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Committee: Marketing, Digital & PR

We are in an era of digitalisation where traditional mode of marketing has taken a 360-degree revolutionary turn. Understanding marketing has become a task of achievement and with DLC on board, our members get to dive into a pool of knowledge provided by subject matter experts across brand management, marketing strategy, Digital Marketing as well as PR. All such innovation can be understood and learnt extensively from the industry best and applied in real time. We provide cutting-edge knowledge of the trending topics and most authentic Top 10 lists that helps the members to stay ahead of the curve.

The Art of Authoritative Selling

How to think like a Marketing Genius?

Mr. Rajesh Srinivasan takes the listeners through the pioneering sphere of modern marketing strategies as he narrates the distilled wisdom based on his professional experience.

Make NFTs benefit your Business

It is the Idea that fails, not Entrepreneur!

Let that sink in: Lessons from running an O2O Commerce Ecosystem

Mr. Mathew Kordolia guides the listeners through the gripping world of O2O commerce and his experience as an industry expert. He shares his professional wisdom and beautifully narrates the rising importance of digital markets.

Keeping Up with Marketing Strategies: In the know of Trial and Error

Prabhakar guides the listeners through the intricacies of marketing in the 21st century and informs them of the inspiring and creative trends in this ever-evolving landscape.

Navigating and Staying True in the Social Media Madhouse

“Can you please log into Facebook and appreciate this post?”

It was one of the strangest requests I had heard in a very very long time. I wanted to make sure I heard it right, so I clarified the ask. “Please just like this post”, was the response.

On probing a little further, this is the story I got from the friend who made the request. It goes something like this –

It is her friend’s daughter’s page. She lives on Facebook and is very sensitive / touchy about posts and the responses she gets. A good day, means certain number of likes and comments on her post. A bad day means less likes and comments. She has the tendency to get ‘depressed’ if her posts do not hit a specific number of likes / comments. So, the parents put out requests to their friends and network to ensure that the daughter gets her likes / comments.

No. I am not exaggerating. And no, I did not make this up just for the blog. This actually happened and I am very sure we have all been at the receiving end of such strange requests. If not from parents, from friends and random strangers too – who hanker after likes to either feel or show how important they are, their thoughts are.

If not that, for sure we all know people who have been drawn into this web where appreciation is more important than conversation; where perfect is more important than reality and where quantity is more important than quality.

Welcome to the overcrowded, noisy and not so perfect world of Social Media.

In this digital age, getting swayed by latest trends, jumping on to a popular hashtag bandwagon or projecting a perfect lifestyle just to gain eyeballs, likes and popularity is very common place. Little do we realize that we are not the only ones who want this. Millions of others like us, want it too. And the strategy is pretty much the same.

So, how do you stand out in the digital noise? Like, actually stand out? I think the answer is rather simple. Be who you are and bring your entire self to the platform. It may look like you are a fighting a lonely battle. In the long run however, you will see real engagement that will help you stand out from the crowd. Here are three simple ways of achieving this.

Purpose – Why

Always begin with the Why: Why are you on Social Media and what do you want from it?
Pick the platform: Don’t simply create accounts on all Social Media platforms because it is cool to be seen there. For example, if it is about Networking – choose FB, Twitter, LinkedIn; if it is about Visual Communication – choose Insta, Pinterest; for Vlogs – choose YouTube, Vimeo; for Interactive Media – Snapchat, TikTok and for Blogging / Community Building – Tumblr, Medium, Reddit
Write / share to express, not to impress: Work on themes and what you actually want to share with people. Always write because you have an opinion or want to express an idea that you are passionate about. Don’t worry about the likes, focus on engagement and meaning. The likes will eventually come – and will come from relevant people.
Stay relevant: Engage only on things that matter to you; or things that affect you. Do not engage on trending topics just because they are trending. If you are unfamiliar, or its not relevant to who you are as a person, discomfort will show, credibility will take a beating.
Dump the calendar: The engagement will start enthusiastically but will quickly become a drag. You will forget the why and post generic stuff. By all means maintain consistency, but do not be led by the calendar. Be led by the topic or what you want to share.

