November2017
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04 NAI LPRI CEBEFOREPRODUCT. PERI OD
08 CONTENTMARKETI NG
15 ARTI FI CI ALI NTELLI GENCEI N DI GI TALMARKETI NG
19 THREADLESS:ACOMBI NATI ONOFARTI ST COMMUNI TYANDECOMMERCE
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IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON MARKETING -by Avinash Singh, IMT Dubai
Marketing has come a long way since its humble be-
cognitive era using AI we are leaving behind the pro-
ginnings in the pre-industrial revolution era. Over the
grammatic world and moving into something rich. To
years it evolved from production era to sales era and
illustrate this let's suppose you visit a website and
so forth to the present era of social/mobile marketing.
search for a pair of shoes. Even though you may de-
But a new era dawns on the future of marketing – the
cide against buying them still the shoes will follow
era of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence or
you around the web for the next two weeks or so. But
AI includes any technology that has the ability to
with cognitive ability of AI, you will not be bombard-
mimic human intelligence, has capabilities including
ed with the shoe advertising because there will be sys-
voice and image recognition and incorporates ma-
tems that reason as to why and how you left that site,
chine learning with semantic search. With continuous
whether you bought the shoe or not and hence make
development in AI capabilities, companies have start-
informed decisions as to which ads to serve the cus-
ed applying AI for marketing techniques. In fact, it is
tomer.
being said that each day your marketing team postpones using the AI-powered innovative technique in content marketing, the company is losing a competi-
tive edge. Now the next question that arises is that once AI is being used by marketers what can they do with the massive amounts of data that they have collected. Analyzing the data in real time using AI is great, but is useless if you cannot implement the learnings. This is where AI adds another dimension to predictive marketing. As we move from the programming era to the 1
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A new concept of marketing termed as AIM –
Pre-emptive Marketing:
artificial intelligence marketing has emerged
With AI, marketers can swim through large
which is a form of direct marketing leveraging
amounts of data finding any patterns that may
database techniques and AI concepts such as
exist to determine consumer behavior. Once
machine learning. It provides a set of tools and
this is done, marketers can preemptively pro-
techniques that help enable behavioral target-
mote solutions, products, etc. to the targeted
ing – which aims at improving the effective-
audience. Netflix and their ‘you may also like'
ness of advertising using web-browsing be-
prompt is a successful example of this imple-
havior of the consumer. In marketing content,
mentation.
this forms the collect, reason, and act cycle.
Collect: Implies capturing customer data and behavior be it online or offline. Reason: Data transformed into information used to derive intelligence and insights. This is the part where AI has the major role to play for marketers. The speed and efficiency with which they can make decisions can be greatly enhanced using AI. With a world changing faster than imagined decision-making ability is what sets a company apart.
Content Generation:
Act:
With AI, it is possible to generate articles and
It is when marketers try to connect or com-
reports and draw visitors to your site. AI con-
municate with the audience based on the in-
tent writing programs are able to pick certain
sights developed using AI in the previous
elements from a dataset and write a ‘human
step.
sounding' article. In fact, many financial and
Now, let us analyze how AI has impacted the
sports based articles are now written using AI
different fields of marketing.
content writers. 2
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‘Wordsmith' an AI writing program by the firm Auto-
Customization:
mated Insights wrote 1.5 billion pieces of content in
We all have faced the annoying ads appearing on so-
2016. Brands are constantly turning over to such pro-
cial media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twit-
grams to see if such programs can help to enhance
ter. These platforms allow users to hide ad content
their brand.
that users find inappropriate. These insights are then
Search:
used to algorithmically curate a better news feed suit-
Probably the most significant area where AI has had an impact is how users conduct online searches which had changed the way marketers create and optimize content. AI has not only changed what people search but also how they search. Two huge AI advancements – voice search and Google's Rank Brain have changed search
dynamics altogether. Applications like Apple's Siri, google home and Mi-
ed to user tastes and preferences. Facebook, in fact, is experimenting with AI to mitigate and prevent websites from sharing low-quality content that provides a bad user experience. Other areas of impact include content curation, chatbots and targeted advertising among others. In conclusion, AI while still being in its infancy, is bound to bring a revolution taking place in marketing.
While there are those who believe that AI is just a fancy catchphrase, we need to remember that this is
crosoft's Cortana incorporates voice search and now
how digital started, mobile started, and content mar-
instead of typing people can instead ask a device what
keting started and went to become big industries. AI
they want to know.
is sure to follow in its footsteps. It then becomes im-
Google's machine learning algorithm RankBrain in-
perative for budding marketers to realize the true po-
terprets queries and using AI gives the best results
tential of AI in marketing and use it gain the competi-
according to its interpretation of the language.
tive edge for their brand. 3
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
NAIL PRICE BEFORE PRODUCT. PERIOD. -By Nisarg Pandya, SCMHRD
Johnny Carson on his show once asked renowned
"Pricing is actually pretty simple. Customers will
salesman and legendary motivational speaker Zig
not pay literally a penny more than the true value of
Zigler to sell an ashtray to him.
the product." Perfect pricing is all about understand-
“People say you are the world’s greatest salesman.
ing out how much your customers value your prod-
How about you sell me something - say this ashtray?”
uct. It is more of a science than an art.
asked Johnny Carson.
