Purpose marketing will become a noteworthy part of brand strategy: Abhishek Gupta

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.

Abhishek Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance, sees a significant recuperation in sentiment, especially in the aftermath of Budget FY22. Purpose marketing, consumer activism, and TV returning to the fore in terms of ad spends are some of the key trends that Gupta sees in 2021.

Outlook for 2021

There is an overhang of uncertainty from 2020, but there has been a significant recuperation in sentiment, especially in the aftermath of Budget FY22. There are some clear trends that have been emerging since the end of 2020 and I see these dominating the calendar year 2021:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant change in customer behaviour. There is a higher resonance with brands that act as responsible corporate citizens and stand for a cause. So, purpose marketing will become a noteworthy part of brand strategy going forward.
  • With Budgets being rationalised across the board, TV as a media had to take a backseat. Digital has emerged on top in the last year as Internet usage and content consumption increased. However, with the onset of the new financial year in April, we will see TV returning to the fore. In fact, I would expect some bit of spends happening on TV in this quarter too, considering this a business critical period, especially for financial services companies.

  • Consumer activism has become very prominent since the last year, with social media being used as the tool for creating noise around a subject. Be it the recent Myntra logo controversy or the Tanishq fiasco last year, there is a clear tilt in the way consumers are dictating how brands project themselves. It will be interesting to see how different brands tackle or respond to instances of consumer activism as it is not an easy line to toe.

Great expectations

The year 2020 was definitely one of a kind, and while it has had an adverse impact on businesses, it has transformed perception towards insurance. People have realised the criticality of financial protection and the true purpose behind insurance. While it has traditionally been a ‘push’ product in India, we will gradually see it becoming a ‘pull’ product. This shift in customer behaviour will also dictate the industry narrative. Last year, the industry took a decisive step towards building the insurance category with the campaign ‘Sabse Pehele Life Insurance’. Category building has traditionally been limited to bigger market players, but we will see small to mid-sized companies also making foray into this space. With insurance becoming a key purchase area for masses, we will also see significant increase in marketing efforts by companies and a proportionate increase in spends in the medium term.

Key learnings from 2020

I have primarily two takeaways from 2020:

  1. Work From Home: I wasn’t a big believer of the Work From Home concept, but 2020 has changed that. Over the last 9-10 months, I have realised that WFH does not affect efficiency and I have anecdotal cases, wherein productivity has, in fact, improved. I have seen my team work closely with each other and, in fact, being far more tethered to each other than previously. However, one shortcoming of the WFH model is the interactions have become far more transactional now. My entire team met this week for the first time after several months and I found that our discussion was far more richer than it happens virtually. Everyone was participative and there was a discernible difference in the quality of brainstorming. So, I believe a balance of both Work From Home and office might become the norm going forward.
  2. Change in customer behaviour: There is an undeniable change in people’s priorities after 2020. We have all been so immersed in the competitive world, that family had unknowingly taken a backseat. But the last year has set priorities straight for several people. This has had a domino effect on everything else – financial protection, health and community have become key.

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