When we talk about Marketing, Advertising and Brand Management, we often don’t realise that Brand Moments matter more than we think. These are moments when the brand interacts with other brands, customers, partners, investors, community leaders and so on. It’s pretty obvious that appealing the masses of today is not an easy task. But what better way to enthrall them all than using Social Media and the patois of the upcoming generation- puns and rhymes.
`“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas; what happens on Twitter stay on Google forever!”
Jure Klepic
So here’s a glimpse of one recent wave of #BrandMoments.On 21st August 2019, Swiggy initiated a set of conversational tweets attracting the attention of other brands and I couldn’t resist penning down two bits about it.
When Swiggy tweeted a rhyme on the micro-blogging platform, other brands made sure to participate and show their tenacity. Brands such as Spotify, Mad Over Donuts, MTV Hustle, VYRL Originals were seen joining the bandwagon creatively promoting their brand to the audience. This provides an opportunity to convert their followers into potential customers by interacting and showing them the humane side. Such moments play a vital role in the branding world as it reflects on how well brands understand the value of interaction, above business.It involves creating brand associations in customers’ minds to make them perceive the brand in a specific way.
Also, who wouldn’t love if a big brand acknowledges their creativity and responds with a personal reach? Defining moments are opportunities where the brand can inspire loyalty among customers and influence customer’s decision making process. As per McKinsey’s latest report, Indians spend about 17 hours per week on social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others, holding a new world record. At this point, the savviest marketers know that the best way to connect to consumers is to break through the social media. This is an incredibly powerful kind of experience-based branding, and ultimately more impactful than even the most clever marketing campaign.
Through the years, consumers have been assailed with ads, tweets, texts and everything else imaginable. The days of blasting out bulk impersonal mails are over, ad blockers are increasing and consumer distrust is also high. Even the most rigorously designed ad campaign can be proved to be wrong a lot of the time. Hence, creating brand moments ensures their presence at all times. This experience-based branding not only improves customer retention, but it also grows new customer acquisition. Also, this creates opportunities for brands to lift trust among customers in an era where such aims are challenging to accomplish. Hence, Marketers need to shift their focus to ‘brand moments’ more than ever.
-Farheen Khan
farheen.khan@northpointindia.com