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Tag: Online Marketing

  • Guest article: What to know about the modern marketing playbook in the era of web 3.0 and AI

    Guest article: What to know about the modern marketing playbook in the era of web 3.0 and AI

    Mumbai: For quite a while now, two terms have been making very speedy rounds in marketing circles-web3.0 and artificial intelligence. This new wave of the internet is set to disrupt the way marketing is done globally, commanding quick and agile systems. The reason: this is where the consumers of the future are. As marketing tactics change along with the advent of the digital revolution, new standards will be established at the same time, drastically altering modern marketing.

    What is web 3.0, and what are the new trends it brings to the table

    The third generation of the internet, or web 3.0, integrates data in a decentralised manner to provide a quicker and more individualised user experience. Constructed with the help of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the semantic web, it uses the blockchain security system to improve privacy and provide an immersive experience with a marketing opportunity. So, businesses stand to benefit from an online presence here, and marketers will get a stronger opportunity to connect with their target customers.

    Web 3.0’s degree of functionality has been attained in the previous two web generations. Its technical ancestor, known as web 1.0, was born in 1989 and reached its prime in the 1990s and early 2000s. Then came web 2.0, which reached its maturity in the middle of the 2000s and introduced the novelty of collaborating and communicating online.

    A rich and interactive marketing experience

    A marketing challenge today is delivering a hyper-personalised experience at a time when users are expected to have more control over their data. And it indicates that reaching out to both present and future consumers will soon become more difficult. Users now create information on the internet as well as consume it, which is helpful for marketing. Here is where web 3.0 components such as AI help make sense of the massive creator data.

    Web 3.0 marketing uses the rapidly changing internet to improve results. For instance, marketers can examine customer chats using natural language processing technologies. AI has also been utilised to further personalisation, particularly in the areas of online content rendering and presentation, the delivery of e-commerce goods, and automated customer assistance. A greater symbiotic link between humans and machines will lead to more web 3.0 features having a significant impact on marketing. Besides this, the other brilliant arms of web 3.0 are NFTs and the metaverse, which is an all-consuming version of the internet that uses tools like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to work, play, and amuse others in a 3D environment.

    How to market effectively on Web 3.0

    Any kind of creative work can be represented by NFTs, giving advertisers the opportunity to reach consumers with a range of interests. They can be implemented into customer loyalty programmes where participants are given the chance to acquire exclusive products. This is being done to perfection by brands like Taco Bell, Macy’s, and Budweiser.

    Immersive surroundings, virtual user identities, and a working virtual economy are all distinctive aspects of the Metaverse. Its objective is to mirror physical environments and lives in digital form, thus enhancing human potential. The metaverse offers marketers the chance to connect with consumers in a brand-new setting where they are fully engaged. Businesses will have the ability to increase their reputation by highlighting the assured security of blockchain transactions.

    Web 3.0/AR & VR are being touted as game-changers in modern marketing. Given its immersive and ‘phygital’ nature, interoperability, and collaboration capabilities, however, an ongoing commitment to the platform is key. Many web 3.0 principles are still up for dispute.

    Web 3.0 is still being defined as a whole since there isn’t a single, agreed definition of what it exactly is. In other words, we are creating the aircraft while we fly. Despite this, there is no denying that web 3.0 is changing the way that the modern corporation interacts with its clients. In addition to the numerous potential advantages for early adopters, marketers should be actively involved in the process of establishing this next phase of the internet because they have a duty to future generations. Numerous companies have begun experimenting in this realm, including brands like Airtel, MakeMyTrip, Amazon and Swiggy.

    In one classic example Alpenliebe brand house which comprises candies, pop & Eclair collaborated with Nickelodeon’s annual awards property – Kid’s Choice Awards which screened in the metaverse. Hosted at Decentraland which is one of the biggest metaverse platforms globally, the brand organized a quirky entry for its participants where they were asked to form their own ‘’Avatars’’ upon registrations. A slime pool, a blimp pool, slime fountains & fun slides also appealed to the kids. The metaverse event was mobile friendly which delivered an immersive user experience and created good brand value.