The sports car maker Porsche imbibed this learning
Looking at the ashtray, replied Ziglar, “I would have
when it introduced Porsche Cayenne, its first of its
to know the reason as to why you want it.”
kind SUV instead of some sports luxury sedan such as
“Well it is well-made, it looks pretty great, and it is a
Porsche 911 and the experiment dug out gold for the
fine ashtray,” replied Johnny.
company as it was able to sell 1 lakh model in only a
“Alright,” responded Ziglar, “but you will have to tell
year. It also helped Porsche in paying down its long-
me what you think its worth to you.”
pending debt along with generating highest profit for
“I do not know,” thought Carson, “I guess $20 would
any car in the history of the automobile market. The
be just about right.”
reason why luxury sports car maker went on the unu-
“Sold” Ziglar finished, smiling *like a boss*.
sual path of its policy and yet became successful was
The above famous encounter explains a lot about the
how it designed the car that customer wanted, keeping
interactive approach any business entity can adopt
in mind the value desired and willingness to pay i.e.
about pricing its product. Missing out on this vital
price.
base can mean customers are throwing you out right
All items that customers did not prioritize concerning
at the threshold.
pricing were thrown away from the SUV such as fa-
Former CEO of J.C. Penny, Ron Johnson once said,
mous six-speed racing transmission. 4
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
On the other hand, Fiat’s Chrysler in 2009 was under-
Sometimes the company might get successful in cre-
going rough patch and hence focused their energy in
ating right product for the market it serves but fails to
building up a product without keeping monetary val-
charge right price and hence the nearly perfect prod-
ue in consideration. They even tried to advertise it as
uct stays under-monetized. This is a case of miniva-
“throwing out finance guys” from the manufacturing
tion. The best example could be computer manufac-
process. It showed the auto giant making prototype
turer Asus. It launched a mini notebook priced at
one after another to get the right product. The result
€299 and demand of the product rose to 900%. Asus
turned out a disaster for Fiat. It performed so poorly
could not manufacture with pace and lost a major
that company had to issue temporary layoffs. All this
chunk of revenue. They could have priced a lot higher
is because company put product before the price.
and served to market that would be willing to pay for
One can argue that there may be other reasons for
the premium product.
failure. I agree that new products fail for many rea-
The pricing of newly developed product weighs heav-
sons, but the root of all evils of innovation is a failure
ily on “willingness to pay” talk along with the com-
on the company’s part to understand customer’s will-
pany knowing how to charge to the customer as much
ingness to pay for a new product at the very base of
as what to charge. The method of charging should be
the development process. Most companies keep the
sensible and appealing to customers. For instance,
pricing procedure up until the product is developed.
Michelin charged fleet managers to pay for truck tires
They go on designing the perfect product without re-
based on mileage it drove and not on some tires. The
alizing the cost it is adding up to the company and
company gained the highest profitability in a season
stay optimistic that they will get the right mix instead
of high demand for this approach.
of being bang on confident about success. Slapping
The last approach can be deciding on different ver-
on a price just before going to market is a recipe for
sions of company’s products citing the fact that there
failure. But many commit this crime.
can never be one size which fits all. The GPS device
The companies can drill down to see what customers
manufacturer Garmin created different products for
are actually willing to pay for their demand of the
the user of the product.
valued product. They should talk to customers right at
To cut a long story short, pricing is one of its kind
the development phase. This will not only make the
strategy which will take you furthest and stronger as
product stay alive in cut-throat competition but will
compared to your competitors. The reason being that
also thrive as compared to your rivals. The odds of
pricing will allow you to concentrate on customer
your success will increase drastically if you follow
values and need as early as it can be and hence you
this approach.
can design what features and benefits can be given
The companies should try restricting innovations
with the product which will maximise its success.
more than they can afford. Instead of putting many
Without a price, you can never have the product.
features into a single product, it should try and fulfill
Make price as the center of locus of your company’s
actual consumer needs. Separating customers based
innovation process, and you can make the transition
on their values, WTP, and needs hence it should stand
from hoping to be successful actually in becoming
tallest on company’s to-do list.
one. After all, money is what matters! 5
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
Campus Placement is not a (completely) random process! A car assembly line is a beautiful and orderly process
great a product is, if it doesn’t fit the aspirations of
to watch. There is a predictable path, and as parts get
the buyer there will be no transaction. Period.
added onto a naked frame, products of the same con-
At one level, a student and a job provider needs to
sistency and quality come out through it. If you look
understand this. If you look at this transaction, the
at a typical placement process of any company, it is
experience of going through tons of interviews and
mostly designed in the form of an assembly line. Re-
the experience of a recruiter sifting through thousands
sume, Group Discussion, Personal Interview - some
of candidates is terribly bad. As a student, what can
finished goods do make it to next side, others are re-
you do to change this experience you bring upon
jected somewhere along the process. But does the
yourself?
process always have to remain the same?
