Are Baby Boomers a large opportunity in India?

1.     Do Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, or broadly those aged 50 to 70 years, present a large opportunity in India? If yes, for which segments? Are Indian brands alive to this opportunity?

Housing 1.22 billion people as a nation we are entitled to some pretty unique and startling demographic related facts. Close to 50% of us are below 25 years of age and mere 12% of us qualify in the baby boomer category.

We are set to don the youngest country in the world title by 2020 and while that looks like a positive, consider the fact that our youth dependency ratio is 44% high implying that our youth is unable to participate in or contribute towards the economic growth of the country in sufficiently large numbers.

On the contrary, the elderly dependency ratio is mere 8% and this would tell you that our geriatric population wields a significant economic clout.

For starters, this group appears to have a monopoly over family real estate asset holdings marking their (high) net worth status and potential for finance leverages.  

In terms of quantifiable numbers the number of seniors in the top most echelons (A/B) of the Socio Economic Classification amounts to 9 million thus representing a market larger than UAE and close to the size of Sweden. One may have not realized it but the seniors segment has changed and morphed into a large business opportunity.

Fact is that the world over Baby Boomers are darlings and doyens of – medical and healthcare services, pension and annuity plans in addition they are also heavy consumers of travel, tourism and vacation services.

Trust USA to recognize the opportunity by designing homes, civic facilities and entire habitats for its affluent baby boomers. Little wonder, that Florida is better known as the retirement city coveted by Americans in their golden years. This only goes to show the world of possibilities for India. Unfortunately, the opportunity has not been tapped in to aggressively here.

At Max Life -

·         we recognized the Retirement needs of baby boomers by launching effective solutions like GLIP – Guaranteed Lifetime Income Plan that guarantees lifetime monthly annuity to Policyholders that are 50 years or above age

·         Our other product – Forever Young Pension Plan is also designed to create a retirement fund corpus between the age of 50-75 years. The corpus can be used to subsequently purchase immediate annuity

·         Senior living & care is a new and emerging lifestyle - At Max Group we have been privy to the changing needs of our senior citizens and MAX Antara was created with the objective of making senior citizen living – a dignified and pleasurable experience.

That apart, we do see brands targeting the elderly segment across a range of industries-  for example

·         There is the ‘rare’ innovation like mobile devices with larger screens and bigger buttons for ease of use called “Asaan” from iBall mobiles

·         NTT DoCoMo Japan, tasted success when it launched “easy-easy” or Raku-Raku featuring a panel with larger buttons and easier to read numbers. In less than 2 months, the model sold more than 200K units

Closer home...

·         The hair colour category has targeted an older audience

·         Similarly, Personal care (hair re growth) category has seen traction with use of contemporary personalities like – Shane Warne, Gautam Gambhir, etc.

·         Syed Kirmani the former Indian cricketer endorses hearing aids to senior citizens

·         Short haul cruise vacation services and destination management (Asia region) has been a success at targeting older holiday makers. The key insight that - While travelling abroad seniors prefer covering fewer cities as opposed to hectic tours designed for younger people has encouraged more seniors to travel abroad nowadays.

.      2. Is the youth demographic a more ‘low hanging fruit’ that takes away brands’ focus – perhaps even rightfully so – from the elderly TG?

It is quite natural for brands to base their planning around our demographic pyramid and chase the largest segment (25-54) that comprises 40% of the total population pie.

However, many seniors today are wealthier than those in the past. With better living conditions, improved diet and healthcare facilities seniors are more energetic than ever before. Their active socal life sees them often travelling to different cities to visit relatives, and attend family weddings. 60 is truly the new 50!

Elderly TG can be viewed as a low hanging fruit for brands that are willing to understand the needs of this Diaspora and are inclined to invest in this market opportunity. Like the West, our Life Insurance, healthcare, medical services industry is uniquely positioned to address this high potential base.

3.       Is this (elderly) segment being targeted well enough? And consistently enough?

This remains an underpenetrated segment. Given the significant opportunity that exists in the 25-54 years age group, it is natural that Indian marketers focus on that segment.

However, as product categories mature, marketers try to find their niche. Here, 50-70 years audience could be a high potential segment with its unique needs.

Indian marketers need to invest more on research to understand this segment and create relevant product and service offerings specifically for this segment.

There is a large population of entrepreneurs, professionals and private sector employees who have enjoyed the benefits of economic liberalization of the Indian economy in early 1990’s and now on verge of entering this age group. This group has high disposable income and could be an attractive customer segment - example, for Life Insurance this could be an attractive segment for immediate annuity plans.

4.      Is traditional mass media advertising relatively more effective in targeting this demographic? What other channels could work well?

Mass media works for “mass markets”. Using large format media vehicles to speak with the baby boomer segment  will result in un-necessary spill over and media wastages. Lower age consumers (media age 35 years) have very little in common with baby boomers and hence the spill over will be a losing effort without any ROI.

Instead, the media mix has to be custom-configured to ensure a sharp delivery of the messages by using specific print media publications and magazines to effectively resonate with the higher age-group consumer.

Interest specific media properties (Health, Wellness, Lifestyle, Medical, Travel, News, Devotional and Spiritual genre) can be utilized in the electronic media space to drive campaigns.

