that combines all the customer metrics in one place. For instance, a 360-degree customer profile helps you understand their buying history, interests, preferences, shopping patterns, and demographics.

    5. Access analytics data from anywhere

    Data should be available to retailers at all times and across platforms. This means you should be able to access and manage your analytics dashboards at any time from your laptop, tablet, or even mobile phone. This way, you can share this data anytime, from anywhere, with your team and keep track of your retail business performance.

    Some tips for better retail analytics:

    Here are some essential tips that retailers should keep in mind to ensure a successful data analytics process for their business.

    1. Focus on key metrics

    There are different key performance indicators (KPIs) in retail marketing. But, not all of them might work for all retail businesses. So, you must find out which metrics affect your business the most and are relevant to you. Track them and make the best use of retail analytics. Some important retail marketing KPIs include:

        Customer retention
        Average transaction value
        Conversion rate
        Foot traffic and digital traffic
        Sales per square foot
        Inventory turnover
        Gross margins return on investment

    2. Be consistent

    Retail analytics should be something that you do regularly—for instance, weekly or even daily. When you track the metrics constantly, you understand the various factors bringing that change in a better way. For example, if you follow your sales weekly, you can quickly determine if your sales are dropping and immediately take action.

    3. Connect different metrics

    If you want to gain clear insights into the performance of your business, you need to relate the various metrics and analyze them. For example, foot traffic should be associated with the number of sales to determine whether people entering your store are actually buying your product.

    4. Collaborate with your team

    Clever algorithms and practical tools are essential, but so is a team that can study the results and gives its opinions. Talk to your staff and understand what they are experiencing on the frontline. Then match their experiences with the results from the numbers you have collected. Allow your team members to bring in different perspectives in analysing and interpreting data to create better marketing strategies.

    5. Use intelligent tools

    Last but not least, find a tool that can help you maximise your retail analytics efforts. Pick up a tool that can help you collect, measure and analyze data all in one place. You should be able to spot long-term trends, track every metric, integrate with other tools or applications, and access data from anywhere you want.

    Gain a competitive advantage with retail analytics

    There is no denying that data can do wonders for a retail business. But, it is essential to note that data alone cannot do everything. You need the right analytics tools to extract the correct value from the data you have collected.

    (About Author: Pranav Ahuja is the co-founder and CEO of Xeno)

  • GUEST COLUMN: Streamlining performance marketing via automation is must in post-pandemic era

    GUEST COLUMN: Streamlining performance marketing via automation is must in post-pandemic era

    Mumbai: The Covid-19 pandemic altered how we live and work in ways that will redefine our behavior even after its effects subside. As of today, businesses are still continuing to rapidly deploy digital and automation technologies which in turn are putting trends (previously progressing at a slower pace) on a fast-track mode. The marketing automation software market poised to grow at 8.55 per cent is slated to unlock a market capitalisation of $6.4 billion by 2024 (Source- Marketing Automation Market by Component-Software, Services). While over 51 per cent of businesses are already using marketing automation, over 58 per cent of companies have plans of adopting it (Source- Emailmonday).

    Across advanced economies, the dynamics of these changes, whether in business models, operations or consumer behavior will continue this year but not with the same intensity as witnessed in 2020 or 2021. Against such a scenario, a lot of businesses are stretched for margins. Therefore, the best utilisation of resources for them is to focus on growing their businesses by having their employees focus on tasks that are oriented towards value-creation. Using automation to replace all the man-hours put into repetitive manual processes will be their arsenal!

    This year marketers in India are channeling their energies towards generating distinct, value-added user experiences and making user engagement even more connected for consumers who are always online. Digital marketers in India should look to leverage automation in five important ways to make their performance marketing strategies more efficient and scalable.

    Offer testing

    Nobody wants to send traffic to an inactive offer or to spend money on users that are not going to yield any return. Offer testing can save both time and cost for advertisers and publishers. By identifying broken links, corrective measures can be taken in a timely manner to make the most of the efforts. This saves hours and hours of advertising operations along with manual back and forth communication to solve an issue, which can be identified by an automated tool within seconds. Some of the leading performance marketing management platforms offer testing as an inbuilt part, where all the actions from creating a new offer to promoting them to your partners can be validated by the system upon the user’s choice.

