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Tag: marketers

  • Marketers need to be mindful of opportunities to service consumers writes Brian Wiser

    Coronavirus Scare: Considerations for Marketers

     

    By Brian Wieser

    The outbreak of Coronavirus in countries around the world is a widening tragedy. Many aspects of life and business will be altered in many countries around the world with the possibility of a recession realistic for many countries, at least on a short-term basis. Shifts in media consumption and other behaviours are important to monitor, and marketers need to be mindful of opportunities to service consumers that may follow along with the media owners they buy from and the societies in which they operate.

    Coronavirus is a widening tragedy. The widening spread of Coronavirus is first and foremost a human tragedy given the lives that have been and likely will be lost. It is secondarily a potentially pivotal societal matter given the implications that appear to have followed so far in China, especially with respect to their engagement with technology (i.e. e-commerce, streaming services, etc.). It may also have political consequences which could play out in different countries around the world. There will also be tangible economic consequences for much of the world to contemplate and manage through. This leads to significant considerations for every marketer and media owner to consider as they look to manage their businesses in the near-term.

    China may show us the path forward. As a starting point, it is important to continue to emphasize all of the uncertainties about how widely and rapidly the virus will spread and how specifically people, groups of people and governments will and will not react. Now that the spread is slowing in China and gradual signs of a resumption of normalcy are resuming, we do have a sense of how this could play out elsewhere.

    With restricted movements in heavily impacted regions, closures of offices, factories and stores alongside cancellations of environments where public gatherings took place, everyday life was severely impacted. Travel was curtailed. Public hygiene practices were altered. Professionals worked from home where they could, and families stayed home as well. They consumed more media and refrained from going out to shop. Marketers often cut spending because of uncertainties around consumers buying products, if those products could even be made available: e-commerce-based delivery was often challenged because of limited availability of drivers and supply chain issues that impacted all forms of manufacturing and retail sales. From Alibaba we heard in mid-February that “some of our businesses that rely on physical means of production on supply side would even show negative revenue growth for the (current) quarter such as China retail marketplace and local consumer services”. This translated into a ~-30%+ change in growth rate relative to the growth that was observed during the fourth quarter of 2019.

    But as the pace of new infections began to decelerate, stores and factories began to re-open. As we heard during the last week of February from Baidu “in the past 2 weeks, however, business activities have started to pick up as people returned to work. At Baidu, our employees are gradually returning to the office applying strict safety measures. We assume businesses across China will do the same in that our marketing services will pick up at a faster pace into quarter end.” With all of the appropriate caveats around the uncertainties of the situation, the company guided towards a change in ad revenue growth that was roughly 20% different vs. the growth rate observed during the fourth quarter, similar to guidance provided by Weibo two days earlier. In short, there appears to be a basis for optimism around a resumption of normalcy – or at least a “new normal” – in the coming months.

    Unfortunately, much of the rest of the world is only now going through what China has gone through over the prior two months. This means that we likely have yet to see the worst play out.

    Many aspects of life and business will be altered in many countries around the world. As we have seen in China we would expect to see less travel, less manufacturing, reduced retail sales and cancellations of many forms of public entertainment. Media consumption at home will likely rise as will e-commerce sales, although because so much of the world relies so heavily on China to manufacture finished goods or components of goods, supply chains will likely be compromised.

    Other elements of society will face new spotlights: For example, the quality and variation of health care within countries will be amplified, which could lead to changes on that front. The contribution of economic activity to environmental conditions may be another dimension that faces scrutiny, especially in countries where activities leading to immediately tangible volumes of pollution are curtailed.

    The possibility of a recession is realistic for many countries, at least on a short-term basis. More generally, there is a realistic chance that countries which were otherwise growing are pushed into recessions because of reduced economic activity. Some countries have deeper integration with the global economy than others and are therefore more exposed to restrictions on cross-border activity and supply chain disruptions. Consumers in different countries may take a more or less conservative approach to spending than in others, although these tendencies will largely be impacted by their ability to buy (and receive) products. And at the same time, governments of different countries may take different approaches to stimulating their economies.

