GroupM & Facebook report outlines media strategies to help marketers re-emerge in the new normal

The Covid19 pandemic has changed the way consumers behave, purchase or socialize in more ways than one, largely propelled by strict social-distancing norms, increased awareness of health and hygiene and a significantly high income uncertainty. As a result brands and businesses across the board are having to reassess the way they reach out to consumers meaningfully, using more creative and efficient ways, making way for what is now referred to as the new normal.

Even within this new normal, one stark factor that has become only too evident to marketers is the unprecedented increase in consumption of digital platforms by consumers across the board. While the world continues to live in various stages of lockdown and self-isolation norms, there has been an uptake of over 70% in digital platform consumption, with the most significant increase in time spent on social media.

Time spent on social media alone grew by as much as 82% as it became the primary source of information, communication and entertainment for people across the world. There hasn’t been a more telling factor for brands and businesses to therefore recalibrate their marketing efforts and focus on digital media as one of the most important areas to tap consumers meaningfully and efficiently.

To this end, the recently released GroupM & Facebook Media Playbook plays a big role in helping marketers navigate the new normal. This playbook offers a perspective on the evolving consumer and media landscape, and recommended media strategies for businesses to re-emerge in the new normal, using efficient ways of building consumer connections and driving business outcomes.

The Media Playbook is largely centred on 4 main pillars: a) Embracing the full spectrum of consumer segmentation, b) Mastering the full funnel of performance marketing, c) Integrating innovations with business outcomes and d) Delivering on the right media mix.

GroupM & Facebook Playbook points out some important consumer behaviour trends that will impact the purchase pathway:

• An accelerated adoption of e-commerce and O2O
• Embracing digital services and experiences
• Bringing the outside inside
• Rise of the ‘Smart’ shopper who spends time on digital learning about the product before the purchase
• Superior hygiene and clean living norms

Sandeep Bhushan - Director & Head of GMS, Facebook India says, “With the drastic alteration in media consumption, businesses need to understand truly incremental outcomes by platform. A significant digital acceleration has happened on the back of social media, and with 400M+ Indians connected on the Facebook family of apps in India, we play a consequential role in the consumer journey.”

The Media Playbook recommends changes that businesses need to adapt to at various points in the consumer’s purchase pathway in order to revive growth:

• Build social connections with consumers even during times of social distancing by providing hyper-localised solutions as well as bringing alive digital experiences.
• Optimize portfolio for value creation through segmenting consumers and relooking at the media mix model through aligning to the new media landscape.
• Win consumer trust using interactive storytelling on safety/well-being using personalised engagement at scale via moment marketing.
• Replicate in-person experiences , from trials to conversions, build online presence and create cohorts for deep consumer connect using micro-targeting and digital innovations like AR/VR to solve ‘touch and feel’ barriers.
• Create financial access using payment/financing options and strengthen CRM solutions via messaging for post sales communication and other digital CRM tools.
• Drive value by repeat purchase and consumer up-trade through remarketing with customized offers and incentivizing peer recommendation.

Throwing light on the overall approach that businesses need to take to drive growth using the new media landscape and the recommendations in the Media Playbook, Prasanth Kumar, CEO – South Asia, GroupM said, “Digital influence has increased significantly. Marketers need to leverage digital to drive brand discovery among relevant consumer segments, drive performance marketing and ride the e-commerce wave, and build new age innovations to engage with consumers.”

Download the full report: https://bit.ly/3crcoUM

Disclaimer: The views, suggestions and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Forbes India journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.