MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • To kickstart a health movement in India

    Leo Burnett bags Goqii digital healthcare biz

    By Our Staff

     

    Fitness technology company Goqii has mandated Leo Burnett India to handle its strategic and creative mandate. The account will be handled by the agency’s Mumbai office.

     

    Vishal Gondal
    Vishal Gondal

    Speaking about the appointment, Goqii founder Vishal Gondal said: “Goqii is committed to making the world a healthier and happier place. Our mission is to build the largest tech enabled healthcare platform to empower and motivate consumers to #BeTheForce. Given our proposition and our dynamic industry we were looking for a partner who emulated our new age thinking and goals with creativity and strong digital DNA. We were impressed with Leo Burnett’s understanding of the preventive healthcare mindset; a data first strategic thinking and a fresh creative approach. We are looking forward to working together.”

     

    Dheeraj Sinha
    Dheeraj Sinha

    Added Dheeraj Sinha, CEO & Chief Strategy Officer –  South Asia, Leo Burnett: “India needs a health movement. We need to put as much accent on living a better, healthier life than on post-disease healthcare. Goqii’s worldview and its suite of services is about helping you live longer, better, more fulfilled life. The brand delivers this through multiple services, tie ups with brands, nutrition advisory, health advisory, content around mental well-being going all the way to insurance solutions. We are indeed looking forward to partnering with Goqii to bringing access to a better life through better health for larger India.”

     

     

  • In a crowded market, the only way a brand can stand out today is to add credibility in communication, writes Bhuvi Gupta

    Brand Purpose & Credibility: Key to survival for Brands

     

    By Bhuvi Gupta

     

    Bhuvi GuptaThe last few weeks have had us all heaving a huge sigh of relief. The hold that the Covid-19 Delta variant had taken over our lives seems to have abated for the time being. We are all now in between where we have a longing to return to business as usual (usual being the new normal) at least for the short term but are scared about when the Third Wave will rear its ugly head.

     

    The storm of the last month made us all grateful for the positive power of the social media. And Dettol captures this sense of gratitude perfectly in its timely Covid warriors campaign which has just been launched. It hits the ball out of the park for multiple reasons – the timing, the ‘grateful’ mood of the nation, how it captures brand’s promise of protection and safety, and its high virality quotient.

     

     

    We all depended on Covid warriors the past few months – these are people who managed to save lives by foraging for medicines, ventilators and beds by using social media and extending their networks. It is influencer marketing campaign but in a respectful way because atypical ‘influencers’ are being used. By using influencers, Dettol gets the benefit of their reach and engagement thereby ensuring virality. The campaign replaces its branding on the package to celebrate these unsung heroes. Packaging has long been an under-leveraged branding vehicle. The campaign is hence a win all the way and is bound to pick up many a pencil, elephant and metal.

     

    Dove and  ‘Hair Love’

     

    I have talked about how with the information overload that the internet and specifically social media has decreased mental bandwidth for retaining advertising in many of my pieces.  Long-form marketing, content marketing, product placements that add credibility to the product narrative hence become more important to kindle a desire to purchase. Internationally, Dove and Nike are both investing in being true to their brand purpose.

     

    It has always fascinated me that the 2020 Oscar-winning short film, Hair Love was funded via a Kickstarter campaign and that a major participant in the Kickstarter was Unilever-owned Dove. Despite funding the short film, Dove did not try an overt product placement but kept its participation covert.  Just as other entities that contributed to the Kickstarter, Dove only appears in the ending credits. Because the messaging was true to the brand narrative, it helped market the film by arranging for community screenings, and reaching out to tastemakers and media.  This did not help them to sell products but it did help them to cement their perception as a brand which was genuine.

     

    Nike – Breaking2

    A similar case is of Nike. Nike has set the bar for sports marketing in the last few decades and they are constantly raising it to ensure they maintain a high share of voice.  In 2014, Nike set out to do what was impossible at the time – a project to break the two-hour marathon barrier. The documentary Breaking2 captured the entire three-year journey that culminated in an unsuccessful attempt in May 2017. While the star marathoner, Eliud Kipchoge missed the 2 hour mark by a mere 26 seconds in 2017, he achieved the feat in 2019.