    In the near-term, how much a recession may impact advertising spending in any given country is difficult to anticipate – not least because economic activity is not tangibly correlated with ad spending in every country – although it is highly likely that the impact will be negative, with growth in some countries softening, others going flat and others declining. While it is far too early to anticipate outcomes with any precision, the implied double-digit declines in ad spending within China for the first quarter could play out elsewhere, with reduced declines in subsequent quarters and an eventual reversion back to growth as we have seen following other recessions. Of course, marketers able to avoid making cuts will generally fare better given what will likely be relatively favorable pricing and reduced competition for consumer attention. Longer-term brand-building will benefit from a sustained media presence, albeit with appropriately modified messaging.

    Ad spending might fall, but it also may shift. Given the absence of near-term sales to be realized, advertiser willingness to spend may fall despite higher audience levels for some media (which, as we have noted previously are not generally correlated with ad spending within media). However, if the volume of available budgets for spending on advertising weakens in any given country, it is difficult to anticipate which specific media will be most impacted. It does seem safe to say that the aforementioned supply chain issues with China – and the timing with which Chinese manufacturing returns back to normal – will disproportionately impact global media owners whose ad revenues depend on Chinese manufacturers. Traditional television could fare relatively better because of the likely improvements in audience levels, while outdoor advertising may be worse off with lower levels of foot traffic in many places. At the same, time we emphasize that spending on paid media will not necessarily correlate with spending by marketers on services, such as those provided by agencies.

    The Olympics may still go forward, but also illustrate the importance in making back-up plans. One tangible issue which will be top of mind for many marketers will relate to the upcoming Olympic games. While the games are still moving forward at the present time, because so many marketers build substantial campaigns centered around the Olympics, it will be particularly critical for those marketers to establish potential back-up plans in the event the Olympics do not occur. This point dovetails with a broader point we have also made previously: as a general rule, marketers should generally try to prepare credible alternatives as they develop any given marketing strategy. Towards those ends, the identification of alternative options may prove to be a useful planning exercise which could lead to new ideas for significant campaigns to be used in the future if the Olympics do move forward as intended.

    Shifts in media consumption and other behaviors are important to monitor, and marketers need to be mindful of opportunities that may follow. It is important to note that just because aggregated shifts are likely to occur, it does not mean that individual marketers should necessarily alter their media strategies. Marketers need to be mindful of long-time horizons during crises and make decisions on this basis. We emphasize that marketers should continually assess the relevance of a given medium for a given marketing strategy and creative message. They can also continually look for ways to add value to the consumers they service, the media owners they buy from and the societies in which they operate. A crisis such as this one will have many unfortunate consequences, but the changes in behaviors that will follow from it could create new opportunities for marketers to engage with all relevant stakeholders. If the choices they make resonate while the world works through the current environment, they and the world will hopefully come through it better positioned to thrive in the future.

     

    Brian Wieser is Global President, Business Intelligence GroupM. Republished from https://www.groupm.com/news/coronavirus-considerations-marketers

  • The primary role of marketing is to drive sales and bring in revenues, writes Lloyd Mathias, as he lists the six vital lessons marketers learn on the job

    The Anchor: Lloyd Mathias on the 6 things every marketer learns on the job

    By Lloyd Mathias

     

    1. No matter how good your campaign is, it won’t work till you have your team fully aligned with it. So, as much as you spend time on zeroing on the consumer insight, researching the proposition, fine tuning the communication – it is important to “sell” the campaign to your internal constituents.  Hence the need for internal communication – point-of-sale material for trade, detailers for the sales force.  It is also critical to align campaign breaks with availability of field materials and widespread distribution.  The best campaigns don’t succeed without product in the shelves.

     

    2. The past is no guarantee to the future. Most marketers believe if it’s worked well in the past, it will work again. The fact is consumer tastes change over time. Even more importantly, the market dynamics change. Also, most consumers need fresh stimulation.

     

    3. Treat your agency as an integral part of your marketing team.  It is amazing how many marketers have near adversarial relationships with their agencies (creative, media, digital PR).  Your agency is the co-custodian of your brand – the more they know about your business and the issues facing it – the richer will be their input. Treat them as co-owners. Give them the freedom to do the occasional over the tip creative.  Long term they won’t let you down.

