Intersec 2022: Where the best minds brainstorm

The latest edition of Intersec, to be held from 15 to 17 April, 2022 in Goa, will be a great platform for digital and marketing heads of brands catering to industries like D2C, FMCG, retail, e-commerce, gaming, BFSI, and fin-tech, among others, to converge, ideate, and share ideas. The best minds from the world of digital and marketing will converge for Intersec, the annual event by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI), which will be held at The Zuri White Sands in Goa.

Intersec goes beyond the narrow precincts of industry events. The event is famously called ‘UNCONFERENCING’, because it is a fun-filled meet and greet which isn't just another conference or off-site which is full of speakers and listeners. Intersec provides sufficient time and opportunity for participants to meet and interact with new people and explore many business synergies. IAMAI has taken special efforts to bring together industry stalwarts for this Unconference. 

Intersec has long been hailed as a fun-filled meet, which provides a great opportunity to meet and network. It has been a tough phase for all walks of human life during the last two years. In a post-pandemic era, the ‘new normal’ has become such a hackneyed phrase; however, we have accustomed to that reality. Amid the tumultuous times, marketers and brands found new ways to remain agile, redefine, and recalibrate their marketing plans and campaigns.

In fact, the pandemic taught all of us brand-new lessons. Change, as they say, is inevitable. And the Covid-19 pandemic spurred that change in ways that are unfathomable to us.

It becomes of paramount importance for brands and marketers to communicate with the target group in a precise manner in this digital-first world. It also became all the more important to remain agile to gather real-time customer insights, and ultra-creative when it comes to your problem-solving skills. Assembly line marketing with a run-of-the-mill approach will not work in today’s post-pandemic era. What is required is agile marketing minds with an insatiable appetite for breaking free from traditional ways.

These tough times taught valuable lessons for the marketers. And have they been able to use those lessons in a constructive way?

How do IAMAI and Intersec play a role in the learning process for the marketers? According to Abhishek Gupta, Sr. VP – Growth, Mamaearth, Intersec will provide networking and knowledge sharing opportunities for brands.

IAMAI events help marketers learn. Priyang Agarwal, Director - Digital Marketing, Tata 1MG, says: “IAMAI events always give us a chance to socialise and interact with various industry leaders. We make connections and learn from firsthand experience of leaders. Also the connections are not just temporary; they are like deep bonds. It helps in getting suggestions for right tools, right commercials, right knowledge and many more things about life and culture to perform. I personally look forward to attending such events in future also.” 

Abhishek Gupta further says: “During the pandemic, CPMs were very low and the market was very open and hence we made sure that we were very aggressive in our marketing strategy. We scaled heavily and have seen better ROI with scale.” 

According to him, since more brands are now moving to digital media and cost of reaching out to customers is increasing. “Hence, one needs to be very intelligent in the way they spend their money. AI/ML will help marketers to make that decision with greater confidence.”

“For mamaearth, influencer marketing runs hand in hand with paid media. To make sure you utilize the buzz from influencers currently, you need to run paid media and hence paid channels can’t be replaced,” says Gupta.  

With the pandemic, there was obvious chaos, adds Priyang Agarwal.

Are marketers able to break their cookie addiction and figure out alternatives to third-party cookies before Chrome’s 2023 deadline? According to Agarwal, with TP cookies becoming obsolete; first party cookies will be put into more emphasis. Mobile tracking through GAID or IDFA ID will surely gain traction.

Dwelling at length on the lessons learned and the insight gained, Agarwal says: “Many of our lifesaving drugs were OOS. But we, as a healthcare brand, put our foot forward to do everything possible to help the customers/patients. Our labs and technicians were literally working 24X7 to deliver the reports. Our delivery boys were working back to back to deliver medicines. Key learnings:- a) Agility in process is very important.

1. b) Be an 'ear' to customer's voices and take them seriously. ORM, human touch along with technology interventions are must. c) Build trust in customers by doing things right and building brand equity.”

According to him, personalisation is an important tool and should be dealt with caution. While a wrong strategy can backfire you, a right strategy can be very much beneficial.

Some important things, according to Agarwal, to keep in mind are:

1. a) Never spam customers. Never sell the data to others
2. b) Remember to be 'Optimum'. Don't bombard them. This will churn customers
3. c) Always make robust journeys and give them relevant messages at the right time and place (e.g. a web check-in reminder personalised message one day before is a good one vis-a-vis two days before. Another example is pushing a right lab test for a diabetic person will be a good one rather than pitching general lab tests).”

The unconferencing opportunity

Everyone is eagerly waiting for the UNCONFERENCING! Intersec, attended by more than 60 unique brands in the last two editions, is an unique event which marketers and brands don’t want to miss. Deviating from the oft-followed path found in other events, Intersec is more focused on conversations than on addresses, speeches, or lectures. That is precisely the reason why Intersec has received such kind of attention in its previous editions.

To know more about the event, click here: https://eventsites.iamai.in/Intersec/?utm_source=iamai&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=adgully_website