1. Priyaranjan ‘Ranjan’ Mestri Essay – Ubiquity of Digital Media
Executive Brand Communications
DDB Mudra, India.
The ubiquity of digital media is undeniable today because Digital technology is rapidly forging
new ways for marketers to engage brands with consumers; the marketing industry is finding
itself under increasing pressure to reinvent itself. Consumers are playing an important role
in how brands define themselves, technologies are boost i ng at the lightning speed and social
media is becoming an integral part of our lives. In India alone, nearly 40 million people are
using online reviews to arrive at informed purchase decisions says a study on social media
usage conducted by Nielsen in collaboration with AbsolutData. Marketers have started to realize
the importance of communication in an interactive way which is unique to Digital and social
media and can be extended to mobile and web technologies. Furthermore, the knowledge of
new media and Digital tools are used to figure out prospects and implications of a
product/service in a new economy
From the marketing perspective of analysis according to me three current trends that portend an
important role in our interaction with the target audience are:
SOCIAL MEDIA
USE OF INTERNET AND WIRELESS DEVICES
SEGMENTATION MARKETING
This is, because conducting research and analyzing data is convenient, fast, cost effective and
accurate which help to identify marketing problems, business opportunities and measurable
business plan can be drawn to persuade consumers.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
84% of the total Indian Internet audience visits social media sites i.e, 33 million internet users
visit social media in India since we all are social beings we tend to socialize and spend most of
our time online on social platforms and hence, it is about brands engaging with consumers on the
consumer level.
Today social media is indispensible for any service or brand because it is young, powerful,
futuristic, lucrative and intuitive in nature which can be tailored as per the brand requirements.
The impact is absolute and far reaching as the amount of buzz that can be generated is
phenomenal compared to any form of advertising or marketing tools
Blogs, Social networks, forums, online communities can help establish a direct contact with
consumers‟ because of their chit-chat and socializing nature on social networks. In a brands
marketing and communication arsenal, tools like social media marketing and social media
optimization are high octane and lucrative
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2. Priyaranjan ‘Ranjan’ Mestri Essay – Ubiquity of Digital Media
Executive Brand Communications
DDB Mudra, India.
Therefore, brand image can be improved and maintained in fact customers opinion can be
influenced to a large extent with the help of Social media services
Plan – T: the most innovative use of Social Media
Product: Hippo Baked Munchies
Region: India (New entrant)
Year: 2010
Background and Challenge: Hippo was a runaway success because of its „Fight Hunger, Fight
Evil‟ philosophy thus the consumption and sales increased in no time beyond the expected
figures creating a huge gap between sales and distribution. Consequently, Hippos sales and
distribution team found it very difficult to replenish stocks across 400,000 stores in India as their
sales and distribution strategy was nascent and 92% of Indian retail is unorganized
Solution: Plan – T was invented. Hippo urged its followers on Twitter to inform about empty
racks in the stores via tweet, whenever or wherever they came across one. In order to analyze,
monitor and pass the information collected from the tweets to the local distributors in respective
areas a core cell was established. Twitter followers who tweeted on regular basis about the stock
shortage were rewarded with Hippo hampers
Result: Hippo bridged the gap between sales and distribution across 50 cities, matched supply
with increasing demands and upped sales by 76% in course of time. Therefore, Plan – T helped
prioritize and identify potential markets and gauge demand to tackle the vast unorganized Indian
retail sector
Conclusion: The best example of creative use of social media in an interactive way with
consumers in a unique and an effective way
USE OF INTERNET AND WIRELESS DEVICES:
The combination of internet and Wireless devices is of paramount importance in engaging
consumers with the brands because when brands interact with consumers it develops a sense of
belonging and the presence of the brand is felt better than ever and is registered thoroughly into
the consumers mind
For example: Volkswagen interactive press ad powered by Apple iOS
Volkswagen launched an interactive print ad to greet Singapore Happy New Year in tandem with
Apple iOS devices
Idea: To provide convenience and an augmented reality experience of their automobile models
with the help of Apple iOS devices
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3. Priyaranjan ‘Ranjan’ Mestri Essay – Ubiquity of Digital Media
Executive Brand Communications
DDB Mudra, India.
Method: Considering the portability, adaptability and increasing penetration rates of handheld
devices like mobile phones, Volkswagen inserted print ads in one of the Singapore‟s daily
newspaper which allowed users to interact with the press ad using their iPhones by downloading
the augmented reality app “VW SG” from the app store which activates the augmented
component of the ad by providing an interactive showroom experience as the user could literally
browse through features, explore interior and exteriors of the model. Additionally, one could
book a test drive also
Conclusion: Volkswagen is available anywhere and anytime with the help of internet and
wireless devices
SEGMENTATION/PERSONALIZED MARKETING:
Personalized communication is of utmost importance in today‟s world because consumers
quickly tune out of ads, information and communications‟ which are irrelevant to them and
hence it is imperative to dispense information or communications‟ which is relevant to a
consumer in a personalized manner. Therefore, segmented/personalized marketing strategies can
help reach the right target audience at the right time and place as a result of customer loyalty and
strong engagement between the brand and consumers
Markets are categorized into subsets or segments based on their similarity in needs and choices
for example demographics – age, location, race and economics and psychographics – attitudes,
behaviors, motivations and values
This kind of information is procured through online interaction and internal database. Once the
information is collected and segregated, the data is grouped into different segments, with a
thorough understanding of a typical consumer in each segment. And hence, this allows one to
develop customized marketing strategies and messages relevant for each segment
For example: Personalized Web experiences
Amazon.com, greets a visitor by name and provides recommendations based on one‟s recent/past
purchases or browsing behavior making the online experience relevant and special
Thus, the ubiquity of Digital Media is undeniable and plays an important role in how we interact
with our audience and a vital element of marketing, advertising and communication today.
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