MxMIndia

Tag: Google search

  • The agency bagged the account following a multi-agency pitch and will service the brand from its Delhi office

    IProspect adds HarperCollins to its clientele

    By A Correspondent

     

    IProspect India, the digital marketing agency from the house of dentsu international, has bagged the account of HarperCollins Publishers, one of the world’s largest book publishing companies. The agency bagged the account following a multi-agency pitch and will service the brand from its Delhi office.

     

    As per the mandate, IProspect India will handle the Paid Media (which includes all biddable platforms like Google Search & Display, Programmatic, Facebook and Amazon) and SEO duties for the brand.

     

    Rubeena Singh

    Commenting on the win, Rubeena Singh, CEO, IProspect India said: “HarperCollins is one of the big five English language publishing companies. As consumption of content has shifted significantly to digital, IProspect is happy to help the brand strengthen its digital presence through its expertise in integrated content and digital marketing.”

     

    Added Subhashree Das, Deputy General Manager – Digital Marketing, HarperCollins: “If you’re looking for a book on almost any subject, there’s a HarperCollins book for you out there. And so, the logical next step in our digital strategy was to ensure that our books became easily discoverable to anyone looking for them online. IProspect brings onboard their tremendous experience in performance marketing and we are confident that their strategic approach will go a long way in growing our business and ensuring that the right book reaches the right reader.”

     

     

  • But have marketers in India missed the opportunity to target consumers? Bhuvi Gupta delves into the issue

    Amp up your Communication Strategy through Easter eggs

    The Google T-Rex game helps pass the time while waiting for the internet to come back

     

    By Bhuvi Gupta

     

    Bhuvi GuptaAs I sat this Sunday morning, weighed down by the news that India had breached the 90,000 mark of daily Covid case reportage, I turned to my favourite hack to calm myself down – turn off my Wi-Fi to stop the notifications engage my mind with the T-Rex game on Google Chrome. As I used my cursors to miss the obstacles, I realised that Google’s communication strategy has used so many of these Easter Eggs over the decades, and how they have kept the user engaged so well.

     

    Easter Egg is a funny name for communication strategy and refers to the treasure hunt for children organised during Easter, where children hunt for the colorful and decorated chocolate eggs, hidden around the house by their parents. The eggs often contain surprises inside their chocolate exterior, making the experience of finding them, even better. Like its eponym, in business terms an Easter egg refers to brand communication hidden within your user interface. Originally, used by coders, to add quirk to what they felt was boring lines of code, it is now colloquially used to refer to any covert brand communication and is designed to humour the user and add personality to the brand, when discovered.  Due to their covert nature, Easter Eggs inherently generate word-of-mouth, which aids even more discovery and virality.

     

    In a crowded market where users are estimated to be bombarded with more than a thousand ads a day, (this number is debated, some research claims its more than 5000) an Easter egg is a great way to be memorable. However, Easter eggs are most effective for brands that have an established and growing audience, as the discovery of the communication is purely organic. Hence, for companies and products in beta, even if the idea of communication with zero spends seems attractive, deploying Easter eggs should be delayed until the product has an established consumer base.

     

    The Google search page actually does a barrel roll, when you search for ‘Do a barrel roll’ on Google

     

    On the Internet, the possibilities are endless – while most online businesses have caught on to having creative 404-pages, there is so much more potential to make an impression. Both Google and Apple have used Easter eggs as a communication strategy –  Google has used the T-Rex game,  Google Doodles and customised search results to drive conversation and engagement since its inception. The customised search results for ‘Do a barrel roll’, ‘Google gravity’ etc., also keep getting a new life every few years, when they are discovered by a new set of users.

    Apple generated far more organic word of mouth when Apple users discovered Siri’s sassy responses, than the traditional PR and marketing they did for the Apple assistants’ launch.

     

    Easter Eggs have gotten relatively under-utilised in India. A missed opportunity as the Indian marketplace for internet-based consumer businesses is growing and building a loyal user base is crucial for each player. For instance, every e-commerce site has mega sales every quarter, which are promoted through multi-crore ATL campaigns. Planting some Easter eggs on the app & website during these times of high traffic is a great way to enhance user experience, generate word of mouth and differentiate from the competition. Another great application is using an Easter egg to stem the irritation during a negative experience like a broken link or a product in your basket, which gets sold out before purchase.

