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Influencer Marketing 2.0

#ThinkDigital – Influencer Marketing 2.0

“Hola~~ A few weeks back our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi tweeted a picture worth more than 100 million followers. Everyone who was is the picture had a hefty population of followers on almost all social platforms. The picture floated on all platforms for a good week and received a good response from everywhere. To a marketer like me, it was a perfect example of good influencer marketing.
Let’s take a step back as I welcome you to the world of influencer marketing 2.0. In many types of research conducted by well-known institutes across the world, it is observed that people are more willing to try a product suggested by the people they follow. However, it is not new as this was the reason why we had celebrities endorsing the products in TV commercials or print/banner advertisements. The difference is the personalization of the advertisements now. Let me explain to you that in some deeper details.”

As a general public, we use social media platforms to express personal views, share our opinions, and to let others know about what are we in to. We also follow the people who we like or whose opinions, style, thinking we like. Eventually, these people ( the one we follow) become influencers to us. As we are more interested in finding out what they are doing, what’s new in their profile, what are they sharing and hence it creates a great opportunity for brands to engage with the audience at some personal level. Campaigns have shown the improved result, sometimes up to 30% more engagement when using influencers with the right digital mix.

There are also some interesting campaigns, for example, run by brands like Walmart who is trying to Integrate Influencers content on the brand/product review and pages. The real results of such experiments are yet to be observed however this clearly indicates a shift in the mindset to include the influencers in the media and the medium strategy. Walmart is also experimenting with brands who are selling on Walmart.com to have the buy buttons from Walmart.com embedded into influencer blogs and channels.

Now marketers also need to understand one thing clearly that who are these influencers and who should be in their target list because finding correct and authentic influencers is equally important as finding right publisher to run your ad campaigns. Until last few years, influencer discovery was done manually (and I mean it) as the digital marketers had to manually find their profiles on social media platforms and then reaching out to them with campaign brief, negotiating and executions were the other side of the pains.

Now Artificial Intelligence algorithms in conjunction with Big Data is on pace to solve the neck cracking influencer discovery. I call it Influencer Marketing 2.0. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram allows fetching a lot of public data via APIs for a free or nominal cost and technology companies are now using this data to understand the Influencer profile, categories, engagement score, and total outreach.

Artificial Intelligence involvement in media planning is yet to take the full speed however media discovery and analysis is something that is on a set path for AI to tap in. As per Adext blog a few years ago, marketers were somewhat reluctant to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) in their digital marketing strategies. But last year they have gained a lot more confidence in using AI since its ambiguity has been reduced with respect to the results it can provide. These intelligent tools keep evolving more and more and are even reaching a point at which they are able to surpass humans in certain aspects like we are about to see.
Growing Influencer marketing expertise is critical for the business as it looks to break with some of the direct-to-consumer marketing tropes that can no longer be relied on their own. AI has changed the way how the world is being perceived now and its applications to the marketing ecosystem will continue to make marketers life efficient.
Advertising is changing as digital ecosystem influences the thinking of a consumer and its lifestyle. In my column, “#ThinkDigital” I explore the intersection of the latest digital-tech, advertising and everything around. Every fortnight I will be sharing insights on the latest digital trends, innovative campaigns, and conversations from the Innovation and data-driven digital leaders across the planet.
Internationally acclaimed advertising and analytics enthusiast, data-driven digital strategist, Abhinav has worked across countries with data and analytics-driven companies such as SAP, Dell, Citrix and led consumer behavior focused data and marketing teams of JetBlue, PlaceIQ, OnDeck. Currently, he is Managing Director and Cofounder of ATechnos (www.atechnos.com), a 2012 established innovative digital consulting think-tank based out of Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Bangalore.
Follow Abhinav on twitter @aj_atechnos or LinkedIn – www.atechnos.com/aj
© AbhinavJain. No part of this article can be used without explicit permission. All rights reserved.

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Digital, Discounts and Drama – Marketing for the 3D-Generation

#ThinkDigital – Digital, Discounts and Drama – Marketing for the 3D-Generation

Flipkart Big Billion Days Sale, Amazon Great Indian Shopping Festival, Zomato No Cooking January are some of the best examples of the campaigns that are run to target the new generation of India – the 3D Generation. A generation that believes in shopping digitally, likes to have massive unrealistic discounts and consumes a lot of dramatic content from all possible sources.
Let’s unfold the 3D Generation – Over the last five years, India has seen a huge spike in internet and smartphone usage. Interestingly 46% of urban and 57% of rural internet users are under the age of 25. This is number is expected to grow at the average yearly rate of 15%. These young age users are avid content consumers and online shoppers. As per statistics, 50% (approx. 200 mn people) of India’s smartphone population has shopped online at least once and this number is expected to grow faster than ever before.

