The Coronavirus pandemic has furthered digital marketing by a considerable margin in the past few months. Not like it wasn’t popular before, but now, it is possibly one of the go-to methods that people are using to get their brands across to people. The new normal has definitely changed the way businesses function, and with employees working remotely, everybody is putting in constant efforts to adopt new ways and techniques, so that their organisations function as smoothly as they would, prior to the pandemic. Since work from home is expected to be a key takeaway from the year 2020, businesses are gearing up to target, engage, and retain their customers apart from also generating new leads - all this in the light of the fact that almost everybody has had to do away with the traditional methods of marketing. Even digital marketing for that matter has changed and continues to evolve. People today are buying all sorts of things online - medicines, clothes, sanitisers, food, etc. With the changing consumer behaviour, digital marketing is also changing to adapt. Therefore, to continue making those bucks, here are some interesting digital marketing trends that will take over in the year, 2021:

Power of voice-search

Using the voice-search based method, people can talk to their devices, ask questions, seek information, and do a variety of other things that does not require the traditional text-based or typing-based search. Google, Alexa, and Siri are famous and common examples of voice assistants that people know of today. They are rather fascinating and convenient to use as well.  Conversational interfaces are expected to take over and this might make CaaP (Conversations as a Platform) an actual thing. NLP or Natural processing Language will start trending soon, owing to its intuitiveness and personal touch. Further, it is quicker, and it replaces typing and keyboards.

Learn more - How Voice Search Will Change The Future Of SEO

Tell a story with a video

The attention span of people in general has become quite small. They want content that holds their chin in place but also does not drag on for too long. Videos are a good way to achieve both. They are very commonly used  for marketing and advertising purposes as well, but the main challenge is to make it full of content and information, yet condense it. Due to the pandemic, the trend that has set in is that, videos and ads have left the television space, and are moving on to computers, tablets, smartphones, Youtube, Social media handles, etc. - so we can expect to see a lot more of virtual reality, animation, live videos, 360-degree videos, and so on, in 2021.  As the world advances, people are becoming more and more tech-savvy, and they are on some device or the other, trying to catch up. These new methods will keep them further hooked.

Checkout 15 Smart Ways to Promote Your YouTube Videos

Influencer Marketing Revamped

The switch from offline to online will continue to happen for the foreseeable future. Though brands and businesses continue to find and apply new digital marketing strategies, adapt to new trends, and get their message across, loud and clear, they still want to organically connect to their audience. This is possible through influencer marketing, and brands will start giving that importance to this concept and use the influencer community to get their products  and brand message across to the unreachable segments. A healthy relationship between brand marketing, product marketing, and influencer marketing is expected to take over.

People believe more when they see and hear someone speak - visual and vocal reassurance is very personal and impactful, therefore, much more engaging.

Pocket your local audience with SEO

Increasing the search visibility for local businesses is definitely the in-thing these days, and it will start booming in no time. Hypertargeting allows for bringing in customers from communities or areas that are geographically restricted. By ranking higher on local searches, visibility is improved, plus credibility also increases. People are always looking for quick fixes. If something is not available at the nearest store, it is preferable to walk down to the next nearest. Hypertargeting allows people to do exactly that. It is time-saving from the customer’s perspective, and from the business’s perspective, it is beneficial because the online presence fetches them the required attention and audience.

Growth of in-game advertising

With people staying in, e-watching of sports has become even more common, and consequently, this has led to a spike in in-game advertising. Apparently, Gen Z indulges in a lot of esports, and because of the lockdown, others too are doing the same. The lockdown has contributed heavily to a rise in smartphone gaming. Mobile gamers ( around 57 percent) are okay with in-game advertising as long as they are allowed to play the games free of cost. Television is going down and online streaming is becoming more popular than ever. This exponential increase in the number of viewers has led to a healthy bond between gaming and advertising, and this is allowing brands to interact with the audience successfully.

It is interesting to note that all these trends have been fairly around for sometime now, dilly-dallying between becoming ‘generally known’ or ‘popularly used.’ The pandemic has helped with that super-nudge, thereby making these more popular than before, and also putting them on the path to becoming extremely popular. Had this been a choice, maybe the growth would have been a little slower; but with social distancing and lockdown, digitalisation is the need of the hour. Everything is happening online and therefore, people must know how to navigate through this world of digitalisation. The sooner, the better.

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Content creation and content sharing are widespread today. Everybody likes making their feed attractive and despite so many applications that are already present in the market, people are constantly looking for newer methods and ways to make their feed stand out in comparison to others. To keep up with these requirements several platforms have come into play to be able to reach out to specific audiences. These apps and platforms have also incorporated certain "desi" factors like Shayari, film dialogues, quotes, music, regional music, etc. Furthermore, the most essential point that has struck a chord with the people of India and certain brands is the use of regional languages. Accessibility is there, but reaching out becomes much more comfortable when one can understand what is being said and done. Below are five Indian apps that have carved out a position for themselves in the market:

ShareChat

Founded by Ankush Sachdeva, Farid Ahsan, and Bhanu Pratap Singh, ShareChat is a popular social media platform with around fifteen languages and over a hundred and sixty million users on a monthly basis. It was developed by Mohalla Tech Pvt. Ltd. This is a language first app that was launched initially for the purpose of content creation only, but with regular updates like private messaging, talking in one's own dialect, tagging, and Shake-N-chat, it now has many additional features catering to the requirements of the people. It has helped brands to tap into language-based advertising, and over the past couple of months, it has worked with over 25 brands like Facebook, Coca-Cola, Airtel, Pepsi, etc.