    Data-driven campaign optimisation

    The next key lever typically in the hands of marketers to pull when it comes to optimizing their digital marketing campaigns is audience targeting. They should focus on effectively targeting their audience based on geolocation, device, traffic type, carriers, interests, and other custom data. Performance marketing solutions with automated audience targeting can reduce the amount of manual work and cost based on rules set by the marketers. Additionally, they can set rules that determine which ads are distributed to the publisher partners to best match the audiences targeted using advanced machine learning algorithms. This means that companies can use granular targeting options manually and also use a platform’s recommendation tool, powered by machine learning, to suggest the right advert for the right user, thereby increasing the ROI for the advertiser and profitability for businesses.

    Automated insights

    While the first-generation campaign management tools only provide limited data insights and still require substantial manual work processes, the next-generation solutions are integrating more sophisticated data science tools. Digital marketers can partner with performance marketing management platforms which can lend them greater accessibility to performance metrics. This in turn will allow marketers and partners to see tracking and revenue numbers in real-time. Further, today’s data science tools can automatically discover patterns, trends, and business opportunities in the given data sets, so that marketers can further optimize their performance marketing efforts. Business users can query billions of real-time events in seconds with just drag and drop actions and marketers can identify patterns in traffic across a business with just a few clicks. Many global martech platforms are offering these directly with zero setup and no third-party fees and integration pains.

    Automatic offer approval

    Affiliate or partner marketing is unique from other digital advertising channels (like search or social media) in the way that the marketer must distribute and accept offers with the partner for referring potential customers. It’s a process that is until today manual and archaic in the digital marketing age. Fortunately, automation now enables importing, creating, and accepting offers from a vast number of integrated partners based on predefined rules, thereby saving tons of time and resources. When it comes to taking any action with automation, marketers should look at partnering with those martech platforms which allow them to configure the rule to their needs. Flexibility is a key ingredient for automation to succeed and their martech platforms should empower them to set up their processes with dos and don’ts and let the platform handle the rest while they can focus on other value-adding tasks.

    Automated client notifications

    Another big part of the partner marketing domain is keeping all partners informed of all the changes that might be happening on an offer. Communicating this information to the partner in real-time can be a bit of a challenge. With automation, all of this can be handled with a click of a button. An industry-wide innovation like ‘Smart Triggers’ helps identify your partners and the contacts, write an appropriate text for the update, and all marketers need to do is schedule it.

    Performance marketing is made even more effective by automation. To really hit business goals, it’s important to build campaigns strategically—choose the right platforms, advertising formats, and optimisation goals, focus on the right audience, and, of course, create campaigns that will resonate with the target audience. Automation is the key to scaling and achieving these goals.

    (About Author: Yogeeta Chainani co-founded Swaarm, in September 2020. As the CEO of Swaarm, Yogeeta drives product innovation and human resources along with spearheading business development in India and other global geographies for her company.)

  • GUEST COLUMN: Relevance of conversational AI in adtech sector

    GUEST COLUMN: Relevance of conversational AI in adtech sector

    Mumbai: Conversational AI, which allows contextual dialogue through advanced algorithms that enable superior, result-oriented, human-like conversations, emerged due to the shortcomings of traditional chatbots. Individuals were often fraught with the challenge of searching for a specific product or customised financial services online and being disappointed since all the results displayed were irrelevant due to certain mismatched algorithms. Likewise, a bot interaction cannot yield the desired outcome if the keywords do not match with the pre-programmed list. This can trigger the user to the extent that they may altogether discontinue the existing services or shift their business to another organization. Needless to say, bot responses can be predictive, repetitive, disengaged, impersonalised, and more often than not, far placed from the real solution.