     

    Easter eggs are possible on every product with an interface – be it product (via its packaging) or even content ( show credits, the set). My personal favourites include the messages on the bottom of Paper Boat pack and the vanity cards written by producer-director Chuck Lorre at the end of every Big Bang Theory episode, both of which make you feel closer to the product.

     

    It’s 2020 and people are tired of challenges and trends which ‘go viral’ on the back of generous advertising budgets and often end up losing their core message (Black and White photo challenge, anyone?). Easter Eggs are memorable because their playfulness helps them to become conversation starters, gain word of mouth, discovery and trial. Marketers, I request you to have some fun with your brand, add the personality that is missing, and watch as the organic love flows.

     

    Bhuvi Gupta is a marketer with over 10 years across industries, of which the last six have been in Media & Entertainment. She has been a part of many launch marketing campaigns – specifically at the Times of India group, Republic TV and the latest in marketing a Bollywood film. She will write on A&M (mostly marketing, but often on advertising too) every other Tuesday. Her views here are personal. She tweets at @bhuvigupta3

     

  • The agency will handle their paid media duties including Google Search, Facebook and programmatic display

    IProspect India wins digital duties for PayPal

    By A Correspondent

     

    IProspect India has bagged the digital paid media duties for the online payment service, PayPal. As part of the mandate, the agency will handle their paid media duties including Google Search, Facebook and programmatic display and will service the account from its Mumbai office.

     

    Said Jayant Desai, Head of Marketing, PayPal: “IProspect is known for its capabilities of data driven media buying and this is in line with our strategy in India. We are excited to partner with iProspect and look forward to partnering with them on award winning work.”

     

    Commenting on the win, Rubeena Singh, CEO, IProspect India said: “The confidence which PayPal has shown in us demonstrates the consistent and innovating work of the team at iProspect. Really proud to have PayPal on board and we will partner with them in delivering holistic solutions in India.”

     

     

  • Titled "Fun on Your Side", the digital campaign aims to bring different aspects of fun to lie that customer can experience with the all-new EcoSport

    Ford EcoSport initiates innovation with Google Search

    By A Correspondent

     

    To celebrate the launch of compact SUV Ford EcoSport, Ford India teamed up with Google to launch what it bills as a first-of-its-kind digital campaign in the automobile space in India.

     

    Titled “Fun on Your Side”the digital campaign aimed to bring different aspects of fun to lie that customer can experience with the all-new EcoSport even when they search for it online.

     

    The activity started on November 9 and will be on till November 15. Said Rahul Gautam, Vice President – Marketing, Ford India: “The car that started the compact SUV phenomenon in India is back to win many more hearts and minds. With the Fun with EcoSport campaign, we have worked with Google to ensure that the spirit of fun spreads beyond our dealership floors to everyone searching for it. With the New Ford EcoSport, our engineers have combined style, fun, and technology – all in one package – that we want our consumers to search and experience.”

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Vikas Agnihotri, Director Sales, Google India added: “Research shows 89 per cent of car buyer’s decision making is influenced through digital and majority of their journey starts from Google Search. The digital campaign for the launch of the new Ecosport combines strong intent cues from consumers with the innovative search voting feature to provide a fun-filled and memorable experience.”

     

     

  • A first-of-its-kind initiative in India, Consumer Querimetrix is a machine learning tool to “nowcast” Indian consumer behaviour using Google search queries

    Kotak partners Google to unveil Querimetrix

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kotak Institutional Equities, a division of Kotak Securities Limited, in collaboration with Google launched Consumer Querimetrix — a tool that demystifies and predicts near-term Indian consumer behaviour by analyzing Google Trends data.

     

    Using machine learning techniques and merging big data from Google Trends, the first edition of Consumer Querimetrix provides consumer insights into India’s evolving car buying journey. Using Google Trends data, the tool enables ‘nowcasting’ (near-term predictions) on consumer activity, capturing inflection points earlier than traditional forecasting tools to give a complete picture — on car launches, last mile hiccups, cannibals and competition.