This app has more than 100 million downloads and over two million reviews on play store, apart from having an audience in more than 800 cities across the country. Its value stands at 600 million dollars. A person spends 23 minutes on this app on average.

Chingari

Founded by Sumit Ghosh, Biswatma Nayak, and Deepak Salvi, this application is an Indian video sharing service wherein people interact by sharing videos in more than 14 regional dialects. Based on how much traction a post receives, how viral it becomes, and the number of points scored, the content creators receive payments. ALTBalaji also came into a partnership with this firm to help this app gain the much needed outreach and attention. This app has also been rated as one of the best apps in Google Play Store, in 2020. It also supports the 'Make in India' program.

Chingari has literally lit a fire across the nation. It has more than 10 million downloads and over 201 thousand reviews on the play store. The likes and clicks on this platform shot up by 400 percent and 500 percent respectively within just a week's time.

Roposo

This app is owned by Glance Digital Experience Pvt. Ltd. It was released six years ago and primarily catered to a crowd between the ages of 15-35. People on this platform can share videos and pictures related to food, comedy, themselves, fashion, travel, and so on. Options are endless. One smart move by Roposo was to divide the entertainment section into categories wherein the users could pick and choose the kind of content they wanted to engage in. There is an array of filters to choose from for pictures, plus several options for videos like time-lapse, slow-mo, and so on. Roposo maintained a 'TV for the people' concept for users to switch through channels easily.

As of now, it has over 100 million downloads, one million reviews, and a user base of over 22 million people. Daily uploads happen at the rate of 2.5 lakhs, and video views cross 160 million on a regular basis. 

MX Takatak

MX takatak is a short video community app that has garnered much attention from the Indians and has resulted in a massive video community. This app too comes with the option of choosing a language (it has about 10 languages). It has more than 10 million active users daily, and almost every Indian spends at least 20 minutes on an average using this app. Videos have options ranging from dubbing, to comedy, to gaming, sports, food, memes, and much more. People love this app because it smartly caters to everyone's requirements - influencers, infrequent users, daily users, and so on. Further, this app includes options like Beauty Cam, Video Editor, Photo Editor, and Music Library.

This app has more than 50 million downloads and over 280 thousand reviews, around 600 influencers and well-known content creators, and more than 45 million active monthly users. It sure is a big hit in India.

Mitron

This is another Indian app, and this platform allows users to connect with each other and share content to showcase their talents and become the next 'Desh ka star.' This again is a social video community app that gives options of lip-syncing videos, dubbing videos, sing-alongs, funny dialogues, etc. It has 11 languages to choose from for the sake of convenience and has around 24 million hourly video views.

Apart from having a seed funding of Rs 20 million, it has more than 10 million downloads and 389 thousand reviews on play store. To date, the app has been downloaded more than 17 million times.

Many people around the world are developing apps for content creators and bringing in new ideas onto the plate to stay ahead of the competition. Creativity and imagination have no boundaries, and neither should the platforms that get to display them. Furthermore, these platforms can be used effectively by brands to reach out to their target audiences and run successful campaigns. That way, the methods will not remain restricted to just videos or content sharing but much more. High engagement will only ensure a bigger base and consequent success!

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Marketing is all about connecting with people and the message you are trying to get across to the masses. In today’s digital era, your best bet is digital marketing. Meeting customer needs digitally, having an online presence, organising campaigns - these steps can turn things around for brands. A well-planned strategy, proper use of media, and smart use of time can make all the difference for a brand with respect to presence, awareness, and image. Here are five in-house campaigns that we planned to help these brands stand out, garnering over 300 million views in totality, leaving a lasting impression.

Join the Revolt (Revolt Motors)

The purpose of this campaign was to introduce India’s first artificially-enabled motorcycle and create brand awareness for ‘Revolt.’ For this, people’s ideas and preconceived notions about electric vehicles had to be changed. Real-time marketing was used to churn out content and spread it across audiences by roping in influencers who spoke about environmental issues and concerns; witty t-shirt slogans like ‘why the fuel,’ ‘RIP Fuel,’ etc. were used - this was done to make people see that pollution masks and petrol will eventually become obsolete, and that the future of the nation lies in electric vehicles. 

The motorcycles were used as a symbol of revolt in #JointheRevolt campaign. A mega unveiling of the product was done in real-time, with YouTubers, Instagrammers, and influencers giving out vocal content. This was further amplified as people started raising back-to-back queries. For direct engagement with the crowd, setups were done in malls with stunt artists to grab the much-needed attention.

The results of this campaign were mind-boggling. Over 20,000 user-generated content was created; there were more than fifty videos with over 13 million views; website visits stood at an astounding 2.44 million, and the figures for content pieces generated was more than 5300.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8aYb-5f4FU&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

Roadies Live Audition (MTV Roadies)

Due to the coronavirus induced lockdown, there were budget cuts, sponsors were stressed to no end, and the drop in Share of Voice was almost unavoidable. However, entertainment was kept on a roll even post the lockdown announcement - for the first time ever in the world, reality show auditions were hosted online. MTV Roadies live auditions were hosted across platforms like Facebook, Tiktok, Youtube, and so on. Videos were recorded via Zoom, highlights were on Voot, and people could access these live auditions on their phones. Participants were seen going live on Facebook and performing tasks for their judges. In the time period between 2nd May 2020 and 26th June 2020, the live auditions reached as many viewers as 10 per cent of MTV’s television reach annually.

This campaign had a reach of more than 2 million, over 500,000 minutes views, and more than 64,000 engagement. About 17.5 crores worth of media mentions were also earned. 

