Goa: The first day of Goafest 2019 saw the three e-commerce giants-Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra-share the stage to talk about the changing marketing ecosphere and the role of marketers.
Amazon director mass and brand marketing Ravi Desai, Flipkart associate director for brand marketing and head digital media Vijay Sharma and Myntra vice president marketing Achint Setia addressed the crowd highlighting their individual approaches to maintain brand relevance. The trio vouched for the need for a targeted approach to attracting India’s diverse range of consumers.
For Sharma, the industry is full of opportunities. He said, “It is a great time to be in the media industry as the means and ways of storytelling are also changing. The way in which advertising is being done is also changing. While earlier the creatives were under pressure to create 30-second-long ads, today they can create [brand messages] anywhere between 6 seconds to a three-hour-long movie.”
However, this is exerting pressure on advertisers to stay in the consumers’ minds. Even brands need to keep advertising constantly. Household names from five years ago are nowhere to be seen in the top five today.
Sharma added, “The consumers are evolving. Their need for quality and affordability is the same but the context has changed for them because now they have multiple options to choose from. There is over-exposure and over-choice leading to marketers feeling overwhelmed.”
Desai said that the marketing approach has shifted from prime time to individual moments. In a conversation with Indiantelevision.com after the session, he shared how Amazon is utilising its marketing to become the ‘most trusted brand for the Indian costumer’. The brand doesn’t follow a fiscal-to-fiscal marketing plan policy but rather is in it for the long haul. “There are certain behavioural shifts that you would like to see and which don’t happen overnight. For example, people have a slight concern around buying things without seeing or touching them and therefore, you have to build trust in the service offerings. That trust doesn’t come overnight,” he said.
Desai further stated that while the fundamental to the marketing strategy for Amazon remains constant it is the creative expression that continues to change to keep the customers engaged. He mentioned, “Today, consumers intake branded messages and content far more than they used to do in the past. If you keep running the same message, you run the risk of turning it into a blind spot. People will not react to it; they will not get motivated by it. Therefore, our creative messages refresh over time but the fundamentals don’t change. We are in it to build trust in Amazon and talk about the selection advantage it has and it will continue.”
Setia also shared similar thoughts as he mentioned that Myntra is trying to serve the consumer’s aspirations through its products. He noted that people are overwhelmed by storytelling and they continue to seek it in brand messages as well.
Goafest 2019 is a three-day marketing and advertising event that celebrates the best of work in the industry. It kicked off in Grand Hyatt Goa on 11 April and will conclude on 13 April after a number of conferences, live concerts and award ceremonies.
