MxMIndia

Category: MARKETING

  • Dr Srikant Patel, who heads the practice, has a career spanning over 17 years in research

    MRSS India adds Social Research practice

    By A Correspondent

     

    Independent market research agency MRSS India has added social research practice in its list of services and also announces the appointment of Dr Srikant Patel as Head of Social Research Practice.

     

    Dr Patel has a career spanning over 17 years in research. He joins MRSS India from IMRB International where he was a Group Business Director.

     

    Said Raj Sharma, Chairman, MRSS India, commented on the appointment: “From the time MRSS has got success in the B3G space, we have been eyeing the ‘Social Market Research’ space. We could have either acquired a specialist firm OR a specialist leader and we went for the latter. We strongly believe that this step will result in significant revenues for us in the coming years.”

     

    Added Dr Patel said “The market size of social research business in India is about INR 2 Billion and we would offer services in the following sectors: Education; Gender; Health and Nutrition; Poverty; Water and Sanitation; Rural Development; Livelihood; Citizen Survey and Report Card; Natural Resource Management; Climate Change. The Social Research Practice of MRSS India is poised with more humane elements, giving equal importance to the head as well as the heart.”

     

  • Launches new brand campaign propagating ‘Reverse Migration’ with the power of 4G

    Idea democratises 4G to make a digitally enabled new India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Living by its philosophy that ‘An Idea can change your life”, Idea is now suggesting that democratising 4G is the way to build a truly digital India. Its new 4G ad campaign that goes live on television, establishes the fact the mobile internet is not just an urban phenomenon, it is a driver of change for rural India too.

     

    The campaign – crafted by the MullenLowe Lintas group – underlines an overarching message which says, “Idea 4G se Gaon Gaon Sheher ban jayenge, Toh apne bhi laut ayenge. Naya India Banaenge”, suggesting the idea of ‘Reverse Migration’ made possible with Idea 4G.

     

    The new ad is set in a village which is plagued with low economic development. A girl who has come back to her home in the village on vacation, sees that majority of the young population has left the village to earn a living and decides to bring back its people. She sets up a small business in the village and promotes it digitally, using Idea 4G that generates employment in turn. Her father returns to the village to take part in the business and that is how the TVC establishes the importance of democratizing 4G to empower lives and drive Reverse Migration.

     

    Talking about the new campaign, Sashi Shankar, Chief Marketing Officer, Idea Cellular said, “Mobile internet as a category can be seen in various ways. While some decide to focus on the functional aspect of the 4G technology, we at Idea think that 4G has a transformational attribute. It is advanced, it is progressive, it is the window to the world of opportunities and it is affordable too. In the past several years, Idea has worked on apprising Indians about the importance of adopting mobile internet and with 4G there is so much more that can be done.

     

    With the new TVC, we are bringing people back home. We are promoting 4G as the driver of change that can create opportunities across India. We believe that Idea 4G can bridge the gap between urban and rural India.”

     

  • For the record, Ogilvy India already manages the Pulsar and Platina brands

    Ogilvy wins integrated creative mandate for Dominar 400

    By A Correspondent

     

    After a rigorous pitch process lasting more than two months, Ogilvy India has won the business of Bajaj Auto’s Dominar. The size of the account is not yet known but the bike’s launch is expected to be accompanied with an aggressive marketing activity. Ogilvy already manages Bajaj’s Pulsar and Platina brands.

     

    Commenting on the development, Sumeet Narang, VP Marketing, Bajaj Auto Ltd said: “Dominar has been one of the most awaited launches. It will be the biggest and most technologically advanced bike from our stable and we expect it to take motorcycling in India to a next new level. We therefore wanted a concept that was unusual yet something that bikers could connect well with. We found the idea presented by Ogilvy meeting that expectation and having sufficient play for future build ups.”

