There was a lot of discussion recently on a Whatsapp group I run for senior marketers on the bidders for the IPL sponsorship and the fit with their brands. Many brands associate with sports not because there is a fit with their product but because it is great for awareness. They get in front of the eyeballs they want. And it gives them some credibility as a big, well-known brand. A reach of 400 million is not to be dismissed, but it is only the start of the marketing process. You can very well be a winner without being an IPL sponsor if you get your marketing ducks in a row.
I talked about AIDA a few weeks ago, and IPL only takes care of Awareness, and that too for a certain period of time. If you’re a non-sports product I cannot really expect consumers to remember that the cricket team uses your phone or biscuit or soft drink without continuous reminders. Awareness is great but it is just the first step of decision making. And as per a recent study by google, the middle bit of consumer decision-making is messy.
I’m working on the second edition of my book, No Money Marketing, which explores how getting your marketing fundamentals right can help you be a market leader efficiently and effectively. I was really happy to come across research by Google that is aligned with many of the ideas in the book. Meanwhile, based on that research, I’ve put together a handy article that outlines 6 of the things that you need to do to get your marketing right. I explore various brands that have done a great job with marketing and they do all of these things. You do of course need a good product, but a good product minus good marketing is not assured success, sadly.
There has also been a lot of chatter on Whitehat Jr and did it deserve its valuation. Dunno. But I can say that they checked all the 6 boxes of getting their communication strategy right. And coupled it with targeted reach.
Another brand that likes to do newsy things is Zomato. Remember “Let’s make Delhi the tech capital” or advertising on Porn Sites?. Well, they’re getting a lot of media coverage now for Period Leave. Hate it or love it, it is getting talked about – and that is key to getting PR – do things that are interesting in your context. (If you want to know whether I’m in the Hate or Love camp, email me!)
I’m hosting a session on Personal Branding for the School of Business at University of Petroleum and Energy Studies next week, and it is interesting that your personal brand also requires all of the above steps. As more work moves online, we’re going to think of ourselves as ecommerce products too! I’ll try and get a recording done of the same if enough folks are interested in it.
