WATConsult Linked by Isobar discuss digital in 2020 at ad:tech India
Earlier this month, Rajiv Dingra and Manu Bhadane from WATConsult Linked by Isobar — our digital and social experts in India — discussed the 2020 digital economy and the innovative use of live video in two sessions at ad:tech India. So we caught up with them to find out more.
Rajiv, your session at ad:tech India focused on digital in 2020. What does that landscape look like on a global scale in your opinion?
RD> The global landscape is clearly skewed towards a digital economy. Over 50 percent of the UK’s total advertising spend is digital, with the global digital ad spend touching 300 billion dollars by 2020 which will overtake the total spend of TV advertising.
This shift will be fronted by several consumer facing technological advancements, namely the rise of AR, VR and AI, which will cumulatively be 150 billion dollars in market size.
Along with these advancements, the Internet of Things will be commonplace in households, providing key data for advertisers to create hyper-targeted experiences.
With strong digital developments in India over the past few years, do you expect India to be a leading market in the 2020 digital economy?
RD> Despite India being a 3–4 billion dollar digital market by 2020, this won’t make it a leading global market. India is currently the fastest growing digital market, with over 30 percent growth expected each year for the next three to four years, meaning the market will double in size every three years. I do believe though that by 2025, India will be a among the top three digital advertising markets in the world.
What do businesses and brands need to do to stay ahead of the curve in digital?
RD> Businesses and brands should focus on the now, what’s next and the future. An interesting way to approach this is the 70–20–10 rule. This means investing 70 percent of budgets into efforts that are geared for this year’s targets, 20 percent focusing on the next three to four years and 10 percent on efforts for the next five to seven years. Simply put 70% in now, 20% in next, and 10% in new areas of digital advertising.
Do you believe that certain sectors are better prepared to succeed in the 2020 digital economy compared to others? Or do you think all brands are equal, and the ones that adopt the digital evolution will come out on top?
RD> I believe brands that take risks and experiment more will be better prepared. This is because such brands are failing quickly, failing small and failing fast. The cost of failure of a digital campaign today is negligible compared to what it will cost three to four years from now. If brands continue to delay innovation and hope to adopt things once they become mass, then these will be the brands who struggle.
If you could only give one piece of advice to a brand on how to stay ahead of the digital curve, what would it be?
RD> Inaction doesn’t create progress, action does. So, if you’re not sure of the outcome, then it’s even more important to execute that digital campaign. This is because doing it once will ensure you learn what works and what doesn’t. Too many brands sit on the fence hoping their competitor does something first so that they can see if it succeeds and then try and do the same and avoid their mistakes. That ‘me too’ strategy rarely builds brand equity. There is value in being innovative even at the cost of failure as it only enables you to be better at innovation the next time.
Manu, your session was about the innovative use of live video for marketing. Which brands are currently leading the way when it comes to innovative use of live video?
MB> Nikon India is doing a great job of humanising the brand through the use of Facebook live videos. Over the last few months, they have arranged live video sessions with professional photographers with whom the fans can engage directly with and ask photography-related questions.
Live video is considered the new power tool in the online marketing toolbox. Where do the opportunities lie for businesses and brands?
MB> There are different forms of live videos that a brand and business can leverage. To name a few, a live video can be done for a launch of new product, to engage with a brand ambassador, shoot behind-the-scenes, Q&As and how-to or training videos. All of these examples are great ways for businesses brands to utilise live video.
What are your top tips for making an innovative live video?
MB> Listen to your audience, acknowledge them and respond to them with an intriguing reply — this is all you need to make an innovative live video.
Why is live video so important in today’s digital climate?
MB> Branded content published on social media today is often negligible or has no organic reach. However, when you publish a live video, people tend to watch it 8x longer and comment 10x more in comparison to a pre-produced video.
Finally, could you see live video becoming an environment where viewers can make transactions? If so, how close are we to making that a reality?
MB> This will definitely be the next step in evolution for live videos which will happen very soon. To give you an example, imagine a live video for a fashion brand in which the stylist is putting up a custom look for you, which you can purchase instantly just with a click of a button.