Answer is simple - Bring certain level of focus in the
A buyer and a seller transact only when there is a mu-
preparation and provide matching value to the buyer
tual benefit in the transaction. No matter however
of your skills. 6
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
There are 5 sure shot ways how you can provide val-
5. Build a network and apply to limited companies -
ue to the buyer of your skills and reduce the random-
If you are a focused student, your roles/sector aspira-
ness
tions will be limited. Your key to entry into many of
1. Relevancy - Take a deep breath, take a few tests,
these firms is to actually network with people inside
look at your life, sit with a coach and understand what
the firm and understand how to break through effec-
kind of role really fits you. This is the most critical
tively.
part. If you are someone who really doesn’t enjoy
In 2000, psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark
talking to customers, a front end sales role is not for
Lepper published a brilliant study. Shoppers at an up-
you. If you are someone who likes sitting in front of a
scale food market saw a table with 24 varieties of
computer, read and synthesize, make charts and sto-
gourmet jam. Those who sampled the jam received a
ries, an analyst role will be a good starting point to
coupon for $1 off any jam. Next day, shoppers saw a
think of. Match this with a little bit of market reality
similar table, except that only 6 options of the jam
and you will be better off. You might want to be an
were on display. The large variety attracted more in-
investment banker but are the chances steep and is it
terest than the small one. But when the time came to
really worth it?
purchase, people who saw the large display were one-
2. Industry & Company Knowledge - If you can
tenth as likely to buy as people who saw the small
talk the language of the business, understand what the
display.
company really does and the competitive landscape,
You will be greatly doing a favor to yourself, by cut-
you are better than 90% of the candidates. During
ting options rather than keeping all doors open. If you
reparation stages focus on this part really well, know
can bring in the ability to focus along with market
the company and industry that you apply for reasona-
reality considerations, a campus recruitment experi-
bly well.
ence will be a glad one for you. These are testing
3. Resume - We never buy high end category prod-
times, but to stay cool
ucts from salesmen who give us low quality bro-
actually means is to stay focused. At Board Infinity,
chures. Similarly your resume is your product bro-
we tell this to our students every single day, and
chure, kindly make sure you hit the nail with the right amount of quality work behind it. Resume building is an art and a science, seek professional help if needed.
thankfully it works! Less is More, any day! :)
4. Work experience preparedness - If you are someone with work experience, and you are unable to explain the broader implications of your work ( top line and bottom-line impacts), a recruiter might feel you don’t understand basic business concepts of revenue
and cost.
Sumesh Nair Co Founder, Board Infinity www.boardinfinity.com www.facebook.com/boardinfinity 7
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
CONTENT MARKETING -by
Sonal Yadav, IIM Lucknow
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Content marketing has become the bottom line in the world of digital marketing in a very short duration and here are a few facts to munch upon the same:
Content marketing is a diverse and creative marketing
different way. It is because for every given business
channel that works equally well for both startups and
the target audience, audience’s needs and how the au-
pioneers. It works for everyone but in a unique and
dience access the web is different.
To define content marketing in simple words might seems complex but it revolves around two simple concepts:
Creating and distributing relevant and valuable content – According to The state of CONTENT, rules for engagement 2016, about 90% respondents say that they stop reading the encountered content if they don’t find it engaging enough and around 67% of the users stop reading the whole content if they find that the content they are viewing doesn’t display well in the device. The technique of creating a relevant and valuable content is a complex one and should contain the following five
Clearly defined and understood target audience – Understanding the target audience has always been a tedious job for any marketer and so is the notion to define the value proposition of any brand. Because of the involvement of external stakeholders, delivering the correct message to the segmented target audience has become very complicated.The factors that matter the most while choosing our target audience are:9
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A few myths regarding content marketing: Myth 1: Thinking that content marketing means
Another limitation of thinking content marketing as
articles and infographics.
just the blog posts and stories is that these formats are not the only content that the consumer goes through
Most people have put very specific labels to what
before deciding to purchase a product.
comes under content marketing. This typically includes outputs like blog-spots, info-graphics, interactive tools and photo stories. There are two limitations caused by only including specific and bounded formats in constructing our content. First, the format above only covers a minor subset of what content
How to overcome this? 1. Identify your customers journey throughout the buying cycle 2. Test new forms of content marketing consistently
marketing can be. All the following comes under the domain of content marketing:
Even the above list does not cover all types of content consumers interact with before making a purchase. There are new content formats that are being created every day, so if an asset is published with an intent of engaging the consumer, it comes under the content marketing umbrella.
10
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Myth 2: It encourages silos
How to overcome this myth?
The above-mentioned categorization of content limits
Don’t let team’s finite responsibilities to define the
more than just the marketing teams and its outputs. It
overall content marketing strategies. Integrate with
makes easy for the upper management team to silo
different terms to curate the best content strategy you
content marketing into a separate division of the com-
can.
pany. A content strategy only decides how a company will use content to engage and retain customers; it is not a way to decide the content creation or distribution it relies on other teams for its execution.
Myth 3: It is dependent on the brand strategy
to the brand over other competitors. Here, the end
Content marketing is a unique marketing concept
objective is not to increase revenue but to have a con-
which doesn’t answer the question of who, what, or
sistent user experience. The content marketing must
why. The answer of these three question is given by
contain following components:
the brand strategy. Only these answers give an edge
Now we would like to cite an impressive example of a really successful campaign that exercised content marketing, analyze why they worked, and discuss how you can apply their insights to your own business.
