This edition of Mindyour Marketing features SunderMadakshira, Head - Marketing, Adobe India . He has behind him 22 years in leadership rolesin Sales and Marketing positions across B2C, B2B products and services. He hasworked with brands such as SAP, Infosys, WIPRO, Hindustan Unilever and VISAbefore joining Adobe. He has received the recognition of being one among ‘India’sGreatest CMOs’ at the Independence Year of India Awards & Business Summitby Asia One. He was also recognised as the ‘Most Influential Marketer’ at theWorld Marketing Congress in Mumbai.

 

What are some of thecritical differences that millennials and GenZ have brought about in the waybrands approach marketing?

The first change intheir behaviour is that they want ease of access. They want to be able toaccess the product easily and be able to use it like a pro. 

 

The second thing theywant is the brands to be authentic. They want the brand promise and whatthey're getting out of that to be matching one-on-one.

 

The third thing theyexpect is the brand to be more interactive. The days of a brand trying to do amonologue are over. They want a dialogue. They want more information to beavailable to them before they make the decision.

 

The fourth point isthat buying power in the market has gone up significantly. What they buy andhow they buy has increased because of their ability to pay for it.  Thelast thing is that today's millennials and GenZ are living in a subscriptioneconomy. Everything runs on subscription. They will consume the product tillthey find value. And they will very easily exit a brand when they don't see thevalue. So that has forced marketers to build a long-term relationship with thissegment.

 

 

How can youeffectively connect with and sell to these cohorts?

Number one is digitalbecause they are on mobile phones. They are in the digital medium significantlymore than the previous generation. Actually, there is no comparison. So, one isbeing where the customer is, which is on the digital channels.

 

Second thing is tryingto fine-tune your messages, which are simple and straight, and which helppeople make decisions much faster. 

 

The third thing is tobe able to engage with millennials and GenZ over a longer period of time beforeyou actually get them to buy the product. That engagement is very critical. AtAdobe, this is what we have been trying to do over the last five, six years,and further amplified in India in the last three or four years.

 

Have these changesbeen brought in by specific technologies?

Clearly, I think theadvent of the mobile. Social media, access to the web, internet in general, beingable to interact on a real time basis and so on sort of converged in the mobilephone. 

 

The second technology,which accentuated this whole piece, is the fact that companies are using thedigital medium to reach this generation.  Every tool that companies likeAdobe offer, which help marketers to be able to run a campaign in a targetedway, measure the outcome and repurpose the whole marketing campaign, aretechnologies which have really helped in this area.

What will enable youto win the customer minds today - better technology or better ideas? 

That is a trickquestion, I must say. It can never be one or the other. But, clearly, if I haveto put it as a marketer, I would always say a better idea. That's a startingpoint in understanding who your consumers really are and then coming up with aninsight, which helps you to go to market. And taking it effectively to the endconsumer using the right technology. 

 

But it is difficult tomake a choice between the two. Sometimes you might have a great idea. But if itis not taken through the right channels to reach your targeted consumers, itcould be a lot of wasted effort. And sometimes it can even boomerang on thebrand.

 

What makes customerexperiences the differentiator of the future?

Very importantly,people are buying experiences and not products.

 

In a market whereproducts are getting increasingly complex and where buying decisions arebecoming more complex, what people remember are not your specifications, butthe experience that you have given them when they were with your product, andwith your brand. I think that is what is going to leave a lasting memory. Thatalso leads to brand advocacy. If people have a good experience, they becomeyour advocates. But if they have not, then they can also become your brandadversaries. 

 

 

What does it take forbrands to stay competitive in today's dynamic economy and market?

One is about beinginnovative. And second, being focused on the consumer. In today's world whereknowledge is rapidly multiplying and virtually every aspect of the offering isgetting impacted by some new thing which is happening in some part of theworld, it is very important to be focused on what is the next big thing thatthe company wants to do. 

 

The second piece isabout truly having your eyes and ears on the ground with respect to theconsumers. Consumers are changing very fast. 

 

Today is not a worldof segmentation. It is a world of hyper segmentation. Every segment is behavingdramatically different year on year. Keeping your hand on the pulse of thecustomer is very critical.

 

What are the threesecrets to successful branding?

It is a very strongpositioning. The stronger your positioning is on a particular axis and you keepevolving that is the most important thing for a brand. Second thing is aboutbeing authentic; it is very important to stay true to whatever you're promising.The third thing is about the power to tell stories. Stories make a brand andbrands make stories. It is a well-known fact today that virtually every greatbrand in the world has been built around stories that has the ability to engagewith its customers.

 

Can aone-size-fits-all approach work in a differentiated market such as India?

No, it will not workeven within hundred metres of two customer segments. India is extremely heterogeneous,there are enough and more statistics about how different every state languageand demographic is. 

 

In fact, it is adebate as to how many sizes and how many variants of products you need to begoing into the market with.  

 

How does your brand approach the Southern market when it comes tobranding and consumer engagement?

We do not segmentbased on geography, but we do segment based on the demographics, size ofcompany or industries. 

 

There is no Southstrategy and no specific North strategy, but there are definite strategies thatwe are looking for in each segment that emerges from there. 

 

The other interestingsegmentation parameter is the psychographics. For our Creative Cloud products,we use psychographics a lot to form communities. The expectation of a weddingphotographer when you compare him with a wildlife photographer is extremelydifferent. And we would much rather segment on that basis. That helps us form acommunity and foster a large consumer set.

 

When you talk aboutlocalisation, especially on the campaign front, it has to be, very local,because people understand value. It is a very value-driven market.  

 

People want to knowhow the product can be used by them, and not by the rest of the world. At thesame time, it is very aspirational for a lot of people in India to beconsuming products which are world-class.  So, one has to deal with thesedichotomies and be able to come up with a product which is by India for India,and something that comes from India.

 

This article is partof a brand initiative by The Hindu BusinessLine to profile marketingprofessionals from across India.

 

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