How many times have you seen a great ad: sometimes cried, once in a while laughed, ads that use some insane technology that makes you go wow but literally – you can’t remember the name of the brand or the value they might drive in your life.

I need to come out of the closet about how strongly I feel about these award hungry “innovative” advertising campaigns that literally drive 0 business value. We all know these ads – you can sniff their award winning desperation from a distance. Hate it.

I’ve always respected brands that are so confident in themselves that all they want to do is drive business value and grow user love. The ‘it name’ for it today is product marketing. Now, I’m not saying that brand marketing is not important or these are 2 are mutually exclusive. I just believe that if you have limited marketing dollars, the most important thing you want to do first is to drive user growth and love – increase product adoption by being explicit about the utility that you drive in someone’s life.

eBay did a great job to re-establish their credibility by proving their value in the market (even if by taking a direct stab at Amazon).

I loved the pun on golden number $119. But more so, I loved how direct the messaging was to be like “hey – we provide more value therefore use us over xx”. Really that simple, but so well done.

Marketing is really about simplicity. We tend to over-complicate it.

Simple messaging to the right audience, at the right time to maximise business impact. (Business impact being the operating clause). I think that we need to always remind ourselves that this isn’t about us being creative (you can pickup a paintbrush for that) – this is really about customer value. More value, more love. Simple and beautiful.

When do you tell people ‘You are in such beautiful shape’? Reebok has a flow chart to guide people through the decision making.

Seems like the only appropriate time to say that if you dig up a forgotten action figure from your childhood in your parent’s basement. LOL

Not when you meet the spouse of the head of state. -_-

All these Trump domains seems to have hit gold.

Trumpwith.love is an interactive website that turns Trump’s words into Love. <3

Type something random and you get snippets of each word he has said, chop chop.

It is a little bit of a fantasy, but still – After a point: What else can you do, except just laugh.

#copingmechanism

They say, laughter is just the best therapy.

Brands sharing their opinions about political issues is entering choppy waters. Some ride the waves and emerge victorious, some sink into a crushing PR Tsunami.

The swimmer: 

Durex – keeping it casual, witty and open to interpretation. Taking the reality and teasing it, just a little bit.

The sinker: 

New Balance – Senior Execs (LeBretton) taking a strong political stance about supporting Mr. T

Their  potential customer base- Probably Hillary lovers, coastal folks started burning their shoes, taking this story viral. (Read: PR nightmare)

In conclusion:

Make sure you understand your target audience and their potential political orientation. If you want to take big bold steps, tests the waters a little bit (humour is a universal language) and try not to get too deep in the waters.

We all like 4 feet pools. Like really.

Marketers are often perceived as the Darth Vaders of the world: the ‘evil people’ – destroying happiness and taking over the world with their evil little ads.

In this constant battle between the ‘dark side’ and the ‘force’, ad blocker was created. Today, 48% of the web visitors (in the United States) use Ad Blocker – the shield that protects consumers from the firing of ads.

Ad-Block interferes with the HTML and proper loading of a web site to block ads from displaying on both desktop and mobile devices. Marketers believe (read: convince themselves) that this breaches the implicit “free content in exchange for advertising” understanding between a website and visitor.

Industry experts estimate that ad blockers on desktop computers will cost publishers $22 billion this year alone in lost ad revenue – a huge hit for the entire industry. So today, there are technologies (example: BlockBypass) that allow any website to continue serving ads to users running Ad-Block. While some might believe that this is a step forward for marketers, this in-fact is a step backwards for our consumers. 

I believe that instead of spending resources to circumvent a clear signal of disinterest from consumers, we should be moving forward to create innovations in digital advertising that users would not want to block. We as marketers, should be able to convince our audiences that we can be useful to them. Perhaps, advertisers and consumers might never be the best of friends but at-least we can make strides to live harmoniously in the Galaxy. In this mission, I do see some trends that I would like to highlight:

1. Change in choice dynamics: Currently the way we serve impressions are as follows- we serve, consumers are forced to see. This illusion of power that if users consumer free content or use free apps, they will have to see crappy ads. We evolved from video impressions in gaming apps that you have to watch to users ‘skipping’ a video on YouTube. Today, platforms like Snapchat truly change the choice dynamics – consumers CHOOSE to engage with certain brands and channels. Choice dynamics will change very rapidly and we no longer will hold the upper hand by throwing marketing dollars and forcing people to watch our ads.

