Demystifying ‘ADC’ Of Marketing
Tackling technology is one of the biggest mandates for the chief marketing officers of today who are always looking to engage with consumers in a more effective and meaningful manner. With the advent of technology and social media, marketing is now more of a conversation than just a one-way communication from brands to consumers.
Focusing on the growth of technology and the advantages it brings for a marketer, BW Businessworld launched the 13th edition of its Marketing Whitebook, which talked about the ADC of marketing — Artificial Intelligence, Data and Content.
T. Krishnakumar, President, Coca-Cola India & Southwest Asia, who was the keynote speaker at the event, launched the BW Businessworld Marketing Whitebook 2017-18. The event, attended by over 300 industry delegates, was held in Delhi at the Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi Airport on 21 July.
Krishnakumar pointed out that technology has disrupted all business practices and there is a critical need for brands to rejig the entire approach towards marketing now. “Coca-Cola is one of the oldest businesses in the world and when you have a brand of that stature, you tend to be conservative since much is at stake,” Krishnakumar admitted but explained that some changes in business approach, and overall mission in connecting with consumers, has helped the beverage brand break heritage and grow.
“ADC is not just external but has to be seeded in every part of the organisation, which can vary from taking product orders and digitising delivery process to developing dynamic content,” Krishnakumar added.
2030: The Vision
Speaking at the launch, Nielsen’s South Asia President Prasun Basu highlighted that by 2030, India, as a nation, will have a high consistency of consumer confidence. “Selling will change by 2030 as there might be drones delivering products in a few years,” he added.
Preeti Reddy, CEO, Kantar South Asia Insights, said that India will change in many unexpected ways in the future and marketers will have less control over consumers. Kantar’s data shows that artificial intelligence (AI) will help bring rural to the mainstream by 2030 and active social media users will increase to 190 million.
Embracing Technology
Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas, reiterated that in the changing reality meaningful brands will be the way to go as she highlighted the nuances on some of the global meaningful brands — which include the likes of Google and Facebook. Explaining the way forward for marketers today, Sumit Sawhney, Country CEO and Managing Director, Renault India highlighted that in the era of disruption, the need of the hour is to go for a change and embrace technology. His two-worded advice for brands was — disruption and innovation.
Sushant Dash, Regional President, TATA Global Beverages, spoke on what it means to market for social progress. Tata Tea has been one of the first few brands to use marketing as a tool for social activism with its ‘Jaago Re’ campaigns. Jagdish Mitra, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer, Tech Mahindra elaborated how it is imperative for a technology company to constantly engage with consumers, both online and offline, given the multiple sectors that they deal with.
Being Meaningful
Bringing in the perspective of a food company, Rodrigo Lima, Managing Director, India, Danone spoke on why marketers should be ethical and responsible. “We cannot hide anything from consumers, in seconds they can just Google it and find whatever they need to know about the brand,” he said.
Adding to Lima’s point, Leigh Terry, CEO- APAC, IPG Mediabrands, said, “You can’t hide anything from people in the social space, you have to address them. A lot of crisis management goes bad where people don’t accept responsibility or accept truth and look to make change. Majority of consumers are forgiving as long as you address them quickly.”
BW Businessworld Marketing Whitebook will also be launched in Mumbai on 28 July where Sanjiv Mehta, CEO & Managing Director, Hindustan Unilever will be the Keynote Speaker.
