At e4m India Brand Conclave, Soubies, MD, JAPAC, Talkwalker, shared instances of how some brands had adopted to contactless norms
On Day 2 of exchange4media’s India Brand Conclave, Benjamin Soubies, MD, JAPAC, Talkwalker, shared key insights on how brands could beat Covid-19 in a contactless world.
Soubies began his presentation by talking about the effects the pandemic and the lockdowns have brought into the world especially for various brands. He further spoke about the impact of the virus with a special focus on the last 30 days. “2020 was completely different and surreal, we’ve been living in COVID for almost a year. Brands are trying to cope with it as people are very scared and concerned.”
Giving an example of how Zomato did it right in the contactless world, he said: “Zomato did it right in terms of going contactless by doing simple innovations like contactless menus, contactless orders, and contactless payments. These small innovations have greatly reduced contact between patrons, restaurant owners, and delivery guys. They focussed on safety and reassurance, everyone is skeptical about it.”
Another example that Soubies gave was in the context of IPL sponsorships. “When IPL happened in empty stadiums in the UAE with no crowds in the stadium, sponsors needed to innovate and make a difference to generate ROI in this restricted scenario. The sponsor chatter for Delhi Capitals was the highest and their revenue exceeded from 2019 to 2020. Even Royal Challengers Bangalore bypassed Mumbai Indians when it came to overall mentions and engagement. Important initiatives like the Go Green programme did great for the teams.”
He also spoke highly of how certain Diwali campaigns during the festive season stirred conversations around the brand. Talking about the Diwali campaigns that were commendable, he said “Ferns & Petals did some great campaigning around celebrating Diwali at home. Even Cadbury struck gold with Diwali ads for 2020 featuring actual products from local stores in their ads, focussing on vendors during their time of need. They highlight not giving up & following social distancing while also focussing on local businesses. Even Ed-tech did amazing.”
Summarising the main learnings for brands during COVID, Soubies summed said: “Reassurance and trust are the key. The more people trust you, the more love they give to what you create. Secondly, the world is a polarized place so brands should think multiple times before putting any message across. Thirdly, do not add to the noise. If you don’t have something extremely valuable to say, don’t say it. Sensitivity is very important. Last but not the least, be creative about how you can add value to your sponsorships.”