However, a robust media mix would also feature Direct marketing campaigns reaching out to the baby boomers in their natural surroundings and habitat – parks, community centres, recreation clubs. 

Pushing the boundary line further, the space is ripe for creating and thereby owning large communities of baby boomers. These communities can be started online in the social media space over Facebook or by offline channels. The communities are a potential ‘marketplace’ for collating brands, offerings and its consumers.

 5.       Should messaging for the elderly TG be specially created?

Any communication has to centre around the audience, its social and physical needs, its situation in-life and motivations. Since baby boomers are unlike any other mainstream consumer segment there is a need for customizing the messaging and creative environment catering to this audience type

We have to bear in mind that senior citizens are awfully smart! They drive a hard bargain and look for value-for-money offerings coupled with long-lasting quality and service commitment.

Seniors are also not as hung up on brands as younger people. They are not looking at image or the emotional component of brands. To them, brands provide a reassurance of quality and a responsible organization that will address any issues that they may have vs a vs product/service issues.

More than brands, seniors are likely to look at corporate reputation to assess the company for honesty, fairness, financial stability (will not close down) etc. so that they know that they can trust the company.

All elements of the communication, its tonality and its creative language therefore has to take reasonable account of all these messaging ingredients and designed appropriately.

6.     The convenience of e-commerce should be a reason for the elderly to use the channel. Have they been educated and incentivised enough to shop online?

      This remains a key opportunity area and a challenge area for brands to translate financial capital of the baby boomer in to online monetized opportunities. Consider this – less than 5% Indian netizens are 55-64 years old whereas 75% internet users in India are 35 years or below. When compared with other BRIC nations India’s online population is significantly younger.

As a first step, we have to consciously onboard baby boomers to the online universe before we can talk e–commerce with this group.

Matrimonial classifieds market seems to be an exception that has bucked this trend. It is interesting to see how these brands were able to target senior citizens to try their services while evaluating potential alliances for their children.

If we can get a baby boomer to sample matrimonial services online, we should be able to on board them for a variety of other services too.

Data Source for Internet Use: ComScore India 2013, Future in Focus

 7.    Can you think of any brand campaigns that have effectively targeted this demographic in India? And internationally?

At Max Life Insurance - We had an interesting insight about the cycle of human life that helped us plan our brand campaigns targeting the baby boomers.

You start off in a rat race and aim to make more and money your entire professional life. The irony is that you never have time to savour the sweet fruit of your labour. Exactly the reverse happens during your retired life when time “freezes” and you are left with all the time in the world but at this juncture of life it is most likely that you have no rewarding or creative pursuits.

Now imagine if your retired life finds you in the pink of financial health. Would you then be able to live 2^nd innings of your life to the fullest, travel wherever you pleased and do whatever you wanted to?

This thought sparked our campaign idea allowing us to boldly re-interpret Retired life and reposition it as the fun and carefree part of a seniors’ life that is usually associated with the life of a teenager ie. Stress free and carefree abandon.

The brand campaign stood out because of its refreshing take on senior citizens breaking away from the stereotypical imagery of old people who are frail, or have little enthusiasm to live life.

The campaign creative showed how a retired person is able to travel enthusiastically across the country attending weddings of distant relatives while also indulging in theatre/musical events – all for his personal entertainment and leisure. And who wouldn’t – if time and money were freely available?

Since the campaign vibed with audiences we extended this positioning into creating products and solutions where the fun that starts during retirement does not end with the end of a policyholders’ life; rather the benefits continue for the surviving partner or spouse.

Looking back there is a sense of satisfaction having gone beyond format advertising to create products specifically for baby boomers.

Can Marketing afford to be a laggard?

In the fast changing world, could Marketing afford to be a laggard? Here are a few practices that I would certainly like to help transform:

Marketing Department to Marketing Labs

Successful organizations realize that the only way to predict the future is by consistently aiming to create and re-create it. This has to be a continuous and self perpetuating cycle within the organization DNA. Social scientists study lifestyles, emerging trends and product teams “cook” insights in to create breakthrough products and innovations. This would be pretty impossible in conventional organizations where Product R&D develop products for existing markets whereas Google, Apple, 3M & GE create scenarios imagining the future... Future ready brands need to create a “lab environment” for fizzy innovations. Isn’t that how Man created – fire? By accident...!

Customer Mania in the organization

Today every employee and every part of business has the potential to touch the customer at some point along the purchase cycle. From a tweet to a blog to a call center experience, the customer’s expectation of service is just a click away. In such a scenario, the responsibility of owning the customer agenda cannot be with just one function or a handful of employees.

Whilst all organizations claim to keep the customer at the forefront, very few of them actually deep dive and rally every single employee to work for this common cause. Marketing does not own the customer, each employee does and therefore this means a huge transformation in organisations.

What marketing can ensure is that they create a culture and almost a maniacal passion around the subject of customer-centricity. Not just through communication but concrete actions and processes with clear measurable outcomes.

Advertising to Content

If you are a brand that believes in show and tell you are stuck in the 90’s! 
Customers will tend to remember how you made them feel, or how you treated them or the drama that your brand story created in their life. This is where the next dimension of content curation comes in as a golden opportunity to reach across and co-create branded content with customers. 

