Transparency on social media is gaining more importance: Sooraj Balakrishnan

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.

For Sooraj Balakrishnan, Head of Marketing, Acer India, transparency and trust will be key factors for brands in 2021. He also sees social commerce gaining momentum in the year ahead as brands will use social to not only engage the audience, but also to sell the products.

Outlook for 2021

In 2020, we have seen some disruptive marketing trends and we are at the edge of welcoming more in 2021. Transparency on social media is gaining more importance than ever before, especially in this largely digital world that we are entering. Social media will act as a medium for brands to represent their attitude and tone. People are seeking out brands they can trust more frequently, so being transparent will help the brand to gain the trust of more users. Another trend which I see is social commerce gaining momentum, with more than billion users it is natural that brands will use social to not only engage the audience, but also to sell the products.

Great expectations

2021 will be the year to seize opportunities, lead from the front, learn from the crisis and be ready for the new customer behavioral trends emerging from this. The surge in PCs led by the COVID-19 pandemic will continue well into 2021. With distributed workforce, consumption is also getting spread-out to smaller cities. Blended mode of work and learn is here to stay and one can expect a fundamental shift in everyone’s workflow, which will lead to a lasting impact on the PC market and consumer behaviour in 2021 and beyond. Households are moving towards one PC per person due to added demand driven by needs for education, work, and other from home activities. The momentum in the market has been impressive, to say the least, and consumers seem to be buying all ranges of notebook PCs – from low-end entry level systems to high-end gaming machines.

Key learnings from 2020

The past year has been a year of upheavals and challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The year has also brought with it a great set of learnings, phenomenally changing the way people think and work. As we begin a new year, these learnings have transformed into actions. Most of the marketers learned, adapted, and made the best use of their resources to steer the brand in the direction they felt is right. More than anything, the biggest takeaway from 2020 is that we are learning to work in a new way with the technology – not against the technology. While the pandemic and economic disruptions are changing the landscape for future work, we’ve learned that new technologies have the power to help companies to pivot and redo their strategies to sustain. Digital transformation is here to remain and will play a vital role in ensuring the business continuity. We have learnt that it is not the size of the company, but how agile it is to change which matters now. Merging of physical and digital, personalisation of communication and valuing the consumers’ time when they engage with your brand is imperative. Brands are no longer broadcasters, but they should be listeners and responders to intercept the consumer at the right moments to position the brand and product.