     

    Added Abhik Santara, EVP,Ogilvy Mumbai: “This win is really special. It is about creating a whole new world of biking, something which we had done for Pulsar many moons back.   Sumeet gave us a very clear brief on this and the chances of misinterpreting it were practically zero, which made the pitch process even more difficult. Our strategy and creative had to be sharp like a razor to stand out. We are proud that we had both, and more importantly, a client who spotted it in one shot. The Ogilvy team working on Bajaj across planning, servicing and creative (quite a few of them are avid bikers) had the most satisfying time working on this pitch and are now fully gearing up to manage the launch.”

     

    Said Sukesh Nayak, ECD, Ogilvy Mumbai, who believes that this was one of the sharpest and yet toughest briefs to crack: “We knew the feeling it is needed to evoke with the rider and yet find a cut which is never done in the biking world. But once we had cracked the idea, we knew it. There was no looking back from there and it is one of those rare cases where the pitch campaign is being produced for the final launch. Fingers crossed, this will surely make bikers take note.”

     

  • The campaign led by Video CVs takes viewers and potential employers to a page that is a one-of-a-kind online Employment Exchange for hiring various acid-attack survivors

    Ogilvy partners MLNS to create video CVs for acid attack survivors

    By A Correspondent

     

    Building on the success of its #EndAcidSale campaign for ‘Make Love Not Scars’ last year, Ogilvy has launched a powerful new campaign to benefit the cause of acid attack survivors.

     

    In the campaign hashtagged #SkillsNotScars, acid attack survivors present their skills to potential employers through a CV with a twist – a Video CV. After stating standard information about themselves and their skills, these women end their Video CV by saying that they could have well emailed a written out CV like any other candidate, but they created a Video CV so that their potential employer could also see their acid-scarred faces, and they hoped that this will not be the barrier for their employers.

     

    Said Kainaz Karmakar and Harshad Rajadhyaksha, Executive Creative Directors, Ogilvy Mumbai: “Acid attack survivors face the added unfairness of the world cringing at the sight of their scarred faces. A huge part of the fight back against this evil is for society to accept these innocent victims back into the social fold. And there can be no greater support than to look beyond their scars and employ these girls for the skills they bring to the table.”

     

    “A cause as powerful and rich in intent, also deserved an equally powerful communication. That’s where the uniqueness of ‘Video CVs’ as a format will get the world to sit up and take notice, we believe.  We are very glad that after having put the cause of acid-attack survivors on the world stage last year, our team has been able to take this meaningful next step to bring dignity and financial freedom to these brave girls.  We are equally glad to partner Ria Sharma, our MLNS client whose passion for this cause is unmatched.”

     

    Harshik Suraiya, Associate Creative Director, Ogilvy Mumbai added: “More than anything else this has been a journey of learning for me. The courage, the spirit and the smile on the faces of these survivors has taught me that life is what you make of it. I hope the courage they have shown in this campaign is supported by equal courage from the world and they are welcomed with open arms and open minds.”

     

    The campaign led by Video CVs takes viewers and potential employers to a page that is an online Employment Exchange for hiring various acid-attack survivors.

     

  • Presents a new TV campaign featuring range of specialized Titan lenses

    Titan Eyeplus highlights features of latest offering in new campaign

     

     

    Titan Eyeplus launched its latest marketing campaign featuring an array of specialised prescription lenses from the Titan portfolio – specifically designed to meet the lifestyle needs of varied consumer groups. Titan Eyeplus uses cutting-edge technology to manufacture lenses at its own manufacturing facilities in Chikkaballapur, on the outskirts of Bangalore since 2008 and the recently launched facility in Madhyamgram, West Bengal.

     

    Conceptualized by Ogilvy, India and produced by Thinkpot, the first-of-its-kind lens TVC by Titan Eyeplus takes us to different locales from foggy mountain ranges to choppy seas.  Commenting on the latest commercial for Titan Eyeplus, Vandana Bhalla, Marketing Head, Eyewear Division, Titan Company Ltd said: “We are extremely excited to launch this new campaign which promotes our line of high-tech specialised lenses. This is the first time that we are launching a campaign dedicated to Titan lenses. As a brand, we are cognisant of the changing lifestyles of consumers today and the various needs that arise for different consumers who lead multifaceted and experiential lives. We are constantly working to innovate and come up with new offerings that meet these changing needs. This campaign is also in line with our brand philosophy- Live the Untitled3New, and has an exciting visual language that’s sure to appeal to our audience.”