Research proves that branded content has highest recall and clearly cuts above conventional format advertising. Co-creation is a enriching experience for both – brand and consumer. The give and take results in a potent brand story created by, for and of the consumer, making it easier to accept at not just functional but cognitive and emotional levels, resulting in brand stickiness that is hard to achieve, otherwise.

Content curation is the new holy grail of brands of future. It’s where the sizzle lies.

Social Engagement to Social Business

Digital engagement, just collecting some likes on social platforms, is past. Social networks are today as real as the physical world and marketing department has to view every interaction on social networking as an opportunity for social monetization. The digitally equipped marketers need to understand the socio-commercial behaviour of netizens, collect insights and offer its consumers an opportunity to do business in the social environment they are comfortable in. As Indians latch on to the digital domain communicating, buying, selling and shopping in new ways, it is for brands to lead the way and monetize the user base online progressively.

Brand Buzzar: " I am a life-holic": Brand Wagon's 'After Hours'

Brand Buzzar: " I am a life-holic": Brand Wagon's 'After Hours'

" I am a life-holic": Brand Wagon's 'After Hours'

My Job

As the CMO & Head Direct Sales & Ecommerce at Max Life Insurance, I have direct functional responsibility of varied verticals comprising brand & marketing, media, marketing, direct sales, e Commerce, research, corporate communication and end to end customer value management.

With such a diverse portfolio there is never a dull moment in my day. I am privileged to have a very committed, passionate and a stable team who’s been with me since the time I joined Max Life. Together we have achieved some wonderful milestones including many industry firsts, for e.g.  first of its kind  service to sales model which has become an industry benchmark.

Additionally, as an Executive Committee member at Max Life Insurance I have been part of key strategic decisions that have made Max Life the most admired life insurance company.

The Weekdays

Hectic but exciting. I try and hot the gym at least thrice a week and those days are the most satisfying. I end up feeling light and easy and most guilt free on my gym days. The energy is of a very different order. The habitual relaxed newspaper reading over steaming cup of tea does end up getting compromised on these days. However my hour long commute to work ends up giving me enough time to catch on the news in the car. I have recently started practicing 15 minutes of meditation preferably in the morning itself and this has now become an integral part of my life. It has a very calming effect and when I enter office, I am ready to start the day with positive energy and work without biases or any kind of stress. Except official engagements I prefer to be home with family and avoid any social engagement on weekdays.

The Weekends

Saturday is a day of outings, socialising, shopping, household chores, movies, plays, live shows and what not. Since I plan my Saturdays well in advance, I can pack in a lot. This is the day I live for. After my gym and meditation, I catch up with friends for a relaxed lunch at Delhi Gymkhana. At least once a month my lunch date is with my son and it's great to hear his teenage stories and catch up on all that’s happening in his life. Our gym interests are common and we exchange a lot of notes on fitness. Evening outings are with my husband as he works through the day. We enjoy watching movies, plays and all kinds of musical live shows. A gig in town is booked in advance and at least 3 out of 4 Saturdays we manage to unwind in different ways.

Sunday is exactly the opposite. Except for the morning yoga session, it is all relaxed. Managing kitchen and home, afternoon siesta and a recorded English movie on TV completes the day. I spend at least an hour or so in the evening searching and reading interesting stuff, mostly latest trends on the net. I enjoy writing articles on consumer and business trends and this keeps me abreast of the latest in the world. I am basically a life-aholic and as much as I enjoy my weekends, I do look forward to getting at my desk come Monday morning.

The Toys

My ipad is a constant companion, when I am at home or even when I am travelling on work. I not only do my work on it but watch movies and play around with apps and am active on social networks. Between my Samsung S4 and Apple ipad my communication channels are active all through my waking hours. I research a lot and am also fairly active on Facebook, Twitter and my blog and of course e mails. Having worked in the car industry before joining Max Life (as Director Marketing - General Motors), I enjoy my Audi and all the comfort that it offers. I have the largest collection of Sufi music from around the world and I love to unwind my day by listening to my favourite Sufi music on the Bose AirPlay.

The Logos

I am not very brand conscious and can wear even street fashion but I do like a few  brands. Anita Dongre is my favorite for Indian wear. Her styles are very elegant and very wearable at all kinds of occasions. My favorite casuals brand is the Japanese brand UniGlo. It has yet to enter India but I do manage to stock up from my various visits to Bangkok, KL etc. I also wear a lot of Zara especially jackets and Marks &Spencer.  For accessories, Gucci, Michael Kor and Movado, Calvin Klein  for glasses, bags and watches are some of the brands that I indulge in regularly. When it comes to perfumes there are many but my favourite is Davidoff cool water.

