A fairly detailed question, and a fairly detailed answer. Without further ado, here’s the June 9 edition of Das ka Dum by Dr Bhaskar Das…
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Q. Was reading this somewhere: Experiments show brand perceptions are influenced by where they are seen, so ‘high quality’ ad environments are crucial to premium brands. True in the Indian context? Also, does this mean that environments that aren’t considered ‘high quality’ or ’toxic’ will not/never get premium brands?
A. My first generic response to your query is that CONTEXT MATTERS. In today’s ubiquitous digital ecosystem, advertising landscape is altering at a frenetic pace and the relevance of context has become all the more important.
Historically, research has shown consumer perception of ads and brands is influenced by the quality of an environment. With advancements in machine learning and AI, content evaluation now provides insight into the sentiment conveyed by a given environment of a brand’s communications.
Why so? The classical model of media planning and buying takes into account the quantitative metrices of calculating ROI for any communication investment. But that is not enough. Many qualitative parameters do impinge on the final decision-making. Where the communication is seen is one of the key considerations for the placement of communication. Here, general audience perception matters a lot. Ultimately a conducive and celebratory context induce consumption, apart from generating brand recall and reinforcing confidence in the brand. A so-called ‘toxic’ or mentally distasteful/ agitating context generally discourage a celebratory mindset that is sine qua non for making a positive impact on consumer mind. As they say, a Brand is known by the company it keeps or in the context it is seen.