The Neo Tribe (Amazfit India)

#Theneotribe campaign aimed at positioning the Amazfit Neo as a pocket-friendly and retro-styled watch. The hype and buzz were created by letting everyone know about this new neo tribe that was bringing retro back, but fashionably - a marriage of the retro-past with the retro-future. It was seen that with the introduction of pop culture and K-dramas, retro had become like a cult for today’s millennials, and that way, this watch was a great addition to their style statement. The main motive was to have a strong position in the market, increase visibility, and build advocacy for the watch. Influencers and KOLs were also taken on board to spread the message far and wide.

This campaign resulted in a PR reach of 0.99 billion, the value of which stood at about 63.4 million. It had 200,000+ engagements, over 6 million impressions, and the reach was more than 4 million.

Just EMI (Bajaj Finserv)

The concept here was quite simple. A lot of people prefer paying through monthly instalments also known as EMIs (or at least like to have it as an option). Bajaj Finserv has been synonymous with EMIs for quite some time now, and people usually associated the brand with electronics and lifestyle products. This campaign’s aim was to build awareness about products beyond these two categories, with Bajaj catering to 1000+ other categories. 

The strategy was to kickstart #JustEMI so that people would start using Bajaj Finserv cards as their go-to payment methods for whatever purchases they made. This was done through video-led social media marketing, influencer marketing, media, radio bytes, tech integrations, Public relations, and on-ground marketing. It was an interesting amalgamation of how the audience can use EMI cards, what products can be purchased via EMI, and a one-stop solution that showed EMI options across categories.

More than 200 videos were created, and over 60 influencers were activated for this campaign. There was a massive PR reach of over 241 million, over 1.6 million traffic, and transactions worth 33.7 million.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZB3f5P188c[/embed]

My Talking Tom Friends

This campaign aimed to launch My Talking Tom Friends as a cool and casual gaming app for the Indian audience apart from facilitating volume game downloads and promoting in-game experiences. Various social media platforms were used for this - Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter, Youtube, Tinder, etc. The primary strategy here was to create as much awareness as possible through videos, influencer marketing, and engaging content.

For this, nine influencers were brought in, and the content seeded stood at 25. There were 12 dedicated videos for this campaign, which garnered a colossal amount of views (12.7 Million+). Furthermore, engagements and impressions crossed 1.6 million and 0.6 million, respectively.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlXTtZeHDHY[/embed]

Unlike traditional marketing techniques and campaigns, digital marketing campaigns allow for real-time updates and results that enable us to plan our next move carefully. It is the best medium to connect with potential customers and clients on a global scale. To not use it would mean losing out on a host of golden opportunities. It definitely gives the much needed upper hand!

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E-commerce has been a game-changer during the Covid-19 pandemic as it has been constantly moulding itself into something new as per the changing requirements of the customers. Everyone has literally been cornered into choosing the online and digital mode. In these turbulent times, brands have been trying their absolute best to use this to their advantage and increase their visibility. 

Big online firms like Flipkart, Myntra, Snapdeal and Amazon clocked sales worth $1.3 B during the festive sales, that too within 4-5 days. A lot of demands poured in from tier 2 and tier 3 cities this time because many people moved back home from the metro cities to be with their families during the ongoing crisis. Further, in comparison to last year’s GMV which stood at $ 2.7 B, the GMV for the year 2020 has been estimated to touch a whopping $4 B. It is being assumed that home appliances and electronics have played a 25 per cent role in the overall GMV value.

Here are a few e-commerce campaigns that stood out during the year 2020:

HDFC Bank Festive Treats

HDFC Bank launched its second season of Festive Treats this year that had over a 1000 offers across categories. The bank tied up with several well-known brands such as Apple, Samsung, Suzuki and the likes, and doled out online, offline, and in-store offers. To reach out to tier 2 and the tier 3 markets, more than 2000 offers were designed to best suit the customers’ requirements.

A series of short films were shot with Sharman Joshi in regional languages to ensure ease of communication and greater outreach. The bank essentially wanted to make the customers believe that in spite of the pandemic, their outlook should be positive and that they should strive to live their lives as normally as possible. To show their support, HDFC Bank revamped its strategy and focused on safety and customer morale. People were constantly given the assurance that their financial needs would be well looked after.

Flipkart Big Billion Days

Flipkart’s campaign this year was engagement centric to the core. Their Big Billion Whatsapp bot was an excellent strategy to pull the crowd wherein the customers could meet Amitabh Bachchan virtually and play games and challenges which ultimately culminated in big discounts and offers. This bot was actively promoted across social media platforms and received active acknowledgement and engagement within no time. 

Another interesting strategy here was to use Whatsapp as the mode of communication. Consumers had the option to converse in either Hindi or English which made it all the more convenient. The customers also had a fun shopping experience as they could activate offers just by sending emojis. It is being said that Flipkart set the benchmark for e-commerce advertising with this campaign.

Amazon Great Indian Festival

Amazon‘s campaign was all about preparing together for the upcoming festivities. They launched a film series that captured the essence of happiness and bonding that happens in the background while we all gear up for the festive season. Another interesting element of their campaign was the Amazon Festive Yatra, which was a house on wheels concept that highlighted their local offerings via a multi-city tour. Instagram was used to give real-time pictorial updates on the yatra while contests took place over Twitter.

They kept the excitement going by sharing testimonials and behind the scenes work of their team that made the customers feel involved and in sync with their campaign. Influencers were used for various categories to push sales and there were back to back contests and offers that kept the customers engaged throughout.