     

    The project leveraged science and research to create an optimum environment which enabled the carefully chosen athletes a shot at breaking the record. The environment comprised of the perfect shoe, the best possible time of year, the track, a mechanism to manage headwinds (which affect speed) and many other miniscule parameters.

     

    While the project executed over a three-year period was directly linked to Nike’s products, it was the larger objective of relentless effort to enhance performance to test the limits of human endurance and capability, which made it closer to brand purpose than marketing communication.

     

    It was hence a perfect balance – communication that served a larger purpose while also enabling the company to sell shoes.

     

    Brand purpose is key in 2021. Customers want brands to embody an inspiring ethos, have a strong point of view and take actions to spread their purpose rather than communicate only to sell products.

     

    In a crowded market, the only way a brand can stand out today is to add credibility in communication.  Marketing is inherently transactional in nature, but communication which leads with brand purpose is key to move customers down the funnel and make them return, especially for products which are easily replaceable.

  • Appoints former cricketer Anand Yalvigi as Director

    Dentsu launches Sports Marketing Unit in India

    By Our Staff

     

    Anand Yalvigi
    Anand Yalvigi

    Dentsu International has announced the launch of its sports marketing unit in India. Former cricketer Anand Yalvigi will be Director of the new vertical for India. Armed with nearly 20 years of experience in sports marketing, Yalvigi is a former Ranji player. Earlier, he has played for Mumbai and Karnataka.

     

    The launch is supported by Dentsu Sports International (DSI) – headquartered in Tokyo, and Dentsu Sports Asia (DSAsia), Singapore. For the record, DSI and DSAsia are global agencies that harness the power of sports to impact human behaviour through meaningful marketing solutions and experiences. DSI leverages deep insights and its network of seasoned, highly experienced team members to establish powerful connections between sports properties and brands. Its core mission is to be the most insightful and impactful sports marketing business, globally.

     

    The sports marketing unit is born out of the Dentsu Group, one of the world’s largest and highly regarded marketing communications companies. In India, the unit will function under DSAsia. Dentsu Sports Asia will operate through with 200+ people across the globe in US, UK, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand. Headquartered from Japan, Dentsu Sports Asia will be serving as the rights holders from the world of sports including federations, leagues, events, teams, publishers, and venues.

     

    Yalvigi has successfully launched and worked with multiple sports management companies including Ignite Sports, Havas Sports, Network Sports and Nimbus. He was also instrumental in setting up the Kochi IPL team. He has been persistently involved in the designing of unique sports concepts for various brands with an affinity toward cricket – his core domain. In his new role, Yalvigi will report into Haresh Nayak, COO Dentsu International, Media Brands.

     

    Haresh Nayak
    Haresh Nayak

    Commenting on Anand’s appointment, Haresh Nayak, COO Dentsu International, Media Brands said, “The launch of Dentsu India/Dentsu Sports Asia unit will harness the power of sports via its commercial and creative capabilities to bring meaningful marketing solutions and experiences for brands. I am thrilled that Anand has joined us; he has an impressive track record. I have the utmost confidence in his ability to steer our business to greater heights.”

     

  • Delhi and Gurugram are one of the largest business units of Havas Media Group India

    Havas Media announces key elevations for senior management

    By Our Staff

     

    Havas Media Group India has announced elevations and promotions with immediate effect.

     

    Given that Delhi and Gurugram are one of the largest business units of Havas Media Group India with clients ranging from auto, consumer durables, real-estate to fashion, F&B and hospitality sectors among others, the North operations have been consolidated under two unit heads – Roopali Sharma, who completes eight years and Harbir Singh, who completes six years. They have been promoted as Managing Partners – Delhi. Chandradeep Kumar completes five years and has been promoted to Senior Vice President (Delhi).

     

    The Mumbai office will be led by Manish Sharma (previously Vice President -Delhi) as Executive Vice President and Head – Mumbai. He has been with the organisation for over five years. Both North and West continue to report to Uday Mohan, President – North & West India.