    Owing to its advantages, adtech industry has been one of the fastest to leverage the benefits of Conversation AI since it has the potential to catapult the ecosystem to the next realm. These advertisements are the most effective ways of instilling a sense of personalisation that drives a long-lasting, meaningful connection between the brand and its target audience. Conversational advertising allows customers to exchange information with brands, providing the latter with unprecedented levels of insight into customer impressions.

    Conversational AI becoming critical

    Conversational AI experiences have been found to drive multiple minutes of engagement, increase conversion rates, and provide a transparent and opt-in way for consumers to share insight about their preferences by brands in categories as diverse as retail, automotive, financial services, and lifestyle, among others. Conversational advertising uses AI bots, to create natural, automated interactions that assist in accelerating purchase intent, brand recognition, and conversions when compared to static ads.

    The emerging AI tech enables virtual assistants to comprehend questions, deduce consumer intent, and answer appropriately. Customers are kept engaged throughout the conversation with customer-focused and relevant information. As conversational AI assistants can now respond to both text and speech commands, they are providing users with more convenient interaction possibilities.

    Conversational Advertising uses existing display and OLV advertising channels to build two-way connections between businesses and customers. When compared to modern digital advertising or one-way mass media, it’s no surprise that customers like the ability to respond. New age consumers are increasingly shifting from visiting stores and websites, reading reviews, and getting recommendations from social media influencers, to technology-guided mechanisms that provide the best fit within the least turnaround time.

    Evolution of adtech through conversational AI

    1) Sophisticated audience targeting

    Personalisation is one of the reasons why digital advertising is superior to traditional advertising. Finding the correct target demographic for an advertisement used to be like shooting in the dark. But now, owing to consumer data, Conversational AI sifts through terabytes of data in a matter of seconds and analyses it to pinpoint the target audience for a marketing campaign. These advertisements have the power to listen, understand and offer customised solutions.

    2) User engagement through personalised interactions

    By utilising data to drive customised interactions, conversational AI increases user engagement. When a consumer is indecisive about making a purchase, they are likely to go online and search for the products, leading to conversions only if they find the relevant information. In its absence, they will switch to another brand without batting an eyelid. This is where a Conversational AI can assist in converting the lead. By leveraging the customers’ data, it can create responses that improve user experience through deep engagement, thereby prompting an increase in conversion rates.

    3) Conversational AI-based intent analysis

    Understanding the target audience’s intent is crucial for marketing and advertisement. A conversational AI chatbot provides a broader perspective to the customer’s intent analysis by building a detailed consumer persona through its multichannel presence. It provides the quickest way to sift through large amounts of data and take action.

    4) Predictive analysis adaptation model

    Predictive advertising is built on predictive analytics that creates ads based on what consumers are likely to do in the future. What if businesses already knew what consumers were going to look for? This would save companies millions of dollars in advertising if they understood what to advertise for? That is why AI and predictive analytics are at the forefront of advertising technology.

    Bottom line

    Conversational AI can help with various issues that arise during a customer’s interaction with the company. By leveraging ASR to translate, NLP to interpret, and NLG for dialogue generation, ML lies at the core of creating personaliaed conversations at scale. Not only does this method generate leads and accelerate the conversion rate, but it also enables seamless integration into pre-existing CRM tools for an engaging experience. With its self-learning capabilities, conversational AI is expected to reimagine adtech and customer engagement in the future.

    (About Author: Amitt Sharma is the founder and CEO of VDO.AI)

  • GUEST COLUMN: Film and TV revolution through NFTs and metaverse

    GUEST COLUMN: Film and TV revolution through NFTs and metaverse

    Mumbai: Technology and entertainment have historically gone hand in hand. For every new technology that came about, the world of entertainment has usually been at the forefront and adapted it to its advantage. Take the example of any technology in the past, starting from VCRs to DVDs to Blu Ray and now to 3D cameras, Imax cinemas; the entertainment industry has always made the best use of it.

    Today, as we see newer forms of technologies like NFT’s, blockchain and metaverse emerge, the entertainment space is already eyeing different ways how to make the optimum use of it. Ranging from sports collectibles to music collectibles, in-game purchases in video games and NFT sales rose to more than $17 billion globally in 2021.