     

    “The task for Ogilvy was to create awareness for Titan lenses, thereby building its credentials as ‘the end-to-end solution for eyewear’. While our earlier films have upped the style quotient for the brand and positioned it as the go-to brand for diverse lifestyle needs, this film focuses on pitching different kinds of lenses that are adapted to the needs to different consumers. The film features young, confident people who do not lose sight of their goals and are ever ready to take on exciting challenges. The brand with its range of specialized lenses enables them to reach their goalposts. The new TVC embodies all the values the brand represents – boldness, spontaneity and audacity of youth and reinforces the brand’s proposition ‘Live the New’,” said Tithi Ghosh, Senior Vice President and Head of Advertising, Ogilvy Bangalore.

     

  • Home-grown global business transformation leader celebrates the country's 'Make in India' growth ambitions

    Tata Communications launches a new brand campaign in India

     

     

    Tata Communications announced the launch of a major multi-channel brand campaign in India. Designed to highlight the company’s diverse services portfolio that enables digital transformation for businesses and its contribution to the ‘Make in India’ narrative, the campaign will be on till the end of June 2017 and will celebrate the company’s customers and partners in India.

     

    Unfolding across the airports of Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Pune, and reaching over 100 million travellers, this campaign also includes the sponsorship of major industry and technology events in India as well as an extensive online advertising campaign with leading business publications, generating over 100 million impressions on all its digital channels.

     

    The roll-out of this campaign coincides with Tata Communications’ 15th year anniversary of a successful public-private partnership, which has seen the company evolve into the country’s business transformation leader, with services across network, mobility, cloud enablement and security.

     

    Said Julie Woods-Moss, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata Communications: “India continues to ascend the global competitiveness index. We are committed to playing a role in nurturing the country’s business potential and enabling outstanding customer value by simplifying digital transformation across industries. Our new brand campaign celebrates the spirit of India and showcases our innovative portfolio of products and services across network, cloud, mobility and security.”

     

    Tata Communications’ portfolio of services is underpinned by the company’s leading global network infrastructure. The company owns and operates the world’s largest and most advanced subsea fibre cable network, including the only wholly-owned fibre ring around the world. This network enables customers and partners to reach 99.7% of the world’s GDP, with connectivity to over 240 countries and territories.

     

    This campaign builds on the successful campaign in Silicon Valley (2014) and Tata Communications’ ongoing sponsorship of the Heathrow Express in London that started in 2015.

     

  • Not all of them are very positive, but like all Amul topical that reflect the prevailing mood or issues, the late former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha made it 15 times to the Amul topical ads

    14 times Jayalalitha featured in the Amul ad

    Not all of them are very positive, but like all Amul topical advertisements that reflect the prevailing mood or issues of the country (and the world), the late former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha featured at least 14 times to the Amul topical ads. As the nation and we pay homage to one of India’s most powerful and enigmatic political leaders, we reproduce these here, in random order:

     

  • The account will be handled out of the Gurgaon office

    Punjab Grill appoints Chimp&z Inc, Gurgaon as its integrated marketing services partner

    By A Correspondent

     

    Punjab Grill, a fine dining Indian restaurant chain, has appointed Chimp&z Inc. as its integrated marketing service partner. The agency will also handle the same responsibility for Punjab Grill’s new restaurant venture, Tappa. The account will be handled out of the Gurgaon office.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Isha Kapoor, Business Director of Chimp&z Inc, Gurgaon, said, “Punjab Grill is extremely prestigious and renowned for its food and the services it provides across the nation and we couldn’t be more excited to partner with them. It’s gives us great joy to know that they have put their faith in our capabilities and we look forward to maintaining their standards as well as delivering great effective and creative solutions to the brand in the coming months.”