     

    In Bengaluru, which has clients like Swiggy, Gamezy, MyGate and the recent win of Ola, the office will continue to be led by Saurabh Jain. He has been with the agency for over six years and has been promoted as Managing Partner – South.

     

    Meanwhile, Rohan Chincholi has been elevated to Head of Digital to oversee and consolidate the overall digital business/services across markets, as the agency strengthens its digital footprint in the region through its new Mx methodology that combines both consumer insight and data. This is Chincholi’s second stint at Havas Media. He rejoined the agency in 2017.  Jain and Chincholi will continue reporting to Mohit Joshi, CEO, Havas Media Group India.

     

    Commenting on the re-organisation, Joshi said: “Continuing to invest in people as we reaffirm our focus on Mx operating system and 4Ps – Product, People, Pitches and Passion, I am excited to announce the promotions for these deserving leaders. They have been with us for a long time, tireless with their efforts and commitment in what has been one of the toughest years to help Havas Media reach greater heights. We are confident that going forward this team of emerging leaders will continue to help us become a more agile and robust media group.”

     

  • He joins Network from BBDO, Gurugram.

    Akashneel Dasgupta joins Network Advtg as Chief Creative Officer

    By Our Staff

     

    Akashneel Dasgupta
    Akashneel Dasgupta

    Network Advertising has appointed Akashneel Dasgupta as its Chief Creative Officer. He joins Network from BBDO, Gurugram.

     

    A MICA graduate with over 16 years of experience who began his career as a Strategic Planner but switched over to creative given his interests in films and filmmaking.

     

    Added Vinod Nair, MD, Network Advertising: “We are extremely fortunate to have a powerhouse of talent like Akashneel on board at Network. A rare combination of a Strategic Planner turned Creative Director; I am looking forward to seeing his leadership in collaborating with his team in creating work that adds value to our Client’s Businesses”.

     

    Commenting on the new role, Dasgupta said, “Independent. Integrated and most importantly Indian. Not too many agencies can truly claim to be that in the current scenario. Added to that is a culture of empathy and transparency. It is a story which deserves to travel further, and I would be extremely happy to contribute to this wonderful place, that is an outlier in today’s world. At the same time preserve the culture which has been carefully built over decades, by the current team.”

     

    Dasgupta also had successful stints at DDB Mudra, Lowe Lintas and ADK Fortune.

  • ICAS is the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation

    ASCI bags two awards & special mention at the ICAS Awards 2021

    By Our Staff

     

    The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has won two International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS) awards, one each for the ‘Best Awareness Raising Initiative’ and in the ‘Special Category’. It also got a special mention in the ‘Best Sectoral Initiative’ category.

     

    Said Subhash Kamath, Chairman, ASCI: “We are delighted to receive the recognitions; it’s a proud moment for ASCI. This is a validation of self-regulation for the advertising industry in India and global recognition of the role ASCI has played over the past 35 years. We are excited to be part of the worldwide conversation around advertising and we hope to change the narrative of the Indian industry. Our vision for this year is to lead  ASCI’s journey to becoming a future facing organization . We successfully launched the Guidelines For Influencer Advertising In Digital Media recently and coming up soon is GenderNext, a deep-dive study to understand the portrayal of women in advertising and to ensure its positive evolution.”

     

     

  • Avik Chattopadhyay on the on- and off-play acts that had Djokovic, Naomi Osaka, Christian Eriksen, BBC, Ronaldo & Paul Pogba in the news

    Brand Lessons from Clay & Grass!

     

    By Avik Chattopadhyay

     

    Avik ChattopadhyayThe French Open 2021 tennis championships just got over and the Euro 2020 football championships are currently on. Over the last three weeks, events have happened that bear implications for the world of brands and brand management.

     

    To me, the French Open winners were Novak S. Djokovic [quite obviously] and Naomi Z Osaka. While both are huge brands by themselves, this piece is about the way brands associated with them have performed over the two weeks at Roland Garros, for the world to see.