11
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Bernie’s steak selling campaign One of the best marketing campaigns we have seen in
case study is that Bernie opted for something that no
recent times is the job done by Bernie sanders’ mar-
presidential candidate has done before. He made per-
keting team. In addition to the voter support they
fect use of content marketing in his campaign. He
needed funds. Bernie’s campaign raised an astound-
was everywhere, on all possible social media chan-
ing 73mn in 2015 only. What makes it an intriguing
nels :
And over the top, he was selling the steak. According to the classic sales line “sell the sizzle, not the steak.” This means that instead of focusing on the flesh of what you have to offer, you should focus on the flashiest elements, the predominant benefits. In his own words,
12
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In true content marketing form, Bernie’s campaign has skipped the sizzle and focused on actual political issues. If you analyze his website, Bernie has an extensive issues section published which was advertised throughout his campaign.
These pages are complemented by video campaigns where he has talked about the same issues.
13
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The way they have utilized content marketing, it is no surprise that Bernie’s team was most successful in raising funds. The crux of the success of Bernie’s marketing and the political campaign was that he was delivering the content that is engaging enough for its target audience.
Key takeaway: The biggest takeaway you can have from Bernie’s po- time and develop your content according to that only. litical campaign is that content marketing works when An additional takeaway is that remember that people your content looks like what users are already con- always want to learn. So if you can incorporate some suming. Identify where your audience consume learning in your content you always should do that.
www.boardinfinity.com 14
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN DIGITAL MARKETING -by Debangana Das, Tapmi
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a discipline of computer
sign innovative ways to engage with their customers.
science that emphasises the creation of intelligent ma-
AI can help marketers analyse large amounts of heter-
chines powered with the capability to process infor-
ogeneous data and discover actionable insights about
mation, take strategic decisions and perform complex
customer preferences. They can utilize it to enhance
business functions. Organizations across the major
their digital marketing campaigns to offer personal-
industry verticals have started to embrace the poten-
ized customer experiences.
tial of AI for digital transformation as well as to de15
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Following are some instances of the application of AI across the different functions of marketing. They have been mapped to the different stages of Customer Relationship Management (Attract, Satisfy and Retain).
Content Marketing:
ately so that they can align their marketing campaigns
AI-powered tools can help marketers from designing
to retain their customers before they are attracted to
websites to creating personalized content for their tar-
competitor offerings. This helps in significant cost
get audience. With the help of simple rules and for-
savings as instead of hovering through a crowd of
mats, machines can generate industry-specific reports.
leads; marketers can easily identify the prospective
Analysing customer demographic and behavior data,
customers who can offer them the highest sales value.
AI can customize the content of the website so that
“Netra” is an AI-powered tool that has the capability
customers can view the best promotional offers. Cus-
to analyze visual contents like photos, logos from dif-
tomers can also be alerted through push notifications
ferent social media channels. “OneSpot” is another AI
which are aligned with their individual preferences. A
-powered system which helps in lead conversion by
popular AI writing program is “WordSmith” that can
giving a personalized look to the on-site media con-
structure tons of data, apply quantitative algorithms
tent of brands that maximizes visitor engagement and
and generate stories. Another AI-powered marketing
also helps in re-targeting customers.
tool is “Rocco” which can propose attractive social
AI-powered Email Marketing:
media content to strengthen the brand value of the
AI is used by marketers to enhance their email mar-
company.
keting campaigns. Example of an AI-powered mar-
Sales Lead Generation:
keting tool is “Phrase” that can recommend catchy
AI can analyze past customer buying patterns as well
subject lines to prevent the emails from being ig-
as their social media engagements with different com-
nored. “Seventh Sense,” another AI email tool appro-
petitor brands. This data is very much useful to mar-
priately decides the timing of email communications
keters in order to allocate their sales force appropri-
that increases the probability of customers to respond. 16
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
AI-powered Social Media Marketing:
and analyze data about every customer they interact
Social Media Marketing powered with AI can provide
with, and they provide personalized advice for shop-
marketers a platform for real-time engagement with
ping based on the customer’s purchase history and
customers. AI can be used to streamline content
preferences. They can be used to send personalized
across different social media channels so that it is
marketing messages as well as relevant information
aligned with the target customer’s persona. Social
about the brand and services offered. This ensures
Media gives marketers the opportunity to interact
customer retention as well as it facilitates cross-
with customers through different channels as well as
selling and up-selling. “Sephora,” a cosmetic retail
capture their feedback about different offerings. Face-
store developed a chatbot which initially asks the user
book treats customers as co-creators of their content.
to take up a quiz. Insights from the responses are used
Customers are given the option to identify the rele-
to provide customer recommendations regarding
vance of a particular advertisement which appears
beauty and makeup.
while they are browsing online and if they do not find
Customer Churn Rate Prediction:
it relevant they can also provide the reason for the
Retaining an existing customer is much more cost ef-
same. This helps Facebook to streamline their online
fective than acquiring a new one. Different machine
content and identify relevant advertisement for the
learning algorithms help in identifying unhappy cus-
right customer.
tomers so that they are offered various incentive
Dynamic Pricing:
schemes before they turn to other competitor brands.