     

    Talking about his association with Chimp&z Inc, Deepak Bhatia, Assistant Vice President, Punjab Grill said, “There is absolutely no doubt in the capabilities of the agency on board. We are assured that they will do our brand great justice at the end of the day. We look forward to the future with them and expect fabulous work from them, and I’m sure that they will deliver.”

     

  • The country's trending moments became worldwide conversations on Twitter

    India took to Twitter with renewed vigour in 2016, notes study

    By A Correspondent

     

    Twitter India has released its most trending moments of the year 2016.

     

    These moments became worldwide conversations on Twitter, be it PM Modi’s revolutionary demonetisation reform (Most Influential Moment of the Year), Delhi’s rising pollution problem, the debut of Global Citizen Festival in India, and the Bollywood glam at the Filmfare Awards. Meanwhile, some Indian voices joined the global Twitter community when India’s women athletes broke new ground at the Rio 2016 Olympics, cricketers Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni achieved milestone successes at the international World T20 tournament, and global cultural celebrations took place for Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi and the International Day of Yoga.

     

    PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, and Dipa Karmakar, India’s women athletes made #Rio2016 the Top Hashtag Trend of the Year on Twitter. Their medal victories and near-misses inspired women everywhere, and showcased a spirit of unwavering determination and grit.

     

    Virat Kohli’s Tweet in support of Anushka Sharma was the Golden Tweet or the most Retweeted Tweet of 2016. He encouraged his fans and critics, who attributed his outstanding performance in the ICC World T20 to their break-up, to focus instead on empathy and community building.

     

    Here are the highlights of the most influential moments of 2016 as determined by Twitter India

     

    1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation scheme

    On November 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetisation of Rs 500 and 1000 currency notes to fight against black money and corruption in India. The move impacted the majority of Indians and Twitter continues to resonate with their opinions and debates over the currency ban. The platform recorded 650,000 Tweets in 24 hours following the announcement and millions more Tweets in the following weeks. The magnitude of these conversations by experts as well as common people put the global spotlight on India.

     

    2. Women athletes at Rio 2016

    India united on Twitter to support and praise these top women athletes during #Rio2016. It was girl power all the way for India at the Summer Olympics and fans came together like never before to publicly voice their gratitude to India’s star performers. Twitter recorded millions of Tweets for these moments of national pride as part of the global conversation for #Rio2016 from 5-21 August. These victories saw Sindhu, Sakshi and Dipa rise as individuals beating the odds and excelling at sports, consecutively emerging as an inspiration to millions of women around the world.

     

    3. India versus Pakistan at WT20

    On March 19, #INDvPAK trended all day on Twitter in India and globally, and more than 1.1 million Tweets were recorded, making it the most Tweeted T20 International match ever, beating the earlier record of the recent Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan where more than 670,000 Tweets were sent. With his fantastic innings in a tight run-chase, Virat Kohli became the most mentioned player of this match on Twitter.

     

    4. Delhi Pollution

    The capital city’s escalating pollution levels all year have seen citizens take to Twitter to express their worries, share photos of smog-filled streets, and find solutions. At the start of the year, the government implemented the Odd-Even scheme, impounded diesel vehicles and banned fire crackers during Diwali to improve air quality levels. Like every winter, the pollution levels continued to escalate in Delhi this November leading to worries of severe health hazards amongst citizens.

     

    5. India celebrates Diwali

    Indians across the world celebrated the biggest and brightest festival via Tweets, photos and videos of sweets, fire crackers, festive clothes, and more from Oct 30-Nov 2. This year, thousands of Indians also participated in a Twitter Poll to choose the colour of the ‘diya’ Twitter emoji, eventually choosing the orange version for the #HappyDiwali hashtag.

     

    6. India versus Australia at WT20

    One of the most exciting games of #WT20 was the do-or-die, winner-takes-all clash between India and Australia on March 27. Virat Kohli scored 47 runs in the last five overs, hitting seven boundaries and a six, and the moment he hit the winning runs to secure India’s passage to the semi-finals was the most-Tweeted moment of #WT20. With 973K Tweets recorded during the match, this was the second most Tweeted match during the tournament.

