Maintaining consistent brand message across channels is crucial: Raghav Kansal

In conversation with Adgully, Raghav Kansal, Founder and CEO, ET Medialabs speaks at length about how ETML is tailoring the performance marketing strategies to resonate with diverse consumer mindsets; Challenges & opportunities in the marketing industry and much more... 

In the context of your notable brands ranging from India’s leading Home Services Needs Brand to #1 FMCG Company, how do you tailor performance marketing strategies to resonate with diverse consumer mindsets, particularly during festive seasons, to drive impulsive buying behaviors?

In the vibrant shades of festivities, the needs of brands resonate in unique ways. Each celebration brings forward a distinct set of demands with different consumer expectations.  For example, if we talk about India’s leading home services needs brand, there is a surge in demand for home cleaning services ahead of Diwali whether the peak in salon services occurs during Karvachauth season. Again, for #1 FMCG company who themselves are a conglomerate of diverse brands witnesses skincare products taking center stage during Holi and Gift sets during occasions like Valentine’s Day.

At ETML, our commitment lies in the art of customization. Our strategies are not a one-size-fits-all but rather a tailor-made ensemble, aligned to the distinctive needs of each brand. From understanding the consumer segments to personalizing campaign’s communication accordingly, from data based reporting to comparing Gross VS Net RoAS as during festivals a lot of cancellations happen, from multi-channel approach to keeping a close look on attribution, it's a comprehensive checklist of tasks we handle, all aimed at ensuring our plans are incredibly effective!

Leveraging location-based ads during festivals is also a very highly effective way to reach potential customers and boost sales, whether brands have a physical store or an online presence. Different strategies like Geo-Targeting, Local Inventory Ads:, Vernacular Ads, Location Extensions, Collaborating with local influencers and Push notifications are used widely in ETML to get the most out of the festivities.

Can you share insights into how unicorn brands in India, such as those under your portfolio, strategically leverage performance marketing for sustainable business growth? What key tactics have proven most effective for these brands? 

Unlocking the secrets behind the success of unicorn brands in India is an unique journey. Within our portfolio of unicorn brands, we do have a collection of well-thought-out plans created not just to succeed but also to set the pace for industry benchmarks. Yet again, every brand follows its own path. In the world of performance, there's nothing like a generic plan. The only thing that stays constant is data. We kick off with a detailed analysis of data, auditing ad accounts and calculating ad spends wastage. Once that's sorted, each brand's journey is distinct and one-of-a-kind. We utilize advanced analytics and data mining techniques to understand customer behavior, preferences, and trends. These data-driven insights help in creating personalized marketing campaigns. We try to take performance and branding hand in hand, we call them performance branding. This helps build brand awareness, authority, and trust. 

As marketing technology continues to advance, how has ETML observed these advancements influencing consumer behavior? Are there specific trends or technologies that have notably enhanced brand engagement and resulted in higher conversion rates?

ETML as a team is at the forefront of decoding how technological advancements shape the way people make choices. Our keen observations deep dive into the specific trends that may transform our digital marketing efforts. To name a few, understanding the dynamics of automated campaigns and how to reach the right audience through relevant creatives, our team has formulated strategies for various brands. Additionally, the explosive growth of user-generated content (UGC) and short videos, like Reels and Shorts, have been phenomenal. These bite-sized, engaging videos have captured the attention of millions, and their popularity keeps growing. With AI taking a front seat, we are leveraging the power of content creation to influence the targeting of most of the automated campaigns. 

Secondly, the days when performance and branding campaigns operated independently are a thing of the past. Today, in order for a brand to attain long-term success and prevent falling into the customer acquisition cost (CAC) pitfall, it is important to run both hand in hand with well-thought-out strategies. At ETML, we refer to this integrated approach as “performance branding”.  

WhatsApp’s and Chatbox is the next big thing, WhatsApp is no longer used solely for personal conversations.  Dedicated teams in ETML are working closely with brands to leverage WhatsApp as a direct, personal way to engage with customers, enabling one-on-one communication and building trust. Chatbots, powered by AI, on the other hand, enhance customer service, providing quick responses and assistance round the clock. Meanwhile, broadcasting capabilities allow brands to reach a wide audience instantly, sharing updates, offers, or content efficiently. These tools not only streamline interactions but also help brands tailor their messaging and offerings to individual preferences, resulting in a more personalized and effective marketing approach in today’s fast-paced digital world.

With the rise of virtual reality experiences, how do you see the intersection of performance marketing and virtual reality shaping the future of brand promotion and customer engagement?  

