Decoding The New Themes

Karan Kumar Jan 04, 2022

The Covid-19 pandemic overturned a marketer’s playbook. It’s prudent to say that the past two years were like no other and from 2022 onwards the rules of the game will certainly not return to the old normal. The new marketing realities exemplify a confluence of strategies, operations, and technologies that are required to drive growth in a post-pandemic world and embracing them can only ensure a path to pandemic recovery and long-term success.

The role of traditional media has changed dramatically in these unprecedented times. The pandemic has changed the way we consume media and entertainment. Our social lives moved online as we stayed confined at home, while external consumption models like movie theatres, museums, etc are suffering due to physical distancing norms. The pandemic has changed the way brands market their products and services to their audience, and there is hardly any going back to the old normal. As the post-pandemic world is transitioning, leaders are re-evaluating their needs, especially the medium they choose to communicate with their customers.

As an outcome of this pandemic-induced economic disruption and consumer behaviour shifts, mass media revenues in the past two years experienced the sharpest contraction in history. Advertisers have scaled back from spending as monetisation, particularly ad-spend, are under pressure, cash management and profit protection with greater technology integration are likely to gain some strategic significance.

We as marketers observed the changing landscape of marketing during this transition:

Importance of being online and staying relevant: The past year has made everyone realise, that even if they were doing phenomenally well as a brick-and-mortar business, digital presence is equally crucial. Brands now have shifted to meet, interact and transact with consumers online
Optimise marketing spending: Plan effectively for better results and move beyond spending on traditional media or events. It is imperative to rethink while planning budgets, spending more on social listening tools and digital media will strengthen the brand’s positioning
Interest-based targeting: Demographic or geographic-based targeting might lead us to a newer set of audience, however, it's not necessary that they will be interested in our products, thus making it irrelevant. Therefore, having insights about the audience we want to target becomes critical.
Video content vs static content: Visual content comes with its own set of advantages. Rather than reading to a verbose blog, consumers prefer someone explaining it to them in a more structured and effective manner.
User-Generated Content as a remarketing tool: Consumers appreciate the voices of real people who use products and mention them as it is. This acts as a testimony to a product and as well as adds to the credibility. With the surge of influencer marketing, consumers now feel that brands somewhere have overdone with maximising their engagement and influencers too lost their voice, as brands focused on tweaking it in their favour.

As we move forward, there are a few more themes likely to come into focus for the mass media industry:

Customer behaviour and habit formation: There is a rising demand for at-home digital media such as OTT platforms as habit-formation and ease of access emerge as drivers. The psychological impact from the crisis might take some time for consumers to recoup and embrace external consumptions models again.
Monetisation challenges: Monetisation though remains a challenge however, key ad-spend sectors have seen significant traction. Most media outlets derive a significant percentage of their revenue from advertising, and the current pandemic has brought advertising to a standstill in many sectors including fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), financial services, automotive, and e-commerce. The recovery of such sectors will play a critical role in helping media outlets leverage the surge in media consumption for monetary gains.
Digital is the future: According to a survey by KPMG, India was projected to have a billion digital users by 2030. The expectation has accelerated further by the virtue of lockdown with not just the addition of new users but also increases the comfort and confidence of the existing digital citizenry.
Bridging the digital divide: If India exists in its sprawling urban metropolises, then Bharat lives in its towns, small cities, and villages. While livelihoods across the country have been affected, a greater proportion of Bharat will feel every incremental expenditure over a few months to follow. Small- and- medium-sized businesses have been grossly impacted. Channelising and targeting customers geographically will be a major key to tapping into newer audiences.
Data analytics: Analytics from online advertising measure more than the success and also detect shifts in specific advertising campaigns. It also helps marketers refine the ad’s message, determine the channels to use, and gain insight into who exactly is listening.

The persistent challenge for mass media has been related to regulation and trust. COVID-19 intensified concerns related to data protection, privacy, and the veracity of public information. As we look ahead, though challenging, the future of mass media remains positive. The pandemic has accelerated digitisation and changing habits of the consumers. Brands will have to focus on mastering the intricacies of consumer experience. They will have to constantly delight their audience for them to be willing for the services by creating unique or customised experiences.