2. Immersive Ad Experiences: The current model of advertising disrupts current user flow. Bombarding users with ad impressions in the middle of content is just sad. Can’t put it any other way but while consumers put up with that (with a mindless scroll of-course), they are never going to give a sh*t. Advertising will move towards a fully immersive ad experience with multi-media and brand content that people love and want to share. (aka. Love marks, done right). If you don’t know what I am talking about, check out Facebook’s Canvas Ads – the one format I would +heart on.

3. Native Content 2.0: Native Advertising has been a step forward for consumers in the right direction. Ads in the native experience of a site are both appealing and exciting. Still in it’s nascent state, this has a potential to be that bridge of harmony between the two. Breaking the experience between a publisher and an advertiser is painful for the consumer and the less we fight amongst ourselves, the better it is. Google is moving towards displaying the right chunks on information through their quick answers box (and micro-moment questions) while Facebook is releasing Instant articles that gives consumers the opportunity to read content directly in the app. While publishers will try to take everything on-platform, I don’t see this as such a bad thing for advertisers. Publishers and advertisers need each other to exist and currently are both working towards a ‘least damaging model’ (i.e. reducing drop off and improving the experience while giving sessions to the advertiser).

I think we are really lucky to be marketers in this era – moving away from the manipulative ways of Mad Men to truly caring about the consumers and fulfilling their needs. Let’s move forward with consumer-first mindset; after all, the galaxy will cease to exist without them.

Conversion is key in the sales pipeline. Moving beyond Digital awareness, it is essential to convert that awareness and branding into sales. But how can we achieve this?

There are the top 4 must do’s in order to marry online & offline:

1) Connect with mobile users.

A large percentage of your consumers are using their mobile devices even when they are already in your store. According to a Wanderful survey, 77 percent of clients have searched online for product information while shopping, and the growing millennial audience is particularly likely to engage in this at 85 percent. One way to encourage customers to visit your store is by merging the online and offline shopping experience through mobile applications. You can accomplish this by giving customers the option to quickly order items via mobile for same-day, in-store pickup. Be sure to highlight the benefits of this option, such as cutting out lengthy checkout processes and shipping costs while delivering instant, face-to-face service.

2) Listen and respond to customer reviews.

Your customers want to know what people are saying about your products and services. 63 percent of consumers are more likely to make a purchase from a site that has reviews, and visitors who read the reviews have a 6 percent higher average order value than those who do not. Reviews can improve things like customer confidence, SEO, and credibility. Afraid of negative feedback? One study found that negative reviews actually boost client trust by 68 percent if a customer complaint is immediately rectified. By addressing customer concerns, you demonstrate listening willingness to your audience in order to improve your products and experiences. A positive review of an exceptional customer experience will motivate shoppers to visit your business in search of the same encounter.

3) Monitor your social media presence.

Another way to receive and use feedback to drive offline sales is by monitoring social media conversations regarding your brand. Show customers you are ready to answer their questions and talk about their concerns by networking through your social media platforms. Facebook and Twitter are extremely valuable channels for customer interaction because they allow you to have a one-on-one connection with your patrons. You can also create virtual window shopping opportunities through sites like Pinterest to give your customers a sneak-peek at the items they will find in your store. Also, consider offering coupons that can be shared with friends and brought to your business for promotional items and discounts.

4) Go to the customer with Geo-location services.

Soon, Google Maps will introduce similar technology to smaller companies in the space that already offer offline turn-by-turn voice direction and the exploration of local businesses for users with low connectivity. This means that being involved with location-based mobile targeting will be incredibly beneficial to your business moving forward. Only 23 percent of retail marketers are utilizing geo-targeting for mobile marketing, giving businesses that implement this strategy an early adopter advantage. A successful way to get in on geolocation services is to drive offline sales through targeted mobile coupons. Become a part of location-based social media platforms like FourSquare and encourage your customers to check-in to your location. This will show the popularity of your store to locals, prompting loyal customers to continue to visit and inviting new customers to get involved.

