One of the most significant change that has taken place is the rise of something called as “Social Media” As per the new age encyclopedia – WIKIpedia (it epitomize Social media to the core) Social media is “an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and "building" of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories, and understandings.”
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Exploring Social Media Marketing – Myth or Reality
So I am back, this time taking a clue from my previous post where I mentioned about how swiftly the landscape of digital marketing is changing and how it is really critical for people like us to keep pace with this changing landscape in order to live through these changes thus making the best of these opportunities for our clients who increasingly want to engage with their customers as opposed to just reaching out to them.
One of the most significant change that has taken place is the rise of something called as “Social Media” As per the new age encyclopedia – WIKIpedia (it epitomize Social media to the core) Social media is “an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and "building" of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories, and understandings.”
One of the most significant change that has taken place is the rise of something called as “Social Media” As per the new age encyclopedia – WIKIpedia (it epitomize Social media to the core) Social media is “an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and "building" of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories, and understandings.”
The Sea, The Sea - Digital Photography
My new found passion - Digital Photography.
A new outlet to my creative thoughts - am sure will help me experience social media more closely.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Evolution of Digital Agencies in India
Here is the piece I just did for Alootechie on the evolving business model of digital agencies and their growing prominance in the advertising business. Thanks to them, this unutilized virtual real estate has got my attention and an update!
Yes, the digital race is getting exciting by the day – I believe it's the only industry where one can never complain of a stagnant job profile. Day before yesterday, you were just planning and buying impressions, yesterday you were building capabilities to run your campaigns on Search & Mobile, today you are experimenting with Social Media, tomorrow you might be developing expertise in IP TV and Bluetooth kiosks – it's not a single track road and you need to keep steering your organization and team well to avoid going off the track and of course keep running at the same pace. That's what the digital agency business is all about.
Having witnessed the changing advertising landscape through the eyes of digital media over the last 3-4 years, I know for a fact that developing digital capabilities is on the radar of all advertising agencies – big or small. For most of them, developing capabilities to a large extent mean hiring few people with some digital experience. Doesn't really work! To me, the key factor to success is the DNA – how strongly digital is integrated with the DNA of the agency. That's where I believe the specialized digital agencies will have an edge for some time to come. Advertising may be all about being creative but digital advertising is all about being creative with technology. So, understanding of technology and digital ecosystem is very critical – you never know when a cool technology breakthrough becomes an advertising opportunity. Look at Search or Mobile as an example. The pace at which such opportunities hit you, it's difficult to latch on to them as an early adopter unless you have an in-house team construct which can identify these opportunities early and train themselves to deliver on them. Such self motivation comes purely from passion for the medium – that's why identifying passion for the medium is the number one criteria for our recruitment process. The support & vision of the core leadership also plays its part in gearing up the team to constantly innovate and upgrade the group's capabilities. This connects back to the point of having "digital thought process" as a core DNA of the agency for success in this space. But it’s good to see digital getting the mainstream attention, it will help grow the market faster and increase the share of digital in the overall advertising pie.
The specialized agency model has come of age and has proved itself to be a successful one. The success can be seen by the interest large global advertising networks & VC’s have shown in the space. During one of the recent conversations I was having with a senior executive from a large global communication conglomerate, he mentioned that he was surprised to see the trend of VCs investing in the agency business models in India – this itself is a strong indicator of the growth this model promises. Now, with specialized agency model getting more specialized and niche (search marketing agencies, mobile marketing agencies, social media agencies, and digital creative hot shops making their presence felt) the scene is heating up further. For the clients, the advantages vary from getting into a goal based engagement to a more focused approach within digital marketing activities but in the larger scheme of things the disadvantage is the lack of a cohesive approach to digital media. So, the role of digital strategists will gain importance for putting all these digital pieces together and drive synergies.
I believe we are still in the qualifying round of this race. As we move into more exciting years ahead, taking a pole position today becomes extremely important to the success of any agency having ambitions to do well in the digital space. I am ready for the race – Let's do it without any pit stops.