     

    “Novak ‘S.’ Djokovic?”, you would ask. Yes. The ‘S’ stands for ‘silent’. The man silently went about winning his 19th Gland Slam title, silencing a lot of his critics. If one followed him through this year’s tournament it was easy to observe his evolved behaviour on court and off it. Gone were the ebullient celebrations after each match, especially in the semis and the finals. There was an occasional roar, but that was it. He was smiling at his own mistakes. He was calm as a monk at the breaks. One expected that all the pent-up internal pressure would see an exit valve sometime, but no. And then he gave his racquet to a little supporter on the sidelines after winning, saying that was the best way to express gratitude to his “cute little coach”.

     

    Djokovic sports two brands apart from apparel sponsor Lacoste. One is a technology firm called UKG. The other is Peugeot. His association with the French car brand has been for more than six years now but this year, the brand, in a new avatar, took a really bold step to create a piece of communication with their brand ambassador released for Roland Garros. Announcing the launch of the Peugeot 508 SW plug-in-hybrid, it is a terrific demonstration of when the sponsor’s and ambassador’s DNAs totally are in sync.

     

     

    And the words at the end, captured here in the screengrab say it all. The commercial can be viewed at https://youtu.be/ugNSGoISTmg

     

    Coming to Naomi Z. Osaka. Yes, the ‘Z’ stands for Gen-Z. It does take immense guts and candour to withdraw from a tournament of this stature because she could not agree with the rule of appearing at post-match press meets which made her uncomfortable. [Djokovic was one of the few who openly supported her stand.] Why not appear at a press meet when one gets more exposure, one would ask? But Osaka belongs to a generation that most of us managing brands are still coming to terms with. I went across and asked two of my friends for some insights to understand Gen-Z better. One, Subhash Chandra, a market research analyst shared lots of short clippings about the ‘post-millennials’ as they are also called. The other, Nirmal Dayani, shared the same sentiments of his Gen-Z son on this issue.

     

    [Source – YouGov-Mint-CPR Millennial Survey, March-April 2020]

     

    In the older times, the sponsors would have taken serious offence to such a sudden move by their brand ambassador, and one might have even decided to pull out of the contract due to an obvious breach of the same. Not in the case of Osaka. Nike, ANA, and Nissin all stayed steadfast behind her as if endorsing her decision. Also, that way they continue to connect with the Gen-Z whom Osaka represents, for their own business interests.

     

    Cut to the Euro 2020 being played across the continent right now.

     

    On June 12, during a game against Finland, Christian Eriksen of Denmark had a serious medical emergency. While his teammates shielded him while CPR was being given and the stadium was in stunned silence, the television cameras were showing close-ups of the attempts to revive him and of his shocked wife being comforted by teammates Schmeichel and Klaer. After some time the cameras pulled back and stayed there. There was huge backlash on the broadcasters for getting too close to the medical activity and sharing personal moments. The BBC formally apologised the very next day.

     

     

    This is a clear indicator on the maturity with which brands need to handle totally unexpected situations. It is easy to get carried away and behave in a manner that may bring in immediate social media chatter but eventually lead to social media outrage. A clear pointer to the media brands across the world, more so in India, who tend to sensationalise events for personal gains, at the cost of social propriety!

     

    A few days later, at their respective post-match press meets, Cristiano Ronaldo removed a couple of Coca-Cola bottles from the table while Paul Pogba removed a Heineken bottle. There were news items of how Coke lost $4.00 billion in the stock market due to that action. We are yet to know how much Heineken lost, but then Pogba is not as big a star as CR7 is!

     

     

    This is again a strong message going out to brands to be empathetic to people’s sensitivities. While one may question the very logic of having a fizzy drink sponsoring an event about fitness, the onus lies on the brand[s] to show respect. CR7 is known to espouse the cause of health food so it would be downright silly to position those Coke bottles in front of him. Pogba is a Muslim so would never like to have an alcohol brand with him. The logos of the sponsors are anyway on the backdrops, so why this urge to do the overkill with product placement? In todays times, these do not have the desired positive impact. In fact, if they boomerang, then they garner more social media space!

     

    Anyway, the Russians are leading the Finns by a goal while Turkey and Wales are warming up for their game which is a must-win for both. So, I better rush back to my place in front of the screen. Cheers!