This article was written in collaboration with Manish Patel, CEO of Brandify and Where2GetIt

The war of Traditional Media v/s Digital has surfaced again with Walmart v/s Amazon Prime. Except that that is the Game of Thrones with the Game of Drones (Yes, I hope you are all as excited about Amazon’s Drones).  Walmart, the largest retailer in America, is developing a subscription program to directly face-off against Amazon Prime.

For just $50 a year, Walmart will offer unlimited free shipping on items purchased from its online store, a bargain compared to Amazon Prime’s $99. However, the only benefit to the service will be unlimited free shipping, with delivery guaranteed in three days or less. However, because free shipping continues to be the most popular and effective sales closer in the online retail space and because Walmart shoppers are typically thrifty, the upcoming service could be mega-popular.

Nothing exists in isolation and e-commerce can never flourish if they don’t get the basics right – Pricing, Pricing, Pricing (and the other 3P’s). Walmart has already challenged Amazon; so all we need to ask Amazon is – Do you accept?

This post was written in collaboration with Tom Caporaso, CEO of Clarus Marketing Group, a company that builds subscription e-commerce programs similar to Amazon Prime.

I believe that everyone should take ownership of their personal brand. Much like corporate brands, you should think about your positioning, value proposition and communication strategy. I must admit, that I am learning along the way as platforms and capabilities evolve. But having an iterative strategy is key in developing your brand identity through the power of social media. You don’t have to be a ‘particular type’ or ‘seniority’ to do this. Everyone has a unique identity, but are you leveraging it to share the right message to the right audience at the right time?

Here is how I use different platforms to represent different facets of myself. This is not the gold standard, but just something that I do. Hopefully, it should inspire you to start thinking about your own social media strategy.

The first step is to understand yourself. Like customer segmentation, you might want to segment your own identity. I think about my identity as split between my professional self and my personal self (but this might be different for you). Here is my social media (no-magic) formula:

1) Representing My Professional Self:

# The power of LinkedIn – Currently, I use LinkedIn as the primary platform to represent my professional brand. I use LinkedIn to share my professional interests, network with people and participate in profession-related discussions. Find me at /asthakalbag

# The power of Twitter – Many people use twitter to express their personal day-to-day lives (what they eat, where they go, what they feel). But for me, I don’t believe that information is shared on any platform as fast as it is shared on twitter. Infact – If you have ever met me, you will know that I have an opinion on almost everything. (This includes having an opinion on not having an opinion). Therefore, I use twitter primarily to share my opinions/ viewpoints on latest happenings in the world. Follow me at @AsthaKalbag

# The power of WordPress – If you are reading this blog, you will realise that I use this platform extensively to share trends, opinions, campaigns in the digital marketing/ advertising space. Since I am really passionate about this industry, I write focused posts for people who are interested to be part of my learning journey. I like to think about my blog’s positioning as a cross between The Economist (making complicated things understandable) and Twitter (Keeping content digestible, cause ain’t nobody got time).

2) Representing My Personal Self:

# The power of Instagram – Instagram to me is a super-intimate platform. Almost exclusive, I share parts of my private life – memories with my best friends, amazing places I have visited, awesome food encounters (and pre-hangover-beer-pong photos). If you are my instagram friend, we must be close <3

# The power of Facebook – I remember the time when Facebook would my ‘public-cloud-server’ to share photo albums of everything on my digital camera. That doesn’t hold true for me anymore. In the rare case that I post a photo on facebook, it is probably cross published through Instagram (Yes, Mark Zuckerberg- it was a good idea to buy Instagram). But I still think about Facebook as an avenue to get in touch with long-lost-friends through facebook mail. And ofcourse, I can’t run away from events published on facebook that often serve as a starting point for all my weekend plans :)

# The power of Snap-chat – Snapchat to me is like some people’s personal twitter handle – only more intimate. I share real time updates to my tight circle of friends about all the random-stupid-funny-encounters I have. (Hoping that there is no trace of this the next day).

We all know that digital media platforms have powerful network effects. We are there because we know other people who are there. So depending on where my network moves, tomorrow I might just be hyper active on We Chat or Kakao Talk. But for now, this is how I leverage different social media platforms. What about you?

We would all like to believe that none of us ever judge or stereotype people, things or places. But the truth is, we all implicitly do. Psychologists would argue that we are cognitively geared to categorise things to make the world easier to navigate through. But I think, we should try and make an extra effort to break those mental barriers and categories to give people the benefit of the doubt.