     

    4. Marketers tire of their campaigns much faster than consumer do. Remember most consumers see a whole lot less of your brand than you do.  Refresh if you need to, don’t revamp.

     

    5. Meet real consumers as often as you can. An hour with consumers is worth many hours of pouring over research data. Consumers today – more than ever – have a strong point of view and want to be heard. Some of the finest ideas come from immersing with your consumers. And remember – don’t confuse your sales force or trade partners with REAL consumers. No, not even analyzing the brands’ Facebook page responses or looking up the Twitter handle can beat real consumer face time!

     

    6. Always keep the larger business objective in mind. Remember the primary role of marketing is to drive sales & bring in revenues. Everything else comes next. So try not to be overly protective about the marketing budget – especially if the business needs cuts.  In the long run if business wins – marketing wins.

     

    Lloyd Mathias is Director, GreenBean Ventures. He was President & CMO, Tata Teleservices until late last year and was Sales & Marketing Director of Motorola India prior to that.

     

  • Several marketers are now waking up to the potential of small screen stars as brand endorsers

    Big brands use TV stars to connect with masses

    By Rajiv Singh

     

    Now, Malhotras can raise a toast. After gulping down countless cups of tea during umpteen meetings over the last few months, this middle class family in North West Delhi has finally found a ‘perfect’ match for their son. Rashmi, their prospective daughter-in-law, is not only beautiful but also has a pet name ‘Toasty’ – something that instantly clicked with the Malhotras.

     

    Reason: The other Toasty they know is a lovable daughter-in-law, played by Aishwarya Sakhuja in Sony’s TV fiction Saas Bina Sasural, who keeps her family together. “I am sure Rashmi has similar qualities like Toasty,” said an elated Mrs Malhotra.

     

    Malhotras are not alone in getting influenced by serial characters. There are thousands of such people across the country. And several marketers are now waking up to the potential of small screen stars as brand endorsers.

     

    Over the last six months, a slew of brands including Cadbury, Emami, Hyundai, Maruti, Dulux, Red Label and Lux has roped in popular TV celebrities such as Sakhuja and Hussain Kuwajerwala who can connect well with people at a fraction of cost of hiring a popular Bollywood actor.

     

    “It’s a great strategic move by brands. The TV characters have a strong resonance with the viewers, especially the middle class that relates to the values shown in the serials,” said Prathap Suthan, an advertising industry veteran who created the government’s ‘India Shining’ and ‘Incredible India’ campaigns and is now the chief creative officer of iYogi, an online technical support services provider.

     

    Saurabh Uboweja, director of brand consulting firm Brands of Desire, said that by casting TV stars with successful running soaps, advertisers can have the dual advantage of both role and star endorsement for a sensible signing amount: “They get two candies for the price of one.”

     

    MONEY MATTERS

    While TV celebrities do have their own large fan following, their relatively lower endorsement fee is a huge plus for several companies in the present tough business environment where subdued consumer sentiments and rising costs have hit sales of several products.

     

    One such company is Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest carmaker that has had a tough last year and expects its sales to fall 11 per cent in the year ending March.

    “In the current cost-cutting environment, it makes more sense to hire TV stars,” said Shashank Srivastava, Maruti Suzuki Chief General Manager (Marketing). The carmaker roped in TV celebrity Anita Hassanandini this month to feature in its Swift Dzire commercial. Last December, it signed Kavita Kaushik and Rajesh Kumar from SAB TV to endorse its multi-purpose vehicle, Eeco.

     

    “Selling a car is not like selling a Bournvita,” said Mr Srivastava. “So, there’s no point in shelling out fortune in having big Bollywood celebrities.” Big celebrities have not really worked for Maruti. Father-son duo of Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan could not boost its Versa sales in 2000-2001. Maruti has also had actor-director Farhan Akhtar and actor R Madhavan to endorse A-Star and Wagon R, respectively, but with limited success.

