MxMIndia

Tag: digital space

  • This is the digital space… fast, evolving, driven by the masses, if it's good it will sell online, writes Chhaya Balachandran Aiyer

    The Anchor: 5 Emerging Trends In Digital Media

    By Chhaya Balachandran Aiyer

     

    Funny that what is emerging today can become passe in couple of years, if not less. But that’s the digital space… fast, evolving, driven by the masses, if it’s good it will sell online. So if you had to look at the near future, and that’s just planning for the one year ahead, then here are 5 things that seem to be quietly brewing in the various nooks and corners of the wireless world – the Internet.

     

    #1 Mobile Internet: Don’t underestimate the power of mobile internet.  The number of people accessing the web on their phones is much more than those accessing via desktops/laptops. Mobile is very quickly but surely changing data consumption, infotainment, social connectivity. http://blog.bcwebwise.com/2012/06/08/web-internet-and-mobile-internet-usage-statistics-india-2011/.

     

    #2 Social is Going Visual: There is a lot of visual content out there, with the exception of twitter and LinkedIn where the visuals are yet to come of age primarly given the interfaces of these networks. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest… its all about visual content that is getting shared  — images, videos — impressive compelling content that is engaging. Everyone is sharing and adding their viewpoint to these visual treats. Brands out there need to build their visual content quickly and smartly understanding that branded content will not be shared.

     

    #3 Digital AdSpends Unleashed: Even as a few homegrown giants have recognized the power of the digital media, and are slowly and surely increasing digital spends, most multinational players have mandates from their global headquarters to go digital. Indian arms are being questioned why their digital spends are less than 1 per cent of total ad spends. And CMOs are being forced to get involved in learning the digital ropes and diving deep into the digital waters themselves.

     

    #4 Digital Workshops: How can one increase spends when there is little knowledge to cope with the medium. Digital workshops within large MNCs are the order of the day. Indian corporations should ideally take a lesson or two and get their top line marketing and sales people, the decision makers to hone their digital acumen.

     

    #5 TV v/s Digital – Push v/s Pull : For the fence sitters still smug about TV reach v/s Digital reach – think about the 80:20 rule. That 20 which is the cream of your business is on the web, and they never were much influenced by TV advertising and even more so today. They are researching online, no matter where they are buying products from. It is all about peer to peer recommendation, perception, and information you have put out about your brand online, and how quickly you can respond to individual customers.

     

    Chhaya Balachandran Aiyer is Founder-MD at BC Web Wise Pvt. Ltd

     

  • It is important that the co-founders have a common vision in the game. As the promoter of the business, you should clearly articulate your vision, says Rohit Sharma.

    5 things to keep in mind while starting an online venture

    By Rohit Sharma

     

    #1 “Be Frugal” should be your mantra

    It is very important to be extremely frugal. Cash is King and start-ups should keep their fixed costs as low as possible. Try multitasking. It is important to conserve cash and be completely stingy before you raise the required capital for the business. Ideally, you should have capital for next 18 months either ready or in the pipeline.

     

    #2 Team, a critical success factor

    It is all about the team – their motivation levels, dedication and perseverance to make it happen. It is important that the co-founders have a common vision in the game. One of the biggest challenges is to hire the right start-up team (excluding the founders/co-founders). The team needs to be extremely good in terms of skill-sets; one also can’t afford to hire very expensive people. As the promoter of the business, you should clearly articulate your vision so that the start team comes on board completely motivated and with a strong belief in you and the business.

     

    #3 Business Metrics: Get them right

    It is very important to get the key business metrics of your business right from day one. Have complete clarity in terms of key growth drivers, revenue drivers and cost drivers and continuously monitor track more efficiency in the business. Business plans should not be made for the VCs, but for yourself and for the growth of the business. If you have done that successfully, VCs will anyways buy in.

     

    #4 Don’t give up too soon

    It is important for the entrepreneur, especially in the digital space to be extremely nimble and flexible. Mainly because the environment is very dynamic, business models are continuously changing, new technologies/innovation keep on coming, so one should be prepared to quickly adapt to newer business models if required. You might not be doing exactly the same thing eventually that you started with. There is nothing wrong with that as long as you have created a sustainable growth model in your business.

     

    #5 There is no experience like good customer experience

    It is very important to focus on a great customer experience. It is all about the right product that the customer loves and it could be the biggest differentiator for the business. One needs to spend disproportionate time to deliver an outstanding customer experience across all the value-chain components of your business. A great product or customer experience can be your biggest marketing tool.

     

    Rohit Sharma is the Founder, Wopshop.com.

     

  • Creative directors need to hire tech cats and then work ALONG with them for each brand

    Anil Thakraney: Left & right brains must marry

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    The other day I was having a drink with a friend, an old world agency creative director. He’s one of those many old chaps who’ve been seriously challenged by the onslaught of the new media, and are at their wit’s end on how to deal with this ‘menace’. You see, not only are many clients now demanding to see creatives for the digital space AHEAD of the TV storyboards, they are putting pressure on the creative directors to make sure the videos go viral.

     

    I quite empathize with my old fogie pal’s predicament. Trained only in making television commercials, he’s finding it very difficult to learn new tricks. And what creative directors like him are doing is to hire net savvy kids and unleash them onto the clients. With the hope that the bachchas will take care of the digital work, while uncles, like my friend, can continue to focus on the old media.

     

    Personally, I don’t think this approach is going to pay dividends in the near future… in fact, it’s already showing signs of collapse. Digital marketing and advertising outfits are mushrooming by the day, and they are threatening to walk away with the digital business from clients. Clearly, this is revenue loss for the traditional ad agencies, and cannot be allowed to go on.

     

    I think ad agency creatives must begin operating the way movie studios work on sci-fi films, where massive technical effects are required. The movie director and the techies form a core team and each feeds off the other to produce scintillating cinema. The director makes sure the story keeps the connect with the audiences, and the tech specialists keep innovating till both are satisfied with the end result. Check out Steven Spielberg’s amazing work on the film Warhorse. The movie zaps you with special effects but the emotion runs through in every scene.

     

    In short, creative directors are digging their own graves if they leave the ‘headache’ of social media to youngsters in their office. They need to hire tech cats and then work ALONG with them for each brand, to make this work. Yup, the left and the right brains have to marry and produce goods that will meet the new media challenge.

     

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    [youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n-9-6ULjHY[/youtube]

    PS: British Airways has released a new commercial to commemorate its sponsorship of the forthcoming Olympic Games. It involves a race between luggage bags headed for various destinations. And the ad has been executed like the TV coverage of a sports match. Funny and smart. And I must add this: Many travellers on BA complain about lost luggage. Well, now we know why. The bags lose their way in all the hurry! 🙂