Marketers Reflect On 'Had I Known A Year Ago': Lessons On Adaptability & Strategy

In the fast-paced world of marketing, hindsight is often the clearest lens through which brands and marketers accomplish their path to success. Peeling back to the curtain on marketing, marketers look into the lessons learned, the misconceptions they've overcome and the strategies they wish they'd adopted sooner, bridging the gap between textbook theory and real-world application. 

Rajiv Dubey, Head - Media, Dabur India says, “Over the past year, we've witnessed an incredible array of events that have kept us all on our toes. From two cricket World Cups to the Olympic Games, the Indian Premier League (IPL) and two significant elections, one state and one general, there's been no shortage of action. This period has offered a wealth of opportunities for marketers to engage and innovate. We've also seen the impacts of global conflicts, adding complexity to the environment in which we operate.”

Communication in Tough Times
Anuradha Sehgal, Chief Marketing Officer, Coforge explains, "Working in IT services, especially across different countries and time zones, is challenging. Many of us operate out of India, and this past year has been particularly tough. We faced numerous obstacles, but we remained focused and managed to meet our targets.

Looking back, there are a few things I would have done differently. Communication, in particular, is the cornerstone of marketing. When times get tough, clear and consistent communication becomes crucial. It's important to make time for it because strategies evolve, new technologies emerge and teams look to leadership for guidance and validation. As a leader, I wish I had prioritised communication even more."

Deba Ghoshal, Vice President & Head of Marketing, Voltas emphasised the importance of discerning what to hold onto and what to let go of in order to maintain focus on the bigger picture. Reflecting on his growth, he advises his younger self to release certain things and embrace new opportunities, cautioning against excessive micromanagement. He points out that the concept of passion is often overrated and misused today. Instead, he suggests, "Optimising one's passion by fostering it within the team, while dialling down the personal intensity to allow others the space to speak and contribute was an important lesson he's learned.”

New Age of Profitability
Rahul Singh, Vice President & Head - Marketing, SAP India states, "I've spent my entire career in the tech industry, navigating the various stages of the hype cycle that every emerging technology goes through. Generative AI or AI in general, has been one of the fastest-growing technologies in terms of expectations. People expect it to revolutionise the world almost instantly. Typically, technologies follow a hype cycle where initial excitement builds rapidly, only to later dip into what we call the 'trough of disillusionment.'

For instance, mobile phones took time to become affordable and widely adopted. The same goes for cloud computing. Every technology experiences this cycle. However, with AI, the initial hype skyrocketed. Currently, AI's hype is at its peak, with everyone, from companies to individuals, anticipating its transformative impact.

I genuinely believe AI is as revolutionary as the internet was. It will touch every aspect of life and every function within companies. However, because the hype is so intense, the trough of disillusionment could be even steeper. Today, the excitement centres around Generative AI, but the real benefits will be realised when AI is deeply embedded into business processes."

Shamik Banerjee, CMO, Marketing and Customer Acquisition, Apollo 24 said, "When we look back a century, we see the dawn of industrialisation, where the invention of machines solved the problem of speed and transformed entire industries.

Fast forward 100 years and we witnessed the rise of digitisation, a phase that addressed the issue of distance and redefined how businesses operate. Every year has brought its own transitions and in the past 20 years, we've seen this evolution accelerate. Now, we're entering a new phase of maturity, one that brings us back to a focus on profitability, where companies with stable foundations thrive.

I see a clear trend of duopoly emerging in various sectors. In our field, quick commerce is a prime example of this. At Apollo 24|7, we're proud to deliver medicines within two hours, and now we're pushing the boundaries to achieve 90-minute deliveries. That's the challenge we're embracing today."

The panel discussion took place at the second edition of the Festival of Marketing in New Delhi.

Mayank Badhwar

BW Reporters The reporter works as Senior Correspondent with BW Businessworld