    Again, for companies like Starbucks, technology need not alienate us. To quote Tata Starbucks director of marketing, category, loyalty and digital Deepa Krishnan, who is also a jury member at MMA India Smarties 2022, the future will be all about marrying technology with purpose, experiences, and value by getting to know consumers, their interests, and preferences and making their lives simpler through deep analytics, harnessing multi-point data and insights.

    Five years ago, marketers were beginning to shift more spends online through advertising and digitisation, notes Krishnan, adding that the pandemic hastened that significantly. “The future will be about bringing the offline experience online. It is going to be about humanising the digital. People realise and appreciate the power of human connections and are increasingly craving community-driven engagements. How a brand connects with its consumers is still very much significant and will always remain paramount,” she adds.

    Revolutionising the marketing and advertising industry

    The future customer won’t be susceptible to today’s issues, such as obtrusive marketing and inadequate data protection, thanks to a solid foundation. But for businesses looking for success in the new era of the internet, AI and the metaverse-based research technology will not only introduce them to the developing web 3.0 marketing but will also give them access to the consumer and market intelligence necessary to grow a company.

    The author of this article is MMA India country head Moneka Khurana.

  • GUEST ARTICLE: How PR is evolving to go beyond local geographies and meet the global needs of fast-growing local brands?

    GUEST ARTICLE: How PR is evolving to go beyond local geographies and meet the global needs of fast-growing local brands?

    Mumbai: Local brands have evolved rapidly in the recent decades because of technological advancements and changes in business practices. The emergence of numerous technologies, most notably the Internet, may be monitored and linked to the growth of local brands. New channels and different working techniques were introduced by technology, resulting in a shift in profession and practice that could not have been expected when they were first introduced. Local brands are enhancing their online presence among a certain target audience and may communicate the appropriate message at the right time, improving brand reputation and supporting local brands in becoming global brands. A sound marketing plan is critical to the success of local brands and may help them generate consistent profits.

    With PR local brands can communicate with a wide range of people and are not restricted to the geographical borders of their markets, this also implies that companies may conduct business and that their reach has grown global. With such rise and development in technologies, local brands can expand them quicker, reaching the maximum number of audience and connecting brands with different markets throughout the globe. As technology develops, it will emerge with new strategies for brands, which will be supporting the local brands in enhancing the brand awareness and brand position in the global market. Here are the some of the ways in which PR helps the local brands to grow-faster and how it is going beyond local geographics and meeting the global needs:

    Digital PR

    Digital PR helps local brands to adapt and build their online presence, because brands are wherever people are. It enables local brands to have direct and two-way communications that are not constrained by place or time. Digital PR overcomes digital obstacles by utilising the digital environment to the brand’s benefit. It builds solid and long-term relationships with the target audience by disseminating information more quickly and efficiently. positively affects brand reputation and aids in brand awareness.

    Building local narrative with global perspective

    PR has perfected interacting with targeted audiences by providing customised material that is relevant to the audience and news that is of interest to them. It is assisting in the creation of a story for local businesses, and via that narrative, local brands are gaining a global perspective. It is now simpler for brands to establish a perspective and engage with their desired audience.

    Creating larger categories for local brands

    With the increased usage of social media, viewers are far more powerful than they were previously. PR helps local brands in creating wider categories and spreading knowledge about them; it also creates a narrative that is controlled by the brands via the use of various instruments. With so much competition in every sector, public relations assist businesses by utilising their USP and categorising them for increased brand recognition among targeted customers.

    Facilitated local and International collaboration

    The purpose of public relations is to preserve brand image while also representing the fundamental values and offers of the company. It is difficult to connect with a worldwide audience. PR may assist local brands in using sponsored partnerships with global influencers to generate unique engagement programmes and enhance brand recognition for local brands. These may be strategically mapped across channels, from social media and blogger partnerships to on-ground activations at modern trade establishments or leisure/social events, where the local brand can effortlessly connect with its audience and by this local brand can raise funds.