As per the below chart from smartinsights.com, convenience and price comparison are the main drivers for Online Shopping. The chart below also illustrates the importance of free shipping offers. The report also considers variation in perception by country and in different generation groups from Baby Boomers to Gen X and Millennials.

Indian shoppers are very very price sensitive and hence it is also very crucial for online shopping platforms to keep them engaged and enrich this engagement in such a way that it converts to loyalty. Discounts, Cashback, Every Season sale and Exclusive offers are the key ingredients of this process. As much as e-tailers do this to keep their consumers engaged, these kinds of sales are also turning users to discount addicts or in other words Sale-oholics.
“Since the last 3 years, I have been actively and primarily buying good online. I have accounts on almost every e-commerce website and I look for as much as discounts on all possible websites before buying it. Yeh, it sometimes takes some time however I feel satisfied and happy. Discounts make me happy” – Vikas, Sr Developer at ATechnos told me when I saw his desk full of online shopping boxes and enquired about his online buying habits. In my opinion, people like Vikas represents the 3D generation of India. And this generation is growing faster than the population of India.
Brands require a different approach to engage with this generation. They are always online, always in the mood of shopping and always ready to consume the relevant content. One more thing that we noticed about them is the willingness to give open feedback about their experience with the product they purchase. Here are the three things that brands can do to differentiate themselves from their competitors –
1. Produce ad-free content with super relative product placements. Yes, AD-Free. Do you like ads? No Right. No One does. So why do we make it annoying for our consumers to watch the content they like. Instead, the bigger opportunity for brands is to optimize product placements. OLA, Airtel, Coke many brands have done it successfully and created better impressions.

2. Use analytics and artificial intelligence to understand consumer habits. Some time ago Amazon filed a patent that could help them in leveraging the consumer buying habits in deriving the purchase pattern for consumers. They were intended to use this method for advance shipping the products in nearby warehouses so that when a consumer buys, it can be delivered quickly. What data do you have about your consumers? Use it not just to solve the current problems but also optimize the consumer experience.

3. Encourage consumers to give feedback. Now If I have to choose one out of the three points I mentioned, this would be the one I would choose. The reason is very simple, no one can give better feedback to you about your products or services than your consumers, and brands must encourage it. Amazon reportedly started a new ad product on their websites that will allow brands to get feedback from the purchasers directly. Amazon also launched a reward program called Amazon Moments last week that will allow other brands to reward their consumers on Amazon. Gratification is a great way to reward consumers for their honest feedback.

Advertising is changing as digital ecosystem influences the thinking of a consumer and its lifestyle. In my column, “#ThinkDigital” | explore the intersection of the latest digital-tech, advertising and everything around. Every fortnight I will be sharing insights on the latest digital trends, innovative campaigns, and conversations from the Innovation and data-driven digital leaders across the planet.

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The Fantasy Marketing

#ThinkDigital ? The Fantasy Marketing

IPL is something that needs no introduction in India and it is here to stay. Well-known brands like Vivo, Coke etc. are spending higher amounts than ever on the IPL that kicked-off its 12th season recently. What makes IPL different from any other game series is the intense involvement of team franchise owners, players, as well as the audience in a short duration game in comparison to one day cricket. So far brands have been pouring money to take the sponsorships and various placements to make themselves visible on this high-quality dramatic pitch when hundreds of millions of people are watching on every possible screen.

On the other side, Fantasy gaming is a relatively new thing for India as it picked up especially in the last 4 years. Most of the people in my generation may not know that when they were in schools and early collages ESPN has brought an interesting show called SUPER SELECTOR. Contestants could win the points based on performances of the players selected by them for the leagues. We can call it the start of fantasy gaming in India.

One of the key reasons for fantasy games success in India is that it is easy to play by just selecting some key players for your team (let us call it a skill) and as they perform in the real match you will get rewards. And who doesnt love instant gratification?
Nowadays, fantasy gaming has spread beyond cricket and has stood tall in games like Kabbadi etc. However, it is needless to say that the biggest chunk of fantasy gaming fans in India still follows cricket. And Hence biggest fantasy gaming platform of India “Dream 11”, that has reportedly said to have 50 Million+ users have chosen Mr. Mahendra Singh Dhoni to be their brand ambassador.
Interestingly another breed of fantasy gaming platform is also nurturing in India and that is money-free fantasy (skill-based) gaming. Think of the Vodafone ad in which they say “Unofficial sponsor of fans”. If you are a Vodafone customer, in cricket match ad breaks you can dial a number to get a question and by answering it correctly you can win many gifts, iPhones or even get an opportunity to win an international trip.