     

    Each edition of the Consumer Querimetrix series will focus on consumer behaviour in a different industry.

     

    Launching the report, C Jayaram, Joint Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “The digital wave is challenging conventional business practices across industries. Ground rules are evolving rapidly along with the consumer and those in the business of business intelligence need new tools to keep up with the changing landscape. Consumer Querimetrix is our step in that direction. Today, the sheer volume of consumer-centric search data available presents a tremendous opportunity to analyze and throw up actionable insights. These takeaways would be useful to both companies and investors. KIE research is highly valued by our clients and the launch of Querimetrix will further strengthen our ability to cover the Indian markets in a holistic manner.”

     

    The first edition of Consumer Querimetrix which focuses on the passenger car segment highlights the extent to which the Internet is altering the ground rules for vendors of cars and allied products/services. With growing access to easy information online, the Indian car buyer’s journey from a whim to final purchase has changed dramatically. More than 75 per cent of car buyers are researching online for reviews, comparative specifications, financial products and used car markets before making a purchase. The first edition of Consumer Querimetrix also explains how the traditional ‘funnel’ model is giving way to a more complex purchasing path where ‘initial consideration’ may not always guarantee sales.  Although higher auto-related searches correspond to higher demand for cars, this does not hold true on a brand-wise basis.

     

    Speaking about the trends for the passenger cars industry captured by analyzing Google Trends, Vikas Agnihotri, Industry Director, Google India said, “With over 300 million Internet users online and growing, India today has a sizeable population which accesses the Internet on a daily basis, making search queries as the most dynamic data input to arrive at consumer insights through machine learning as illustrated by Kotak’s research. If we look at the search trends related to car finance and car purchases, we’re seeing a 40% year on year growth in car purchase queries on Google in India. Over half of the people who evaluate car purchases change their consideration set during their research phase – adding two to three new car models in their consideration, the only non-negotiables are price and color of the car. This alone proves the growing complexity for car OEMs in the country. With this report we’re attempting to demystify this changing consumer behavior into actionable insights for the industry.”

     

    Saifullah Rais, Quantitative Analyst at Kotak Institutional Equities and the architect of Consumer Querimetrix said, “In the absence of conventional rules, traditional decision-support systems are not very effective. They fall short on scalability and adaptability. Machine learning algorithms learn from data and do not rely on explicit rules, making them the most effective method of dealing with data explosion.”

     

    The Consumer Querimetrix report outlines the influence of digital marketplaces and calls for carmakers to reassess conventional business practices. The effect is visible as car loans are increasingly being sourced outside dealerships. This trend can eat into financing margins earned by dealers and hurt profitability. On the other hand, carmakers with captive finance arms can use this opportunity to innovate and differentiate themselves during the evaluation process.

     

    The first issue of Consumer Querimetrix establishes that Google search volumes can be used as a gauge for assessing new car launches. The report underscores the linear relationship between search interest and advance bookings during a car launch. Interestingly, higher traditional media spends do not always guarantee higher search interest.

     

  • Bollywood fans across the country have been extending their support to the stars of tomorrow

    Google Search Trends unveils popularity of young Bollywood stars

    India’s crazy love for Bollywood stars, movies, and songs is a celebrated and known fact. With the entry of fresh talent and dynamic performances over the last year, Bollywood fans across the country have been extending their support to the stars of tomorrow. While some are new to film fraternity, the others hail from filmy homes and have grown up in Bollywood.

     

    Starry kids including the likes of Alia Bhatt, Shraddha Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Varun Dhawan and Tiger Shroff are leading searches on Google. Although filmy background gives them a clear edge, the other non-filmy newbies on screen including Sidhartha Malhotra and Ileana D’cruz have made their way to fans’ hearts with their performances and talent.

     

    An analysis of recent searches on Google (Google Search trends) takes a look at the popularity of these stars among the fans online. Mahesh Bhatt daughter Alia Bhatt’s dream launch in Student of the Year followed by blockbusters movies including Highway and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania has gained a lot of interest online as she leads search interest among fans for emerging stars.

