Collaboration: The Symbiotic Synthesis

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." – Helen Keller

We live in a time that makes us believe in the power of an orchestra and that no one can whistle its symphony. The current wave of collaboration in the Indian marketing and advertising ecosystem is a testament to the same, that there is a greater good in unity and that no brand can survive in a silo anymore. Often, brands with limited creative, digital or technological capabilities are at risk of being laggards. By aligning with like-minded business partners, brands can potentially reap the benefits of teamwork across the corporate divide.

Unilever serves as a prime example here, given the magnitude of its investment in the ad market. An account as big as Rs 4000 crore, it moved from the traditional linear value chain model to an interconnected web of non-linear ecosystems in 2016. Its idea of 'Reimagine HUL' rests on an enterprise that is data-led, machine-augmented and fit for the heterogeneous nature of our country. Its collaboration with various business partners in the ecosystem enables the brand to seamlessly connect with consumer, customer and operation ecosystems, leading to a superior experience for all its stakeholders.

A&M Collaborations: Then And Now

Collaboration in the marketing ecosystem has progressed significantly over the last few years, from simple co-branding exercises to more purpose-driven, strategic and integrated partnerships. Brands are seen seeking deeper relationships with complementary entities for better optimisation and efficiency.

For Shuvadip Banerjee, Chief Digital Marketing Officer, ITC, collaborations were very linear until a decade ago, unlike today, where the quantum of possibilities has increased multifold. He feels that marketing has become much more complex and therefore, the role of various partners has become crucial to achieving the defined objectives.

A typical case of this is the brand’s recent Sunfeast Dark Fantasy ad that empowered fans to virtually connect with SRK through artificial intelligence (AI). Its execution required weaving the expertise of a gen AI company, a media agency, a creative agency, a PR agency and a tech company, all in one place, to bring the technology alive and give every SRK fan a first-of-its-kind experience.

"Today, this strategic alignment leverages the diverse knowledge of each stakeholder, increasing the industry's capacity for innovation and excellence. A symbiotic connection with extended partners enables businesses to overcome obstacles, accelerate development and create tailored solutions that resonate strongly with customers," adds Rahul Talwar, Chief Marketing Officer, Max Life Insurance.

Moreover, collaboration today is acting as an asymmetrical force multiplier, driving growth in the Indian marketing and advertising sector and fuelling heightened engagement, visibility, and profitability. By forming strategic alliances, brands access synergistic opportunities to amplify their reach and influence, activate the power of data sharing and to some extent, disrupt traditional forms of advertising.

The Valentine's Day campaign of Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk is a representative case, that was brought to life with generative AI, which involved a partnership between Cadbury Silk x Zoya Akhtar x AI x Disney+Hotstar x millions of personal stories, along with Wavemaker India and ADSMN Interactive standing tall as its backbone.

Such collaborations among the various stakeholders of the ecosystem stamp the movement from merely a transactional outsourcing unit to a more collaborative and strategic approach. "Now, the focus is on both, driving business results and crafting meaningful brand experiences, while often delving into areas like experiential, innovation, martech and data analytics, where agencies provide insights for more targeted campaigns," informs Shubhranshu Singh, Vice President - Marketing - Domestic and IB - CVBU, Tata Motors.

Brand Advocates And Influencers

No one can deny that influencers today have great sway over consumers and brands using them to share messages about their products can keep their audience’s attention. They win with customer purchases. The power of this influence is best seen across many of the social platforms that consumers spend hours reviewing every day.

Social platforms were originally created as a way to connect with and keep up with friends, but in recent years, the role has shifted significantly. According to a report by EY, the integration of influencer marketing into communication strategies is essential for marketers in the current times and three out of four brand strategies are expected to include it.

This reflects brands' prioritising engagement rates and recognising the importance of authentic connections in reaching their desired audience. They are recognising the potential of the creator economy and are increasingly investing in it, with sectors like FMCG, automobiles and consumer durables leading the way. "There's a surge in both, collaboration and co-creation of content, leveraging a wide spectrum of influencers and UGC for authentic brand storytelling. Influencers have also become integral to content creation, offering unique perspectives and heightened engagement," confirms Singh.

