Happy 2012 + Thoughts On Digital Marketing

Happy 2012

Here is a list of few key things to watch out for.

1. How to leverage social networks for marketing. Facebook, Twitter, Google+ have got the consumer traction. How to leverage them for marketing is still to be discovered. Nothing so far has caused the disruption like what "Pay per click" did to search engines initially

2. Marketing automation. Consumers read what you have to say in your ads and website - but believe and take decisions based on what they hear online :). The good thing is everything happens online. These systems will need to get more integrated with consumers

3. The lines between Marketing and Customer Service is getting blurred. A disgruntled customer or a happy customer both can impact your brand - much more than your ads do

Cheers!

Wishing all a super successfull 2011!

Ok, a bit late as we are into the 2nd week. But then the new year is still fresh in all our minds.

Somehow, the transition from 2010 to 2011 did not have the usual gap. Perhaps the environment was so stressed that people were busy at work even on 31st. Never before were so many of our clients available at office during the last week!

We seem to be all set for exciting times for digital marketing in 2011. With more and more users getting connected via the internet and mobile, and marketers finding that $$ are better spent on digital. With potential, there does come the pressure to deliver on the promises.

Here are a few key trends related to the digital marketing industry, that I feel will be key to our industry overall.

Adapt: The crazy growth of Facebook and Twitter, clearly indicated the presence of large vacuums in what users need in the new digital ecosystem. A similar vacuum exists for marketers - to leverage these. And the best part is - we will not know what it is - till it is out there! So every agency needs to keep innovating and investing to discover better methods to leverage these for marketers.

Educate: Any new method or technique, needs significant research and investments in the areas of defining models and then creating a system to educate practitioners and users - overall. Else, it will not overcome the proverbial "chasm" that exists before widespread adoption.

Share & collaborate: This is the only way, we agencies can help increase the pie. Rather than fighting over a small pie, lets grow the pie.

Happy 2011!

Futurewatch Series - 1

Well, they say it all started with barter. Where one man's produce was another's need. I made shoes, you made food - lets' exchange. Then it extended to a local community. Then appeared currency. Travel made it possible to expand your market. Then competition created advertising.

Ad for Coca-Cola, 1890s

 Advertising & marketing became an integral part of a business - as it had to identify customers to buy its product at the right price at the right time - this is important, if there was no constraint on price or time, a business could hypothetically wait for all inventory to sell on its own,  a.k.a monopolies!

And now, the internet's happening. Suddenly - every business has a market, distance does not matter. Technically all of what a business produces will find a buyer - somewhere - made easy by the internet


Do we still need advertising & marketing. We just need production and distribution. Ah yes - perhaps a few decades out - so we are safe

New Year, New Name, Same old thinking head

Today is Vishu, celebrated as the beginning of a new year across the south Indian state of Kerala, where I come from.

I am thrilled to start with a new name and focus for my blog. I have been writing here since 2007, but, as you can see, not too many posts to brag about.

I've been part of the digital marketing industry since pretty much the beginning. Being an engineer, with a flair for creative thinking, it cannot get any better! Though I have been based out of India, this industry is truly global, and except for the initial years when we started Webshastra (now Position2), most of our clients were global.

Advertising, for me, is losing its worth. The means as becoming an end. People do ads to win awards! Clients boasted about their advertising spends, media even awarded top advertisers. Think about it, getting an award for spending more?

As part of the change in name, I intend to focus my blog to share more experiences from my work, clients, and my thoughts in this amazing art (+science) of digital advertising.

Enjoy! and please do share your views. We may not agree, but a POV is a POV