Consumer intent shifted significantly to online channels in the last year: Rohit Dosi

Shrugging off the disruptions of the year gone by, businesses and agencies are looking for a strong revival in 2021. Over the next few weeks, Adgully – as part of its annual TRENDING NOW endeavour – will be presenting the strategies and views of a cross-section of industry leaders as they go about reclaiming lost time and market opportunities and build for a stronger future, armed with the lessons of 2020.

In this interaction with Adgully, Rohit Dosi, Director, Microsoft Advertising, InMobi, sheds light on how trust has become a critical factor for consumers in the new normal, and how digital has been an anchor that has addressed the needs for consumers during the lockdown.

Post pandemic, consumers say they will buy brands they trust. Digital is traditionally seen as a low trust media, at least in India and less developed countries. How will that factor into brands’ digital strategies?

There has been a seismic shift in India’s digital landscape over the past 5 years. With over 755 million Internet users in India, clearly Indians are going online to meet their needs. Be it banking, buying groceries, or relaxing with your favourite shows, Indians are leading digital lives. Trust is a critical factor for consumers in the new normal, and digital has been an anchor that has addressed the needs for consumers during the lockdown. As countless users began to search online for their needs, we saw significant spikes in associated search volumes. The hyperlocal delivery category saw a rise of 26% year on year in Q2 2020, “home décor” queries rose by 38%, and “investment” related queries rose by 77% during the same period. Therefore, consumer intent very much exists, it has just shifted significantly to online channels in the last year.

Several brands have pivoted their strategies, embracing a direct to consumer approach to ensure that they are where their consumers are – online. This will be a critical approach in the next few years, with customer points of sales continuing to shift. As brands continue to build online store fronts, I believe marketers have an important role to play; they will be responsible for a significant portion of the user experience from product discoverability, engagement, right up to conversion, driving the end to end experience for the new age Indian consumer.

Within digital advertising what are the growth trends? Search, social, video and display are not growing at the same pace. What does that indicate about these formats and marketers’ faith in them?

For billions of users across the globe, the Internet begins with search. Though at first glance some may debate the growth on direct search platforms, on closer evaluation we see some incredible growth. Cortana, Microsoft’s intelligent assistant, has been asked 18 billion questions since its launch. Similarly, alternative platforms are on the rise; DuckDuckGo and Ecosia, which are powered by Microsoft, have seen an immense rise in popularity. Ultimately, Search Advertising gives marketers the tools to ensure that they are able to own the top spot in front of high intent users. According to the 2020 ‘We Are Social’ Report, 81% of Internet users search for a product/ service online before making a purchase. With searchers knowing exactly what they are looking for, search ads are a means to reach users in a targeted, non-intrusive manner, as it is grounded in queries surfaced by consumers. By meeting consumers in the moments they are looking for you, marketers can ensure high brand recall and drive enhanced conversions with search ads helping them maintain an edge over their competition.

As digital media becomes more ubiquitous, what will be the ask from marketers from a more mature digital media market?

Digital media has always been held to a higher standard when compared to other channels due to the medium’s ability to track and measure. That being said ,I think marketers are looking towards driving deeper engagements with partners to truly understand their consumers. Through closer collaboration across ecosystem partners, marketers can leverage the power of data to drive personalised experiences at scale.

Brands are increasingly evaluating their digital marketing maturity as they plan to not only survive, but thrive in a post-COVID-19 world. An organisation’s capacity in delivering seamless brand experiences can be characterised by four maturity levels: Nascent, Emerging, Connected, and Multi-moment. Brands today are looking to work with partners who will help bridge this gap as they move from the Nascent to the Multi-moment.