     

    7. International Day of Yoga

    The second International Day of Yoga on June 21 was celebrated by yoga enthusiasts in India and across the world on Twitter. The ‘asana’ emoji was a delight for people celebrating the day and the platform lit up with invigorating photos and videos from the yoga community, even as remote as the Siachen glacier!

     

    8. Global Citizen India

    On November 19, British rock band Coldplay and American hip-hop artist Jay Z performed for the first time in India as part of the Global Citizen Festival India 2016 in Mumbai. As Coldplay frontman Chris Martin performed a duet with AR Rahman for ‘Vande Mataram’, the electric moment lit up on Twitter with videos and photos from the 80,000 screaming fans reaching a global audience. The concert’s energy resonated on Twitter as fans gushed over the event that connected global and Indian music cultures.

     

    9. India celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi

    Indians across communities, including celebrities, sport stars and politicians celebrated the cultural moment on the platform with colourful Tweets, greetings, photos and videos from August 5-16. This year, Twitter announced a special Lord Ganesha Twitter emoji for the first time. The special emoji was a pleasant surprise and an instant hit amongst Indians worldwide, who made #GaneshChaturthi emerge as one of the top Global Trends during the festive period, recording nearly half a million Tweets.

     

    10. Filmfare Awards

    For the 61st Filmfare Awards on January 15, Twitter provided a front row seat to fans across the world. Bollywood fans flocked to Twitter to follow the live and exciting conversation as the awards unfolded: real-time results of the winners, exclusive behind-the-scenes moments, live news broadcasts from the red carpet, exclusive videos and photos, and more. All of this made the Filmfare Awards the most talked about Indian award show of the year on Twitter.

     

  • International Olympic Committee leads the Field on Facebook and YouTube, but FIFA Wins on Instagram and Twitter in Burson-Marsteller and TSE Consulting’s New Study

    Social Media ranking of International Sports Organisations reveals amazing findings

    By A Correspondent

     

    Burson-Marsteller and its specialised sport consultancy, TSE Consulting, have published a‘Social Media and Olympic Sport Ranking’ which gives an overview of how of international Olympic organisations are performing on social media.

     

    Over the past decade, the Olympics has dominated social media channels and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its 35 International Sports Federations, have all added Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat channels into their communications mix. The first-ever Olympic Ranking looks at how these international sports governing bodies use their social media channels, how effective their channels are and what lessons they can learn from each other.

     

    The rankings offer new insights into which sports have the largest social media fan base, as well as the sports which, while they may have a smaller fan base, nevertheless manage to create a stronger impact. The study finds that the IOC is in a league of its own, topping the rankings on both Facebook and YouTube. The Olympics Facebook page, with more than 15 million likes, is the most-liked page of any international organisation with twice as many likes as UNICEF.

     

    The International Football Association (FIFA), on the other hand, is ahead of the Olympics on both Twitter and Instagram. The FIFA Twitter account boasts 9.3 million followers, almost twice as many as all Olympic accounts combined. The Top five sports on Twitter are football (soccer), basketball, rugby, cycling and athletics.

     

    Despite having fewer followers, the IOC makes more impact with its Twitter communication, with each tweet being shared an average of 467 times compared to 108 times for the @FIFAcom account. However, @FIFAcom is among the most active sports federations on Twitter, with 23 tweets per day, 10 times as many as the @Olympics account thereby managing to gain more impressions than its Olympic rival.

     

    Jeremy Galbraith, CEO, Europe, Middle East & Africa at Burson-Marsteller said, “International sports organisations are discovering powerful new opportunities to engage directly with fans via social media. But our new study reveals that even global sports bodies with millions of followers, such as the IOC and FIFA, can still do much more to maximize the effectiveness of these new communications channels. Social media will continue to become ever more influential for sports governing bodies in years to come, both for engagement with fans and stakeholders, as well as being integral to their commercial strategies.”

