Ad:Tech 2023: Marketers today should think about what they're not doing instead

The second day of Ad:Tech 2023 saw Eiti Singhal, chief marketing officer, Vega; Akshay Mathur, chief revenue officer, Tyroo and Leema Mahajan, nutrition coach, weight loss specialist, and nutrition and health educator discuss how marketers can create shoppable moments, based on the different emotions of the consumer. 

 

The panel was moderated by Rubeena Singh, country manager India and MENA, AnyMind Group.

 

The evolving marketer 

 

Addressing the growing role of a marketer, Singhal began by stating that a marketer today operates not only like a brand manager, or a performance guy. “He or she will have to wear both hats. That’s something I’ve seen through and through in the way we’ve come to evolve with our digital and social teams. Branding today is a hybrid model that exists. Since 2019, even if I divide the digital landscape, social has also become the same because there are multiple platforms,” she added. 

 

However, she believes that online video, which was the biggest entertainment medium, is now becoming a far bigger influencing point for her brand. 

 

She added that since the consumer journey is getting complicated and difficult,  more than what to do, marketers today should think about what they're not doing instead. “Figure out who you want to go after and measure your consumer journey even after the post-purchase.” 

 

All about influencing the target 

 

Singh then turned to Mahajan to ask her how her journey of attracting consumers and brands eventually started. “I basically created my page to reach out to a global audience. Post covid, there was this entire thing about going to a dietician and people started to look up online models of consultation. That really worked for me. The idea was not to be a content creator, but to boost my own nutrition business. Somehow, we then started growing organically and brands came along. What I realised is that influencer marketing really helps brands reach out to their target audience. This ensures that the money spent on TV and other conventional ways is also much lower.” 

 

However, Mahajan added that to keep the trust of her followers consistent, she tries and only promotes things in a way which is easier to understand, without making it a hard sell. 

 

Role of technology

 

Mathur was then asked about the tech amends that marketers need to make to help consumers adapt. Speaking of the sea of content that he believes exists today,  he said, “It’s super important for us to create shoppable values. There are shoppable moments on a consumer’s mind, but there are also impulsive moments. There are strategies that can be used from a platform point of view too. Similarly, the right content strategy and selection of platforms is what’s important and something that technology can help with.” 

 

Speaking of how she creates a shoppable moment which is impulse-based, Singhal believed that every category, whether high-level or low, is highly searchable. “You have to plan it well. People are researching enough and more. There’s a lot of impulse happening, but for a long-term ROI, you have to go about creating that shoppable journey for the consumer, whether it’s on your platform or off your platform. However, price is an important factor in creating an impulse-based moment more shoppable,” she added.  

 

Authenticity in communication 

 

To maintain authenticity, Mahajan shared that influencers too need to build trust and push a product very subtly, in order to build a long-term association with their followers. She said, “Brands need to trust their influencers when they want innovative content. Influencers have grown their audiences organically and they understand their nerve better. We’re not just creating content, we’re also engaging with our audience. To know more about them, we do Instagram lives, QnA’s, polls and more to understand their pain points. We collaborate with brands that would help them get the right solutions.” 

 

However, Mathur argued that every customer is also an influencer and an advocate to the brand. Backing his point, he gave an example. “Flipkart did a huge campaign with Alia Bhatt and we had to create her as a ‘Flip’ girl - somebody who can help shoppers get pricing and products etc. right. However, we took a step back and wondered if all the Flipkart users who love the brand could be our advocates instead. We ended up reaching out to almost 17 million users and that had a great impact.” 

 

Mathur also cited an example from RedBull, which partnered with snowboarding influencer  Mark McMorris - where the brand gave him its credentials and asked him to just blog his day. “McMorris spoke of how he went about his day and also about how RedBull energised him. The results were huge and people ended up buying the product, in hopes of becoming like Mike. This was a great way of making use of an influencer,” he added. 

 

Giving some more insight on influencer marketing, Singh stated that it’s still only the tip of an iceberg in India, unlike countries like South East Asia, where influencers are helping brands in major ways. However, she believes that India too is heading there in the next couple of years.