My recent article in Leadership Insights for Leaders. ODALTERNATIVES BY SANTHOSH BABU

A Few Good Women Women Leadership | Women at Workplace | Anisha Motwani -By Anisha Motwani, Director & Chief Marketing Officer, Max Life Insurance Classic fairy tales are intended to teach a ethical lesson to children. They would tell the story of powerful, bold and handsome men who would rescue the damsel in distress. The women would be naive and defenseless while the world around connived to subjugate them. ‘They Happily Lived Ever After’ would mean that these defenseless women would have gallant men come to their rescue and would be married. However, in the modern day fairytales, such as Snow white and the Huntsman, Shrek 3 there is a twist in the tale. In Shrek 3, the character Princess Fiona and characters such as Sleeping Beauty Snow White and Cinderella come together to achieve a goal without the help of men. They are captured by Prince Charming and held prisoner in a castle. When Fiona asks all of them to think of a way out, Sleeping Beauty falls asleep, Snow White lays down and Cinderella keeps sitting. When Fiona asks what they are doing, they say they are “Waiting to be rescued.” This shows that the princesses are prepared to assume their traditional gender roles of being passive and waiting for a male figure to save them. Their gender roles are suddenly shaken and re-evaluated when Fiona’s mother, the Queen, head butts the brick wall and creates an escape route. After this point the princesses feel empowered because they realize they can control their own fate without depending on a male figure. For years women have played by the rules and kept their heads down. As if being ‘rescued’ is a natural phenomena. But today, women take their own decisions about the way they want to live, how they want to carve their career and lead from the front. The reason they are ready to take on the ‘traditional’ role of the man being a ‘bread-winner’ is due to ‘self belief’. Thisbehavioral change is making them leaders. Women who become leaders have the same ‘self belief’ to ‘rescue’ themselves and dealing with the situation head-on – like Queen mother in Shrek 3. There are women leaders across industries, who have triumphed by just following their heart and pushing themselves to the limit because they believed, like men, they too can achieve. Many more are yet to come, but the numbers are increasing every day. And all women leaders have a common trait – in spite of adversity they believed in themselves and had the courage to go ahead to achieve their goal. We are burdened by the history of our past. But then opportunity to create and build a new world is only limited by our inability to enact in the future we seek. There are some unique qualities in women that make them work differently in work places than men. Women are more collaborative in their approach, hence are great team players. Their ability to balance work and personal life makes sure that they do not go overboard with anything. Lastly, women are more intuitive, have better EQ and hence pre-empt a lot of issues. Women should merge these positive qualities with “self-belief”, to be able to leave a legacy behind. I will list down 5 pointers that may help women who are looking to lead in the years to come.  Love what you do, there cannot be more fun in anything else Women who want to grow as leaders should also take ownership of their professional development. Embrace opportunity – women must often take sharp detours and that the risks of unexpected changes that may seem more obvious than the benefits. Becoming self-reliant and confident by accepting opportunities. Expand your horizons and gain the resilience to move ahead even when things do not go the way you want it.

Pink is not a strategy.

What women don't want!

Women like pink. Women are not good with numbers. Women are not good drivers. Women love shopping. Women are…. These stereotypes about women are so common not just amongst men but also marketers. And mind you such perceptions exist even in the developed world. Has the image concerning women remained in a time warp while the whole world around them has changed?  Or is it that, the roles defined by genders do not change so easily, which means men will remain the so called ‘provider and protector’ and women will always be ‘preserver and support’ to the dominant force?

Evidently, there is reason to believe that women today are becoming both decision makers for big ticket items and also importantly consumers of previously male-dominated categories. Data and research evidence the same. 45% of life insurance purchase decisions by working women and one third by housewives have been taken in their sole capacity. (Source: Nielsen Women Syndicated Study).  Similarly, the number of women having a savings bank account has increased by 33% in the last 10 years (from 2002-2012)- and so have women with credit cards - 10% in 2012 vs. 4% in 2001 (Source: IMRB Research study). While 59% women are actively consulted on car brand related decision, 31% aspire to buy their own SUVs. (Source: Nielsen Automotive Syndicated Study)

Expect categories with typical male-dominated consumer base, e.g. automobiles, financial services, telecom, to adapt to the opportunity in the female market - not just as influencers but specialist target groups. Here are a few tips and trends that will shape the success in this 46% of the consumer market.

Desire for responsible consumption

Old stereotype that women are insatiable, impulsive shoppers of frivolous things is giving way to desire for smart management and advanced planning of household budget. Women are only becoming more responsible towards money consumption.  Marketers have realised this and specifically target women e.g. Big Bazaar has created special occasions like Independence Day where women are specifically targeted or their Wednesday shopping which targets non-working women to make the best of the prices for those days. Season end sales even for aspiration brands have become a part of a thought through strategy as more and more women postpone purchase for a great bargain.

Appreciating multi-dimensionality

With 37% increase in graduate women (period 2008-12) women have started contributing to household income, the lines of inequality and role differentiation have diminished. As more and more women are becoming financially independent, cultural norms have steadily started softening and rigid boundaries prevailing in traditional Indian life are beginning to fall. With this convergence of roles women have taken up many such responsibilities which were traditionally the men domain e.g. financial planning, payment of taxes etc. Brands have to leverage this multi-dimensional identity of a women’s role in the household which has moved beyond that of singular identify of a care-giver. Banks with credit cards specifically designed for women, Insurance players launching women specific plans are clear examples. 

