Digitization to Drive Marketing Strategies: CII-KPMG Report

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and KPMG in India unveiled a report titled ‘Digital – The New Normal of Marketing’, at CII National Marketing Summit, which brings out valuable information on Indian digitization and the shift from traditional to digital marketing.

The report estimates that, India is one of the fastest growing advertising markets globally with an estimated growth of 15.5% in 2016, driven by a large consumer base and a burgeoning e-commerce industry. Although the share of digital advertising spend remains low at 12.7% in 2016, it is one of the fastest growing mediums at an expected CAGR of 33.5% (2015-2020) to cross INR 255 bn in 2020.

Of the total digital advertisement spends, ‘search and display’ commands the largest share even though it is a relatively maturing segment.

“The post-demonetization days have clearly showed how the country is set to leapfrog a few stages to embrace the power of digital. Mobile is being rapidly adopted and marketers have an incredible opportunity to enhance the game of digital communication and deliver great customer experiences at each point of the journey,” said Thomas Varghese, Chairman, CII National Committee on Marketing and CEO-Textile Business, Aditya Birla Group.

As per the report, connected devices, smarter devices and ‘hyper relevant rich content’ will drive consumption for the consumer. Marketers will be well served if they are able to ride the data wave and use technology to build in analytical models. The Digital marketer will be responsible to deliver a distinctive consumer experience using various channels – thus making the role a key contributor to the overall omni channel experience. The report also gives insights into nascent technologies like emotions analytics and predictive marketing.

‘There have been silent and not so silent changes around us that are changing the way marketing will be done. With the internet becoming all pervasive, it has become so integral to our lives that it has literally disappeared. Singularity, connected systems, Cognitive and AI will create a world where the marketer will be marketing not only to humans but the ‘self-thinking’ machines,’ says Rachna Nath, Partner and Head, Digital Consulting, KPMG in India.

“Digital marketing is more about big data and technology innovation rather than conventional marketing. Digital marketer today will have to look at the consumer as a living sensor which creates data. Insights on consumer behavior will drive the next big innovation on the campaign. Success will depend upon how the digital marketer is able to drive differentiated strategies for each digital channel and eventually converging on consumer experience” says Aditya Rath, Partner and Lead for Digital Customer

Other key findings and suggestions presented in the report are:

Video is the new data format

The digital consumer’s attention span has now come down to 8 seconds, down from 12 seconds in 2007. Marketers are expected to direct their content strategists to curate short videos that create a greater impact on the consumer’s mind while holding their attention till the end. Live streaming videos are interactive, immersive and cost-effective.

Omni-channel experiences and touch points are essential in the digitally charged marketplace Healthcare, automotive, insurance, retail and manufacturing companies are experimenting on various IoT use cases to enhance the consumer experience.

Wearables provide a new dimension from a data perspective Through the galvanic skin sensors and gyroscopes that are in-built in these devices, marketers can continuously monitor the customer’s physiological and behavioral data.

Authenticity, relevance, and value are increasingly important parameters for content creation and distribution Customers trust user-generated content and give more weightage to peer recommendations and reviews than to professionally curated content.

Native ads are being used increasingly to combat mobile and desktop ad blocking They blend in and appear as content that would normally and deliver value and relevance to the consumer and do not hinder user experience of the website even while monetizing.