    Bollywood and NFTs

    The Indian entertainment sector, too, has started to explore ways in which it can include these new, pathbreaking technologies. Given the connection that Indians share with Bollywood, it is no surprise that we have seen a lot of interest when it comes to collectibles featuring celebrities. Domestic marketplaces are turning over both physical and digital assets, and the collectors who are bidding for these assets are spending big.

    In terms of revolutionising the entertainment space, NFTs have allowed studios to find another avenue of monetisation. Big Budget films that are made for hundreds of crores, now have another way of recovering their costs by selling digital assets. Additionally, studios that have a ton of memorabilia from films that are a part of our social and cultural fabric, now have the option to convert these collectibles into NFTs and add another source of revenue to their existing models. Smaller films too have an additional avenue to recover costs through selling NFTs to fans. With NFTs, even smaller films that have a cult following can reap decent amounts of revenue.

    Bollywood enters metaverse

    There are many questions about the metaverse. Can things be worth anything in a virtual place that does not even exist in reality? While that can be said for social media as well, Bollywood has literally marked its territory in the metaverse. Producer VashuBhagnani’s Pooja Entertainment recently purchased virtual land on metaverse for $5,613. The production house is calling the space Poojaverse and it plans to provide users with a movie theatre-like experience. Another example is singer Daler Mehndi who bought land-titled ‘Balle Balle Land’ for an undisclosed amount. The singer plans to open an NFT store in the space where he plans to sell both digital art and merchandise as both virtual and digital products. Reportedly, the singer will have live concerts in the virtual space and even have interactive games.

    Another exercise of the entertainment industry’s tryst with metaverse is the ALTBalaji’s reality show titled “Lock Upp.” Even though it is using the metaverse as a way of marketing rather than being an actual metaverse based on a blockchain, it does have features where viewers can experience the unique world of the show, complete tasks, and win real money. With viewers always looking for a personal connection with celebrities, connecting with their favorite actors or artists in the metaverse becomes something very special for them.

    While NFTs are faring much better than the metaverse space, as technology evolves, the entertainment sector, like always, will not fail to take advantage of this unique opportunity and cash in on this revolution.

    (About Author: Abhayanand Singh is the Vistas Media Capital and Fantico group CEO and co-founder)

  • GUEST COLUMN: How will metaverse redefine the advertising industry?

    GUEST COLUMN: How will metaverse redefine the advertising industry?

    Mumbai: The recent advent of the metaverse—a continuous and virtual 3D world where users may interact with one another, hold meetings, and even shop for items—has been a popular topic of discussion in recent months. The opportunity for advertisers to target metaverse users with branded material and other sales strategies is evident.

    When it comes to advertising in the metaverse, immersion will be the key selling point. This implies that marketers will not only be able to provide better, broader, and more sophisticated branded experiences, but they will also be able to do it without appearing intrusive because customers will already be immersed in a virtual environment.

    But how will that manifest itself on a practical level?

    Brands should see the metaverse first and mainly as a new Advertising channel. The metaverse, like any other channel, will provide advertiser’s with unique chances that will lend themselves nicely to richer, more immersive narrative experiences. Advertisements in the metaverse have already taken on some common forms, such as product placement.

    Here are some instances of how brands may utilise the metaverse to advertise themselves:

    Characters and virtual real estate

    It’s understandable to wonder if businesses may own virtual real estate and have branded characters in the metaverse. This is how it might work: World of Virtual Reality, a company can purchase VR world for its specialty and incorporate a storefront / experience center for consumers to visit and shop, as well as an exercise space where people can compare items side by side. Many businesses have built branded characters and venues, as well as reproduced their services, within the virtual world. Interestingly, advertising has blended in seamlessly with surroundings.