Reality check: “Social Media is a dangerous place to seek affirmation, acceptance, identity and security” – Cornelius Lindsey

Identity – What do you stand for

1. Don’t fake it: Pick only topics that you are passionate about, or want to learn. Else, you will spread yourself thin and confuse the reader.
2. Brace yourself for feedback: Whenever there is passion, there will be debate, discussion and dissent. Deal with the bad as gracefully as you deal with the good. That will show a balanced mind.
3. Personal branding:

a. Picture: Another opportunity to show who you really are. Pick a picture that typifies you, not perfect practiced studio shots that projects you as someone completely different.

b. Title: Again, use it to describe who you are (as a person) and not what you are (your professional title)

c. Intro: Make the introduction a story about something that you’re passionate about. People relate to personal stories, not borrowed pieces of narratives. Does not matter if it shows vulnerability, it will show you are for real.

Reality check: “Don’t lose what is real chasing what only appears to be.” – Your Tango

Beliefs – Who you are

Core: When you talk about core values and beliefs, it reflects not just what you are about and what you will do, it also subtly tells someone what you won’t do or what you don’t stand for. Very useful in work place conversations, interviews and the like.
Personal anecdotes: When you get personal, people will relate in the form of “hey, she’s been there before, so she knows how it feels”. Not only are you being who you are, you will also help others be who they are as well. That’s when meaningful engagement and conversation will happen.
Watch the line: When you get personal, so will others. Discuss and debate but know when to let go. Always be in control of the conversation. If it gets belligerent and one-upmanship becomes the goal, you will not be in control of the conversation anymore. Consequently, you will get lead to wherever the other person wants you to go. That, could end up being in complete contradiction to the Why.

Reality check: “Everything you post on Social Media, impacts your personal brand. How do you want to be known?” – Lisa Horn

As is with anything, too much of something is always detrimental in more ways than one and Social Media is no exception. It is, no doubt a very powerful tool. Use it, but responsibly and remember “if you follow other people’s footsteps, you will never make any of your own”! So go out there and let the world see you and hear you for who you are and what you are – passion, warts, blemishes and the works

Guide to your digital marketing strategy in the post-pandemic era

We have seen an unprecedented acceleration and adoption of digital across businesses and the daily lives of people.

Consumers are spending more time on digital, eCommerce, OTT, Gaming, and eSports than ever before.

While businesses are reorienting themselves to the new normal – marketing functions within organizations will need to refresh and reinvent quickly to help put the businesses back on the growth track.

An obvious direction is to dial up your presence on digital. Skew efforts in favor of digital channels. While this may seem like the promising way ahead – if not done right, this can also be a drain on resources with very little or no change in results.

The sheer number of players flocking for discovery and visibility on digital platforms has made it mandatory to pause and assess.

The need for an integrated and singular brand narrative on digital:

The digital media landscape is complex. Ever-increasing and dynamic platforms, content formats, advertising assets coupled with the need to consistently create content to be in touch with the consumers have left brands looking confused, with no linearity in communication and single thought holding them together.

The increased decibels online-only compound this problem further.

Therefore, building a digital brand identity document is not an option anymore. While the document should honour the fundamentals of brand identity, it should build in definitions, checkpoints, and guardrails for all platforms and content formats on digital. And remember that this document by the very nature of digital will be ever-evolving, and thus agile.

The need for personalization

Cookies are likely to be history soon. While advertisers have a reason to be upset, I also believe there is an interesting and perhaps a more powerful alternative—which is opt-in personalization.

Consumers are now more likely to opt-in for richer and relevant experiences. And as brands, we need to be prepared to give them the best and the most memorable experiences.

This is the job of data and technology.

Priority one is to structure your customer data in meaningful ways. And next – use creativity and technology to make it worthwhile for your consumers that you have their data.

