1. Legacy politics provided way to fresh blood
This
could very well find place among the best marketing case studies for 2013. AAP
mobilized the disillusioned Indian voters specially the middle-class and significantly
first-time youth voters. Grass-root politics took a new definition. But
reactionary politics is one thing and consistently developing proactive long
term sustainable strategies is another. How this succeeds as it evolves in the next
few quarters may go a long way in redefining politics in India.
2. 2013 was the year of arrival of 'Purpose' based marketing
The trend on ‘purpose’ over pure ingredient based
campaigns that started as a trickle with ‘Daag Achche hain’ found itself
reflecting in reflected in a slew of brands that have taken up issues like progressive
parenting (Bournvita), widow remarriage (Tanishq), barriers between India and
Pakistan (Google). More and more brands have been able to make the bold
departure from the conventional.
3. Consumers became deeply engrossed with the
overall negative economic sentiment
The
current state of the economy - high inflation, rising fuel prices and interest
rates had their impact on the end consumer. Never before was the lay consumer
following GDP & Inflation rates so closely. The conventional symbol of
India’s appetite for consumption – Car sales, took a hit for the first time in
11 years
4.
DIGITAL
garnered a larger piece of pie
More
and more marketers increased their digital spends and actively experimented,
and rightfully so, with digital marketing. From creating content, to launching
communication on digital first, from contests on social media to using the
medium to track and target prospects better ....marketers preoccupied
themselves more with this medium than ever before. The trend is only going to
strengthen next year with more digital specialists becoming a permanent part of
the marketing team.
5. ‘Mobile’ got a shot in the arm.
Growing
four times faster than the global average, India overtook Japan as the 3rd
largest smartphone market in the world. The ‘Google-Airtel’ freezone, a service
that allows you to access Google mobile services on the go at absolutely no
data costs is an early indicator of marketers picking on this. The consumer is
showing a mirror. It’s now for marketers to interpret this effectively and
design relevant & effective solutions & apps for their categories.
6. MEN emerged as significant shopper
base.
Gone
are the days when we could confidently say that men hate shopping. They are
actively buying and consuming a whole lot of brands / products -
from deos to fairness face washes, from clothes to shoes, from
gadgets to lending a helping hand in monthly grocery/household purchases,
Marketers would be better placed to learn their unique shopping patterns,
subliminal selection techniques, and their aspirations to extract more value
from this consumer base, going forward.
7.
Uncontrollable
& Empowered Consumers
Time
and again, a lesson that marketers realised was that today you can't control
your consumer no matter how powerful your message may be. Social media emerged
as a strong medium to raise voice, show dissent, complain about brands and
gather momentum with fellow friends and friends of friends, to publicly mock
brands that made mistakes/did wrong. It is a clear lesson for brands to think
twice before launching an initiative and to handle tactfully and 'quickly' any
faux pas they make. While many a brand would have experienced this – a societal
manifestation of this in the Indian context was the common citizen’s furore on
the Nirbhaya episode that shook the conscience of the whole nation in 2013.
8.
Fewer
innovations in products
2013 saw most innovation and action take place
in the field of service delivery and not in new disruptive products. The world
did not get to see much that could deserve status of the next Smartfphone, the
next iPad or the iPhone. More & more work happened in incremental
innovation in new customer interaction channels, a distribution system or a
technological concept or a combination of all of these. The incremental
innovation by Flipkart and possibly some other e-tailers of sending step by
step shipment status updates to customers after payment goes a long way in
assuaging any apprehensions they would have on merchandise delivery very
relevant keeping in mind the dis-intermediated nature of th
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