Meta’s #MadeOnReels Campaign, A Handshake Across Businesses With Creators: Arun Srinivas

In conversation with Arun Srinivas (Director & Head - Ads Business for Meta in India)

Edited excerpts from a recent conversation:

How would you describe the #MadeOnReels Campaign? 

From the business perspective, if we look at brands – their objective is to grow reach among the audience and get their message across. Instagram Reels is doing this on at a top-notch level. Adding to this is the brand’s collaboration with creators, a very significant constituent of Instagram and #MadeOnReels is a boost to this partnership that entertains and brings revenue as well. In a nutshell #MadeOnReels campaign is all about getting the handshake across and doing business with creators.

How would you differentiate between a 90-second Instagram Reel from commercial advertisements? 

If you notice a new-age ad, it’s not like a regular commercial ad. Also, as we are specifically talking about short-form advertisements on Instagram, these ads or brand promotions basically come with a bonus of entertainment. Meanwhile, ads seen on other digital platforms are played in-between the video content that a viewer usually skips, making Instagram advertising stand out, earning the business trust.

The 90-second promotional reels do make a difference we have recorded evidence that around two billion reels are shared on daily basis proving not only do people consume Reels but also get engaged in the short videos by sharing them with friends and families, creating a reel uplift and message recall that in turn generates diverse business. For instance, Maruti, Navi Mutual Funds and Meesho, etc are some of the brands that successfully achieved greater consumer impact when their product or service was narrated by a creator in an interesting manner.

Basically, Insta Reels are not forced ads that are slapped over viewers. We at Meta are setting an exemplary example by enabling businesses with creative brand promotion. Maruti recently promoted its new car Suzuki Fronx by collaborating with different popular creators and received an amazing response. Some influencers even created a promotional song for Fronx, a 90-second reel, thus, is doing wonders, engaging and promoting a big brand. So, without a doubt, short-form videos are making a great difference in delivering greater consumer impact.

Do you think short-form videos are disrupting the advertising ecosystem in India? 

Well, this is indeed a difficult and deep question. We cannot point out a specific advertising medium. We live in a world, wherein no single medium is dominating the advertising industry. Multiple surfaces are available and the consumer is spending his or her time across several forms. Of course, short-form videos are growing like crazy in India, both in time spent and engagement, helping marketers get a stronger grip on Instagram. Thus, proving the typical belief, a marketer’s role or business’ role is to reach the audience wherever they are. So, if advertising leans more towards short-form videos on a daily basis, given that the time finite, then without a guess this format will grow with rising revenues in comparison to other forms.

Explain the changing consumer preference you have witnessed in your career span. 

Time is evolving and so are consumer preferences. What was consumed two decades ago has no correlation to what kids consume now. It’s about reaching out to the audience wherever it is. And right now, Reel is a perfect platform for advertising because consumers are on it. It’s like going with the old saying, “Fish where the fish are”.

In this macroeconomic environment and headwinds, what themes should advertising focus on?

We were not totally isolated from the world and we witnessed macroeconomic headwinds and slowdowns. Especially, after the Russia-Ukraine war, it got much accelerated where clearly many of the venture capitalists, customers and more saw a slowdown. And slowdown adversely impacts the whole economy. Acquiring customers, advertising and everything else gets disrupted greatly.

We as an organisation have accepted the worldwide slowdown and have successfully proved we can get better returns working alongside other advertisers and their objectives. #MadeOnReels is our one such endeavour that helped us gain better returns on our expenditures.