    Avatars in metaverse

    When you first started using the internet, you probably came across avatars. They are virtual representations of our physical identities and may provide a great chance for advertising industry to establish its presence in the metaverse. Avatars are an essential component of the metaverse, and they would be crucial in a variety of metaverse advertising use cases. Once you’re able to totally immerse yourself in a world using your holographic glasses, your avatar will be the first ‘connection’ you’ll be able to wear and feel. Branded avatars, one of the most engaging and participatory methods to advertise a business, would play a significant role in upgrading your avatar’s appearance. In the future, businesses may give their new collections to customers virtually before they are released. It is easy to see the dual benefit of having avatars as tools for allowing customers to evaluate things.

    Massive Interactive Live Events (MILE)

    Massive Interactive Live Events, or MILEs, employ a single simulation to bring together a large number of participants on a single platform. Events are the next big thing that will provide chances for marketing in the metaverse. The power of live events is already being used by numerous businesses, but it has the potential to be taken to a whole new level in the metaverse. Events may be used to build interest in a product, market new products or services, and teach employees. Advertisers seeking to attract the attention of a large audience might utilise events to generate interest in new items that will be offered at a later date.

    Diversity and inclusion

    Finally, the most essential element influencing chances for metaverse advertising examples would be inclusion and diversity. These characteristics are critical to metaverse adoption since they not only provide a chance to get more users into the systems but also allow users to have a better understanding of who they are and how they interact with other users. As part of a wider campaign to promote the benefits of the metaverse among current users, these features must be reinforced through advertising possibilities. The metaverse, on the other hand, may enable companies to break through such barriers by allowing customers to construct their own experiences. Brands may seamlessly enter consumers’ metaverse experiences, making them feel connected.

    In the end, the metaverse provides a unique marketing platform. If the advertising industry can create an atmosphere in which people can engage with brands it will make their communications more real. This may lead to increased retail and other business development, as well as more interactions with customers when they are on-site. Brands may reach a worldwide audience for advertising objectives by using SL avatars and user-generated content. While the structure of SL and OS projects may not be as prominent in mainstream advertising as video or social networks, the metaverse is a perfect place for the advertising industry to experiment with new advertising strategies and concepts.
    However, every new marketing channel or technology has its own set of obstacles. So one should proceed with extreme caution when it comes to metaverse advertising. 

    (About Author: Arun Fernandes is the founder and CEO of Hotstuff Medialabs)

  • GUEST COLUMN: Five ways how a digital advertising agency can help grow your business

    GUEST COLUMN: Five ways how a digital advertising agency can help grow your business

    Mumbai: Amid the accelerating digitisation due to the pandemic, businesses are exploring the digital world. Companies are increasingly investing in digital strategies to stay relevant amid the competition. Although there is no dearth of online resources to help grow your digital presence, companies often lack the in-house expertise and resources to implement a robust digital advertising strategy. The digital landscape for a company can’t be short-term, or with temporary goals. Digital presence needs a robust thought process that should be backed by the business processes of the company. Digital advertising agencies play an instrumental role in assist in creating effective roadmaps. Performance-backed campaigns, and effectively utilise existing time and resources to maximise return on investment in marketing campaigns. 

    Here are five ways a digital advertising agency can help grow a business

    Ideate and develop a 360-degree digital roadmap: Helmed by seasoned marketers, digital advertising agencies help you ideate and plan a digital strategy to achieve your business goals. The brand and the agency work collaboratively to devise a plan with the right milestones for achieving marketing goals. These strategies may be short-term or long-term, depending upon the objective. The digital strategy is further broken down into actionable KPIs to be achieved within a predefined timeline.

    Craft fresh and engaging content: Content is the heart of digital advertising. Fresh and compelling content helps achieve your desired action- generate leads, boost sales, acquire new customers, etc., for your brand. Content is also the key to building long-term relationships with customers. Agency professionals are thoroughly abreast of the latest content marketing trends, which gives them an obvious advantage in content development and curation. They are experts in planning content according to the channel requirements and campaign goals while reinforcing the key messaging of the brand.

    Grow online presence: Like Taj Mahal wasn’t built in a day, the digital presence of a brand or company can’t be created overnight. A sturdy online presence is vital to enable users to find you easily. A combination of SEO, SEM and social media marketing strategies helps boost your digital presence and build a strong recall about your brand. With the availability of an experienced team with specialized people in a particular area of digital strategy, a digital agency is an asset to your business.