Snap the Deal

Snapdeal’s campaign focussed on the variety and extent of products as well as the ease of accessibility that these products had via their online platform. They followed the theme of finding products at ‘the snap of a finger’ and also launched a film series highlighting the pocket-friendly prices at which they were selling products for day-to-day needs. 

Snapdeal predominantly used an all-rounder approach via YouTube, TV, radio, Tiktok, and Hotstar to reach out to their customers by providing eye-catching visual content that highlighted their products, quality and value pricing. The main idea here was to build a strong brand recall and better efficiency on digital platforms. They wanted to showcase how they can make things happen in a ‘snap’, and how their products cater to the middle-class online shoppers.

No more dekhte hain, OLX pe bechte hain

This campaign by OLX released an ad that gave the message that one should always sell their used products at the right time to be able to upgrade to better and newer ones. This video resonated so well with the audience that it created a mass appeal and crossed over 2 million views. 

The jingle, “Dekhte hai” for the advertisement was composed by Amit Trivedi. The campaign was cross-medium in nature as the ad itself was launched in 6 different languages apart from Hindi, thereby ensuring a 360-degree coverage.

Myntra Treasure Hunt

Myntra took its campaign a little further than the rest by launching a separate website that was dedicated to a full day treasure hunt contest. People playing the game had to cross seven levels by answering multiple-choice questions. Each correct answer fetched a unique code that took them one step closer to win exciting prizes. If all questions were answered correctly, then the customers were eligible to be a part of the Lucky Draw that had grander rewards to offer.

Twitter was used as the platform for conversation which started trending within fifteen minutes of the contest launch using the hashtag #MyntraTreasureHunt. It also generated over 89,420 tweets within the span of a single day.  Myntra’s follower growth on Twitter also went up by a good 10.25 per cent which has been its highest so far. 

IKEA Place Campaign

IKEA Place came up with the unique idea of virtually giving its customers a glimpse of the near future. It is an augmented reality mobile app that allows people to see what a particular product or a piece of furniture would look like in their houses before even purchasing it.

All a customer has to do is take a picture of the place where he or she wants to place the product, insert the product into the picture, and move it around to see where it looks the best. Using the 360-degree imaging method gives this app a very realistic touch. It also allows the user to save and share the pictures, or reserving them for purchasing later. The use of technology here has definitely improved the user experience of the customers by a fair margin.

All these campaigns just reiterate the fact that creativity and imagination have zero boundaries. It further tells us that E-commerce will have a very strong foothold in the future and will probably become as normal as the so-called “new normal”. It would be safe to say that now is the right time to go digital for good.

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‘Sales’ - the term that rings in the mind of business leaders and management professionals during the festive season in India. It is a multi-faceted street - brands come up with lucrative promotions, e-commerce platforms launch extravagant sales, and even banks offer purchase benefits to card-holders. All these combining factors lead to an increase in the purchasing power of end-consumers. Here are some vital factors to consider while planning out festive sales activities this Diwali season - 

The Impact of COVID-19

The role played by COVID-19 in transforming not just sales, but entire business processes as a whole has been well-documented. The initial stages were dark, however, resilient brands are seemingly adapting to the new normal, with most traditional norms obsolete now. At first, businesses with an online presence noticed a spike on these platforms, while the lockdown has resulted in growing e-commerce spikes of $52 billion. Another intriguing fact is that the Indian online market is expected to acquire 300-350 million new users by 2025 with the Gross Merchandise Value to also rise to $100-$120 billion in that period. The upcoming months will notice a deeper focus on experience-driven eCommerce since cut-throat competition will lead players to innovate. Related Article : Diwali: The Golden Season of E-Commerce

Prepare Your Marketing Blueprint 

The festive season in India is a great time to explore marketing avenues and to test the waters. This period is a great opportunity to plan new product launch campaigns on digital platforms to create a buzz when spending capabilities are at an all-time high. Similarly, based on what you have planned, it’s a good idea to integrate these marketing activities into your social media calendar as well as paid media ad structure well in advance to ensure smooth execution. It is equally important to make sure that all your resources in the marketing and sales department are well-aware of all the festive processes and campaigns that have been planned out to make the most of this period.

Provide A Seamless Mobile Experience 

Optimising your website with targeted banners, landing pages, and keywords for an array of platforms is a must. Creating personalised content - geared for the mobile phone since it is the preferred medium for users will help a great deal in converting users. An effective and sale mobile platform is the key to providing a frictionless platform. The content should be AMP optimised. AMP or Accelerated Mobile Pages is an open-source standard supported by Google. The aim of developing this standard was to optimise the loading speed of the webpages on mobile devices. AMP framework serves the mission “to provide a user first-format for web content”.

Increase Visual Experience 

With new developments in technology on a daily basis, it is no surprise that methods of content creation are transforming as well. It is estimated that online videos account for more than 70% of India’s total digital consumption, with streaming platforms and social media channels the popular mediums. Video-first strategies are proven methods to tap into customer intent and drive real, measurable results. Leveraging video content can help users intent through search queries, consumer buying patterns & journey, and targeting the right audience. Visual content can also be leveraged to augment e-commerce pages in the case of product information/tutorials. These elements are likely to facilitate users’ decision-making process.

Leverage Dynamic, Data-Driven Videos

Short, targeted, and informative video ads are dominating the paid media sphere. These highly relevant video ads if planned properly can be the trigger users need to make transactions. Similarly, brands can use live & contextual data triggers like in-store traffic via social ads to increase awareness & engagement. Personalised video content in the form helps build brand identity and engagement as it adds an emotional and personal touch to marketing strategies. Repeat-sales and customer loyalty can be maximised with a one-on-one personalised video approach. For example, Diageo created a unique personalised video experience for their customers, by enabling them to record their own bespoke video message for the recipient of a bottle of whisky.

