Recap 2019: It’s brand building Vs performance marketing - Harikrishnan Pillai

For Harikrishnan Pillai, CEO and Co-founder, TheSmallBigIdea, Voice, Gamification, Regionalisation of content and Moment marketing were among the standout creative trends, as he does a recap of the marketing trends of the year gone by.

Which were your favourite top 5 digital campaigns of 2019?

Some of my favourites from 2019 are:

#SwiggyVoiceofHunger for its uber quirky execution of simplicity as a platform feature.

Domino’s Pizza UK: ‘Say no to FOMO, say hello JOMO’ – The campaign does a good job of explaining FOMO and JOMO through relatable storytelling. This is rounded off by the memorable voice of Simon Bird, to help connect with the Domino’s target demographic.

‘Around the World in Germany’ – When it comes to the best social media campaigns, the simplest ideas are the best. And for the consumer, German Rail’s ‘Around the World in Germany’ campaign, produced by Ogilvy, looked simple. But underneath the images, was a complex social marketing example.

‘Koi Yaar Nahi Far’ by Hotstar for engaging audience to participate in the first-ever social cricket-watching experience.

Another favourite from our stable was the ‘Bala’ movie campaign done by TheSmallBigIdea. The campaign stood out for the spectrum of content creation and created an impact on the film’s chatter.

Did any creative trend or strategy catch your attention? What was it and how was it different?

Voice:

It changed the way people search for and find brands to interact with, improving customer experience to drive more traffic on site. Brands seeking recognition in the long run would need to incorporate voice technology into their digital marketing strategies, harnessing the power of sensibility to cater to the fleeting choices and preferences of the changing consumer needs.

Gamification:

Gamification incorporated fun and an element of competition to scale up the marketing strategy, making an emotional connection with the audience that has driven lasting customer relationships as opposed to simple brand awareness.

Regionalisation of content:

Localisation of digital platforms is a crucial factor to reach the expected levels on Internet penetration in the near future. The next 100 million digital incumbents will find ease in consuming content in regional language, using neo-social apps that allow them to create and consume local content.

Moment marketing:

Moment marketing have embraced current events by creating campaigns around them which people can relate to easily to deliver the right message at the right time and use offline experiences of events for online interactions.

In terms of brands spending and adapting digital medium, how was 2019 vs 2018? And, what’s the next big thing in digital in 2020?

Brands have become more prudent. While the focus on ROI exists, there is a clear differentiation build between brand building and performance marketing.

A lot of reorientation into building brands through stories on digital has become strong with the aid of data-based storytelling. Brands have evolved to engage the conscious target audience in the embedded content through informed decision making. More brands are realigning focus on digital, going regional to cater to the demographic and linguistic differences in a broader perspective in terms of accessibility and market penetration. Because, the game changing moment is to retain the brand name in the top of mind from the list of performing competitors and build better customer relationships fostered through loyalty to impact millennials’ lives.

Also Read:

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