The data that consumers are willing to leave behind for you will be your biggest asset and also your biggest responsibility.

Some ways in which we have done this at DViO are by personalizing branded videos with consumer data at scale, intercepting high potential brand conversations on social and leveraging the opportunity to amplify the brand narrative.

Notable among our personalization initiatives is how we used technology to make every fan of Game of Thrones appear on the key art poster of Game of Thrones.

These are the kind of experiences consumers will remember forever.

The need for conversations

An integral part of personalization is conversations. And brands now have both public platforms (social media) and private platforms (messengers) for conversations with consumers.

Personalized conversations add value, build affinity, and have the potential to build powerful brands.

And thus, the adoption of rule-based conversations or machine learning-based conversations on chatbots enabled across websites, apps and commonly used messenger platforms like Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, etc. will need to become the norm.

Another high potential enabler for conversations is Voice Technology. As per a Google report- 27 % of online audiences are already using voice in some way.

Voice is poised to change the game on Search. Thus, when you enable your brand for voice search, you are preparing the ground to build a personalized relationship and equity with your consumer.

The need for gamification

Tell me, I will forget. Show me, I may remember. Involve me, and you got me.” – This is the power of gamification.

Nothing will have more impact in digital marketing than finding ways to involve the consumer – and gamification allows exactly for that.

And the fact that adoption of gaming has exceeded the growth projection owing to Covid1-9– multiplies the power of gamification.

This could involve in-game integration, creating custom gamified digital experiences using AR, VR, and chatbots, or even using new tech platforms on social media like Spark AR from Facebook or Lens Studio from Snapchat.

The need for immersive storytelling

As 5G becomes mainstream, the video should become the preferred format of content for brands to build their brand narratives. Audio Visual formats by far are the most impactful channels of communication today. It moves, immerses, and triggers mirror neurons of empathy.

The amount of time spent on Facebook Watch, Reels, YouTube, and video-first platforms like Tiktok stand testimony to this.

But for the brands to meet the demands of the volume of videos to be created – the democratization of video creation is the solution. AV can no longer remain the privilege of brands with large budgets.

While most popular social media apps have native video capture and editing DIY capabilities built in—the need for automation, technology, and AI-enabled video production will be more pronounced.

It’s also noteworthy that Facebook’s oculus is also making fast advancements and will open up a whole new dimension of storytelling in VR.

The need for innovating

Brands active on digital will step up even more aggressively, those moderately present will make digital their primary channel and those who ignored digital so far – will be forced adopt digital to be in business.

Thus, innovation for marketers is not a choice, it’s is a responsibility. There is likely to be a barrage of communication towards consumers, and thus information fatigue. The question creative strategists should as ask themselves is:

Q. Is my content adding value in some way to my consumer—entertaining him, telling him more about what he is already interested in, and surprising her/him in a way that will create marvel or bring a smile on her/his face?

One way of doing this is to reimagine and play with the user experience and user interface on platforms that you use to communicate with your consumers regularly.

The need for going beyond digital

And last but not least – find ways for your communication to go beyond digital and impact and engage the consumer in their daily, physical lives.

As marketers, it is our responsibility to find ways to connect with people and humanize the world. It is the social and human fabric of the society that ultimately is the base or even reason for any commerce to happen. And this need for encouraging connections is even more pronounced as we recover from the Covid19 era.

With so much going on about a digitized world – let’s not forget we are living in a physical world, with real people, real emotions that value touch and care.

Customer acquisition and retention is not about price wars.

We stepped in, unannounced. The General Manager did a double-take when he saw us and recognized us in spite of the masks and in spite of seeing us after more than 5 years. He gives us bear hugs, seats us, and fires away orders to his staff in absolute perfection – “Masala Chai (Indian milk tea brewed with spices) for the lady and French Press Coffee for the gentleman,” he says as he walks into the kitchen. He steps out shortly with a batch of freshly baked signature chocolate cookies that we both love. Such small but important details were remembered, by a man we’d met only once earlier. But that one time left such an impact on us, we keep going back there as often as we can. This was our 7th visit over a few years.