Work On Digital Interaction 

While e-commerce has obviously become the norm today, most players are leveraging AR and VR to augment user experience by offering personal and life-like situations during the buying process. This helps recreate the charm of in-store shopping visits. Innovations such as AI can also be leveraged to automate image-detection, video-cropping, and stream adjustments while incorporating the upload & delivery performance.  AI also supports product recommendation functions as well as in the optimisation of personal portfolios. These personalised recommendations show relevant products to the relevant audiences hence making sales efforts more fruitful. Adopt a 360-Degree Marketing Approach An amalgamation of affiliate marketing and paid media helps in executing banner ads of special offers or promotions for an instant boost. In the wider scope of paid ads, social media and search engine efforts should be planned out well in advance in terms of budgets, tech support, and content requirements for smooth and timely execution. Social media channels with quirky and contextual graphics and copy help in user engagement and brand awareness - key supplements to sales during the festive period. Similarly, fan contests boosted by a micro-site can augment your festive efforts as well. Lastly, it is of great importance to make sure that each social media is aligned in terms of content with the same offers, tone, and call-to-action. Driving sales during the festive period is obviously the number one priority for all - however, to truly succeed, brands will have to explore different technologies and digital capabilities to make the most of e-commerce. A well-planned and integrated marketing approach covering elements such as social media, website optimisation, paid media, email marketing, amongst others is critical to elevate sales numbers. Related Article : Boost Festive Sales With AI Download the PDF version

With the festive period nearly here, brands must be eagerly anticipating the upcoming rush. E-Commerce is fundamentally indispensable now, with it being the preferred mode of business for most users. Embracing digital transformation and technology during the Diwali festive season, and making the most of them will be key to drive all business goals and objectives. Here is all you need to know about the role of e-commerce in the upcoming festive season in India. 

E-Commerce & Diwali 

This year’s festive season sale is expected to rack up gross sales of $7B, a massive spike of 75% compared to last year. As consumer preferences and habits have transformed in the last 6 months or so due to the pandemic, it is no surprise that e-commerce will continue to be the preferred medium for users keen to splurge this Diwali. This is further highlighted as e-commerce companies are expected to see a 50% jump in gross sales. These numbers are primarily down to the fact that the number of individuals using e-commerce has increased exponentially in the period offline retail was off the grid. Users who were not too accustomed to e-commerce had to familiarise themselves, and now prefer it for daily use. This year, there has been a rise of 160 million online shoppers, as opposed to 135 million of last year, with more than half of this spike arising from tier-2 cities.

Get Started With Google Shops

Google Shopping allows brands and consumers to interact with each other in a way that adds value to both entities’ experience. It allows consumers to browse, compare, and purchase physical products across different retailers without having to visit each individual brand’s website - saving time and offering a seamless shopping experience. It minimizes the need of third party platforms and since users don’t have to jump from one interface to another, its a much quicker process. How does Google Shopping work? Whenever you search an item, a ‘shopping’ tab pops up where you can browse across different brands. It integrates various elements such as  Shoppable Ads on Google Images, Showcase Shopping Ads, Smart Shopping Campaigns, and Shopping Actions.

Whatsapp Marketing For Business

E-commerce as a concept has evolved on so many different levels and will continue to do so for sure. A digital feature driving e-commerce at the moment is Whatsapp’s business marketing feature. It is estimated that 98% of messages on Whatsapp are open and read, with 80% of them opened within 3 seconds of being sent. Whatsapp business bots help facilitate quick and easy conversation with customers through an interactive & visual medium (images, videos, and short clips). Presence on Whatsapp adds an element of identity and personalisation above and beyond other social media platforms. Developing a Whatsapp strategy as a part of regular messaging marketing strategies is a great way to start. It helps identify purchase behaviour, buying patterns, and consumer tastes to deliver the ideal products to consumers. 

Leverage Facebook  & Instagram Shops 

Just like Whatsapp, even social media networks - notably Facebook & Instagram - have announced features to facilitate e-commerce on the platform. For example, brands can display a catalogue of products, allowing potential customers to view and then purchase them directly on Facebook or Instagram shop. These platforms also facilitate seamless two-way communication with users through Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram Direct. Another new feature includes the initiation of a Livestream where a product link can be selected within the live video to display an icon with a link to the product on the screen throughout. Facebook is also experimenting with ways to offer users rewards from brands they follow and interact with, through brand loyalty programmes. Similarly, Instagram shop allows users to shop from a brand’s Instagram account, or through its feed and stories. They can browse products, explore collections and purchase products - all through an app browser (no third party interference). E-commerce is evolving way beyond simple websites and applications, and exploring Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp is a sure shot way to make the most of digital platforms to drive online sales.

Dominate E-Commerce With Voice Search

Driven by such innovative technology, the capabilities of voice search personalizes the shopping experience to a whole new level. For example, voice assistants can help suggests products based on the past purchase patterns of the buyer. Similarly with voice assistants, collecting reviews and feedback from buyers is much more efficient. Voice integration facilitates a two-way communication process and encourages constructive feedback. Voice search is quick and efficient compared to manually browsing through vast catalogues. The average buyer types at the speed of around 30 to 35 words per minute, whereas a voice search processes close to 100 words per minute.  We are all well aware of how e-commerce is propelled by data-driven machine learning & artificial intelligence characteristics, and that holds true in the case of voice search as well. For example, while purchasing groceries, the voice assistant can suggest products that have previously been a part of your cart and are missing in the current list.