Gone are the days when retailers use only economic
Components of an all-in-one AI-powered Market-
factors like market forces, demand, and supply to set
ing Platform:
the price for a product. Today AI algorithms help
The following is a hypothetical framework of the dif-
marketers to identify the maximum price that cus-
ferent capabilities of an AI-powered marketing plat-
tomers are willing to pay for a particular product.
form which covers all the dimensions that a marketer
Customer Engagement through Chat Bots:
can benefit from.
Chat Bots can serve as virtual brand ambassadors. They are now part of marketing activities for many renowned brands. Apart from providing a personalized experience to customers, they push the customers seamlessly through the sales funnel. Chatbots gather 17
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Conclusion: Today customers have become increas-
One of the pioneers of AI marketing is IBM Watson
ingly tech-savvy and quality conscious, so it becomes
which provides cognitive recommendations to mar-
crucia l for marketers to revamp their marketing
keters to help them understand customer behaviors
strategies continuously. This is imperative to design
through an interactive analytical visual interface.
innovative ways to engage with customers. AI pre-
They also have features to support “Campaign Auto-
sents a plethora of opportunities for marketers. AI-
mation” and “Real Time Personalization.” Research
powered systems minimize the manual tasks involved
shows that marketers who are already using AI have
in handling cross-channel digital marketing cam-
identified a substantial increase in their marketing
paigns as well as it promises better ROI due to the
efficiency. Therefore marketers should embrace the
strategical alignment of resources. It provides a fast
power of AI to delight their customers and at the
pace for marketers to generate higher revenue streams
same time sustain their market share and stay ahead
by delivering a personalized experience to customers.
of their competitors.
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THREADLESS -by Kiran Kira, IIM Rohtak
Threadless: A combination of artist community
time when Dreamless, a site for illustrators and pro-
and e-commerce
grammers conducted an online T-shirt design compe-
Have you heard about the company “Threadless�? It
tition. Nickell participated and won. But he did not
is a company which provides a platform to artists
get any reward or cash prize, for which he was very
worldwide to present their designs and sells different
disappointed. But later, an idea came up with Nickell
merchandise like t-shirts, hoodies, pillows, etc. with
to start an online community for artists to share their
customized design voted by the users and visitors of
designs and to print the best designs on t-shirts and to
the community.
sell it. Nickell, along with his friend Jacob
How did Threadless start?
started conducting online contests for designers with
Jake Nickell, then 20 years old, was working in the
rewards and prizes. That's how Threadless started in
sales department at a computer retailer shop in the
the year 2000, with a social goal of bringing artists
USA and studying arts at the Illinois Institute of Arts
together at a place.
DeHart,
simultaneously. He used to spent his time on various design blogs and online communities. That was the 19
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How does Threadless do for marketing of the
The balance between artist community and
community?
business:
Any designer first comes up with their idea or can
Threadless was started initially with the idea of
take help from the online community challenges
connecting all artists. But it became profitable as
every week or two. Then, make the design and up-
more users got involved in buying the t-shirts and
load the same to the website. The same will be un-
hoodies printed with the winning designs. The
der review for plagiarism or content duplicity by
manufacture of selected designs are always limited
the website owners and gives a week time for the
and printed according to the demand. It depends on
community members to vote for it. After voting is
users' interest in buying the design while voting for
done, the design gets an overall score, based on
it. Threadless refers this business as a community
which, they decide whether to print it or not. If the
rather than crowdsourcing. Because the goal is to
design wins the competition, then the owner will
bring together all the artists and to make their work
get a reward of $2000 along with gift cards of
recognized. Though there were many incidents
Threadless shopping site. The production of the
where some artists argued that they had fewer in-
customized merchandise is always varied according
centives and rewards, they agreed later that the
to the users of the community. Till 2007, the busi-
recognition they received was worth it.
ness was conducted only online. In 2007, the com-
Today, Threadless has become a very successful
pany opened its first own retail outlet in Lakeview,
online platform for artists to showcase their talent
Chicago. The outlet was profitable, and plans were
along with making huge profits by a margin of 33%
made to open more of them. But, owing to consum-
with just 58 employees. It uses social media very
ers' discomfort on opening stores
effectively
to
for selling the designs, Nickell
their brand, with more
stalled the plans, as the theme of
than
the company was being deviat-
sand
ed. In January 2014, the outlet
cial Facebook page and
was closed along with the ideas
2.13 million followers on
and focused only on developing
Twitter.
900
promote
thou-
likes for its offi-
the web platform for serving their creative community better. 20
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
OH, PRICK! IT’S PREDATORY MARKETING COMMUNICATION -by Akhilesh Panigrahi With Apple and Google wielding cudgels at each oth-
observe clear similarities in the background, fonts,
er in the war between iPhone X and Pixel 2, we dis-
and feature projection sequences. The iPhone X ad
cern predatory marketing communication used to
starts with its name in a polychromatic font whereas
boost the effectiveness of ads. Such a technique cre-
the Pixel 2 ad begins with an apparently rebellious
ates level playing field for both products, thereby
‘Ask’ to urge customers to move beyond normal and
making it easy for buyers to choose the best one
demand more. Google on the sly has tried to tag the
matching their preferences. Google emulated simplic-
iPhone X as a retrograde product with clichéd fea-
ity from Apple in its latest ad for Pixel 2 where we
tures.