No, this is not a stand-alone restaurant. Nor is it a restaurant in a city hotel. This is one of the many unforgettable experiences we’ve had with the Taj Safaris. I should point out that these are top of line wildlife safari experiences in India and come at a premium. Yet, every time we have had the opportunity, we have stayed with them. Clearly, for the experience the lodge offered. The wildlife on a wildlife safari holiday was incidental. That for you is the power of experience.

Apple, Disneyland, and Emirates come to mind when I think of other similar powerful brands from different industries. What’s common between them all? They are all top of the line in their industry. They are one of the ‘go-to’ brands. Oh, they are also among the top when it comes to price as well. Right? Read on.

Remember the time iPhone 13 was launched? Customers started queuing up from 7 pm the previous day, for the next day’s 8 am launch. Some of them were seen with sleeping bags while some of them were ready to rough it out through the night, telling people that it was worth the effort. Some of them flew in from across the continent as well! Now, iPhone 13 is certainly not cheap. And yet, this is the effort customers put in to lay their hands on one.

When you’re planning a long-haul trip by air, you want to make sure you do so in comfort; you want to make sure that you or your loved ones are taken care of well. All this, regardless of the cost. Top the mind recall in such situations is Emirates.

Is this just the power of the brand? Or is there something more?

Let’s assume it was just the brand. This could have perhaps resulted in a one-time purchase. What happens then? How long and how far would the brand carry the customer through? Not too far and certainly not to a repeat purchase over and over. So, what is it then?

It is all about the experience the brand offers. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying the brand is not important. It absolutely is. What I am also saying is that what goes into the brand is as important. In the case of Taj Safaris, it is about the hospitality experience; in the case of iPhone, it’s the UI / UX and in the case of Emirates, the service experience. This is all about branding the experience, so your customers can experience the brand! And when customers are willing (and will pay) to pay top dollar for the experience – you know you have customers for life.

It sounds very simple. It is anything but that. Whether it’s a product or a service brand, the only thing that will differentiate you from competition is the experience your brand leaves the customer with. So, ensure that you focus on the following:

Design and deliver a customer experience that aligns with the brand promise.

Emirates says Fly Better. Imagine if the ground experience, the in-flight experience was anything but that. And it gets you comparing this with a budget airline and thinking to yourself that that was a better experience. The iPhone is advertised as the world’s most powerful personal device. Now imagine if you needed another device to get your drawings done or if the UI was so unfriendly that you opt for something else cause you don’t have the time or patience to understand the UI. That’s one too many customers lost right there. So, everything that enables a customer to fly better or then, make the iPhone the most powerful personal device has to be thought through and delivered. Else, the promise and the experience will be in conflict with each other – a clear recipe for customer churn.

Reverse weave the experience into the promise.

There could be service/product components that grab the attention of your customers. Reverse weave that experience into the promise. For example, when House Keeping staff is so detail oriented that four years later, they remember pillow, towel preferences and remember that you don’t want air freshener sprayed in your room – it is certainly worth incorporating into the experience you offer. (This by the way is how the House Keeping staff are at The Taj Safaris property at Panna, a city in Madhya Pradesh, India).

Ensure that the experience across geographies, touchpoints, and staff is consistent.

If you want to sustain a competitive advantage and retain customers, just designing and delivering an exceptional experience is not sufficient. You need to deliver it consistently, year after year across geographies and channels to a point where it becomes synonymous with your brand. Even after that, care has to be taken that there is no dilution whatsoever, cause one moment of slack and competition that’s nipping at your heels, will use it to their advantage.

Customers will always have a choice, that’s the reality of the world we live in today. But when customers choose your product/service over that of competition, this in spite of the fact that you are not the cheapest in the business, you know you have them for life. So, go out there and build an experience that customers choose to pay more for. Focus on the experience; the moolah will automatically follow.