The Digital Race
Let me start by saying - “I love my job”. Anyone would love, when the job is to run in a race where the tracks change faster than you expect & every time you see in the rear view mirror, you see new players joining the race which makes you keep on pressing the accelerator as you maneuver your way through the new tracks to stay ahead in the race.Yes, the digital race is getting exciting by the day – I believe it's the only industry where one can never complain of a stagnant job profile. Day before yesterday, you were just planning and buying impressions, yesterday you were building capabilities to run your campaigns on Search & Mobile, today you are experimenting with Social Media, tomorrow you might be developing expertise in IP TV and Bluetooth kiosks – it's not a single track road and you need to keep steering your organization and team well to avoid going off the track and of course keep running at the same pace. That's what the digital agency business is all about.
Having witnessed the changing advertising landscape through the eyes of digital media over the last 3-4 years, I know for a fact that developing digital capabilities is on the radar of all advertising agencies – big or small. For most of them, developing capabilities to a large extent mean hiring few people with some digital experience. Doesn't really work! To me, the key factor to success is the DNA – how strongly digital is integrated with the DNA of the agency. That's where I believe the specialized digital agencies will have an edge for some time to come. Advertising may be all about being creative but digital advertising is all about being creative with technology. So, understanding of technology and digital ecosystem is very critical – you never know when a cool technology breakthrough becomes an advertising opportunity. Look at Search or Mobile as an example. The pace at which such opportunities hit you, it's difficult to latch on to them as an early adopter unless you have an in-house team construct which can identify these opportunities early and train themselves to deliver on them. Such self motivation comes purely from passion for the medium – that's why identifying passion for the medium is the number one criteria for our recruitment process. The support & vision of the core leadership also plays its part in gearing up the team to constantly innovate and upgrade the group's capabilities. This connects back to the point of having "digital thought process" as a core DNA of the agency for success in this space. But it’s good to see digital getting the mainstream attention, it will help grow the market faster and increase the share of digital in the overall advertising pie.
The specialized agency model has come of age and has proved itself to be a successful one. The success can be seen by the interest large global advertising networks & VC’s have shown in the space. During one of the recent conversations I was having with a senior executive from a large global communication conglomerate, he mentioned that he was surprised to see the trend of VCs investing in the agency business models in India – this itself is a strong indicator of the growth this model promises. Now, with specialized agency model getting more specialized and niche (search marketing agencies, mobile marketing agencies, social media agencies, and digital creative hot shops making their presence felt) the scene is heating up further. For the clients, the advantages vary from getting into a goal based engagement to a more focused approach within digital marketing activities but in the larger scheme of things the disadvantage is the lack of a cohesive approach to digital media. So, the role of digital strategists will gain importance for putting all these digital pieces together and drive synergies.
I believe we are still in the qualifying round of this race. As we move into more exciting years ahead, taking a pole position today becomes extremely important to the success of any agency having ambitions to do well in the digital space. I am ready for the race – Let's do it without any pit stops.
Monday, November 19, 2007
In the middle of all the action
I am back to give words to my thoughts after a long gap...while writing the last post I thought that I will be more regular from now onwards but as the title of my post says "in the middle of all the action" - the action around me didn't let me get hold of my thoughts which were running all over the place while I was running between Delhi and Mumbai !
It's been an interesting change of role for me - Pretty exciting and challenging by far! So with basic infra and set up in place @ Mumbai I am all set to run faster....
As I write this down, another piece of news which is getting syndicated across internet and thus spreading like wild fire is our alignment with WPP!
It will really expand the canvas for us to strengthen our knowledge & offerings in the digital space and keep doing the good stuff !
So, there is action all across and I am excited to live through it! The last two and half years or so have been full of action and that's the way I love to live :)
Laters....
It's been an interesting change of role for me - Pretty exciting and challenging by far! So with basic infra and set up in place @ Mumbai I am all set to run faster....
As I write this down, another piece of news which is getting syndicated across internet and thus spreading like wild fire is our alignment with WPP!
It will really expand the canvas for us to strengthen our knowledge & offerings in the digital space and keep doing the good stuff !
So, there is action all across and I am excited to live through it! The last two and half years or so have been full of action and that's the way I love to live :)
Laters....
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Quasar Talk
So after a lot of Internal "Talk", discussions & research we are all set to tap the Social Media Landscape and add value to the brands through virtual conversations and social interactions - a part of it is in the lines of Qualitative Research and other part is to devise programs & tools to engage with consumers over the social media platforms like facebook, orkut, blogs & forums.