From effort-saving to lifestyle assistance

Women tend to lap up products that don’t just help them save effort but enhance their overall well-being, something they are constantly seeking. For the truly time starved women, tech apps that enable consolidation and hyper-tasking such as checking mails, school updates, holiday planners, wealth management, diet charts and overall well-being should ring a bell.  This is also what may be explaining why women buyers of smart phones have increased by 175% in last one year as compared to 100% in case of men (Source: Nielsen Informate Mobile Insights).

More for less guilt

The pursuit of a better life is tinged with a desire to keep the best of the past. There are cultural and personal expectations to fulfil the traditional role of restrained value-conscious homemaker. Brands have to find ways of communicating the negative impacts of discarding the old product and upgrading or replacing the new. Assuaging her guilt is the key to enhanced consumption. Saffola as a brand has done this well to take a commodity cooking medium to high involvement health product. Durable brands like refrigerators and washing machines can do this by bundling service contracts just like automobiles have done successfully. This should work as women are ultimately responsible for the running and maintenance of most of the household goods and also because women’s expectations of customer service are far more than her male counterpart. 

Transparency as a virtue

72% of educated women rate the value of being honest and transparent as an essential guiding principle of life. And this value translates to her as a ‘consumer’ too. For example, food brands that display nutrients and calories clearly and overtly are preferred. Brands should have nothing to hide and should proactively show and prove that they are transparent. More and more brands are now giving product demos, sampling their products to women to build confidence in their products and offering a return if products do not meet expectations – personal care products being a case in point.

True ‘Feminity’

Women want to live their lives on their own terms, explore new possibilities, push boundaries and win admiration of female colleagues more than that of male colleagues. The ultimate barometer of achievement for today’s women is to become a role model for many other women. The new definition of ‘Feminity’ is about personal competency and intellectual depth rather than her external manifestation of beauty. Brands need to take cognisance of this change and portray confident women who will help fight the cultural stereotypes and shape the new future. Nike Voices beautifully captures this new woman through the phrase ‘if somebody’s got to be the best, why not me’.

Are well run promotions more important than good advertising in building and maintaining Brand's image?

Are well run promotions more important than good advertising in building and maintaining Brand's image?
This is not a debate about whether advertising is good for awareness or whether promotions are good at driving revenue. They both have their place and a complementary  role in the marketing mix as long as it is a part of well defined strategy. The consumer is now more sophisticated and expects gratifications at multiple levels. They value products and pricing but they also seek engagement and experience. The line between brand activity and sales promotion is fatuous. You build and manage brands so people are attracted to your product and are willing to pay a premium for it. If sales promotion activity is not enhancing this, it is counter productive and at cross purposes with the larger marketing agenda. When brands promote within it's meaning, it can be very powerful. Smart brands have a sales promotion at the core of their activity that have become iconic in their own way....and  Max Life  I Genius is one such example....read more.
Have views...share here.

Can Social media predict election trends?

I was speaking at Ad Tech conference in Gurgaon yesterday. The place was swarming with anyone who had anything to do with the word ' Digital'.   And no guesses for the new buzzword...Social, Social & Social. That brings me to the power of this medium in context to the upcoming elections. The political leaders have realized that all the consumer action has shifted from the physical world to the web world. People find information and news shared on the social world more authentic. They consider it is an aggregated view of family and friends, as against a monoline view in the offline media. I call this the source credibility phenomena.

 No wonder then,large number of digital experts and content writers have been hired by these political parties to give you minute to minute update on what their  party and leaders are up to. 

The question remains...will they be able to influence voter behavior and can Social media predict election trends....

Here s what some experts and I have to say on the subject in the latest issue of Campaign India.

Link: http://www.campaignindia.in/Article/375497,live-issue-can-social-media-predict-mandate-for-2014.aspx

Have views, share here.

Indian advertisers like Creativeland Asia, Ogilvy & Mather and others using babies in ads for brands that have nothing to do with them

Today's article in the Economic Times talks about using babies in advertisements for categories that have little or nothing to do with them. The important thing to understand in this debate is whether 'babies' are a  part of thought through strategy or merely an attention seeking 'cutsie' creative hook. For eg. while  MTS's latest commercial has got a mixed response from the viewers on it's overall appeal, the commercial does showcase a clear brand thought around MTS's strong 3G plus network capturing the multiplicity of digital expression available to a generation 'Born for the internet'.
The same however can't be said for some other brands that use babies is used as an interesting creative device to make a point about the . For such brands it is important to ensure that the communication is in line with the overall brand tone and persona. Over a period of time, strong brands create clear  identities for themselves and if the communication falls out of line, the viewers are left confused even though they might enjoy the particular creative execution.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/advertising/indian-advertisers-like-creativeland-asia-ogilvy-mather-and-others-using-babies-in-ads-for-brands-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-them/articleshow/32035740.cms
Share your view here.

The Past, The Present and The future - The evolving face of digitization. Views as expressed at the 8th India Digital Summit, 2014

The Past

·         The time was mid 90s when mobile and internet were introduced in India. But it wasn’t till the early 2000s that Marketers started to warm up to the idea of adding mobile and web to their arsenal. The use was pretty minimal. Send an SMS for a product/service launch. Take the TVC or Print communication, adapt the banners (as one would adapt for hoardings) and release on the internet. 

This was the time of ‘Web & E-Advertising’.