Augmented Reality (AR) ads offer a revolutionary way to engage with your audience. By seamlessly blending the physical and digital worlds, AR ads provide immersive experiences that captivate users and drive meaningful interactions. These ads allow users to visualize products in their real-world environment, try out virtual experiences, and make informed purchasing decisions. When we talk about benefits, AR ads create captivating experiences that draw users in and encourage active participation. By providing interactive elements and personalized content, brands can captivate the audience and leave a lasting impression. 

Having said so, when users can visualize products in their own space or try them virtually, they gain confidence in their purchasing decisions. This increased confidence leads to higher conversion rates and a boost in sales. 

Implementing AR ads sets the brand apart from competitors leading to improved ad performance metrics, such as click-through rates (CTR) and return on ad spend (ROAS).

As data privacy regulations evolve, what challenges and opportunities do you foresee for performance marketers? How does ETML navigate these changes while ensuring effective targeting and personalized experiences for consumers? 

Privacy concerns have fundamentally transformed the landscape of digital marketing. With the rise of strict data protection regulations and growing awareness among consumers about the value of their personal information, first-party data has become a critical asset for us. This shift towards prioritizing first-party data means that businesses must focus on building direct relationships with their customers, gathering data through opt-ins and consent, and ensuring data security. 

Focusing on collecting high-quality, consented data can lead to not only increased trust but more effective targeting. The focus should shift from prioritizing relevance over volume, leading to better engagement. 

Relying on first-party data is the key, collecting data directly from users has become very important. This leads to building direct relationships with consumers that can provide valuable insights while ensuring compliance. 

And finally focusing on being transparent. There should be clear communication with users about data collection practices on what data is being collected, how it will be used, and why. We at ETML try to educate our clients about the importance of data privacy and help them align their marketing strategies with evolving regulations.

In a nutshell, digital marketing is getting a makeover. It's not just about ads and clicks anymore; it's about building relationships, asking for permission, and making sure everyone's information is kept safe and sound. Welcome to the new era where privacy and first-party data take center stage!

Given the diverse range of brands you work with, usually involving industry’s leading names, how does ETML approach cross-channel marketing to ensure a cohesive and integrated brand presence?  

Recognizing the unique personality of each brand within our portfolio, we craft strategies that seamlessly glide through various channels to establish a unified and integrated brand presence. By having a comprehensive audience understanding, we figure out various channels where the TG are likely to convert, from OTT platforms to Programmatic channel to educational platforms like Quora and of course not leaving behind the various inventories of Meta and Google themselves, we provide a holistic plan to our clients along with projected numbers and creative inputs. 

Maintaining a consistent brand message across the channels is crucial. This involves ensuring that the tone, imagery, and overall messaging align seamlessly on each channel. 

Most important of all is having an unified vision of data, how we are moving forward and what could be the next steps and not based on intuition but pure data backup. For this, we have our in-house dashboard and reporting system which serves the purpose and helps with the nuances of cross-channel attribution. With strong data support, we assign credits to various channels and touchpoints in a customer's journey to understand their contribution to conversions. This holistic visual of data helps in optimization, scaling/descaling calls on a real time basis.

In an ever-evolving digital landscape, how does ETML stay ahead of the curve in terms of emerging marketing trends and technologies? Can you provide examples of how the company has successfully adopted new strategies or tools to stay at the forefront of the industry?

First and foremost, what we believe in is continuous learning and training. Our greatest strength is our Human resource and we invest in them to stay updated on all fronts. We have initiatives like Lead with Knowledge, where we share learnings from our existing account POCs and drive insights and conclusions based on their experiments and recommendations.

We also collaborate with industry leaders, technology partners, and other organizations to stay ahead of the curve. Partnerships provide access to beta versions of tools or early information on industry developments.

We work closely with our clients to understand their evolving needs and challenges. Client feedback is our valuable source of insights into industry trends and emerging technologies. 

We have divided our work into broad categories, for example, apart from performance marketing, we also offer diagnostic study to enterprises with ARR > 10Mn $ struggling with the issue of revenue stagnation, this is powered by our in-house tool Adbytzz where our success rate is 100%.  It stitches data across channels & platforms such as ad-platforms, GA4, MMPs, etc., at one place and can run 100s of deep data driven automated analysis to provide valuable insights. We also solve attribution issues for brands who have multi-channel presence but are unable to scale the right channel effectively.

In conclusion, ETML's proactive approach to embracing emerging marketing trends and technologies showcases our commitment to staying at the forefront of the industry. Our success stories in swiftly adopting new strategies and tools demonstrate our agility and innovation, solidifying our position as a pioneer in the field of Digital Marketing.