Create a High-Converting Landing Page 

A landing page is one of the most vital components of any website, in terms of converting page visits - and this holds even more value for e-commerce websites. Landing pages can be optimized and designed in order to cater to the festive mood and add some vibrance to a user’s experience. Users are often overwhelmed with excess overloads of information, which is why it makes sense to create a dedicated banner, crisp content, along with a call-to-action that helps communicate best site-wide offers. This section can even include high-quality images & testimonials to create appealing visuals using directional cues to guide users. Another essential cog of the success of a landing page is the integration of keywords. Landing pages can shoot up search engine rankings with the help of Google Keyword Planner. Targeted keywords can be used to boost rankings on the landing page highlighting the exclusive deals. With evolved buyer habits and preferences, e-commerce is here to stay. With the Diwali festive season upcoming, now is the time to explore digital transformation and technology to boost not only sales but brand presence and user engagement as well. Download the PDF version

With the IPL now in full swing, brands across the country are pulling out all the stops in terms of marketing ideation and strategy. Leveraging sports is a fun and interactive way to connect with audiences. When exploring the realm of sports, there are ‘5Cs’ that marketers must keep in mind to maximize the impact and reach of campaigns -

• Celebrity
• Content
• Conversation
• Context
• Consumer

Below we will have a look at how each of these elements has been explored by different brands while ideating marketing campaigns revolving around the IPL -

The Power of Celebrity

Celebrity endorsements and collaboration across social media, as well as traditional advertising, is a sure-shot way of propelling your brand in the limelight. The IPL has staggering viewership rates across the country, which is why advertising your brand with the right collaborations is the way to go. Indian Fintech startup, Khatabook roped in easily one of the most iconic faces in world cricket - M.S Dhoni - for a remarkable ad. Dhoni pulls off various characters such as ‘Sharmile Sharmaji’ and ‘Techno Tawde’ - each aiming to exhibit a key feature of the brand’s offering. By leveraging a ‘story-telling’ strategy along with the ever-present MSD, Khatabook has driven brand recognition at an unprecedented rate.

The Power of Content

Virgin Mobile’s ‘Indian Panga League’ is a great depiction of leveraging digital platforms for the right mix of entertainment and fun this cricketing season. The campaign featured over 105 unique short clips - each depicting an entertaining banter-filled telephone conversation between different IPL team fans. This campaign was aimed at promoting their STD value propositions of 20p/min. By utilizing features of video content, regional connectivity, and an association with cricket, it became one of the most talked-about campaigns. It garnered over 1.5M views on Youtube and 60K mentions on Twitter.

The Power of Conversation

Bajaj Finserv launched a new #EMINetworkPowerplay campaign - an engaging and stimulating campaign offering users exciting cricket-themed contests. Prizes included electronics and Amazon vouchers.  Participants could earn more points by sharing these contest details with their friends. This referral system increased brand conversation and engagement across social media platforms as well. Conceptualized here at ARM Worldwide, the #EMINetworkPowerplay included strategies like real-time marketing and gamification. These IPL-inspired features added some thrill to Bajaj Finserv’s marketing objectives.

The Power of Context

Cricket is a key feature of nearly every Indian household. Whether it's the World Cup, IPL, or a simple bilateral India-Australia series, everyone holds fond memories of the sport in some way or the other. This is precisely why it is so easy to capture audiences using cricket as a connecting factor between brand and user. Using cricket as a contextual point facilitates brands in setting the tone of messaging and eventually delivering the right content at the right time. Based on the life of a cricketer, Paytm’s ‘Make the Right Choice’ campaign aims to inspire millions of fellow citizens to follow their dreams. The campaign also displays the company’s goal of promoting fantasy sports in the country and inspires budding players to explore the brand’s games. Dream11 hit the jackpot a few months back after securing title sponsor rights for this year’s edition after the Vivo fiasco, however, that was just the start. The #YehApnaGameHai ad campaign stars icons of Indian cricket such as MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Shikhar Dhawan, amongst others. These icons are seen enjoying ‘gully’ cricket - a street adaptation of the sport many of us ourselves indulged in during our youth. This ad depicts these stars as ordinary youngsters just having fun, which leaves a lasting impact on viewers.

The Power of Consumer Insights

With the help of new-age data processing and analytic features, studying consumer insights is a must. In campaigns which encourage participation and interaction, it is vital to know the results of your efforts. Analyzing consumer behavior helps you set the tone and messaging of your communication & enables you to deliver your message at the right place and at the right time. Data-driven insights also align audience perceptions with your goals, using behavioral data to communicate the brand’s message. This cricketing season is a great time to explore these innovative tools and platforms to help drive ROI and efficiency. Running a digital campaign is just the first step, the major work comes after that with analyzing the impact of your activity. With consumer insights, marketers can mathematically evaluate the most profitable platforms to allocate marketing budgets. This will help in refining a company’s target audience to groups of consumers statistically more likely to make a purchase. With such laser-like precision, marketing professionals raise the ROI for a business, by both lowering digital ad spends and elevating the success of digital marketing efforts. There are typically 4 key elements to have in place in terms of consumer insights -

• Full access to reliable & complete data
• The right tools to analyze the data
• The skills to understand and interpret results
• The ability to act on the insights