     

    Lars Haue-Pedersen, Managing-Director, TSE Consulting commented, “Social media has become a critical avenue for international sports organisations, not only for communications but also as a strategic lever with the opportunity for these bodies to engage directly with the wide range of members, fans and other stakeholders worldwide. I look forward to seeing how sports governing bodies choose to incorporate and fully integrate these platforms in the way they run their core operations in the future.”

     

    The study finds that the presidents and chief executives of the 35 international sports federations appear somewhat reluctant to have personal profiles on social media. Only 12 sports leaders are active on Twitter, with Sebastian Coe, President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the most followed with 110,000 followers. In second place is Brian Cookson, UCI President, and third is Brett Gosper, CEO of World Rugby.

     

    Finally, the study also looked at who might be influencing Olympic sports federations through being followed on Twitter, the platform most likely to create connections between influencers, journalists and the media. Not surprisingly, the IOC Twitter accounts @Olympics and @IOCMedia are connected to most other sports federations.

     

    The Olympic sports news website Inside the Games is the most-followed media organization, just ahead of its rival Around the Rings, with the NBC Olympics Twitter feed in third position. The BBC’s Ollie Williams is the sports journalist most followed by Sports Federations, ahead of Ed Hula, founder of Around the Rings and sports writer Alan Abrahamson from 3 Wire News.

     

  • #YouTubeRewind study celebrates more than 200 YouTube stars from 18 countries

    #YouTubeRewind report celebrates top moments on the video content platform

    By A Correspondent

     

    Twenty-sixteen was the year when sidekick became the superhero, at least on the social platform YouTube. While Kabali ruled the charts to become top trending movie trailer, the Kapil Sharma show featuring Salman Khan got company from YouTube stars of The Viral Fever playing truth or dare with dad and All India Bakchod’s portrayal of bars and restaurants as the top trending videos of the year.

     

    #YouTubeRewind study celebrates more than 200 YouTube stars from 18 countries that accepted the Ultimate 2016 Rewind Challenge to pay homage to the biggest videos, memes, channels, songs, and pop culture moments of the year.

     

    Collectively, the Top 10 videos have 70 million views and the channels who make them have more than 45 million subscribers who tune in regularly to  watch the funny, insightful, entertaining content they create/ upload.

     

    Top trending videos:

    1. The Kapil Sharma Show: Sultan
    2. The Voice India Kids: Ayat Shaikh
    3. Crime Patrol Dial 100: Andhkaar
    4. Complete truth of Rs 2000 notes with a chip embedded in it
    5. TVF: Truth or Dare with Dad
    6. TVF’s Permanent Roommates: The Parents
    7. AIB : Honest Bars & Restaurants
    8. Life Sahi Hai:  The Maid
    9. How Shah Rukh Khan Became The FAN – Gaurav
    10. AIB Diwas:  Zakir Khan

     

    Top music videos:

    1. Kala Chashma:  Baar Baar Dekho
    2. Kar Gayi Chull: Kapoor & Sons
    3. Baby Ko Bass Pasand Hai:  Sultan
    4. Bulleya: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
    5. Cham Cham: Baaghi
    6. GF BF: T-Series
    7. Hua hain Aaj Pehli Baar: Sanam Re
    8. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
    9. Jabra:Fan
    10. The Breakup Song: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

     

    Top movie trailers:

    1. Kabali Tamil Movie
    2. Dangal
    3. Sultan
    4. M.S.Dhoni – The Untold Story
    5. Shivaay
    6. Befikre
    7. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
    8. Fan
    9. Baaghi
    10. Dishoom

     

    From an ads perspective, it is quite evident from the YouTube Leaderboard 2016 that several brands chose to create long format ads for a primarily digital-first audience. In fact, seven out of top 10 most watched ads in 2016 were over 90 seconds long. And audiences too were willing to invest their time and attention on ads that are narrative-driven and take a storytelling approach. #Dettolsheronkepanje was the most viewed ads for 2016 with close to 13 million views, and #Ranveerchingreturns and Amazon’s#ApniDukaan taking the next spots.