Here is the formal announcement of our foray into Social Media:
Quasar Media launches Quasar Talk, to take social media marketing a step ahead Pallavi Goorha
October 25, 2007
Quasar Media, a digital media and e-business solutions company, has taken consumer interaction a step ahead with the launch of its ‘Quasar Talk’. A blog marketing platform, Quasar Talk enables consumers to directly interact with the brand. General Motors has already signed on for Quasar Talk.
Manish Vij, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, Smile Interactive, the holding company of Quasar Media, pointed out that Internet marketing was growing much beyond the traditional media planning, buying or creative development. Though these remained essential in digital marketing, the new generation of consumers wanted to interact with the brands and not get pushed with advertising.
He said, “It is important for brands to create time than buying time. The consumer will buy brands which are friendly to them, interacting with them and understand them. Till recently, all marketing was a one way process and brands were afraid of talking to the consumer, but I think that’s passé. New consumers now have the power to share and they have started trusting other consumer reviews before arriving at a purchase decision. Few of my FMCG marketer friends feel this might not be for them, but I think otherwise, the more mass the product, the more need of interacting. A recent survey proves that consumers in India trust ‘Internet reviews’ much more than television advertising, therefore it is time our marketers start taking social media marketing seriously.”
It is important to note that social media marketing is not just about writing corporate blogs or blog marketing, but much beyond it. Quasar Media has also tied up with international technology partners to measure the effectiveness of social media efforts.
Quasar Media is eyeing a 20 per cent share of the digital advertising market in India. Some of the well-known clients of Quasar Media include MakeMyTrip.com, Monster, Microsoft, Airtel, Zapak, General Motors and LG.
Quasar and Quasar Talk are here to stay !
Connect with me if you are also keen to take this ride. We are looking for internet and social media enthusiasts to scale up this division !
Here is the formal announcement of our foray into Social Media:
Quasar Media launches Quasar Talk, to take social media marketing a step ahead Pallavi Goorha
October 25, 2007
Quasar Media, a digital media and e-business solutions company, has taken consumer interaction a step ahead with the launch of its ‘Quasar Talk’. A blog marketing platform, Quasar Talk enables consumers to directly interact with the brand. General Motors has already signed on for Quasar Talk.
Manish Vij, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, Smile Interactive, the holding company of Quasar Media, pointed out that Internet marketing was growing much beyond the traditional media planning, buying or creative development. Though these remained essential in digital marketing, the new generation of consumers wanted to interact with the brands and not get pushed with advertising.
He said, “It is important for brands to create time than buying time. The consumer will buy brands which are friendly to them, interacting with them and understand them. Till recently, all marketing was a one way process and brands were afraid of talking to the consumer, but I think that’s passé. New consumers now have the power to share and they have started trusting other consumer reviews before arriving at a purchase decision. Few of my FMCG marketer friends feel this might not be for them, but I think otherwise, the more mass the product, the more need of interacting. A recent survey proves that consumers in India trust ‘Internet reviews’ much more than television advertising, therefore it is time our marketers start taking social media marketing seriously.”
It is important to note that social media marketing is not just about writing corporate blogs or blog marketing, but much beyond it. Quasar Media has also tied up with international technology partners to measure the effectiveness of social media efforts.
Quasar Media is eyeing a 20 per cent share of the digital advertising market in India. Some of the well-known clients of Quasar Media include MakeMyTrip.com, Monster, Microsoft, Airtel, Zapak, General Motors and LG.
Quasar and Quasar Talk are here to stay !
Connect with me if you are also keen to take this ride. We are looking for internet and social media enthusiasts to scale up this division !
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Time to go Anti-Social
In between all the hue and cry about social networking sites here is something different - some one is talking anti-social now....Check out the evil version of facebook.com - Hatebook.org ! Phew!
Concept might not take off as well as the original one..but traditional yin-yang wisdom taught me that opposite do and can survive in tandem....we are surely nearing an era where we will have a dot com for any & every thing...scary !
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Shaadi Ki Ghodi - Great Advertising!
Couldn't resist having the privilege of being the first one to publish this TVC on a blog...As it reaches more eyeballs I am sure it will spread like wild fire! Also, had the privilege to work closely with the team working on this project. Based on a great cultural insight this one drives home the point bang on target - to survive in this globally competitive world every business needs to follow the right standards. Moreover, the TVC hits the social media before it hits the mass media...enjoy!
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