Customer insight is vital for the optimization of customer experiences and to understand their behaviour. Therefore, it is imperative for marketers to not only generate insights but to turn it into readable and accessible intelligence to make data-driven decisions. This cricketing season is the ideal platform to drive real-time, contextual, and engaging marketing campaigns. By leveraging a combination of any of these 5Cs, you can surely elevate brand presence with the help of sports. Download the PDF version

The COVID-19 pandemic brought along a variety of different obstacles and barriers to us as an organization. Beyond the effects of a traditional economic downturn, COVID-19 has presented additional challenges — fear from the virus itself, wide-spread grief, and lastly, prolonged physical distancing and associated social isolation. This World Mental Health Day, let’s have a look at the importance and value of a positive & vibrant sense of well-being to allow individuals to truly flourish on a personal and professional level. At ARM Worldwide, workplace culture & environment was a key feature of our workdays. However, with remote working processes well in place now, sustaining the positive ambience of our physical workspace was always going to be a tough task. On the surface level, virtual communication & collaboration seems to be quicker and more efficient, but this should not lead us to ignore key elements of interaction such as compassion, empathy, bonding, and at base, real communication! To facilitate a sense of belongingness, positivity, and bonding, we’ve devised a variety of activities and sessions since the initial phases of the lockdown -

• All individuals have been advised to keep webcams ON during all interactions - with the sole purpose of feeling a sense of real communication and interaction as opposed to the monotonous and dull interaction over a voice call.
• Starting a new job from a remote setting can be quite a daunting task which is why there are informal induction sessions organised for all new joinees.
• A practice that existed well before the pandemic - Fantastic Friday - is still in full swing. Each Friday morning, we invite a skilled professional to interact with us and give us something new to ponder over. In fact, in May, Mimansa Singh Talwar - a leading expert from Fortis Healthcare - held a session on the impact of the pandemic on our mental well-being.
• Individuals work at their best when they feel valued or appreciated. Amid the whole virtual working phenomena, appraisal & praise can often be missed out without the lack of human body language and attitude. At ARM Worldwide, all achievements and results are celebrated and praised, no matter how big or small. Informal sessions are also held to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries.
• The HR team and department leaders have incorporated more autonomy and fluidity in job roles and responsibilities. Each unique member of the organisation may work in different ways being at home, and they’re encouraged to do so as long as it does not hinder productivity.

The pandemic has brought along a period that has demanded resilience, empathy, and strength. These are some small steps we have taken towards eradicating the stigma surrounding mental health, along with actively offering support and guidance to those in need in these tough times. Mental health issues can hit anyone at any time and in order to find a solution - keeping core human values intact is vital. Working in collaboration as an accepting society is just the first step towards helping the ones that really need help.

The strongest brands create emotional bonds with their users. Sport is one such avenue that has unique emotional power. In no other walk of life do our hearts and brains become so invested in the activities of people we do not personally know, but who we admire with a burning passion. Not many things can engage, entertain, and captivate large audiences like a sport. From a marketer’s perspective - sports for the longest time simply meant big-name sponsorship deals and maybe television sports ads. However, in recent times, with the proliferation of new channels, fresh opportunities are arising for brands to cultivate deeper relationships with their audiences. The annual cricket festival of India - the IPL - has already dawned upon us. If you throw in the festive season as well, brands surely must be licking their lips at the myriad of marketing opportunities up for grabs. On that note, let’s have a look at how brands across the globe have leveraged sports marketing campaigns to connect with audiences with

Ready For Sport

The pandemic has brought a huge amount of disruptions to all facets of life, including sports. All major competitions across all sports were put on hold, leaving athletes in the dark about the way forward. The ‘Ready For Sport’ campaign by Adidas aimed at inspiring both professional and amateur athletes for whenever they returned to the field. Starring over 2,500 Adidas athletes such as Lionel Messi, James Harden, and Rohit Sharma - it aimed to unify the spirit of sport to motivate the world. This campaign connected the sporting world and spurred emotions of belief and positivity amid the tough times when all sports were halted. In the pandemic world, multiple brands have edged towards empathetic and emotionally-touching communication in order to leave lasting impressions on their audiences.

Made For Football Watching

On a similar note, Pepsi too strived to throw light on the plights faced by the sporting world as the pandemic rocked our lives. While Adidas’s target audience was professional and budding athletes, Pepsi’s campaign catered to the next most important segment of sport - the audience. This campaign celebrates and elevates the weekly ritual of tuning into games from the comfort of your homes. The campaign had various elements including social media shoutouts, regional initiatives and activities for fans across 16 partner NFL teams, as well as gift hampers.

Touching campaigns like these leave a positive impact on audiences and promote positivity and a sense of belonging.

You Can’t Stop Us While Adidas launched an emotional and inspiring campaign, Nike too would have something up its sleeve. The ad debuted during the NBA’s return in Orlando, Florida, and has garnered over 20 million views on Twitter and Facebook since. The kinetic, blink-and-you-miss compilation features 50+ Nike-sponsored athletes from 24 sports such as global superstars LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Nadal, and even the Indian women’s cricket team. Keeping with the theme of society and shared commonalities, the video is a nod to professionals, amateurs, and ordinary sport-lovers. Unconventional sports such as surfing, skateboarding and BMX are also included. The prominent themes include athletes’ relationship with social justice, specifically the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as the long shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This campaign goes on to show how brands can drive powerful social statements for the betterment of society.