I recently came to terms with acknowledging one of my own stereotypes – My ideas about the Fashion/ Beauty world and how ‘shallow’ I though it all was. Brands like Dove have surely positioned themselves to break those barriers, but Vogue in India has truly touched every woman’s heart in a way that empowers her inner soul. Traditionally, a magazine that just talked fashion, beauty and celebrity has stepped up to represent the thoughts, feelings and emotions of an Indian woman in a society that is predominantly patriarchal and sexist.

Critics (mindless traditionalists) may well argue that Indian women are too influenced by ‘western ways’ but I believe that women need be empowered with the ability to alteast make a choice. If she wants to wear a hot pink bikini with a skirt much closer to her hips than knees or drape herself from head to toe in an Indian saree, it should be only and only her choice. This fundamental thought shapes the ideology behind #Vogue Empower. Click below to watch this thought provoking video:

I am so glad that today, brands don’t just ‘sell stuff’, but in-fact stand for a profound set of values that transcends beyond hollow names wrapped in pretty logos. I probably was never the type to spend my evening coffee hours with a Vogue magazine, but you never know – Maybe now I will.

The Festival of Media 2015 has been close to my heart for 3 key reasons:

1) Re-connecting with folks from the industry

2) Getting selected for Twitter’s Young Promising Leader (#YPL)

3) But most of all, Getting Inspired. 

The Festival of Media was packed with great sessions from thought leaders across the industry – Joanna Flint (MD of Google Singapore), Shiv Shivakumar (CEO of Pepsi Co India), Cheryl Goh (Global VP, Grab Taxi), Rohit Jawa (CEO of Unilever Philippines) and Sunita Kaur (Managing Director of Spotify) to name of few.

I absolutely enjoyed myself learning more about the rapidly evolving media space that is increasingly being dominated by Digital, Social and Programmatic discussions. While a lot of these conversation were super informative and thought provoking, there were some sessions that really inspired me to ‘dream a bigger dream’ and imagine a marketing world so different from the one we live in now. My top 3 Inspirations are as below:

1) Jeffrey Yang, CMO China at Huawei

Jeffrey asked deeper philosophical questions about what marketing really is. He drew parallels to ancient Chinese Philosophy such as how the five elements are relevant to marketing. He talked about how we are not targeting men or women but actually the masculinity and femininity in both (much like Yin and Yang). But something that will stick with me for the rest of my life is how the ability to analyse things (in this big data age) can sometimes cloud our long term vision and marketing strategy. He talked about how when we try to understand a tree, we look at the leaves, then analyse the leaves, understand chlorophyll and end up analysing that. But the question is, do we end up losing sight about the tree itself?

2) JC Oliver, Global Head of Innovation at Microsoft 

Gosh. What a ball of Energy! JC Oliver is obviously extremely passionate about what he does and doesn’t give a damn about what anyone thinks. That is exactly what I love about him. JC Oliver talked about Innovation in a way no one has ever talked about – he didn’t break down complex equations (Yes, there are equations!), talk abstract things that no one understood or throw the word around like a Frisbee. He gave numerous examples and explained what Dragon Slayers really do. His example about Microsoft Cloud’s collaboration with Virgin Airlines to create a multi-sensory in flight experience during Christmas got me jumping in my seat. What we can do together is so much powerful than what we can do alone. Just imagine the possibilities!

3) Brian Wong, CEO at KIIP 

This 23 year old CEO got everyone at the conference thinking – What have I done with my life?! Brian has a great sense of humour, is driven and talked about something that sadly no one talks about in the marketing world – (Real) VALUE. Often, we think we are adding value to the customer but the excessive conversation about programmatic (blah. blah. blah.) really just adds value to ourselves. Brian talks about capturing moments – specifically conquering the amygdala (the part of the brain associated with pleasure) when people ‘progress to the next level in a game’ or ‘check off a to-do-list’. The ability for brands to reward these crucial moments with delightful surprises (Ex: $20 Uber Ride) gives brands to the ability to maintain a really intimate relationship with the customer (& maintain a robust CRM Model). He urged the entire industry to not just bombard people with ads on every different screen but really engage with customers in a meaningful and respectful way.

Genius might be 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, but I think marketing is really 100% Inspiration (everything else will fall into place).