While Apple continues to brag about its matchless
iPhones were equipped with the light adjustment fea-
face recognition feature, Google focuses on its cam-
ture in its previous versions. Leveraging the super-
era and photo light adjustment attribute. The USP of
valued face recognition feature, the iPhone X ad
iPhone X as portrayed in the first few seconds is its
shows a sequence of font variations with the text
full-length display without a home button. It works
‘face’ in order to denote flexibility and precision of its
against Pixel 2 at the beginning of the ad since
technology. 21
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
Google tackles this by showing a sequence of photos
ticular USP needs to be clearly driven by the buyers.
to show its multifarious colors, OLED display and
It ensures a simulation of communication models and
automatic adjustment in less lighting. The second
effectively using that channel to get an edge over the
USP proclaimed by Apple is the replacement of emo-
predatory product. Of course, the time of launch plays
jis with animojis, to which Google had to take a bul-
an important role to mark strategic points where one
let in its chest. It instead chooses to attack the front
can design the ad in a way which shows the ad-
portrait lighting feature of iPhone X by offering the
vantage of using one product over the other. While
same on both fronts as well as the back camera. To
Apple plays the lead in design, quality, and function-
make the assault even more savage, it abruptly pops
ality, Google beefed up the competition with its ubiq-
up the storage full error message displayed on an iPh-
uitous Google Drive, Google Lens, and Google Maps.
one to blatantly target Apple’s inflexible and chargea-
But, it has failed to adopt a predatory pricing model
ble extra storage on the cloud. This forms the crux of
against Apple due to its nascence in the smartphone
predatory marketing communication in an ecosystem
market. Customers are still in the process of accept-
where a company can openly target its competitor by
ing Google as smartphone brand where Apple enjoys
incorporating hints at various situations where a par-
a leading edge due to its legacy.
The attack on portrait lighting:
22
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
The attack on storage:
Perhaps a gentle nudge to next-gen, Apple introduced
company, Google has the trump card of data and ana-
augmented reality(AR) in the new iPhone X. Google
lytics which has wider applications in predictive stra-
challenged this with Google Lens through which the
tegic decision making. On the contrary, Apple is fo-
user can instantly gather more information about a
cussed on making the user interface simpler, smooth-
recently clicked photo. Being a versatile tech-oriented
er and faster with next-gen technologies.
Attack on gen– technology:
23
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
The Google Pixel 2 ad openly questions the need for
stinctive interrogative for more advanced features,
a second camera. This was another attempt at taking a
specifications, and technology. Moreover, the AI as-
dig at iPhone X which has two cameras. We observe
sistant Siri has been downplayed by Apple while
a repetitive use of the word ‘more’ in Pixel 2 ad
Google continues to nurture the value proposition of
which constantly urges customers to question their
Google Assistant in the ad, thereby facilitating effi-
threshold requirements. It is an idea directed towards
cient user-device communication.
alluring the strong endorsers of Apple to spark an in-
The attack on camera:
The third and most important USP of iPhone X
product name, thereby diminishing its significance in
shown at the beginning of the ad is wireless charging.
the TVC. But, it creates a daunting impact on the
It is observed that Apple has tried to project its cut-
buyer to evoke a keen sense of consideration towards
ting-edge USPs like wireless charging, face recogni-
the Pixel 2 smartphone in the low-priced, affordable
tion, and animojis at the start, whereas Google has
category.
spilled over its USPs towards the end and it holisti-
Predatory Marketing Communication has become
cally gives the impression of a highly combative vid-
imperative in highly dynamic and competitive mar-
eo commercial. The positioning of the value proposi-
kets to maintain the market share. Google has time
tion in iPhone X ad is consistent while the Pixel 2 ad
and again disrupted the mantle of marketing commu-
seems to have lost its essence in the process of argu-
nications to inspire other brands in adopting similar
ing with its peer’s values. It is evident from the fact
models for their product marketing strategy. Voila –
that the ad begins on a hostile note and ends with the
brands better keep an eye on their
neighbors now!
24
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
THE EVOLUTION OF CONTENT -by Abhay Gadhvi A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself. – David Ogilvy
With each passing generation, there has been a con-
and forget the sole reason for producing content.
sistent change in the way brands and companies mar-
Clarity leads sovereign in the world of content. It all
ket and advertise themselves. The content in the mar-
boils down to what your audience wants to see and
keting campaigns and media ads has also evolved and
what they prefer seeing more. Digital revolution, with
adapted itself to become culturally relevant to the
the youth at its helm, has made it evident that visual
changing times. Today, the basic concept of content
content rules the roost, be it videos, photos, memes,
and how we consume it has undergone a complete
infographics or illustrations, they have all made a
transformation; it has changed fundamentally. What
dent in the way consumers consume content.
now matters the most is, how effective your content
If I keep on blabbering content and only write fancy
is, with retention periods of mere 5-6 seconds, or less.
