It is an age-old tradition for marketers to dabble with a plethora of challenges, both internal and external, several times in their careers. While the core remains the same, what changes with time are its contours.
At the BW Festival of Marketing 2024, leading marketers described how they look for modern solutions to modern problems, to navigate through the complexities of the marketing landscape.
Arjun Bhojaraj Manipal, Chief Business Officer of Routematic, noted, “We have gone through a huge change. The COVID-19 time was a zero business scenario for us. The way the world is turning out makes it important for us to focus on brand authenticity.” He furthered how the pandemic brought their business to a standstill, stressing that the company has adapted to situations and evolved. "We are in tune with what the customers want,” he explained.
Most brands made organisational adjustments or product pivots to survive this time, where authenticity and adaptability remained central.
Kishen Ramaswamy, Head of Brand, Social, Content & Design at Air India Express, echoed the sentiment, saying, “The change is absolutely real. We launched an entirely new brand, taking away the brand that always existed, which is always a major challenge for any marketer.” This transformation required not just a shift in marketing strategy but also a cultural change within the organisation, he adds.
Gaurav Chopra of DB Schenker pointed out the rapidly changing environment in which marketers currently operate, “They are focusing on various aspects of marketing, such as digital dominance, which consists of social media marketing and influencer marketing,” Chopra noted. He emphasised the need for data-driven decision-making to keep up with the dynamic consumer behaviour. “We have to deliver the products as per consumer preferences. Customising the needs according to customer behaviour is something where marketing plays a huge role,” he added, highlighting the importance of being responsive and adaptable to consumer demands.
Ashish Tiwari, Chief Marketing Officer of Home Credit India, emphasised the importance of foresight in facing challenges, saying, “Any change can be beneficial if you can predict and time it well. This way the marketer’s job becomes very critical.”
Tiwari sums up that when a marketer makes a mistake, it typically impacts millions and billions. It has the potential to completely change the trajectory of the brand. He stressed the importance of understanding and anticipating changes, suggesting that these changes can be beneficial if managed well. “Any headwind to an organisation needs to be first understood by a marketer. Any change can be beneficial if you can predict and time it well. This way, the marketer’s job becomes very critical,” he concluded.
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