     

    Among the male stars, actor Arjun Kapoor is the latest on the block attracting huge search interest online. With he made his debut in 2012 with Isaqzaade, he took on the spotlight with his blockbuster hit 2 States this year. Sidhartha Malhothra’s journey with his charming performance in Student of the Year & Hasee Toh Phasee to Ek Villian has been followed closely by his fans. The actor has shown steady and charismatic performances that are driving searches online.

     

  • The offline study conducted by Nielsen on behalf of Google India at car showrooms in eight metros revealed that one in two car buyers conducted research online

    Internet influences over 50% car buyers: Google

    By A Correspondent

     

    If you are planning to buy a car, who will you go to for advice? The Internet…family… a car expert? Various people choose various options, but according to a study done by Google India, with over 120 million Indian Internet users, the Internet plays an important role in influencing the decision-making process of India’s growing number of car buyers.

     

    The offline study conducted by Nielsen on behalf of Google India at car showrooms in eight metros (NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Kochi) revealed that one in two car buyers conducted research online before arriving at the dealership. The survey also revealed that of those who had researched about their purchase options online, over 50 per cent changed their choice of car brands after uncovering new information on the web.

     

    Speaking about the study, Rajan Anandan, vice president & managing director, Google India, said: “This offline study substantiates the growing number of auto-related searches we’ve seen on Google Search inIndia. Auto is among the fastest growing vertical in terms of query volumes on Google. Most OEMs have not yet tapped the full potential of the digital medium and we hope this study will help them to understand and engage the Indian consumer online.”

     

    Respondents reported that they used the web to research and compare prices, watch online videos, find images, do competitive analysis, find dealer contacts and read both expert and user reviews. Most car buyers also rated OEMs website as the most important and trustworthy source of information. Of the 50 per cent respondents who went online, 42 per cent said they used search engine as the first source of information, just behind the opinions of friends and relatives’ (47 per cent).

     

    However, the auto-makers aren’t affected by the study. Abhishek Gupta, former brand manager at Maruti Suzuki India Limited and business head – North at RPS consulting said that  people might go online for research but final decision depends on what family and friends recommend. “One goes online to get a basic understanding. He might read blogs, reviews or comments to get others point of view but will buy a car which he aspires to purchase or what people close to him tell him to.”

     

    Voicing the same opinion, a marketing head at the leading Japanese car manufacturer, said: “Maybe Google is correct or maybe they are not. But it’s a fact that one needs to go to a showroom to get a feel and look of the various cars s/he has shortlisted before zeroing in on one.”

     

    The research was conducted outside the car showrooms of India’s leading OEMs namely: Maruti, Tata Motors, Ford, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Honda & VW. The total sample size for the research was 2,791 respondents. Out of which 93 per cent were males, with 75 per cent of the respondents in the age group of 25-44.

     

  • The MxM Quarterly Review of Must-Have Apps for Media Professionals… our selection of apps that you can't not be armed with!

    It’s an appsolutely ‘appy world!

     

    By Insiyah Rangwala

     

    With the smartphone getting near-ubiquitous, there are several thousands of apps floating around. But along with some splendid ones out there, there are also several which are, well, no great shakes.

     

    We bring you this report, after several hours spent on using them, surveying power users and then doing this final shortlist of 15 apps that should make you appy!

     

    ZITE:

    Zite is a personalized magazine which automatically learns what you like and gets smarter the more you use it. It gives you everything from articles, videos and blogs and helps you discover a whole variety of things that line up with you interests. It’s a smart magazine for your smart phone. It changes the way you discover and enjoy new content. It’s a free App

     

    On Android

    On iOs

     

    SEESMIC:

    Seesmic lets you manage multiple social network accounts. It lets you organize your search lists and trends the way you want to on a customizable dashboard. It helps you to share photos on all platforms as well as save links for reading later. All this in just one free App.