Now if you observe closely, what are the key similarities and difference between the Vodafone campaign and Dream11? In my opinion, not many except in one you pay money and time to play, however, in the another you just pay time. On the other hand, you are contesting in both and have almost equal probability to win, provided you are using your brains or in fantasy language, what’s called skills. Another latest campaign is Zomato premiere league where you are given extra cashbacks for predicting the winners.

So whats in it for marketers? A Huge opportunity to tap the fantasy gaming generation. I call them Gen G (G for Gaming). Their simple traits are that they are young, munching into the internet or internet savvy and a bit of risk takers. So what, you may ask? Well, its how the majority of young India is inclining towards to be. Why? because a good chunk of fantasy gaming generation lives in tier 2 cities. And a huge wave of migration from tier3 and rural is going to flow towards the tier 2 cities.

Marketers have already been putting energy in engaging the audience with gaming. However, most of the budget used to go for title sponsorships (likes of VIVO IPL) or ad placements. Now the time is here to offer the young generation of India fantasy marketing experience that engages them, involve them and gratify them for being engaged with the brand. As they say, experiences stay forever, fantasy gaming-based engagement can be a new ray of light for the marketers.
Advertising is changing as digital ecosystem influences the thinking of a consumer and its lifestyle. In my column, “#ThinkDigital” I explore the intersection of the latest digital-tech, advertising and everything around. I share insights on the latest digital trends, innovative campaigns and conversations from the Innovation and data-driven digital leaders across the planet.

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Consumer experience is the new marketing strategy

#ThinkDigital ? Consumer experience is the new marketing strategy

India is a country of elections. Every year, in fact, every quarter there are some elections going on whether at the state level or the national level. 2019 is at the forefront of Nation’s biggest ever election and election spending. According to a media buying firm, approx. 180,000 Cr (or $25 Billion +) is expected to be spent in the next 6-8 weeks. Social Media, Digital, TV, and Print Advertisement will be the key drivers for this 100% increased spending from previous elections.
Since the 2014 election, Digital promotions have started to play a key role in influencing the voters. And this it’s not just the Social Media promotions, its the content that will be the key to win hearts of the voters. There are two political social media campaigns that I reviewed lately – 1. Nation With Namo 2. Soch Se Soch Ki Ladaai. In both of these campaigns, the motive is to touch the hearts of the voters with the pinch of emotions. It’s not the usual direct campaign that asks you to vote for a party, these campaigns just leave you with some food for thought.
Over the last decade, brands have started developing a strong relationship between the Consumer Experience and Marketing, however, it was primarily physical like purchase experience or service experience. Now with the age of digital, it is even more complicated and important to understand that a consumer can also interact with the brand not just physically but also digitally, not just at purchase but also at the exposure. And brands need to make sure that consumer experience is synchronized across all modalities and should be tied up with their marketing strategy.
Think of the below application example from Napolact, which brings a beautiful experience of squeezing milk from the cow digitally at an exposure/sampling event. The audience is left amazed when they interact with it digitally and as results were offered as a sample of the milk. The campaign received a great response and made half of the Romanian Facebook universe go gung-ho about it. YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/VCV9zKC-FmY
Nowadays many of your consumers are digitally active and interacting with the brand via all possible channels. This is very different from some years ago when consumer experience was only physical. It is very much important that their experience with the brand is seamless and soothing on all possible channels that it leaves an amazing print on this mind about it.

Now as a marketer or a brand manager, it is also your responsibility to understand how your marketing strategy empowers your consumer experience. Are there any opportunities where you can use consumer experience as your marketing strategy or think beyond, are there any correlations that you can drive?

Positive customer experience is always a win-win as it will result in making your customer happy, plus it may lead to additional revenue. Marketing can bring you a new customer, however when your customer refers you to others or brings a new customer that’s like Nirvana.
Advertising is changing as digital ecosystem influences the thinking of a consumer and its lifestyle. In my column, “#ThinkDigital” I explore the intersection of the latest digital-tech, advertising and everything around. I share insights on the latest digital trends, innovative campaigns and conversations from the Innovation and data-driven digital leaders across the planet.

Internationally acclaimed advertising and analytics enthusiast, data-driven digital strategist, Abhinav has worked across countries with data and analytics-driven companies such as SAP, Dell, Citrix and led consumer behavior focused data and marketing teams of JetBlue, PlaceIQ, OnDeck. Currently, he is Managing Director and Cofounder of ATechnos (www.atechnos.com), a 2012 established innovative digital consulting think-tank based out of Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Bangalore. He is also well known in the industry as political media specialist and strategist.
Follow Abhinav on twitter @aj_atechnos or LinkedIn – www.atechnos.com/aj ©AbhinavJain.
No part of this article can be used without explicit permission. All rights reserved.

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