·         By the end of that decade, however, things changed. Mobile and internet penetration increased multi-fold. One riding on the other. Electronic devices (computers/mobiles) became more and more accessible. One saw OOH screens and digital signages. The horizon for Marketing opportunities expanded to a larger canvas. This was the time of ‘Digital Advertising’. However, this was more of ‘Branding and Visibility’.

·         2010 to 2012 saw a massive upsurge in people adopting technology and new age media. High end mobile technology (iOS, Andoid) became more and more pervasive and consumers went multi-screen. People embraced social platforms and bared their lives online. Search became huge. Data and information helped brands create powerful marketing campaigns which took the baton from conventional media (TV. Print) and carried messaging that was customized to the medium. The time of ‘Digital in  Marketing’ 

The Present

·         2013 till present – The time when technology has made it possible to go beyond Marketing. Words like “Experience”, “Engagement”, “Co-creation/Crowd-sourcing”, “Community Building” are overpowering conventional Marketing metrics like Reach, GRPs, Eyeballs, etc.

·         Technology has enabled one-on-one personalised interactions; brands can slice and dice data and pick up real time insights (through listening) to create powerful communication that not only conveys a message innovatively but also goes on a step further and

-          adds value

-          provides utility

-          connects people

-          stands for a cause

·         Technology has fueled creativity and brands can now communicate in a way that no one could have thought of a decade ago.

· 

S 

  Some examples from the last two years that showcase how technology has changed the way  Brands advertise:

1      Budweiser Lets You Make Facebook Friends With a Clink of Your Pint

Budweiser Brazil, created the "Buddy Cup,"  to change the way we connect with each other. The cups are embedded with a chip -- when clinked with each other, the two people become friends on Facebook. The cups are used during Budweiser events.

http://adage.com/article/creativity-pick-of-the-day/budweiser-lets-make-facebook-friends-a-clink-pint/241175

2       Coke: Dance with the Coke vending machine

By following the dance moves displayed on the machine, people get engaged with the Coke brand and enjoy a good time with audience. As people pass by the vending machine, the virtual characters in the screen calls for people's attention and participation. As people dance in front of the machine, it recognizes the accuracy and dynamics of the moves people make. From little kids to professional dancers, anyone can participate in the campaign to show off their talents, share the fun, and get a bottle of coke.

http://mashable.com/2012/10/22/vending-machine-dance-free-cokes/

The Future

·         Shift from Engagement to Ingratiation: In the past, marketing interrupted customers. Today is the age of engagement. Going forward, marketers will have to ingratiate their brands with customers. When a customer engages with a brand, it will need to know what their preferences are—whether they’ve provided that through the Web or mobile or a contact center—so that it can provide them information how they want it, when they want it, tailored to their unique likes and dislikes, and do it all very quickly.

·         From hunches to simulations: The biggest shift will be that Marketers will move from the famous “hunches” to “simulations”. Technology is enabling a new approach in the form of marketing simulations.  Rather than argue the merits of a new approach in conference rooms, marketers will be able to test them in simulated environments built from real world data. 

·         Change in 4Ps approach: At a recent convention of leading CMOs at Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, initial findings from the “Advertising” 2020 project were unveiled in which a checklist of best practices, some already being implemented by innovative leaders, was cited: AGILE CHOPS, for All Touchpoints Orchestration; Glocal; Insights from Data and Privacy/Permission; Live Newsroom Model; Extended (Opened) Innovation; Context; Human Emotion and Story; On-Demand; Prioritize Adaptive Experimentation; and Social Impact.

·         Intelligent Augmented Reality: Technology will be able to sense more than movements and gestures  and deliver content accordingly. It will be able to sense what your mood is, what you’re wearing, what you’re eating, what you’re doing... And then deliver messages accordingly.

“The Gender of Talent” - AIMA

All India Management Association (AIMA) in association with Asian Association of Management Organisations (AAMO) organised Conference on New Age Leadership with the theme
“The Gender of Talent” on Thursday; 16 January, 2014 at Sheraton New Delhi Hotel, New Delhi. I participated in the forum Gender proofing the work eco-system.Here are some  excerpts from my speech.

The difference between men and women can be summed up in a few words – “nature or nurture”

•  Men and women have different work styles as they not only think differently but also come from diverse backgrounds.
• Their basic differences in the way they operate, is carried forward in the workplaces and hence there is difference in work styles.
• Women tend to work in a collaborative manner, while men have a ‘hierarchical’ approach.
• Men view things in a logical and linear way but women on the other hand work with their EQ and intuition. 
•  Hence, to Gender proof the work ecosystem, these differences have to be taken into account by understanding and accommodating them in the way women work.
• Policies have to be evaluated and implemented to accommodate women.
• Women do not need special attention, but they do need understanding
• Sound culture, friendly policies and lack of biases can play significant difference in the way women can be encouraged in the rising corporate ladder. 
• The rule of thumb always has to be rewarding on the basis of meritocracy to create gender equality.

Technology is changing Marketing - CIO

http://www.cio.in/content/technology-changing-marketing-anisha-motwani-max-life-insurance

 

Max Life Insurance offers comprehensive life insurance and retirement solutions to over 30 lakh customers. In the past five years, it has established itself as a name to reckon with in a highly-crowded industry.