Motorola's influencer marketing campaign, 'Flip into the Future', with CGI advertising, is a recent case in point. Conceptualised and executed by Barcode Entertainment, the campaign introduced three CGI ad reels strategically placed in iconic Indian locations, where the phone unfolds, providing a glimpse into the possibilities of tomorrow. Unlike traditional campaigns, this approach combined coming-of-age advertising with the personal touch of digital influencers, presenting a perfect example of different partners coming together to bring solutions to a brand.

Parallelly, brands are also tapping into customers by gathering their feedback, monitoring their comments and encouraging user-generated content to elevate experiences and engagements. Customer feedback has emerged as a vital tool that enables a brand to gain insight into its target market, identify and fix issues in the product or services, optimise its customer experience and boost its brand awareness and reputation.

Accepting that happy customers act as the biggest advocates of brands, brands are seen reaping the benefits of online reputation management (ORM) by listening to the different narratives around them. An example of this is Starbucks' 'My Starbucks Idea' platform, which gathers ideas from customers such as on new drinks and store improvements. Some of these are often implemented, showcasing Starbucks' commitment to a customer-first approach. The brand also frequently uses customer feedback for its marketing strategies, showcasing customer testimonials and positive experiences to identify brand advocates.

This healthy union between brands and their consumers is a great way to look at the different dynamics of collaboration today, where the entire ecosystem is working hand-in-glove to bring fruitful solutions to the table.

Technology: The Quintessential Catalyst

The past few decades have seen technology play a crucial role in enabling collaboration between companies. With the emerging tech market burgeoning at a swift pace globally, companies are seen collaborating seamlessly across different locations and time zones. This has eliminated the barriers of distance and allowed businesses to work together more efficiently and effectively.

The technological developments, particularly in the marketing and advertising fraternity, have made seamless integration between partners more impactful, enabling more sophisticated and cooperative efforts to engage effectively with the audience. Innovations in technology have opened doors to exploring AI, virtual and augmented reality experiences, enhancing customer engagement, predicting collaboration outcomes and optimising campaign performance. Moreover, partnerships extend to sustainability initiatives, with brands and agencies joining forces to promote initiatives with purpose as a core philosophy.

"Given the rapid digital transformation sweeping across India, collaborations can harness the power of technology and digital platforms to engage with tech-savvy consumers and drive meaningful impact," asserts Gunjan Khetan, director marketing, Perfetti Van Melle India. The brand recently undertook an engagement campaign for Chupa Chups around Halloween that leveraged AI/VR to create a look generator, which allowed users to experiment with Halloween-inspired avatars in a gamified fashion.

A recent report by LinkedIn also confirms that 78 per cent of marketers in India are ready to embrace artificial intelligence, 83 per cent of them believe that AI will significantly change the way they work next year and 47 per cent of them see AI making them more productive.

On this, Pragya Bijalwan, Chief Marketing Officer, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals, emphasises, "Today ROI is more critical than ever and these new-age technologies help in optimising it. They help in driving efficiencies across the value chain, right from understanding the consumer cohorts better, segmenting them, driving curated and relevant conversations with them, and ultimately driving salience leading to incremental consideration and preference, leading to better ROIs."

In essence, by using the capabilities of AI, ML, AR and VR, brands can facilitate collaborative efforts that push the frontiers of creativity and effectiveness. Gone are the days when successful advertising or media outputs were a result of brand managers calling the shots and agencies executing in that direction. "To succeed in today’s world, we need experts from different disciplines to collaboratively add value to the table and work together as true partners. Brand custodians should have the humility to accept that agency experts will often know more and that there is enough to learn from them," sums Gunjit Jain, Executive Vice President- Marketing, Colgate-Palmolive India.

Overall, it is safe to conclude that no buzzword today can linger for long in the absence of collaborations. The history of humankind is proof that those who cooperate, succeed. Thus, there are good reasons why people rarely work entirely alone. Let us just say that collaboration doesn't reduce opportunities but doubles them further and faster.