On the first day of the IBC virtual event, industry heads discussed mobile marketing, performance marketing trends and emerging trends in 2021 The 4th edition of the exchange4media India Brand Conclave virtual event saw industry leaders and brand experts share how they innovated and stayed relevant during the COVID pandemic environment. The third-panel discussion of the day highlighted the topic ‘Building Brands of Tomorrow Through Mobile – From Branding to Performance’. This session was powered by TYROO. The panellist for the session was Anushree Ghosh, Head Of Digital - Strategy & Media, ITC Ltd; Anmol Gill, Head Customer Marketing India & Neighbouring Countries, Bacardi India Pvt Ltd; Dr Ipsita Chatterjee, Head - Innovation Development & Brand Strategy, Lotus Herbals Pvt Ltd; Prasanna Raman, Advertiser Solutions Lead, Snapchat India; and Rajeev Jain, VP-Marketing, DS Group. The Session Chair of the panel discussion was Akshay Mathur, CRO, Tyroo. Mobile marketing is dominating the digital pie at the moment. Starting off the discussion, Jain talking about the potency of mobile marketing shared, “Digital is becoming synonymous with mobile now. During COVID times it has grown higher which has helped us in marketing at DS Group. We have high-intensity category brands which require sustained visibility and various consumer engagement activities throughout the year. Mobile gives us the option to focus our communication in particular states, consumer segments and particular occasions. Apart from brand building, mobile marketing also captures the entire consumer’s journey which is from awareness to advocacy.”

Talking about Bacardi’s post-COVID perspective on mobile marketing Gill shared, “We always keep the consumer at the heart of whatever we do. With changing consumer behaviour, we have always evolved our marketing strategies. Looking at it from a consumer lens, if we keep ATL on one side and mobile marketing on the other with the penetration of the internet across markets the amount of time spent on mobile is more. When you need to have an engagement with the brand the consumer seeks mobile platforms for that. Bacardi has done many activities effectively on-ground which has a digital connection for an experiential activity. That integration was there pre-COVID. This year we have used technology at the forefront of most of our activities on our channels.” Gill commenting on the new playbook for mobile marketing during this pandemic said, “It has changed now keeping with the codes of the pandemic. Now in mobile marketing, we have got safety, convenience, availability which are essential. The playbook is about effectively targeting the consumer keeping these trend codes in mind. Safety also brought about the usage of QR codes and we want to take it forward in most of our campaigns. There should be relevant content that is personalized.” Speaking about the trends that will dominate in the times to come, Raman shared, “With the pandemic, there were two trends that have emerged which is that with the time on their hand’s people either like to upscale themselves or consume content. We have strategy ongoing for both the trends. In India, Snapchat has launched a new original series in the discover section which was launched in 2018. Now, we have seen phenomenal growth almost 60% growth on quarterly bases on the discover section and are now investing in games. Since people like consuming content in their native language, we have introduced nine Indian languages in which we can access Snapchat. On the upskilling bit with Augmented based lens creators, we have a program where we are encouraging college students to become AR-based lens creators and certifying people in creating these lenses.” Hyperlocal has become the main focus for marketers, Chatterjee talking about the work done in that area said, “Hyperlocal has become the way forward for marketers because there is a respect for our local culture. Especially related to beauty, the services and also a lot of User Generated Content is being created with Lotus Herbals in collaboration with influencers at a very local level. Geo-targeting is also something we are looking at. Post pandemic the borders between beauty and wellness have merged. People are focusing now more towards holistic beauty and wellness. All our content, activations and messages are around the principle: A beauty that looks like me.” Speaking about how hyperlocal is effective for DS Group Jain said, “When mobile gives you that flexibility of targeting your consumer as per the location through geo-targeting hyperlocal is very effective. It helps in retail brands when the consumer is in that retail brand and he gets a message of an offer the chances of his purchase intention enhances manifold.” Raman remarked, “Hyperlocal is an integral part of how one can advertise on Snapchat as well. As a company, we have realized India is multiple countries put into one. It’s also a moment specific country. Therefore the communication needs to be different and it needs to be tailored made and encourage brands to communicate in a manner that applies to that region.” Talking about the newly emerging areas that will come up in 2021 Chatterjee said, “The biggest trend in the field of beauty brands would be AR because that is the way forward. There is a lot of virtual application, virtual try-on which are the future. Also, there is a lot of omnichannel creations where retail will be a virtual retail concept that can be accessed through mobile devices.” Jain shared that the trend of purchasing FMCG products online will continue post-COVID as well. He said, “It gives us a lot of opportunities as we can see through mobile the entire consumer journey. AI plays an important role in our brand which gives us the opportunity for exact focused targeting. Another trend is ‘voice’ which play an important role in the coming years.” On a parting note, Raman signed off saying, “When you have augmented reality in the media mix along with hardworking creatives that combination gives great brand results. Augmented Reality works like a dream come true when it comes to brand resonance. I would strongly encourage people to use AR to deliver brand results rather than using it as a blue shiny toy.”