    Monitor campaign analytics: Big data is playing a pervasive role in measuring campaign outcomes against the objectives set during the planning stage. It allows the real-time modification of the running campaign to achieve desired results. If the campaign has already concluded, its insights serve as learning to plan the upcoming campaigns better and execute them well. Agencies have the latest tools and technologies at their disposal that automate day-today-operations, streamline campaign and account management, and draw actionable insights. This makes agencies a one-stop solution for tasks such as social listening, competitive benchmarking, keyword research, etc.

    Manage your marketing budget effectively: Digital agencies help develop a realistic budgeting plan with a prudent allocation among various channels such as SEO, social media, SEM. This minimizes the wastage of time and resources while helping you fast-track your marketing strategy.

    Today, an agency is an extension of the brand. Outsourcing digital marketing to the right agency can open a plethora of growth opportunities, facilitate knowledge-sharing and technical know-how and strengthen ideation for your brand. With the help of suitable tools, knowledge and resources, a digital agency can help propel your business onto a higher growth trajectory. Choose an agency partner who is equipped to align with your organisational goals the challenge for companies today is to access the digital partner with a balanced outlook with all the above-mentioned points. 

    (About Author: Khushboo Sharma is the founder of Zero Gravity Communications)

  • GUEST COLUMN: How talent agencies bridge gaps between brands and celebrities

    GUEST COLUMN: How talent agencies bridge gaps between brands and celebrities

    Mumbai: Celebrity endorsements saw a 44 per cent rise in 2021 as opposed to 2020, according to the data released by AdEx India, a division of TAM Media Research. As per the report, 27 per cent of the overall ad volume share on TV were celebrity endorsements last year while the remaining 73 per cent were non-celebrities ads. Of this, film stars together added more than 80 per cent share of advertising during 2021 followed by sports persons and TV stars that added 13 per cent and three per cent share respectively.

    Balancing the interests of a brand and a celebrity can be challenging to such a large extent that sometimes a collaboration that may on paper look most organic would not necessarily materialise. This is where the expertise of the agencies comes into play to bridge the gap between the brand and the celebrity.  Whilst there is no right answer to this or not even a straight answer to this question, the right approach is to break down the questions: what is the brand looking for, and which celebrity is currently best aligned with this ideology? In simple words how do they both benefit from this association?

    There are various factors to consider in a proposition like this that lead to a successful collaboration ranging from price points to organic compatibility to rebranding and both the brand and the celebrity need to be dealt with sensitively on each point.

    The biggest advantage today is that brands have understood that there is no standardised price point in today’s dynamic entertainment landscape. Each deal has different deliverables and hence standard prices will never work. The biggest reason why standard prices will not work is the ever-changing brand equity of an artist. The artist should have the liberty to change their price points as and when they want. And honestly, brands understand this aspect as for them also it’s all about ROI – so they know before investing what is the worth of the celebrity they are signing.

    Endorsements are also becoming extremely dynamic, it is not only limited to ambassadors or large advertising campaigns but are changing their landscape with the influx of time spend on social media. Ecom-media/ent/social media as a category saw the maximum celebrity from different profession endorsed brands under it. The category ran ads featuring over 44 celebrities. This was followed by ecom-gaming with 40 celebrities. Edible oil and building materials/systems category tied at the third place with 25 celebrities while aerated soft drink claimed the fifth spot with 20 celebrities under its belt as per the TAM report.

    The process will always remain the same, the core concept behind any deal will usually never differ. The only difference would be turnaround times between the ranges of celebrities when we close our campaigns and the price points that would depend on the brand equity that they bring to the table; the higher the brand equity of the celebrity, the higher the price point. This is in no way a reflection of their importance for the deal or the brand but simply to find the perfect fit for the brief. They all have a role to play – it’s just the reach and popularity that play a huge role in determining prices.

