Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is a dynamic field which keeps on evolving. Changes in technology makes it a challenging field. The emergence of smart phones, the pattern of content consumption and the changes in buying behaviour keep the field in dynamic state. Digital content exposure is just for a fraction of a second to invite attention. A user may move on to other content or close it if the attention is  not arrested. It is, therefore, necessary to keep a close watch on digital marketing strategies.

To begin with, digital marketers bought on the basis of clicks. The methods of digital buying must change. They have to analyse the data, and keep on changing. Though digital marketing is data driven, it cannot be divorced from creativity.

There is a misconception that it is not possible to build a brand on digital. This is not wholly correct. Yes, a brand cannot be built only on the basis of digital. However, the various digital formats now available are as powerful as TV and mass media. It is possible that digital will emerge the second largest branding medium after TV in India soon. It may fare equal to TV by 2020.Online reputation plays a great role in building brands.

Some digital marketing vehicles have fallen short of expectations –digital audio advertising, effective display advertising and location-based advertising.

Though data-driven strategies are very innovative, an attempt must be made to establish an emotional connect with a consumer.

Videos are consumed dramatically on social media. Videos are consumed more on digital screens. There is scope for video documentaries too. While giving a piece of news, it is to be figured out whether a long form written article is the best way to do it. It is seen that listicles, FAQs, graphic representations and summaries are very powerful. As the audiences are of 18-35 years, the pieces do better.

While using hand-held devices, neither banner is going to work nor the 30-second audio-visual playback. Who will waste the bandwidth by allowing the commercials to play? The best format that is consumed is branded content which resembles the editorial content.

Some clients do like banners on desktops.

For decades, 30-second TVCs were the gold standard. As online video proliferated, many digital ads were essentially repurposed from TV. In the last few years, advertisers have started creating digital ads which are divorced from traditional campaigns and are better suited for many platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat. Online ads now interrupt everything. This explosion of online ads, however, has led to the use of ad blockers. Online ads must be less like ads. Ads are now branded content which means ads looks more like things people actually want to read or watch. Branded content is not the only technique. There are emojis pasting on Twitter, creating Instagram videos and dabbling in virtual reality platforms.

Digital Ad Ratings : Nielsen

In the US, Nielsen has already launched Total Audience Ratings which offers a complete view of content and advertising exposed to audiences across screens such as TV, desktop, mobile, OTT etc. This will be launched in many more markets.

There are three major challenges in digital measurement:

  • impressions are measured rather than the audience
  • most measurements are post-analysis
  • digital metrics cannot be compared with TV.

To address these, Nielsen has launched in India Digital Ad Ratings. It is powered by Big Data. The traditional panel-based solution is not used. In future, the focus will shift from collecting data to connecting data in measurement.

Advertising is measured in forms of 3 Rs — reach. resonance and reaction. Digital Ad Ratings reassures reach. It measures and reports the age and gender of consumes overnight on a dashboard. It monitors the performance of a campaign. It ensures all impressions reach the intended audience. A viral video may do nothing for the brand except being an entertainer. Campaign effectiveness is related to fulfilling brand objectives.