     

  • To express gratitude to its learners, educators and users

    Lowe Lintas films for Unacademy

    By Our Staff

     

    Unacademy has released a new film expressing gratitude to its learners, educators, and users – who the company terms as their ‘Believers’ – for making it India’s largest learning platform. The film is conceived by Lowe Lintas Bangalore.

     

    Speaking about the campaign, Puneet Kapoor, Regional Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas said: “Unacademy has had a great journey as a brand both business-wise and communication-wise. Showcasing the stellar data points of the achievements is always a challenging creative task. The convergence of exceptional storytelling, treatment, direction, and a kickass track that vibes with the life stage of the brand was used to hit the sweet spot. Kudos to all the teams involved and to the Unacademy marketing team for believing in us as always.”

     

  • To drive the brand outreach, support business growth and strengthen brand narrative

    Integrow Asset retains Pitchfork

    By Our Staff

     

    It’s raining new business announcements at Pitchfork.

     

    Integrow Asset Management, a real estate-focused asset management firm, has appointed Pitchfork Partners as its communication strategy advisor. Pitchfork, the agency set up by industry seniors Sunil Gautam and Jaideep Shergill, will drive the brand outreach for Integrow Asset Management, support its business growth and strengthen the brand narrative.

     

    Said Ramashrya Yadav, Founder and CEO, Integrow Asset Management: “We want to create a premier real estate asset management institution built on trusted partnerships, value creation and sustainability. We want to transform the business of asset management and real estate development through a unique combination of transparency and alpha generation through decisions we make in crucial areas. Integrow aims to be a real estate platform for various forms & formats of real estate eventually benefiting all stakeholders. We aim to drive our brand narrative by leveraging the expertise of Pitchfork Partners, which has a proven track record, understands our message and shares our values.”

     

    Added Shergill: “We look forward to a great partnership. Integrow has a brilliant grasp of the real estate market. With its commitment to sustainable projects, coupled with the power of technology, we believe it has an edge over others in the sector. We are privileged to partner with such an innovative company.”

     

  • Santosh 'Paddy' Padhi to lead agency, but the creative shop will miss the energy of its co-founder

    Life after Agnello Dias for Taproot

     

     

    By Our Staff

     

    His exit has been rumoured for a while now. But denied, declined and even rubbished. We were told that he has moved to a larger group-level role, as creative chairman of the Dentsu group in India.

     

    Which wasn’t untrue. But it was the beginning of a long road to the end of a relationship with Dentsu. Dias, better known as Aggi or Aggie, will continue with the agency until the end of this month (June 2021).

     

    And after that? Well, he will be a consultant on a few brands, one of which is Airtel. And what else? Nothing for the moment that has been announced.

     

    But first the news: Taproot Dentsu has announced key leadership changes as it gears up to get future-ready. Ayesha Ghosh, who had been heading the Mumbai office, has now been appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). She will be responsible for both Mumbai and Gurugram offices. Ghosh has been with Taproot Dentsu since December 2015.

     

    Partnering her closely will be Shashank Lanjekar. He has been elevated to the role of Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and will now be in charge of strategic planning for both the Taproot Dentsu offices in Mumbai and Gurugram. Thus far, he had been heading planning for the Mumbai office, ever since he joined in 2017. His ability to go deep and yet have an intuitive touch has helped give birth to some memorable campaigns.

     

    Pearl Vas, who has been with the agency since 2018, takes on more independent responsibilities in Mumbai. She will now be promoted to Senior Vice President (SVP), Strategic Planning.

     

    Meanwhile, under the overall creative leadership of Santosh ‘Paddy’ Padhi, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer (CCO) – Taproot Dentsu, the creative team for the Mumbai office has been expanded and divided into four units, each to be headed by a senior creative person. Neeraj Kanitkar, with an experience of 14 years (nine of those in Taproot Dentsu), is the creative lead for Facebook for which he has won the agency awards at Spikes and AdFest. He has also worked on significant brands like WhatsApp, Myntra, American Tourister and FirstPost.  He will be promoted to Executive Creative Director (ECD). Yogesh Rijhwani has been with the agency for close to five years with a total experience of 13 years. He has been handling Aquaguard and Set Wet. He has also worked on Star Sports, Airtel, Parle-G among others. He too will be promoted to ECD.