words and catchy slogans in the name of the creative
In some cases, it has become extremely quintessential
content, you might lose interest in this very article.
to produce attention-grabbing
According to a study by
content. The Ultimate, Epic
WebDAM, ‘there is a
Guide to Magical Results in 10
staggering 650% chances
easy ways is not really that ep-
of higher engagement in a
ic. The most quoted legend in
post that contains images
the advertising industry, David
in it'. Now, why is it so
Ogilvy once said that ‘The
that visual content has
temptation to entertain instead
been booming in almost
of selling is contagious.' Mar-
all marketing platforms,
keters often get carried away with flowery writing
let's understand it by a visual. 25
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
Nearly 90% of you would only look at the image and
and many other content-rich players have struck the
‘might' then read the text. This proves the importance
right chord by playing their cards right in terms of
of visuals in marketing. A visual asset is worth a
brewing user-centric content, leaving their users
thousand words. The increasing active user base of
wanting more after each video.
social networks like Instagram, Pinterest, and Snap-
Millennials are consuming content on multiple
chat testifies to the growing power of visual content.
screens at a time, which has made it mandatory for
No doubt YouTube has become the second largest
brands to tailor content for respective platforms. A 10
search engine after Google. YouTube's emphasis on
-second Snapchat video is different from a 5-minute
search, producing content driven by user behavior
YouTube video or an hour-long documentary, it all
and the amount of traffic it generates, makes it a logi-
works differently, and the user expects different con-
cal choice for marketers. The spike in the emergence
tent for each platform. Just to give a perspective and
of social media influencers and YouTube celebrities
find an excuse to put up an image, here are some stats
(aka YouTubers) is merely a result of cultural and
about social media content:
user-based content generation. Brands like AIB, TVF
26
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
Now that I have grabbed your attention through this
curate content is specifically catering to the custom-
infographic let's delve into how crucial a role, content
er's fancy. Netflix is actually ‘chilling' with close to
plays for brands. "Minimal and impactful" are the
100 million people subscribed to the website. Even
buzz words in the content making cadre. As Don
Amazon Prime spent $3.2 billion on their content in
Draper (Mad Men) would say, ‘Make it Simple, but
2016 and now plans to triple the spending by the end
Significant.' Brands spend moolah in millions to pre-
of 2017. That's the money brands and companies are
pare content synonymous with their product which
willing to spend to provide the customers with the
appeals the audience and creates effective and long-
unique, original and absolutely engaging content.
lasting brand awareness. Ever wondered why Netflix
This next image very well gives a gist of the radical
shows are so interesting that you binge watch an en-
change that content consumption has undergone in the
tire season on a weekend? Netflix had an estimated
last 20 odd years, sorry for putting up images but re-
budget of $6 billion to prepare original content for
search says it will increase the article's chances of en-
2017. The prime reason is that they know their cus-
gagement, a necessary evil.
tomers. They know what the customer expects and
27
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
President Underwood would be happy that his follow-
race to produce high-quality content, even traditional
ers have the freedom to choose what they watch and
TV and print media ads have jumped on the bandwag-
when they watch. Frank Underwood for 2018!
on to be as relevant as possible with the evolving
Now is the time when brands cannot lag behind in the
times. A wonderful example of this is,
Both Amul and Mother Dairy have been able to engage audiences with their intelligently curated ad campaigns for decades now. The race for keeping users attached to the brand or product has been around for ages, but the approach and the platforms keep transforming with each new generation. Today the information-rich millennials and even the adults to a large extent have forced companies to prepare content according to their whims and fancies; with new platforms emerging, augmented and virtual reality to name a few, we can only imagine how content will revolutionize in the near future.
If you have made it till here, you are Awesome. Seriously, I mean it. And as Pablo Escobar would say, Muchas Gracias. 28
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
CONTENT MARKETING TRENDS THAT WILL DEFINE 2018 -By Raghavendra Pokuri , JBIMS Mumbai
Content Marketing in the 21st Century – A Con-
smartphones. This estimation is conservative and
textual Perspective
may reach 30% by the second quarter of 2018. Voice
Content Marketing is beyond the pale and purview of
activated search expounds on the virtues of voice-
our comprehension. Digital marketers have tried to
activated home assistants such as Amazon Echo and
package it as a strategic tool which doesn’t limit its
Google Home. In the face of voice-activated search,
scope to the silos of content creation and content
both demand generation and demand fulfillment ads
sharing. Some growth hackers have defined it as a
shall adapt and evolve.
unique technique to create and distribute customercentric value us ing videos, blogs and social media platforms. Thanks to its mysterious
s nature, con-
tent marketing strives to derive profitable actions by dint of subtle approaches which stimulate interest. For all intents and purposes, content marketing is
With the ever-increasing reliance on assistants such
ruthlessly complex and has explored unchartered di-
as Google Alexa, Microsoft Cortana, and Siri, adver-
mensions that we never knew even existed.
tisements shall adopt the natural language search.
