The digital era seems to have taken off in the Indian context with mobile-based technologies leap-frogging so that consumers take to them faster.

Entertainment traditionally associated with TV programmes, magazines and cinema is almost redefined by the availability of electronic devices and content. YouTube and several other kinds of digital vehicles have created a new challenge for markets – how can brands use digital content in a manner that will enhance long-term consumer engagement?

Nike Plus created a revolution in the music space by collaborating with Sony’s iTunes providing consumers several reasons to engage with the brand than just buying it based on its traditional appeal that conveyed ‘Just Do It’.

What should digital content accomplish ?

Brands can consider these questions on becoming a part of the digital content that is relevant to the target segment.

How does the lifestyle of consumers impact their discretionary time? What is the brand’s proposition? How can a brand integrate its offline theme with digital content?

Consumer lifestyles and psychographics revolve around concepts of self, time, money and values of consumers. The ‘selfie’ contest from Close-up toothpaste is an example of how the initiative connects with the brand proposition as well as the lifestyle aspects of the target segment. Discretionary time is an important aspect that a marketer needs to consider while connecting a brand with digital entertainment.

While a brand of toothpaste aimed at youngsters may use a relevant contest, a travel agency brand that positions a tourist destination for young adults may be interested in a digital contest that enables consumer segmentation, important for positioning purposes. Lifestyle in this context is important as the target segment’s discretionary time and usage of digital devices need to be taken into consideration.

Digital media due to their dynamic visual image orientation is readily amenable to visual content and consumers (individuals) get about seventy per cent of their sensory experience through visual stimuli (inputs).

Integrating online with offline Offline channels and digital content integrating offline events/communication channels with digital content is an important aspect of a brand’s digital strategy.

Cadbury repositioned its Bournville dark chocolate as a reward for a tiring day’s work at the end of the day. Events planned by the brand included dark chocolate and wine nights at hotels.

Such a strategy may require identification of active bloggers who would spread the word of mouth through social media. This is an example of how a brand needs to think of integrating the digital content with offline events/communication even for a category that is like an impulse buy from the consumer viewpoint.

Ariel’s “Share the Load” social media campaign has several aspects of integrating online and offline brand communication. There are specific customer-centric points. The campaign was based on women’s empowerment, an idea that is diffusing fast among women who are economically independent. Traditionally women have been associated with laundry and detergents. The campaign highlighted gender equality that is spreading across a sub-culture associated with several young nuclear families. There were also TV channel ads that portrayed appropriate content.

While driving home the message of gender equality, the brand also emphasised the proposition of removing stains on clothes in a single wash. The brand conveyed this proposition using both social and conventional media.

The Ford Escort car brand used user-generated content to spread the message across social media, besides its traditional ads. One important aspect with respect to the consumer’s high-involvement purchases is the changing nature of information sources.

Consumers will rely highly on credibility associated with the word of mouth from their own reference groups, perhaps more than the brand’s claims in its advertising.

Hence, brands will be interested not just in communication, they would also want to ensure that user experience is enhanced through their offerings, especially in the case of brands that claim a high degree of differentiation.

Product reviews (blogs) of some brands of mobile phones that were launched exclusively online are examples of such trends.

Tremendous potential

Mobile wallets is a category that offers tremendous potential. Given the low-penetration of credit cards in India, mobile wallet brands will depend on the integration of several combinations of online/offline strategies.

Dove soap is a successful brand. After traditional advertising establishing itself as a trustworthy and mild soap, it launched Real Beauty, a digital campaign that, through comparative sketches, emphasised that one’s appearance is better than one’s own image of themselves, with an implicit message about using the brand for the benefit.

This campaign was a huge success (sales included). It used digital media to polarise two sets of mindsets – between women who believed in beauty that was associated with stereotyped models and film stars, versus women who believed that their inner beauty is more important than external beauty as reflected in traditional ads.

Brands use digital entertainment as a means to extend their engagement with their users, both by creating their own content (example: Dior’s Lady Dior Saga, an Internet-only series) or by curating interesting content that its target segment prefers to consume (example: Pepsi Pulse).

Digital content by itself may not be winning strategy for all brands; the integration of several aspects associated with it is likely to deliver a powerful brand strategy, especially in the eclectic Indian content.

S.Ramesh Kumar is Professor of Marketing, IIM Bangalore and Karthik Srinivasan is Director of Products at a major online entertainment service.

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