 

 

A lot of the credit for that goes to Anisha Motwani, director and chief marketing Officer, Max Life Insurance. A versatile business leader with a career spanning over 23 years, Motwani has helped Max Life Insurance be heard by spearheading a fresh wave of marketing and advertising campaigns across print, digital and electronic media. Prior to joining Max Life Insurance in 2007, she worked as director marketing with General Motors India. She also spent 15 years in the advertising industry.

 

In this interview, she shares her views on how changes in technology are affecting marketing and how IT can help an insurer like

                                           Max Life Insurance stand out in a crowd.

 

CIO: Much of your career has been spent working for FMCGs, and telecom, durables, and car companies. Was the move to insurance a challenge?

 

Anisha Motwani: Hailing from an advertising agency background, I wasn’t clued into the insurance industry and its consumers, nor had I ever worked in financial services or the insurance market. In addition, there is no product, per se, nothing tangible and physical. The fact that this category touches human lives so much was something I hadn’t anticipated—and to be honest I was a bit sceptical about how to market it.

I quickly realized that from a marketing perspective, it’s actually a beautiful category because it is connected to every single important part of a person’s life, including someone’s first job, the education for their children, and annuity services for retirement. It’s a very rich and highly-emotional segment.

 

How do you think technology is changing marketing?

 

There has always been a debate about what comes first: The message or the medium. Conventionally, we argued in favor of the message being first. Now that’s inversed and technology actually erased this debate. Today, the medium and the message have to be thought of in conjunction.

If I have to do a mobile campaign I will have to think about both the message and medium hand-in-hand. That’s one big change in marketing. Earlier there was a disproportionate skew towards getting the message right first, but now there is equal amount of focus on the medium as well.

 

Have social and mobile redirected marketing budgets away from traditional media?

 

I still believe that some traditional media (television) is here to stay as it continues to be a critical and important medium—especially for widespread and mainstream audience targeting. For our wide range of products and categories, television campaigns prove to be the most cost-effective. That said, with limited budgets and business under margin pressures, I do trade-off radio and print in favor of digital. TV and digital will be the main flavors for us in terms of marketing and advertising spends.

 

Can you share examples of marketing initiatives that made Max Life Insurance stand out in a crowded market?

 

The proposition of ‘karo jyaada ka iraada’ —the protection campaign around death—just took the category by storm. None of our competitors had actually alluded to death this closely and it created salience and the need for an insurance cover. We received a letter from the wives of army jawans who got very nervous whenever they saw this advertisement as their husbands were stationed at the border.

Then there’s the pension campaign which was built on the insight of projecting retirement as something to be aspired for, something to be desired. Another example, is when the industry suffered from the perception of mis-selling. We took a thought leader’s stance with the aapke sachche advisor campaign which addressed a serious industry issue of mis-selling in an interesting manner.

 

Isn’t price a decisive factor in your marketing initiatives?

 

Not in insurance sector. Here, people buy advice. Ask any customer whether he or she understands charges or why premiums cost what they do. Customers are more concerned with the savings amount when enrolling with these services. To draw a parallel, it’s not the cost of medicine that’s important but the consultancy given by a doctor. That’s the true value in our segment, too. Pricing does not play a role in insurance, it is more about the customer experience.

 

Being customer-centric is today’s mantra. How has technology helped you do that?

 

The IT department is certainly an enabler for us. For the digital piece, we do many interventions for the ‘end-to-end consumer journey’, from the time we acquire a customer to the time we settle a claim.

Then we have online communities. We realized that the single largest category buying insurance were people who were investing in insurance for their children. To leverage this core segment of parents (with children under 12-years-old), we created a microsite called iGenius four years ago. Our engagement with the parenting community has nothing to do with selling insurance. It is about creating a dialogue platform around the potent subject of parenting. Some of the subjects discussed on the platform include discipline, health, and nurturing talent in children. Today, the size of that community is over 1 million.

The best use of digital is when offline and online integrate to create great customer experience. For example, we created a talent scholarship program using a three-level online test. We then conducted video conferences with children across the country who were short-listed. We also ran a ‘junior authors hunt’ for children. The idea was to get them to submit stories and help them avoid watching TV. We received over 5,000 entries. We also have integrated our social stream which has been growing in numbers and engagement initiatives.

 

How much do you use technology platforms like social media and mobility?

 

On the social media front, we have done a lot including managing two communities: A parenting community called iGenius and the ‘khushiyon ki planning’ community. Since our product is for long-term planning, the latter community is about conversation and engagement which is about planning good milestones including marriage and retired life. People can also dialogue with financial experts on this social medium.

For the junior authors hunt initiative, we received entries which were 800 words long through the online channel. Children also wrote nano stories (140 characters) on Twitte r. We received more than 2,000 entries that ran as a separate handle on Twitter. For the aapke sachche advisor campaign we created a separate YouTube channel.

We also effectively use financial planning tools. We created a mobile calculator for our agents and sales managers so that they can instantly offer a relevant insurance plan with just basic details including income, age, etcetera. Mobile calculators and website calculators are useful and we leverage them to stay close and relevant to customers.

 

What about the danger that social media makes you vulnerable to negative posts?