     

    CLOSER TO LIFE

    Marketers also say it’s easier for people to relate to TV celebrities than big screen stars. “While a Bollywood celebrity projects an image which is aspirational and larger than life, TV celebrities relate closer to the real life of the viewers and are hence becoming extremely popular,” said Krishna Mohan, CEO of FMCG firm Emami, which signed Suhana of Star Plus’ serial Sasuraal Genda Phool aka Ragini Khanna in November last to endorse its moisturiser Vasocare.

     

    Unlike film stars, small screen celebrities are identified with the characters they portray in popular long-run serials. So people relate them to the values their characters hold, like a committed housewife, an ideal husband, a perfect daughter… ¦ It helps brands project a distinct identity by endorsing them.

     

    Late last year, paints brand Dulux rolled out a media innovation by tying up with three popular television serials to create vignettes that resonate with their thematic campaign, ‘Apne Rang Chalakne Do’. AkzoNobel’s brand showed the lead pairs from Star TV soaps Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai and Iss Pyar Ko Kya Naam Doon, and Sony’s Saas Bina Sasural in its commercial.

     

    “Since daily soaps are a big draw in India and the consumer follows their journey closely, the protagonists of the daily shows had the appeal that was needed to propel the idea,” said Pushkar Jain, marketing manager for Dulux at AkzoNobel India.

     

    However, there’s a flip side of using TV celebrities as well, said Mr Uboweja: “Brands want to capture these stars and their soaps when they are running hot. But the shelf life for both is fairly short”. “This ad strategy is a bit like instant noodles, good enough to fill the stomach but not enough to satiate the appetite,” he added.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Sanjay Tripathy, Executive Vice President and Head, Marketing and Direct Channels at HDFC Life, on what you should look for while selecting an ad agency.

    The Anchor: Sanjay Tripathy on 7 reasons a marketer chooses an ad agency

    #1 End-to-end expertise and servicing. An advertising agency which provides a bouquet of services and is capable of creating effective 360-degree integrated communications campaigns is important, as classic one-dimensionaldvertising is becoming less relevant in the current environment.

    #2 Team credentials and clients handled. People form the most important part of an advertising agency, and their credentials and experience are a huge factor in deciding to work with them. The advertising agency needs to be evaluated to determine their expertise in handling different business categories, especially their experience of working on your type of business and if they understand the competition in your field. At the same time, it is important that the agency have some experience in other business sectors as it brings in fresh ideas and helps create clutter-breaking communication.

    #3  Size and scale of agency. It is important to ascertain whether the agency is adequately equipped to deal with the corresponding size of the client’s business in terms of creative, operational and technical resources.

    #4 International exposure. The more the agency has interacted with global clients and has experience in creating campaigns globally, the better. It helps bring in more professional working and a lot of fresh ideas.

    #5 Consistency in dealing. The ability of an agency to maintain consistency as well as transparency in dealing with its clients is very vital from a client’s perspective. It enables ease in dealing on a day-to-day basis and helps meet timelines and implement campaign plans more efficiently.

    #6 Strength in research. A strong research wing in an agency helps ensure that the campaign is backed by high sensitivity in terms of socio-cultural understanding and aesthetics while maintaining the brand philosophy. The tools that the agency uses in planning campaigns and analyzing the brand and competitors need to be scientifically prepared.

    #7 Balance between creative and business strategy. A path-breaking creative idea may not always be the best solution for a business problem. An agency which understands the importance of business problem-solving through communication is beneficial in the long run. Also, its ability to align with the long-term strategy of the client is important.

     

    Sanjay Tripathy is Executive Vice President – Head Marketing and Direct Channels at HDFC Life.

  • Sanjay Tripathy, Executive Vice President and Head, Marketing and Direct Channels at HDFC Life, on what you should look for while selecting an ad agency.

    The Anchor: Sanjay Tripathy on 7 reasons a marketer chooses an ad agency

    #1 End-to-end expertise and servicing. An advertising agency which provides a bouquet of services and is capable of creating effective 360-degree integrated communications campaigns is important, as classic one-dimensionaldvertising is becoming less relevant in the current environment.

    #2 Team credentials and clients handled. People form the most important part of an advertising agency, and their credentials and experience are a huge factor in deciding to work with them. The advertising agency needs to be evaluated to determine their expertise in handling different business categories, especially their experience of working on your type of business and if they understand the competition in your field. At the same time, it is important that the agency have some experience in other business sectors as it brings in fresh ideas and helps create clutter-breaking communication.