    Local brands can now contact the correct audience more efficiently and with more success. Local brands thrive because they can connect with customers and understand their requirements, while still offering products and services at reasonable pricing. In today’s world, social media applications like Instagram and Facebook make it simple to establish a local brand. The idea that individuals want to tell their stories and those businesses need to develop and manage their image and communication remains consistent, but there has been a shift in how, what, and where tales are shared because of PR.

    The author is Scenic Communications co-founder Anindita Gupta. 

  • GUEST COLUMN: How Micro-Influencers become creators for brands

    GUEST COLUMN: How Micro-Influencers become creators for brands

    Mumbai: Until recently, the concept of brand endorsements and the way brands reach their target audience has recreated the social media landscape. A newer concept of influencer marketing has emerged in the era of the creator economy. Considering the explosion of social media and creator tools in the market, the creator economy has grown from $1.7 billion in 2016 to $6.5 billion in 2019 further crossing $9.7 billion in 2020.

    Given the accelerated transformation of the advertising economy to the creator economy, it has become necessary for brands to develop relationships with influential personalities and promote their products and ideas. Creator economy is centered on creators becoming influencers, someone with 10,000 to 1 million followers or micro-influencers with 500 to 10,000 followers. Brands partner with influencers on a smaller scale to generate authenticity in brand promotion instead of focusing on sponsored ads or paying hefty to branded influencers for their stardom.

    Influencers vs Micro-influencers

    Influencer marketing is at its peak. It has gone beyond the brands partnering with people with thousands and millions of followers and promoting their product to their audience. Having said that customers are more likely to purchase from a brand they can connect with. That’s where influencer marketing comes into the picture as an effective tool for word-of-mouth marketing and increasing social media authenticity. Hence, brands pay macro influencers to create and publish content based on their products or sponsor their events, as large-scale outreach programs.

    Micro-influencers, on the contrary, have fewer followers and are extremely valuable for brands looking to increase their awareness within a particular niche. With the surge in the popularity of micro-influencers, younger generations are coming forward with their charismatic appeal and niche expertise, leading the brands to capitalize on the youth marketing techniques. For instance, go-to Gen Z fashion brand – Urbanic created a 150+ community of best-dressed campus students aka creators, who created some fabulous content and engaged in a variety of brand collaborations, drove meet & greets to drive brand sales, digital visibility and grow community size.

    Collaborating with the right influencers

    Influencers are appreciated for their real content. They are considered to be more authentic and community oriented than a brand or a celebrity promoting a product. Known for being more engaging with the TG, the influencers typically get more time to connect with their follower base. This helps in creating a loyal audience for the brand. Instead of having followers with varied interests, demographics or geographics, these influencers tend to be more specialized and niche specific.

    In the fast-paced creator economy, influencer marketing offers several benefits to brands. As social media algorithms continue to change, brands struggle to reach their audience in broader terms. According to the facts – influencers with more than 5,000 followers are usually responsible for 70 per cent of all reach in the influencer landscape. Hence, a smaller follower base of micro-influencers can actually create engagement for the brand by making the content appear right in front of the eyes of the target audience. Furthermore, it becomes more cost-effective to collaborate with micro-influencers as brands can share free product samples or coupons with micro-influencers.

    Strong community building

    Social media connects people on a global level. However, a community is built with like-minded people who have common ideas and thoughts to share. Though micro-influencers do not have instant name recognition, their narrower reach and specific content build a strong community of followers for brand endorsements. Even with a smaller reach, micro-influencers have higher credibility than some high-profile endorsements. This helps brands to create connections with the targeted audience with local interests that can have a huge impact on the brand’s marketing front.

    Brands experiencing growth

    Onboarding the right influencers and empowering them to create real content is always followed by long-term relationships that further depend on the success metrics of the campaign. However, brands still find it challenging to evaluate the results of a micro-influencer marketing campaign. Differentiating between real influencers and people who buy inorganic followers that can offer no guarantee of engagement or success remains the biggest concern of the brands. Those looking to experience growth and engagement need to explore different marketing perspectives and tools such as followers, profiles, quality of comments, profile visits and even previous experience of influencers as brand endorsers to evaluate results. They can prove to be important numbers to quantify success metrics and can work as great ROI predictors for brands as well as micro-influencers.

    The author is Sociowash co-founder Pranav Agarwal

  • 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. 

  • Last Minute Keys teams up with RippleDME for Online Marketing

    Last Minute Keys teams up with RippleDME for Online Marketing

    NEW DELHI. Mobile-based marketplace solution that enables hotel bookings, Last Minute Keys has teamed up with RippleDME for online marketing.

    Last Minute Keys enables hotels to sell off their unsold inventory and helps customers to get quality hotels at rates and deals that are unmatched in the hotel industry.

    Currently LMK is tied up 400 hotels in 12 cities (Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Jaipur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Cochin & Goa) and plans to expand to 1000 hotels in over 25 cities in a short span of time.

    LMK hopes to launch a Web &IOS version soon.

    RippleDME MD Vikalp Kumar says, “We are delighted to have Last Minute Keys with us, as we will work towards making it a making it a go to App for Last minute hotel booking leveraging social media. Our digital insights show the power of digital on Hotel Booking and we intend on leveraging the same to grow the brand further.”

    RippleDME CEO Gaurav Sharma says, “Our goal is to create awareness about the ease LMK adds to a last minute traveler’s life through storytelling and being there for them. Given this, #MrMusafir fits in perfectly, driving reliability amongst our users who have grown in the digital era and are responsible for things beyond themselves now. For them LMK is a great app to help solve their last minute travel needs.”

    LMK CEO Manoj Gursahani says “Our objective behind launching Last Minute Keys was to ensure that the average man get last minute deals on hotels, at the best price. Meanwhile, making sure that even hotels get a platform to sell their unsold inventories.”

    Speaking on the marketing strategy, Gursahani added, “LMK will be marketing through social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter.”

  • Last Minute Keys teams up with RippleDME for Online Marketing

    Last Minute Keys teams up with RippleDME for Online Marketing

    NEW DELHI. Mobile-based marketplace solution that enables hotel bookings, Last Minute Keys has teamed up with RippleDME for online marketing.

    Last Minute Keys enables hotels to sell off their unsold inventory and helps customers to get quality hotels at rates and deals that are unmatched in the hotel industry.

    Currently LMK is tied up 400 hotels in 12 cities (Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Jaipur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Cochin & Goa) and plans to expand to 1000 hotels in over 25 cities in a short span of time.

    LMK hopes to launch a Web &IOS version soon.

    RippleDME MD Vikalp Kumar says, “We are delighted to have Last Minute Keys with us, as we will work towards making it a making it a go to App for Last minute hotel booking leveraging social media. Our digital insights show the power of digital on Hotel Booking and we intend on leveraging the same to grow the brand further.”

    RippleDME CEO Gaurav Sharma says, “Our goal is to create awareness about the ease LMK adds to a last minute traveler’s life through storytelling and being there for them. Given this, #MrMusafir fits in perfectly, driving reliability amongst our users who have grown in the digital era and are responsible for things beyond themselves now. For them LMK is a great app to help solve their last minute travel needs.”

    LMK CEO Manoj Gursahani says “Our objective behind launching Last Minute Keys was to ensure that the average man get last minute deals on hotels, at the best price. Meanwhile, making sure that even hotels get a platform to sell their unsold inventories.”

    Speaking on the marketing strategy, Gursahani added, “LMK will be marketing through social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter.”