ZPL (Zomato Premier League)

Everyone’s favourite app got even more exciting during last year's IPL, and after a roaring success, ZPL is back this year for more fun. Banking big on in-app gamification, ZPL’s fundamental focus is satisfying users with the one thing they crave the most along with their food - a discount. ZPL, along with offering an eye-catching discount on prominent restaurants, also allows consumers to predict who will win the matches allocated for the given day. If the prediction is right, users can avail an additional discount on their upcoming orders, making the cycle of ordering food nearly impossible to break. Not only does this increase the number of orders during the duration of the IPL, but it also adds some spice and intrigue to the ordering process. It also increases brand recall and identity since users’ predictions are always in the back of their mind while the game is on.

Stevenage Challenge

Back in 2019, Burger King caused waves with a marketing campaign which made use of a popular football video game - FIFA 20. While we all know of Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool, not many were aware of ‘Stevenage’ - a lower league club sponsored by Burger King. Burger King began sponsoring the fourth-tier team as the 2019/20 season kicked off. In a bid to raise the awareness and popularity of Stevenage,  the fast-food giants challenged FIFA players around the world to select them when playing online or in Career Mode. Once they had done so, they were motivated to share video clips of their goals online and in return, receive rewards from Burger King. As per a video posted online revealing statistics of the campaign, more than 25,000 goals scored with Stevenage were posted online, and as a result of the campaign, the club sold out their home shirt for the first time in its history. Below is a visual representation of the different strategies used by these brands - There are countless more examples to prove how sports can be leveraged as the ideal way to build connections with your audience by driving engagement or making powerful statements. As the IPL progresses, we are sure to see more innovative campaigns and activities carried out by prominent brands in the coming few weeks - stay tuned here for all the hottest shots! Download the PDF version

As per a few recently released advertising guidelines, non-legible disclaimers, and information in ads will be viewed as false advertising. The owners of such ads can be penalized or imprisoned as per the procedures put in place by the consumer affairs ministry. These ads will also be put out in the public domain to be subjected to comments from respective stakeholders. Moreover, it has also been made mandatory for celebrity endorsements through personal blogs, tweets, and other testifying means to be based on appropriate information or experience.  Until now, abiding by the ASCI code was voluntary, but these guidelines enforce that code and make it mandatory for advertisers to follow this code of conduct. Let’s discuss these guidelines in detail. 

Consumer stats

A code to regulate advertising is necessary, especially considering the general sentiment of consumers around advertising. The following stats show consumers have little to no trust in the claims made in advertising. These regulations of advertising might act as the required turning point to enable consumers to believe the messaging presented in ads. 

• Only 28 percent of consumers trust the claims made in ad campaigns.
• 23 percent of consumers have zero trust in advertisements.
• 15 percent of consumers feel ads for food products & supplements are misleading.
• 76 percent of consumers want restrictions on surrogate advertising.
• Only 3 percent of consumers have a high level of trust in print, TV, digital & other media forms.
• 25 percent of consumers have an average level of trust in ads.
• 48 percent of consumers have a low level of trust in ads.

The altering ads landscape

These advertising codes and guidelines seek to hold manufacturers, service providers, along with celebrity endorsers accountable for ads and stipulate hefty fines and imprisonment in case of misleading claims. Aside from traditional mediums like print radio and TV, these guidelines will also monitor digital platforms, including e-commerce websites. This means that digital advertisers can no longer get away with making false claims about their products and services, and this includes celebrities as well.  This move is being widely appreciated since consumers get heavily influenced by celebrities and are quick to trust the product or service endorsed by them. Making them liable will only make them and companies more accountable and watchful in their advertising.

Steps to follow

Considering the significance that is attached to these advertising codes and regulations, it is important for advertisers to be clear about the action points that need to be kept in mind while curating ads going forward. The guidelines bring forward some very straight points that will drive advertising.  The first thing that needs to be ensured is that if your ads need to bear a disclaimer, it should be clear, prominent, and legible. This means that the disclaimer needs to be printed in the same font size as the claim to prevent individuals from missing it while viewing the ad. Moreover, it should be in the same language as the advertisement’s claim to be easily understood by the audiences.  These guidelines also bring forward a framework for TV advertisement and other forms of video ads and state that if a claim is presented through voice over, the disclaimer needs to be displayed or played along with the VO. The guidelines mandate that the disclaimer should not conceal material information or, in any form, make the ad deceptive or hide its commercial intent. In addition, digital advertisers must also ensure that their ads follow general guidelines. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to confirm that all ads comply with applicable laws and regulations and fall under the advertising policies of the country and state where the ad will be served. For instance, obscene or pornographic material, adult material, adult services, nudity, excessive profanity are under no circumstances allowed in digital ads.

What’s next?

According to Manisha Kapoor,  secretary-general, Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the frameworks and guidelines can be expected to witness further refinement as it is necessary that it sensitive and relevant to what is current. For example, there is an acute sensitivity to health claims in today’s situation, and the consumer mindset has shifted. What might have been considered acceptable earlier may not be so today. This is why advertisers need to keep up with the changing scenario in order to stay relevant.  ASCI has also stated that monitoring digital platforms will be practiced more extensively in addition to the already tracked print and television media. ASCI has recently added this under its National Advertising Monitoring Service (NAMS), and there can be a stronger framework put in place to enhance the credibility of digital ads soon. The idea is to identify potentially misleading advertisements on digital media and protect the audience from falling prey to these false claims. The next big step in advertising in terms of advertising code and guidance is that there can be a stronger bent towards driving and evolving the industry narrative on responsible advertising. As economies open up and consumerism increases, the relevance of a powerful regulatory framework becomes even more critical, giving rise to the evolution of more accountable advertising.  These guidelines will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the quality of information that is presented in advertising and will enable audiences to place greater trust in ads. This is surely welcome more for advertisers and consumers alike.  Download the PDF version