     

    Most viewed ads:

    :: Dettol Sheron ke Panje – #MaaMaane Dettol Ka Dhula
    :: Ranveer Ching Returns

    :: Amazon #ApniDukaan
    :: Doublemint #StartSomethingFresh
    :: Ola Micro Stories

    :: Bajaj V – The Invincible

    :: Makemytrip #BefikarBookKar – Taxi
    :: #NothingDirty Anthem ft. Badshah
    :: Amazon#MomBeAGirlAgain
    :: Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge

  • These are released by marketing intelligence firm Warc in association with Deloitte Digital

    6 key Marketing Trends for 2017

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Warc, the global marketing intelligence service, has released Toolkit 2017, an annual examination of forthcoming challenges faced by marketers around the world. Produced in association with Deloitte Digital, the report identifies six topics which marketers will be looking to in the coming year.

     

    “We’ve reviewed the best of Warc’s content over the past year – the latest ideas, research and examples. The result is a comprehensive guide to current thinking and the implications for marketers going forward into 2017,” SAID David Tiltman, Head of Content at Warc.

     

    The six key marketing trends identified are:
    :: Tech: The marketing applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
    Data mining and analysis that is normally done manually, may be done faster, quicker and better using AI. As such, AI is predicted to have a major impact on the marketing industry with key areas being insight generation, chatbots, personal assistants and optimisation of media buying. Whilst the technology is still emerging, one study found that 55% of global CMOs expect AI to have a greater impact on marketing and communications than social media.

     

    :: Brand Experience: The emerging roles of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)

    As the advertising marketplace becomes more cluttered and young consumers opt out of receiving marketing messages, brand experiences that cut through, such as VR and AR, are increasingly valuable. After years of promise, VR is becoming a viable mainstream marketing tool which focuses on experience and emotional engagement.

    In the wake of Pokémon Go, there are a number of emerging opportunities in AR in particular around product trial and utility.

     

    :: Content: How video is transforming social

    Social video is experiencing massive growth as a content marketing format and is turning social platforms into broadcast media. Brands are finding success with approaches that prioritise quality over quantity, consider emotional and social motivations for content engagement, and focus on a three-second window of opportunity to grab consumers’ attention. A growing number of brands are also experimenting with live video for content that is exclusive, newsworthy or requires live audience involvement. But video measurement will be a major challenge in 2017.

     

    :: Social: The rise of ‘Dark Social’ and messaging apps

    The rise of chat or mobile-focused messenger apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or WeChat is fuelling the rise of ‘dark social’ – conversations that are not trackable by marketers. This has two implications: brands may be missing out on insights into their brand or category, and chat apps are moving social marketing towards conversations.

     

    :: E-Commerce: The direct-to-consumer opportunity

    Low-cost startups have disrupted established business models with customer-centric, online businesses. Innovative apps, subscription services and engaging branded social platforms have encouraged impulse purchases and trials with seamless transactions and personalised experiences. The challenge for established brands is responding to these new models as they look to increase direct-to-consumer opportunities. The coming year is likely to be an area of considerable experimentation.

     

    :: ROI: Effectiveness in the digital age

    Major FMCG advertisers are beginning to focus more on mass reach using traditional media to drive sales growth versus close targeting via digital channels. In addition, fresh research this year has suggested that brands are overinvesting in short-term ‘activation’ media, undermining the impact of creativity and harming long-term effectiveness. Meanwhile, media platforms are racing to prove the effectiveness of their channel. With budgets under ongoing pressure, more studies of this sort can be expected in 2017.

     

    Summing up, Jason Warnes, Digital Marketing Partner of Deloitte Digital, said: “As the pressure to improve marketing performance continues, the three key challenges I see for 2017 are: how clients will optimise their marketing experience; how can they use marketing technology to automate and personalise their customer experience; and how can they use disruption to define, develop and rapidly deploy new services and experiences to improve customer experience.”

     

    The Toolkit 2017 executive summary by Warc in association with Deloitte Digital, is now available on warc.com.