     

    The other two senior creative leads will be Abhishek Deshwal and Purva Ummat. Abhinav Kaushik, who was Executive Vice President (EVP) on the Honda business among other brands, has been promoted to Head – Taproot Dentsu, Gurgaon while Titus Upputuru remains very ably in charge of creative for the Gurugram office. The other news is that veteran agencyperson Umesh Shrikhande retired as CEO in March this year.

     

    Santosh Padhi or Paddy will continue as Co-Founder and CCO and will have a more hands-on role in both Mumbai and Delhi offices. According to our sources, Taproot Dentsu will, for all practical purposes, be led by him.

     

    Dias began his advertising career in 1989 and after working with agencies like Dart, Interpub, Lowe and Leo Burnett, he joined JWT in 2005 where rose to become the Chief Creative Officer. Soon JWT India was ranked India’s No. 1 creative agency in the Campaign Brief rankings for Asia. Then he made history by winning India’s first-ever Grand Prix at Cannes and the first-ever Titanium-Integrated Lion, with JWT India not only being the network’s top performer but also returning the best ever performance by an Indian advertising agency at the festival.

     

    His name features in almost every award catalogue – from our homegrown Abby and Kyoorius to Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, Clio, AdFest, London International Advertising Awards, etc. The list is loooong.

     

    Taproot, which was then not acquired by Dentsu, was ranked among the world’s Top 20 independent agencies besides being crowned Asia-Pacific Agency of the Year. In 2013 Taproot India also became the Asia-Pacific Agency of the Year at Spikes Asia.

     

    Nine years back, Dias was ranked amongst the World’s 100 most Creative People by Fast Company magazine in the US. So what about Life after Aggie for Taproot. Well, it is, like as one friend of the agency said, the roots have been extracted. While Paddy stays on, we all know what Aggie brought into the system. It was not just creation. It was intensity, conviction and much passion.”

     

    In an industry dominated by some of the big agencies like Ogilvy, Lowe Lintas, McCann and some others, Aggie brought in some amazing energy into his advertising. Whether it was the advertising for Airtel or for The Times of India and Mumbai Mirror, he produced some really memorable work. The kind that hasn’t been seen for a while in Indian advertising, Taproot included.

     

    There are many who say that Aggie needn’t work given the monies he earned after selling Taproot to Densu (with Paddy), but, as some of his friends tell us, that’s unfair. “Knowing Aggie, he’s going to not stop working and dreaming up new ideas for advertisers.” There were rumours of his looking at some feature film projects, but that we are told have faded away. “There was just this much he could’ve done at Taproot after selling out to Dentsu. He will reinvent himself and come up with something as refreshing as before,” the friend added.

     

    Meanwhile, for Taproot Dentsu, while Agnello Dias will continue to be around consulting for a few of its prized accounts which are possibly with the agency thanks to him, it will be interesting to see the kind of business it generates and retains in the immediate future. What we do know that co-founder Santosh ‘Paddy’ Padhi is fairly aggressive in his approach and will try his bestest to ensure the news doesn’t impact the agency’s fortunes.

     

    Clearly the next few months should see some activity for both Taproot and Agnello Dias.

  • For the food division which includes RoohAfza

    Havas Media wins Hamdard mandate

    By Our Staff

     

    Havas Media India has won the offline media mandate for Hamdard Laboratories’ food division, that includes the iconic beverage brand RoohAfza and all its extensions, Hamdard honey, Hamdard saffron, oils, healthy teas, snacks, dairy products, and other value added innovative food products.

     

    The account will be handled out of the agency’s Gurugram office, led by Uday Mohan, President – North & West India, Havas Media.