     

    On Android

    On iOs

     

    1PASSWORD:

    1password is an identity manager. It securely stores all your important information and can automatically log you into multiple ID’s. With 1password you don’t need to remember the several different usernames and password or even website address. It even saves credit card or membership information. You can jot down private notes as well. It has a two layer defense system with an unlock code and a master password. It can also be used to back up all your data. It’s a paid App.

     

    On Android

    On iOs

     

     

    DROPBOX:

    Dropbox helps you get to everything that is most important to you when you are on the go. You can access all your documents, photos and videos that are on your computer or on your phone. Data uploaded on Dropbox can also be accessed on your computer and you can share directly via text or email from Dropbox which has a very easy to use and understand interface. It’s a free App

    On Android

    On iOs

     

    EVERNOTE:

    Evernote helps you save ideas, thoughts, things you see or like immediately and with ease. There are times when we have an idea of which we don’t make a note and then forget. All our small thoughts brought together can help us make huge changes in our professional as well as personal life. Now with Evernote You can find them on any device that you use. This free App helps you stay organized and also improves your productivity.

    On Android

    On iOs

     

    MUMBAI LOCAL:

    Mumbai is the hub for business professionals, even those who don’t work out of Mumbai. But Mumbai roads are a traveler’s worst nightmare making Railways the fastest mode of transport. Mumbai Local is an easy and free app which gives you concise details on train timings, fares, routes and anything else you need to know, making it very simple to travel in Mumbai locals.

    On Android

    On iOs

     

    CONVERTER PLUS:

    Converter plus is a unit converter with an extensive list covering 167 world currencies which are refreshed every 6 hours to keep you up-to-date. Staying globally informed has become a part of the job and now this easy and free App makes your job easier. It also coverts areas, weight, energy, force, length, mass power, pressure, speed, temperature and volume.

    On Android

    On iOs

     

    CRICKBUZZ:

    Everybody in India loves cricket and it is almost considered a religion by most. Crickbuzz is a free and easy to use app which keeps you up-to-date with real time score updates and ball to ball commentary. With our heavy packed schedules, we cannot always ensure that we can go and watch a match live or on TV but this App ensures that you know all the action happening on the field.

    On Android

    On iOs

     

    GATEGURU:

    If you hate getting to the airport on time and then wasting that precious time when your flight gets delayed, Gateguru is a real time updated and free App which helps you know your flight status, the real-time airport security, wait lines and also helps you carry out a quick search for the amenities at your disposal at whichever airport you might be.

    On Android

    On iOs

     

     

    GOOGLE SEARCH:

    With Google search you can avoid going through the browser on your phone to access all that you want. This free App also retains your previous searches and highlights what you might want to find on your web page.

    On Android

    On iOs

     

     

    STUMBLE UPON:

    The Web has opened up a whole new area to gain information. We don’t always find the time to make the most use of it and gain new information the way we would like to. Stumble upon is a free App which helps you discover new and interesting things across the web and easily share them. Start exploring today.

    On Android

    On iOs

     

    TRIPIT:

    Isn’t it a hassle managing your travels when you not only have to worry about the meeting that you need to go to, but you also have to take care of your travel details. Tripit takes all your trip details and automatically creates a helpful itinerary which can be accessed whenever you need it. This free App also helps you share your travels plans with family and colleagues.

    On Android

    On iOs

     

     

    WEAVE

    Weave helps you organize, track and manage your expenses for your business, hobbies and anything else. It helps you organize your projects, based on what is important. This free App also helps you track and share projects  and the order of their importance. It records what you spend in any currency you choose. It also helps you coordinate these expenses with people you work with.

    On iOs

     

    BUSINESS-CARD-MANAGER:

    After every event and every meeting there is always a pile of new business cards. Business –card-manager, a paid App, helps you click a picture on your phone camera, scans it and saves all the information on your phone directly. So you can avoid the hassle of sorting through each card manually and feeding in the details.

    On iOs

     

     

    MUMBO MESSENGER:

    Mumbo Messenger is a fun and free App for sharing what you really think. You won’t get hit with SMS charges while sharing and commenting with this app. Setup groups for your family, neighbors, co-workers, classmates. Post interesting content from Mumbo to your existing social networks.

    On Android

    On iOs