Though late as always, Kerala brands are waking up to
content marketing. Thanks to demonetization, the subsequent fall in business
and less black money to flaunt around, business houses in Kerala are now thinking
different. From the all-out spending on creating television commercials &
traditional advertising they are slowly but steadily moving towards content
driven advertising including online & in-film branding and they have
started to look for other avenues for their marketing communications. But as usual
there seems to be a tendency to misuse these new mediums both in terms of
creative content and expenditure on such media. This might be either because of
the ignorance about the basic concepts of such marketing tools or just because
of the age old misconception of advertising - ‘the more you spend the more it
reaches out and the more you spend the more you should have voice in such
content’. Times have changed. It is not how much you advertise but what you
advertise that matters. Today content is the King. Future is in content driven
marketing ideas and the content will be influenced and even created by
customers.
In-film branding
Recently I happened to watch a Malayalam movie which had
in-film branding by about a dozen brands in Kerala. Unfortunately it was done
in such a bad way that it didn’t do any good to the movie or the brand as such. The basic concept of in-film branding is that our brand
subtly slips into the narrative of the film rather than shouting at every
opportune moment. In most of the recent films we can see blatant use of in-film
branding techniques which makes a negative impact on the viewer’s mind rather
than a positive affiliation to the brand. It would be good if some basic points
are kept in mind while going for such branding techniques.
·
Viewer is sitting out there in the theater to
watch the film not our brand. So never should our brand be shouting at the
viewer in between the film’s story line.
·
Whatever be the brand’s spend on a movie,
tweaking the story line to suit the needs of the brand should never be done as
it spoils both the brand and the movie. First the movie gets spoilt by such
in-film branding and second it results in wastage of money for the brand to be
in a flop movie.
·
Hear out the whole story line and decide whether
your brand could fit in somewhere in the story line. For eg. a movie about
atrocities in a medical institution and your hospital brand being used in the
film as that hospital will be disastrous for your brand.
·
Do not shout your brand at your audience because
you are not airing your TV commercial within a film. Keep in mind that James
Bond is not every now and then waving his Omega watch at the audience; rather
it is a device that helps him all his way. James Bond is not mouthing out the
words ‘I am using an Omega watch” rather the brand is promoting James Bond films
in their other communication materials.
Content Marketing
Though content marketing has
reached its advanced stages in India and abroad, Kerala brands still don’t use
content marketing as a part of their marketing tools. Online is all about
content which is relevant to the viewer. Even Social Media like FB, Twitter
etc. are used in a wrong sense by most Kerala brands just as another medium to
showcase their print ads or TV commercials. Better be aware of some basic
points while using online as a medium.
·
Internet is a medium which can be used to make
loyal customers but it can be done only by giving them relevant content. For
eg. a print ad put out as an FB post wont create a customer for your saree
showroom but a relevant information about a particular cloth material may
create interest in the mind of an FB user.
·
Nobody is going to search out and see your TV
commercial in YouTube. Create short films, music and other contents which help
out to reach your brand to viewers instead of posting your TV Commercials.
·
Think yourself as an FB user. The third time you
see an irrelevant post from a business house or a brand you would hide such
posts. So no need to insist on daily posts of your brand in social media.
Rather go for interesting posts keeping intervals between the posts and make
sure they are relevant for your target consumer.
·
Internet is not only about social media and
social media is not only about FB, twitter & Instagram. It is a wide wide
world out there which includes blogs, travelogues and much more. Use online
media in such a way that internet has rich content about your brand or product,
again make sure it is relevant to the reader.
·
Mobile
games, mobile apps are all alternatives to increase your brand visibility but
again it all depends on how you create content specifically for these mediums.
·
Last but not the least, online marketing is all
about interactivity and even a single post on FB can create interactive
sessions with your customers if they feel it is beneficial for them to
interact. Better stop shouting online about what you have to say about your
brand/product and start speaking what your target audiences want to hear.
