Why Brands Are Falling In Love With Conversation Media Marketing (CMM)

Sarabjeet Singh Feb 08, 2022

Erstwhile, written letters were the primary mode of communication and conveyed many emotions, feelings, and attachments, even when mobile phones first came into existence. However, with the increasing usage of smartphones and the GenZ and millennials’ quirky, unique ways of communication, supplanted by WhatsApp and messenger, conversations are becoming smarter and more engaging. As mobile phones and social media platforms become our primary form of communication, the written text, although still a key format, is being surpassed by emojis and GIFs and that’s the reason why brands are keen to become part of new-age communication tools such as Conversation Media Marketing (CMM) to build a real bond with their consumers by experimenting with new age visual lingo that is more subtle, appealing and engaging.

Consumers nowadays desire more genuine and personalized conversations, which has paved the way for a relatively new but innovative marketing concept called CMM (Conversation Media Marketing) which is offered by companies like Tenor & Giphy in global markets while conversation media platform Bobble AI leads this idea in India. As per a study by WordStream, tweets with emojis get 25% higher engagement, and Facebook posts with emojis get 33% more shares and 57% more interactions. That’s enough validation for the visible impact of visual communication elements like GIFs and stickers.

Once used at the end of the sentences to add a bit of enthusiasm to text messages, the yellow cartoony faces with various expressions have become ubiquitous, from greetings to goodbyes and nearly every part of the conversation in-between. And with the quarantine isolation that heightened the demand for deep personal connection, resulting in a surge in time spent on chats apps on smartphones, over 70 billion chat messages every day, including more than 10 billion emojis and 700 million Stickers/GIFs, were sent every day. So, let's take a look at what CMM is and why it's gaining popularity among brands and markets.

What is CMM?

The brands have started realising that simply communicating is no longer sufficient; they require marketing innovation to become part of their prospects' daily conversations to form meaningful relationships with their customers. CMM is a new form of advertising that allows brands to reach out to consumers in a non-intrusive manner to showcase their products through creatively designed stickers/ GIFs with impactful brand recall elements. It enables brands to enter their customers' daily lives in visual formats that they can relate to. CMM is a truly non-intrusive marketing tool that comes with the power of trust and relevancy as it converts the consumers into brand ambassadors without a push.

Why are brands joining the CMM bandwagon?

A picture is said to be worth a thousand words and with good reason. The adage is particularly apt for today's generation, i.e., the millennials and GenZ, who use GIFs and emojis daily, altering the way we interact. Millennials are driven by passion and seek engaging, immersive purchasing experiences that showcase creativity and individuality. GIFs, and emojis, as visuals, and they add a layer of nuance and energy that plain text messaging alone lacks. In a Holler survey of major US cities in 2020, 78% of people said that visuals help them express emotions that words cannot, and 81% said visuals make any conversation more entertaining.

So, seeing how CMM is revolutionizing the digital marketing ecosystem, prominent global players like Tenor and Giphy have already joined the CMM bandwagon. It helps them engage in daily smartphone conversations with customers and build more profound and longer-lasting relationships through automated, real-time conversations.

Brands understand that customers don't like to wait until necessary, so they are investing in expanding their content offerings in these areas. And this is evident in the fact that Kingfishers' "Kya Plan Hai" campaign by Bobble AI managed to garner over 37+ million brand imprints in conversations, 1.1Mn+ unique eyeballs, and 567K+ content shares. Apart from that, AI-powered conversation media marketing proved highly beneficial for Cadbury, as its Dairy Milk Silk Valentine's Day campaign became a part of 126+ million conversations during valentine's day.

CMM addresses the challenges looming around the digital advertising landscape

The biggest challenge in digital advertising so far is Bad or tone-deaf messaging because it turns the user off. Brands need to understand that they need human messaging, not acronyms. On the other hand, with new regulations restricting the usage of third-party consumer data sources, the dominance of first-party data is becoming more apparent. Furthermore, many major firms are discovering that internet advertising is either fraudulent or ineffective. They're even having trouble keeping track of actual ROI.

Conversational marketing, unlike traditional marketing, facilitates a more casual and creative approach to communicating with customers. It not only helps brands with insights but leads to creating marketing campaigns tailored to consumers' intent, resulting in a more personalized experience and effective brand-customer engagements. CMM empowers the brand to develop trust and credibility, increase engagement, and showcase the human aspect of their brand to have an impactful conversation. Brands may track downloads, usage, and reach of their emojis and stickers on a regular basis to evaluate if their marketing is productive. And the use of conversational AI technology, including chatbots, language technology, and vernacular content technology, helps the brand to provide a seamless experience 24x7 to customers.

Final word

So, to thrive in this competitive environment, brands must be open and responsive to their customers, and conversational marketing is the key to bringing this personal touch to their customers' experiences.

*Sarabjeet Singh is EVP- Business with Bobble AI and leads CMM business