Content Marketing Trends That Will Define 2018
With popular search engines such as Google Chrome
Trend #1: Content Shall Adapt to Voice Activated Search
and Mozilla Firefox already answering questions in native languages, the onus is on content marketers to diligently leverage Google site links and rich code
According to the American research and advisory
snippets to help search engines fetch the correct
firm Gartner, voice-activated searches account for an
Knowledge Graph.
estimated
20%
of
all
searches
on 29
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
Promotional Content in general and advertisements,
basis is a rare asset. Companies such as Moz and
in particular, should no longer hinge on rhetoric and
Kissmetrics do this consistently.
jargon. It should resonate with naturally phrased key-
Content creation and content syndication are two an-
words and conversational rejoinders.
chors that power influencer marketing. Audiences are tired of hackneyed content. Readers are sick of mundane and regurgitated insights. Readers are in the hot pursuit of compelling and authentic stories which are
deep, rich, lofty and immensely powerful. This narrative brings us to the conclusion that adver-
Trend #2: Influencer Marketing Will Evangelize Content Syndication and Content Co-Creation The success of influencer marketing is attributed to the following two parameters: 1. Digital footprint 2. Exposure tisements- be it banner or an in-video should
be
steeped in marketing campaigns which are directed at those influencers who leverage content co-creation and content syndication. Trend #3: Bite-Sized Content Will Rule SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) The internet is teeming with copious content in every possible format – videos, text, vlogs, podcasts, infoThe role of influencers is no longer confined to expert advice and suggestions. Influencers should seek opportunities to work with individuals. They should co-
graphic, etc. According to a report by Backlink, long text content ranks better in SERPs. In 2014, the average length of a typical blog post stood at 800 words.
author whitepapers and e-Books with the illustrious wise customers. Co-hosting webinars on a recurring 30
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
In 2015, it rose to 880 words, and in 2016, it rose to 1050 words. Today, it stands at 1200 words.
This
trend is littered with a deep insight – bite-sized content shall rule SERPs. However, the community of content marketers is vexed with a classic paradox- the attention span of an average human is shorter than that of a goldfish. Do audiences have enough patience to read 1200 words?
Trend #4: Content Marketing Will Transform Itself into Conversational Marketing The lackluster adoption of VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) technologies in 2017 can be attributed to the skeptical mindset of retailers. But VR and AR are game changers and can change the
fortune of traditional brick-and-mortar businesses. VR modeling techniques such as 3D modeling, Hybrid modeling, volumetric analysis, etc., can be applied to products. VR shall thus reinforce in-store advertising and delight customers. But in-store VR experience relies heavily on VR headsets such as Google Cardboard, Oculus Rift, etc., which are
pegged at premium prices. 2018 may witness a While there are no easy answers, content should be laden with videos and infographics. If the content is visually rich and appealing, brands will be able to make a difference. While a generalization of any sort is not possible, an interesting observation cannot be discounted- Millennials prefer videos and infographic
to text while older generations prefer in-depth white papers.
marked decline in the prices of VR paraphernalia. Thanks to AR, people can do away with the hassles of testing apparel in trial rooms. There are many AR apps which portray your body shape and size, delineate various outfits and help you pick the right pair of clothes. Both VR and AR are capable of bringing content personalization into practice.
The content mix of brands should be flooded with videos, infographic and detailed texts. Live video promotion enables ad-renaissance. With organic visibility already declining, the emphasis on low key avertising through bite-sized content will disrupt the
content marketing landscape. 31
Marque– The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
Another unmissable trend is the emergence of chat-
Trend #5: Native Advertising expounds on the
bots in conversational marketing. With artificial intel-
Virtues of Content Re-Marketing
ligence and machine learning upping the ante of con-
To think native advertising will be dwarfed by the
tent personalization, chat-bots can be used to adver-
progress of display ads is an absolute farce. Native
tise and subsequently promote brands and services.
advertising can be used as a testing ground for broad-
While text-based chat-bots are already in vogue, au-
er content marketing strategies. For instance, a simple
dio-based multi-language chat-bots can strike a
A/B test run can reveal profound insights on proper
friendship with casual visitors and convert them into
positioning of headlines, preview images, and content
loyal paying customers.
A confluence of AR, VR, machine learning and artificial foster
intelligence
will
conversational
marketing. components. In lieu of content re-marketing, native advertisements should focus on addressing pain points of customers. Plain re-selling does not work wonders. Prefer ably, the strategy should be to inform, direct, engage and convert.
Trends
Key Takeaways
Content shall Adapt to Voice Activated Search
Brands should leverage natural language search, Google site links, and rich code snippets
Influencer Marketing Will Evangelize Content Syndication and Content Co-Creation
Advertisements- be it banner or in-video should be steeped in marketing campaigns which are directed at those influencers who leverage content co-creation
Bite-Sized Content Will Rule SERPs
The content mix of brands should be flooded with videos, infographic and detailed texts. Live video promotion enables ad-renaissance
Content Marketing Will Transform Itself into Con- A confluence of AR, VR, machine learning and artificial versational Marketing intelligence will foster conversational marketing. Native Advertising expounds on the Virtues of Content Re-Marketing
Content re-marketing strategy should be to inform, address, engage and convert 32
Marque- The Marketing Club, IIM Rohtak
Marque – The Marketing Club Indian Institute of Management Rohtak
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the stakeholders of IIM Rohtak.