New Media - A Business Perspective

“I hear YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are merging to form a super-social media site - YouTwitFace"

− Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show

The above quote, though trivialized, probably brings out best the one prime characteristic of the media industry today – CONVERGENCE within the industry and this is what makes it most relevant for businesses today. 

To better understand significance of social media as a channel of business, we first need to recognize the true nature and capabilities of 20^th century’s most significant contribution to the world of communication. Social media can be defined as the manifestation of the traditional and contemporary forms of media onto newer forms of communication technology such as the wireless mobile devices, computer-based interactive consumer programs, and of course, the Internet. What makes social media so popular and talked about is its ability to impart an interactive dimension to the otherwise one-way approach of the conventional forms of media. New media cuts across an assortment of demographic groups of varied customer profiles. This has helped revolutionize marketing and advertising strategies for businesses the world over. Companies are today working on ways to reach out and involve the ‘customer’ in different ways and build customer loyalty. Also, social media is not just restricted to B2C businesses, its benefits are effectively applied to B2B businesses as well.   

   

Brian Solis, one of the prominent thought leaders in New Media has, in his blog, discussed results of the annual study conducted by the Centre for Market Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on the adoption and practice of social media by the Inc. 500, a list of fastest growing private companies in the US.  This study revealed that companies who did not use social media whatsoever who were 43% in 2007 plunged to 9% in 2009. The study also found that most companies have realised the importance of customer engagement and interaction, and reported the incorporation of at least one social media tool in their business practices. Such is the power of penetration of new media, the world where the user is both a marketer and a consumer. 

The New media industry shares an intimate relationship with many market segments including broadcast media, interactive computer-based program design and development and business verticals of marketing, advertising, public relations and customer support. It is in this ambit that sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are booming. These websites serve as a link between the firm and their end users, and hence have a substantial influence on the user’s experience with the company and its offering. 

With more and more people becoming media-savvy and companies striving hard to gain ‘mind space’ and ‘media space’, online platforms will only become more powerful as channels to build brands and online presence.  As Seth Godin puts it, “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” New Media, if used right, can help your business and brand become a ‘BEST-SELLER’.

'Dabangg' makes Zandu Balm dearer to Emami

'Le Zandu Balm hui, darling tere liye' is what seems to be on everyone's lips at Emami these days. Yes, Emami's gamble with the in-song brand campaign seems to have paid off. Zandu Balm has clocked a whopping `25 crore in August, `5 crore additional to what it generated every month prior to the release of Salman Khan starrer 'Dabangg'. Riding on this success, Emami plans to extend this initiative to its other brands and try some regional language films.

Weak marketing was a concern for Zandu Pharmaceuticals in 2002. Post-coming under the Emami family in 2008, Zandu Pharma became the associate sponsor for the IPL Mumbai Indians team for 2009 and 2010. Emami has set a marketing budget of `20 crore for Zandu Balm for the current financial year. As a start to this, they cashed in on the success of IPL by signing up Delhi Daredevil players Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Kartik and Amit Mishra as brand ambassadors.

The pain balm market in India is estimated to be about 450 crores. Zandu Balm leads the market due to its extensive penetration but is currently perceived as a product for the elderly. It now wants to popularize the brand among the Indian youth and have come up with new ad campaigns with the Daredevil icons. From the days of 'Zandu balm Zandu balm peeda haari balm...', to little or no advertising, Zandu Balm has once again  initiated extensive advertising with proxy-brand campaigns and new television commercials.

With a fine lineage, substantial market share, iconic brand ambassadors and a decently-sized budget, the company should now also look to go the viral route.

 

One Celebrity, Many Brands... Confusion!

Indian obsessions begin with cricket and film celebrities and end right there. Advertising, most often than not is a victim to this. Take the example of Mahendra Sing Dhoni. Dhoni endorses over 20 brands.These include Pepsi, AirCel, Big Bazaar, Reebok and many more. But how many of us exactly remember each of these brands when we are out for purchase?

For a customer to connect with a celebrity endorsement of a brand, a few aspects would be of prime importance: 

Relevance: Any product that is endorsed, should match the celebrity. A good example of this would be Bipasha Basu endorsing Dabur's Real Activ fruit juices or Kareena Kapoor's endorsement of the 'slim' Sony Vaio laptops.

Diverse Brands: Any celebrity should ideally endorse brands that are diverse from one another. This helps differentiate the brand from the others. This is where Dhoni's endorsements cause confusion and clutter in the consumer's mind, when he fails to recognise Dhoni's presence between one ad and the other.

Brand bigger than Celebrity: This is an aspect brands, celebrities and agencies alike fail to realise. While signing up a celebrity of the stature of Amitabh Bachchan, it is inevitable to land up with the product or brand being secondary to him. Even though this may have been successfully capitalised upon by some brands, and could have led to easy association and hence success of the brand in its initial stages, AB everywhere on television selling too many products caused overexposure and once again, poor brand connect. This is definitely not desired when it comes to quality of the product offering in light of competition.

Whether Dhoni, the ad agency or the advertiser is responsible for the confusion and clutter would be a point for endless debate,the brand is the one that would lose its sheen.