“Ads today are bite-sized brand experiences that also include commerce”

The marketing world moves at the speed of light. But after the pandemic that speed has further increased as brands are enthusiastically geared up for the festive season. Adgully’s third edition of CMO’s Charcha 2022, held in Bengaluru yesterday (August 10, 2022) witnessed a day-long session consisting of insightful Keynotes and Panel Discussions by industry stalwarts. Keeping in mind the post-pandemic revival story, the theme for CMO’s Charcha 2022 was ‘The Festive Blueprint for Brands’.

Digital advertisements have had the unfortunate history of serving the same purpose as a physical billboard. Billboards come to mind when people think about advertisements, yet for the longest time billboards have done nothing except stand still. It’s time to take a closer look at advertising than just a static one.

Delivering his keynote address, Girish Ramachandra, Founder & CEO, Shopalyst, turned the focus on ‘Discovery Commerce - A blueprint for brands to close the loop between impressions and conversions’. He highlighted how advertisements can be made a little more useful, interactive, experimental and e-commerce driven.

Presenting analysis on the audience background, Ramachandra said, “Consumers have very rapidly evolved, more so in the last couple of years, in terms of behaviours, the way we consume media, and purchasing things & services online. Those changed behaviours have also implicitly changed our expectations from brands. Today, people actually look at ads as content when executed very well.”

Adding further, he pointed out that the entire context of how users expect brands to engage with them digitally has changed, more so in the last couple of years. “Now what that really means is, we need to start looking at ads more than billboards. Ads are today are bite-sized brand experiences that also include commerce. Simply because for those who are willing to trade that time, have the opportunity to engage in a very beautiful way and convince or encourage them to make a purchase all in one seamless journey – and this is what really discovery commerce is all about.”

To elaborate on this, he cited the example of one of Shopalyst’s customers, who use discovery commerce in the festive context. “There are three key things that we expect ads to do. Firstly, connect with somebody who cares and not just every random stranger. So, for those who think demographics and targeting 60% of the TG, please reconsider that there are better ways to connect with people who are likely to care about us. It should extend their existing experiences; so, if I am on social media, it should expand my social experience. The brand should be able to build a consumer base that goes beyond the transaction,” Ramachandra said.

These are edited excerpts. For the complete keynote address watch below:

https://www.linkedin.com/video/live/urn:li:ugcPost:6963084594065629184/