Event Diary: Masters of Marketing, India, 2022

Masters of Marketing, 2022: The Introduction
 

Over the past decade, increasing globalization, better connectivity, and technological advancements have brought the world closer to a digital and hyper-connected global village. The events of the past two years have dramatically reshaped life as we know it and permanently moved the consumer landscape to a mobile-first world. According to TRAI, India is home to 825.30 million internet subscribers, a majority of which has been powered by smartphones, proving that we are truly living in a mobile-first world.  

While the past couple of years may have been a challenging time for marketers across the globe, true innovation is born from adversity. InMobi, co-powered by exchange4media, recently launched the inaugural edition of their annual event - Masters Of Marketing, 2022. The roundtable event featured industry leaders who have pioneered innovation and built resilient brands over the last 20 months.
 

Building Resilient Brands – Thriving in the Era of Mobile
 

As building resilient brands has become paramount since the onset of the pandemic, the stellar panel saw Ravi Santhanam, CMO, Head - Corporate Communications, Head - Liability Products & Managed Programs, HDFC Bank, Sandeep Anand, EVP & CMO, Jubilant Foodworks Ltd (Domino's), Anuja Mishra, VP & Head Marketing - Personal care & hygiene, Godrej Consumer Products Limited, Ishwindar Singh, GM – Marketing, Pernod Ricard, Anjali Krishnan, Consumer Experience Lead, India & Bangladesh, Mondelez International, with Vasuta Agarwal, Managing Director, APAC, InMobi, discuss why and how brands can build and develop resilience and the best ways to thrive sustainably in the era of mobile.

Innovation at its Finest: India's Leading Brands took the Digital Path to Drive Innovation

The session kicked off with the expert panelists discussing how their brands pivoted strategies in the face of the pandemic and emerged at the top of their consumers' minds.  

According to Sandeep, the Domino's mobile app played a crucial role in the brand's success through both lockdowns, while Ravi highlighted that the increased acceptance of digital among the consumers helped HDFC Bank rapidly shift all their banking services to mobile. Discussing Godrej Consumer Product's secret to breaking through the clutter in the personal care segment, Anuja shared that "building a distinct brand identity and communicating with consumers in an authentic and reassuring manner" was an important factor in striking the right impact.
 

Leveraging Mobile to Connect Meaningfully with Consumers
 

Anjali shared that leveraging creative mobile solutions has been vital to Mondelez's outstanding campaign success over the last year, and Ishwinder claimed that increased engagement with consumers and a strong focus on emotional connect guaranteed Pernod Ricard a seamless transition of their iconic properties from the physical to a 'phygital’ world. “We have seen a huge spike in our consumer engagement rates after expanding our customer outreach and launching the properties in the digital space," he added. 

When quizzed about leveraging the power of technology to amplify brand purpose, Ravi expressed, "It's all about engaging with the customers at the right time, in the right context, by employing technology for personalization. We are no longer trying to predict the consumer's behavior, but rather, trying to shape it and help them make better decisions," he said.
 

Delivering Personalized Consumer Experiences in the Moments that Count
 

Sandeep elaborated on how data informs the marketing strategy at Domino's - "Consumers now want a more personalized experience, so we use data to create cohorts, personas, and tailor-make our offerings to meet their requirements. We also employ this data to strengthen retention rates and decrease the churn rate actively." 

Emphasizing the importance of data, Anjali shared that Mondelez had continued to develop products for their consumers through the pandemic by employing third-party as well as some first-party data, and Anuja said that the right data had helped GCPL accelerate their innovation timelines considerably. Sandeep added that "responding to the right opportunities and launching moment-based marketing has been crucial to Domino's marketing strategy.
 

Key Takeaways
 

The common thread between all successful brands and campaigns seems to be agility and innovation," noted Vasuta. She then went on to ask the panelists about how digital and mobile technology has empowered their respective sectors. Ravi shared that "the right digital tools and regulatory policies were finally put into place," making it easier for consumers to ease into fully digital banking systems. Anjali said that technology has helped Mondelez "move from a more probabilistic marketing approach to a more deterministic one," as they are venturing into acquiring extensive first-party data. Anuja added that Godrej has started focusing on designing primarily for mobile commerce systems," rather than adapting their physical offerings to the mobile ecosystem.
 

Concluding Thoughts
 

Wrapping up the discussion, Vasuta encouraged panelists to share their top tips for emerging brands to thrive in 2022. Authentic and consistent brand narratives and a human-centric approach to consumer engagement surfaced as key insights across the panel.  

“It is evident that while the pandemic has disrupted operations across industries, it has brought forth outstanding innovation. Moment-based marketing strategies and data-driven insights - paired with empathy and purpose are sure to build resilient brands that stay future-ready as we ease into a 'phygital' world in 2022”, concluded Vasuta  

You can watch the full event here. 

For more information on building resilient brands that can thrive in the era of mobile, get in touch with InMobi on mobilemarketing@inmobi.com.