    #3  Size and scale of agency. It is important to ascertain whether the agency is adequately equipped to deal with the corresponding size of the client’s business in terms of creative, operational and technical resources.

    #4 International exposure. The more the agency has interacted with global clients and has experience in creating campaigns globally, the better. It helps bring in more professional working and a lot of fresh ideas.

    #5 Consistency in dealing. The ability of an agency to maintain consistency as well as transparency in dealing with its clients is very vital from a client’s perspective. It enables ease in dealing on a day-to-day basis and helps meet timelines and implement campaign plans more efficiently.

    #6 Strength in research. A strong research wing in an agency helps ensure that the campaign is backed by high sensitivity in terms of socio-cultural understanding and aesthetics while maintaining the brand philosophy. The tools that the agency uses in planning campaigns and analyzing the brand and competitors need to be scientifically prepared.

    #7 Balance between creative and business strategy. A path-breaking creative idea may not always be the best solution for a business problem. An agency which understands the importance of business problem-solving through communication is beneficial in the long run. Also, its ability to align with the long-term strategy of the client is important.

     

    Sanjay Tripathy is Executive Vice President – Head Marketing and Direct Channels at HDFC Life.

  • Is television more powerful for marketers than other media? Why?

    The Anchor: Abraham Alapatt on 7 reasons a marketer prefers television to other media

    #1 Reach

    IRS media figures show a 17.9 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the spread of cable and satellite TV across India. The figures, for the first quarter of 2011, show that the total reach of cable and satellite TV is now 416.51 million, up from 403.51 million registered in the fourth quarter of 2010, and just under 383.61 million homes a year ago. Television – including terrestrial transmission – is now available in 522.44 million Indian homes, up 5 percent on the 516.41 million figure at the end of 2010, and the 509.86 million recorded in the first quarter of 2010.

    In fact, the only sections of the survey which registered a dip in the IRS figures were radio and cinema penetration. Cinema’s reach fell by minus 5.4 percent CAGR, from 81.66 million at the end of 2010 to 79.71 million in Q1 2011. The total reach of radio fell from 163.91 million to 161.48 million in the same period: a drop of 8.3 percent negative CAGR.

    #2 Family consumption

    In markets like the US or the UK – small families, working parents and typically “more than one TV homes” is the norm. In India on the other hand, TV viewing is a social “family” gathering where Indian families (often larger/joint families) gather around the single television in the living room of the home. This means that, with approximately four people viewing per TV set in India (during prime time) the reach is not just significantly larger than the numbers suggest, but also more involved and animated as a family unit. This aids marketers across segments and target groups. This group consumption of TV as opposed to radio, print or internet (which are usually consumed alone) makes it very powerful and unique.

     

    #3 Nature of media

    The versatility of the media – combining audio and visual elements and allowing stories, humour, glamour and imagery to be combined, makes it a potent tool for marketers to project their message/brand in the most attractive manner possible.

     

    #4 Segmentation based on viewer profile

    Based on time of day, nature of programme etc, marketers are able to target the right segment better than other traditional media such as print and radio.

     

    #5 Planned consumption

    TV viewing, in extension to being a social/family event, is consumed to a specific time pattern/lifestyle and is therefore fairly dependable from a marketers’ point to view to reach prospects.

     

    #6 Consumption by habit

    An extension of the social and planned aspects is “force of habit” – viewers of a particular program/channel tend to consume it almost by habit, unless the content fails to deliver or something more attractive comes up on another channel during the same time band. Women viewers of soap operas, teens watching MTV or lifestyle channels, men watching cricket/sports/news are cases in point.

     

    #7 Ads themselves as content

    With ads getting more creative, slick and entertaining, TV ads have themselves become subjects of discussion and aid brand consumption – Vodafone’s ZooZoos, Airtel’s new jingle “Har ek friend…” etc are just some very popular recent examples. This is, for obvious reasons, a marketer’s dream come true.

     

    Abraham Alapatt is Head – Brand & Corporate Communication, Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited.