MxMIndia

Tag: B2B

  • LinkedIn has announced a marquee event to define the opportunity for B2B brands in the digital age.

    LinkedIn announces B2B Connect for Ind marketers

    By A Correspondent

     

    LinkedIn India has announced B2B Connect 2012 – a first of its kind event, exclusively for Indian marketers to be held on Tuesday, 17th April, 2012 at the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai. The inaugural by-invitation event will bring together leading global marketers and advertising industry stalwarts to discuss the current and future marketing potential of the online space and will seek to establish digital and social media as a core channel for B2B marketing.

     

    LinkedIn India has lined-up a stellar list of speakers and panelists from India and abroad for B2B Connect 2012 led by Jeff Weiner, CEO, LinkedIn, who will give the first keynote address. B2B Connect 2012’s second keynote speaker will be globally renowned B2B marketing strategist David Meerman Scott who will present on the New Rules of B2B Marketing. Arvind Rajan, Managing Director & Vice President, Asia Pacific and Japan – LinkedIn, Future Brands’ CEO Santosh Desai, Microsoft South East Asia’s Simon Mouyal and Philips Korstiaan van Wyngaarden will also address the audience at B2B Connect 2012. For more information and updates on speakers, please visit http://www.linkedinsolutions.in.

    Announcing the launch of B2B Connect 2012, Hari V Krishnan, Country Manager, LinkedIn India, said, “Indian B2B Marketers are finding that their traditional channels aren’t scaling or providing the measurability they desire. At B2B Connect 2012, we aim to bring together some of the best minds from across the globe to share their knowledge and expertise on how B2B brands can capitalize on the digital medium. The rise of social media has helped brands with the ability to reach the right audiences, and in the right context. In such a dynamic environment, it is critical for brands to be where decision makers are engaging with each other and influencers. At B2B Connect 2012, industry leaders will discover valuable insights and should leave inspired with a path forward for their brands to better market themselves in today’s connected world.”

    LinkedIn, with over 150 million members worldwide of which over 14 million are in India, has evolved into a preferred platform for marketers in the country. It is also the platform of choice for B2B marketers in many leading economies. Approximately 57% of LinkedIn members in India are decision makers. In 2011, 149 Million business leads were driven on the platform by professionals in the country. This potent member base has equipped brands including CISCO India, SAP India, Huawei Enterprise Business Group, Polycom and Trend Micro, with an opportunity to lead engagement with the right audience. LinkedIn Marketing Solutions entails a host of customizable solutions with tools including LinkedIn Audience Targeting, LinkedIn Personal Messaging Unit, LinkedIn Custom Groups, LinkedIn Company Pages, LinkedIn Content Ads and LinkedIn Partner Messages.

    “Indian brands have successfully leveraged the power of the LinkedIn professional network to reach an audience comprising of highly educated individuals in decision making capacities. This has become possible due to our approach of helping brands tailor their marketing approach as per their requirements. The combination of an empowered audience supported by unique tools and an emphasis on insights helps brands achieve a strong conversion rate and provides measurable results. At LinkedIn we provide marketers access to a product suite that caters to not only their short term tactical needs, but also long term strategic objectives,” said Dhiman Mukherji, Director, Marketing Solutions, LinkedIn India.

    Regular updates on B2B Connect 2012 will be posted on the official website and on Twitter (@LinkedInIndia).

     

  • B2B media is the most connected to both its key constituents – be it the reader or the advertiser / sponsor.a

    The Anchor: Hoshie Ghaswalla on 10 reasons why B2B media will thrive

    By Hoshie Ghaswalla

     

    B2B media is the most connected to both its key constituents – be it the reader or the advertiser / sponsor. Its in-depth understanding of the domain it operates in gives it a clear, distinct and sufficient edge over the other media forms. Here are 10 reasons why this media will thrive.

     

    #1 Domain Engagement – B2B media is deeply engaged within the domain it operates. In fact more often than not B2B media thinks it’s business is the same as that of the domain it caters to. At times, it is dangerously stitched to the domain it works with and people at the media venture often forget that they are in the media industry and need to apply those norms to their working, contrary to those of the domain they operate. There can’t be anything as powerful as this where people passionately believe they are a part of the business they cater to.

    #2 Reader engagement – The understanding of reader requirement is key in this business and good B2B media players regularly carry the reader with them at all stages. Their understanding of the domain comes in from the reader and you often see very involved and long tenured editorial / content committees that aid in the content strategy and delivery for the entire industry they operate across. How much more powerful can it be when the main customer of media has an active say in the creation and shaping of the editorial product on a consistent basis.

    #3 Advertiser engagement – This too is natural. B2B media players work very closely with advertisers as they understand their needs. From selling simple inventory, B2B media has much earlier begun to offer complete 360-degree solutions to advertisers who want to reach out to their customers in a more meaningful manner. In fact qualified lead generation is a new trend that has begun to emerge over the past few quarters in this space. What more can the advertiser ask for when s/he is getting their communication directly in to a relevant audience.

    #4 No wastage – B2B media players do not focus on mass. Their objectives are to be able to connect the advertiser / sponsors to the information consumer. So while other media would have a much larger audience they reach out to, B2B is controlled and the advertiser / sponsor pays for rich visibility. Likewise for the information consumer that gets the information they seek and do not have to go through clutter to find what they are looking for.

    #5 International trends – In the US B2B online marketing spend is projected to grow 40 percent faster than core media in 2012.

    #6 Advertiser Trust – B2B media enjoys the highest trust from the industry amongst other media. Most B2B publishers work to enhance the objectives and standing of the domain / industry they operate in rather than containing themselves to simple media-related objectives such as top-line and bottom-lines. They are a key part of the domain they operate in and very often lead in the cause of betterment of their domains.

    #7 Trust from the reader – Readers too love the B2B media because of its comprehensive understanding of the industry. This is possibly the only form of media they trust before taking significant decisions for their business. In fact this author has had instances over the past few years where readers have come to him and his colleagues and requested them to take large decisions on their behalf.

    #8 Passionate / Committed to cause – Objectives often different from commercial / profitability.

    #9 Medium agnostic – Unlike readers and advertisers of other mediums who need their daily fix of a particular newspaper, or a soap opera or a news capsule, B2B readers are sworn to the brand they have been following and are happy to get their information across any delivery medium. Likewise the advertisers / sponsors too are looking for connects to their customers and not just inventory purchase.

    #10 Content is monetizable – Due to the rich and relevant nature of content, B2B media is able to charge more for its content, contrary to other forms of media. In fact this trend is increasing and it seems highly likely that B2B will gain significant revenue from the main customer, which is the information consumer, thereby bringing down its revenue dependence from the advertiser / sponsor.

     

    Hoshie Ghaswalla is President – Publishing at CyberMedia India Limited.