Marketing Needs To Earn Its Credibility Back: Harish Bijoor
The recent arduous times have introduced many new levels to the marketers' role. Evolved digitization is sure an opportunity provided by the current crises. Brands have been quick enough to transition to digital space and have become hyperactive in leveraging a host of digital platforms.
To elaborate on some of the recent developments in the marketing landscape, Harish Bijoor, Brand Guru & Founder, Harish Bijoor Consults spoke candidly with Dr. Annurag Batra, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, BW Businessworld & exchange4media and Noor Fathima Warsia, Group Editorial Director, BW Businessworld, in the second episode of BW Marketing Whispers.
The world has changed in an unprecedented fashion, and so has the marketing function. Significant shifts have been witnessed due to the changing consumer behaviour with many changes possibly permanently altering our industry. Bijoor believes that the confusion confounded by the pandemic we are living in and such tough times call for tough actions by the marketers.
Speaking about the recent changes induced by the pandemic, he said, “We are entering into a very sensitive phase into our society and in such an environment, brands assume a very big responsibility. In 2019 we used to live in a celebratory economy but now marketers have to move into the cautious economy. Marketers have to be very sensitive in these times, they need to buy sensitivity wherever they get it. It is extremely important for marketers to earn back the lost credibility.”
The Marketing Practitioner emphasised on the learnings of the pandemic and said that it is imperative for the Indian economy and brands to inculcate valuable lessons from the terrible pandemic times. “It is extremely critical for us to reinvent everything around us and to re-engineer our life virtually while keeping in mind the sad learnings of the pandemic. If we do that, we would have taken one step forward and if we don’t, we will still be where we were,” he added.
Bijoor also pointed out that in response to the pandemic we are moving into an EFH i.e., ‘Everything From Home’ structure and hence it has a direct impact on marketing as it is an outdoor or on-the-go economy.
The VUCA economy has become the norm. Marketers need to prepare a bottom-up approach instead of a top down one. Bijoor informed that bottom-up process of advertising is very labour intensive while the top-down process is a money intensive one. And for most marketers, the money somehow comes easier while labour is an art so that is the reason most brands have top-down approach. “Brands need to stay ahead of the consumer thinking curve all the time. Additionally, how do brands communicate is very important and there is a term called ‘new communication’ which shows the tone, decibel and pitch of the seller when you are talking to the costumers,” he asserted.
The world of marketing is changing drastically because of the dramatic changes in consumption patterns. People these days don’t want to consume so much and are jumping out from branded consumption to commodity consumption. Bijoor believes that the new reality is that of digitisation and the new religion is going to be digitalism in our lives. He further stated, “In the new indoor economy, digital is heaven and is playing a vital role in people’s life. The home centric digital is becoming a big animal and this animal needs to be empowered. The country needs to get digital sensitive because that is what will hijack and command in times to come.”