    Having said this, every endorsement deal starts with the basics, there is no set formula or standard brief to attach the right celebrity to the brand and its message and ethos. Transparency on all fronts is key in making sure that neither the brand nor the celebrity gets the shorter end of the stick, be it from what each party needs and wants and trying not to compromise but understanding the brief so well that everyone wins. An honest conversation with both parties will always get the job done. 

    (About Author: Sonya V Kapoor and Amrita Mendonza are M5 Entertainment founders)

  • GUEST COLUMN: Influencer marketing in ‘new normal’ digital domain

    GUEST COLUMN: Influencer marketing in ‘new normal’ digital domain

    Mumbai: Influencer marketing (IM) has made a big mark in the social media space. It has become a serious business and reached the multi-billion-dollar mark like any other industry and is estimated to surpass $37 billion by 2027, according to Statista report.

    IM platforms track these numbers with the help of analytical and influencer relationship management tools.

    Influencer marketing on the rise

    At the nascent stage about a decade ago, influencer marketing was all about celebrity names. Fast forward to today, influencers are not limited to only celebrities; they have become brands themselves with their appealing content. The authenticity and uniqueness of the content make influencers stand out among the crowd. The influencer marketing space has become competitive like never before, with brands’ adopting IM as an integral part of their digital marketing strategies.

    Brands calculated metrics like Return on Investment (ROI) in traditional marketing. When it comes to influencer marketing, the most effective way is to understand the influencer’s role on the conversion path, which goes way beyond the number of ‘Likes’ and ‘Shares.’

    Introducers introduce the brand in the consumers’ mind space

    Contributors ensure to create an impressive brand recall and are at the top-of-the consumer’s mind while they contemplate a purchase decision. Closers are the real deal closers and persuaders who drive the purchase decision.

    Influencers are often introducers and contributors, so evaluating their contribution is critical during the complete attribution plan. They are media partners who help the brand spread the message aloud.

    Creativity and social media are becoming one collaboration

    Creativity is prized above all, and influencers combining their creativity with social media reach is an incredible amalgamation. Collaborating with an influencer who is a celebrity with a massive following to create brand awareness or a micro-influencer targeting a specific audience depends on the brand’s ultimate goal.

    The lifestyle and fashion industry are at the forefront leveraging the benefits of influencer marketing. MAC Cosmetics India’s makeup tutorials, live sessions, and stories on social media platforms were instant hits among millennials.

    Daniel Wellington, the luxury watch brand, roped in influencers from all tiers to spread its brand awareness. The brand has successfully implemented this strategy for new product launches and upcoming sale seasons.

    The creative collaborations have helped brands monetise their marketing strategies and are gaining momentum in other sectors as well.

    Meta influencer – the new age influencers

    Creativity is set to reach another level with meta influencers in action. There were over 150 virtual influencers identified in 2021. The war between real and virtual influencers will be a tough one to watch out for in the future.

    Meta influencers have the might to identify the latest trends and share quantifiable results with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques. Every part of the world is creating its meta influencers army.

    The first Indian meta influencer – ‘Kyra’ engages customers with her virtual avatar. She is an intelligent meta influencer who can create and publish her content. Kyra can be integrated with metaverses, music videos, 3D films, and so on.

    The real influencers are giving a tough fight with their digital doubles – a replica of real influencers to promote specific events and spur the excitement level. Amazon sponsored Justin Bieber’s virtual avatar to release a music album in November 2020.

    With the meta fever catching up, it will be fun to watch bespoke content in the metaverse.

    Inclusive marketing strategy

    An inclusive marketing strategy can create a 360-degree impact. Ethically it helps to imbibe inclusivity in the brands’ culture as the new normal, and strategically, it builds sustainable long-term growth. Brands must choose influencers that relate to the audience and a marketing plan reflecting their ideology. Influencer integration for inclusive marketing is the road ahead, whether in the real or the metaverse world.

    (About Author: Shuchi Sethi is an influencer marketing expert with over six years of experience in influencer marketing. She currently leads Anymind Group’s AnyTag’s influencer programme in India)