 

Social is a very big balancing act. You have to be prepared to take complaints or grievances in your stride and acknowledge them rather than becoming overly defensive.

For the ‘khushiyon ki planning’ community, for example, we received a couple of not-so-good comments or complaints. We were happy that people were reaching out to us through this medium. We are one of the first ones to start an online reputation management system. Today, we closely track 27 to 29 such websites including our own community. Any grievance or negative comment that anybody has written anywhere on these sites (traceable ones); we spot and acknowledge within 24 hours. We have full backend for this tracking and response process.

 

How closely do the marketing and IT departments work?

 

If we do not integrate with IT then we could encounter all sorts of challenges. Once, for example, our system crashed when many students logged in for an online test. Marketing cannot go without involving IT as we have to project and predict the load on
the website.

 

IT and marketing (the digital team) are two parallel tracks that work together day in and day out. If our team wants to put certain images and videos on the e-commerce platform then IT would probably say that this would increase a consumer’s journey by a few minutes and would ask whether we were willing to live with that delay. We know the consumer, and IT brings immense value in terms of technical depth and being caution check. For example, IT guides us in not making the website or a mobile application so aesthetic that it compromises customer experience.

If we want to start social CRM on Facebook I need to coordinate with IT right from the inception and planning stage. We have an upfront dialogue to make sure we have server space, bandwidth and that other related-IT infrastructure is available. IT has a marketing spoc and we have a digital team and everything needs to work in sync.

 

What Jhadoo can teach us about brand building - Campaign India

http://www.campaignindia.in/Article/369135,%E2%8098What+jhadoo+can+teach+us+about+brand+building+Anisha+Motwani.aspx
As marketers, our foremost task is to create powerful brands that succeed in the marketplace. While traditionally we have looked at iconic Indian and global brands for inspiration, today, it’s time to add Mr. Arvind Kejriwal to that list. His ability to understand consumer’s most prickly pain point, create a brand that addresses it and above all, live upto his brand philosophy in action and not just words...all make him a strong contender to learn brand building from.

Amidst this broader strategy lies a lesser talked about yet significant element of his marketing mix – the jhadoo. If you think about it, he could have picked a visual that symbolised equality, justice, welfare or even freedom for his party, but instead he chose the broom. There is something very interesting and appropriate about this choice as it works at multiple levels. Fundamentally, it reinforces the party’s philosophy of wiping off all the muck and corruption that exists in the system today and provides hope for clean governance. It is also an apt representation of his party’s brand name. The common man’s party required a visual which was just as common and pervasive across every Indian household. Thirdly, the broom serves not just as a visual but an action...the ritual of cleansing the government of all evils and providing a fair, transparent and effective alternative to run the country.

Interestingly, the use of symbols is not new to politics. From Gandhi’s charka, Hitler’s swastika to the tricolor of the Indian flag, symbols have been used since long to signify meaning and represent the beliefs and values that the individual or country stands for. Infact not just politics, symbols are as old as civilisation itself. From the weapons and vaahans of gods to the seals used by kings, they have served as powerful communication devices since time immemorial. Not to be left far behind, marketers too embraced them wholeheartedly. Remember the Nirma girl, the lightning bolt of Rin or the Maharaja of Air India? At a time when many consumers did not recognize or understand brand names easily, they served to overcome that barrier.

Fast forward to today. While literacy continues to be an issue, there are added challenges of unprecedented choice, media clutter and a huge premium on consumers' time. In such complexity, consumers look for simplicity. In a world of technological clutter they look for solace in the familiar and that’s what symbols can offer. So while times may have changed, the relevance of symbols hasn’t.

But strangely, we find very few marketers investing in creating symbols today. Instead, some of them choose to spend millions on celebrities and ambassadors to represent their brands. Even though they are fully aware that these people are stretched across multiple categories. That celebrities can never be uniquely appropriated, plus their advantages are short-lived. They are not a substitute for symbols and will never be.

Marketers and communication experts need to once again realise the power of metaphors and the several benefits they bring to the table. Such as how they help bring a brand’s philosophy to life; like the Nike swoosh that has come to stand for athletic inspiration. How they create belongingness; like Harley that lets consumers belong to a tribe and also distances them from the herd. How they strengthen the brand; like KitKat where the act of ‘breaking’ the chocolate bar helps reinforce its positioning of taking a break. Or how they make a brand immediately recognisable anywhere in the world – the golden arches that are instantly associated with McDonald’s and seen as the gateway to fun, food and entertainment.

Some marketers like Arvind Kejriwal have realised how they aid brand recognition and recall, help in differentiation, in typifying the brand personality and in strengthening its core beliefs. It’s time for other brand owners and communication specialists to do the same. With consumers drowned in a sea of information today and shorter attention span, symbols will help you communicate with brevity. To say less and be understood more. So go on, dig deep into your brand’s meaning and find what you want to stand for. Try out various options on how best to express it... a cultural image, a universally understood metaphor, a caricature, an attribute, a sound, a gesture or an action. And once you’ve found your equivalent of the broom, stick with it and see how it puts your brand firmly on the trajectory of success.
(The author is director and CMO, Max Life Insurance. Views are personal.)