     

    Hamid Ahmed
    Hamid Ahmed

    Said Hamid Ahmed, CEO, Hamdard Laboratories India (Foods Division): “Hamdard cherishes the trust and popularity of millions of households through its health benefitting natural products for the last 114 years. Our aim is to become a truly home-friendly food & beverage brand with a core purpose of offering health through foods. We are confident of Havas Media’s capabilities and strongly believe in their Meaningful Brands philosophy, making them the right partner for us. We look forward to this partnership.”

     

    Mohit Joshi
    Mohit Joshi

    Added Mohit Joshi, CEO, Havas Media Group India: “Hamdard is a legacy brand, a trusted household name with a presence of over 100 years, offering natural and healthy products. With health and immunity taking centre-stage in our lives, herbal and ayurvedic food products and supplements are becoming the preferred choice of consumers. Our ‘Meaningful Brands’ philosophy resonates well with a brand like Hamdard and we are glad to be appointed as their media partner. We look forward to our association in driving the brand’s meaningful journey.”

     

  • The WARC report underscores why marketers will need to plan brand and performance together to generate maximum impact

    Rethinking Brand for the Rise of Digital Commerce

     

    By Our Staff

     

    WARC, the global marketing intelligence company, has released a white paper titled ‘Rethinking Brand for the Rise of Digital Commerce’ reframing brand-building in the pandemic times. The white paper features analysis by former strategist and researcher James Hurman, who sets out why marketers will need to plan brand and performance together to generate maximum impact, as well as interviews with leading CMOs, plus new research by Adgile, Amplified Intelligence, Analytic Partners, the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, Facebook, Flywheel Digital, Wavemaker and more.

     

    Key takeaways highlighted in Rethinking Brand for the Rise of Digital Commerce are:

    1. Rethinking ‘brand-building’ as ‘future demand’

    Marketers are having to increase investment in performance techniques as their sales shift online – known as ‘digital rent’. A balance between brand and performance is still required, but new language may be needed to reframe ‘brand’ in a way that appeals outside the marketing department, and makes sense at a time when platforms are becoming ‘full funnel’.

    James Hurman, Founding Partner, Previously Unavailable, and contributor to the report, lays out an alternative way of thinking about brand and performance that helps bring the two closer together as complementary techniques. He advises: “We need to be creating future demand at the same time as we’re capturing existing demand. When these two things happen concurrently, growth is sustainable, and sustained.”

     

    2. Strong brands still have an advantage in digital purchase environments

    Brand-building remains important in the digital economy, as demonstrated by the growing investment in brand advertising by FAANG companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Alphabet’s Google), which now account for 4% of the total global adspend, per WARC Data.

    Companies selling through digital platforms need a strong presence close to the point of sale.  But those that have taken a cohesive approach to building and communicating their brands still retain an advantage from search through to purchase decisions. This advantage is driven by four factors: fame, mental availability, recognition, and perceptions of value.

    Conny Braams, Chief Digital & Marketing Officer, Unilever, comments: “Strong brands do well in e-commerce. The convergence of media, entertainment and commerce offers many exciting opportunities for brands to grow… Brands need to provide unmissable services, content and experiences.”

     

    3. Ending the brand-building ‘silo’

    It has also become clear that a siloed approach to brand-building and performance is counter-productive. The two are clearly different approaches and different mindsets. They might involve different teams. But they need co-ordination to maximise their effectiveness. The need to resolve this will become more acute as digital commerce platforms offer ‘full-funnel’ formats.

    Changes in the media market make this need more acute, as digital commerce platforms make a pitch for ‘full-funnel’ ad investment across the purchase journey.

    It will finally be time to drop the distinction between ‘digital’ and ‘traditional’ media, and consider combinations of channels that are right for a brand, its audience and its objectives.

    New measurement models like attention will gain traction as marketers look for the best opportunities across different channel types and ad formats.

     

    Said David Tiltman, VP Content, WARC: “We need to rethink brand-building and channel assumptions. The events of 2020 saw deep cuts to investment in marketing, and brand-building in general. If we hold that a strong brand is key to the long-term health of businesses, marketers now face a profound risk to their reputation as drivers of growth. With this white paper we bring together the latest evidence to help marketers continue to understand the role of brand in the accelerated digital commerce landscape, and to counter some of the assumptions in the market.”