27 November 2015

The Power of Partnership

The power of partnership.... should be called the power of long-term partnership, because the term 'partnership' is often misused. The spirit of partneship is more important than the letter of an agreement.

No one knows the power of partnership better than those who have suffered the lack of partnership. In th business of events and activation have been build purely on the spirit of partnership.

The value that clients and agencies who have had the strength to build such long-term partnerships have reaped the rewards with building great brands, intellectual property events and so much more.

First, develop ‘non-short-term’ relationships with agencies, and make some level of financial commitment to such relationships. Such commitments allow the agency to have a medium term view and invest in resources that would then contribute positively to clients’ brand building.

Second, Instead of calling for multi-agency pitches, which is counter productive because agencies are investing in pitching rather than the process of building clients’ brands. Trust in your agency’s ability, give them more information and ‘gyaan’ about the brand, and make them a strategic partner. It will pay back in dollops!

Third, respect intellectual property of the agency. Just because an idea has no physical form does not mean it belongs to nobody. If your agency does not have the ability to execute the idea you have presented, “buy” the idea and get another agency to execute it (if you like). Investing in intellectual property develops stronger relationships and develops the industry at large.

Fourth, pay fairly for the value you are getting. Negotiation and driving value is all very well, but no agency or business is going to take on projects that make a loss. If the client is going to beat the price down, the difference will show in quality, for sure. You may get a great value deal 1 time out 10 but you will end up paying for it the other 9 times.



17 February 2015

Interview: “Is BTL booming as a result of the economic slowdown?”


I believe that the slowdown is mostly in the mind. Unfortunately, what’s in the mind has a profound impact on everyday action. Consumers and customers alike are reacting to sentiment and there is an overall sense of “hold is gold”.

In this scenario, it is key to get the buyer to make decisions, influence the buyer at the key moment when he or she is taking the plunge either by impacting their experience or enhancing it. This could lead to either the consumer succumbing to temptation, need or greed. Or even better, simply switching brand choice.

As a BTL evangelist for the past 15 years, I have seen it proven time and again that what Activation can achieve and deliver for a brand, advertising and mass media is not capable of. BTL as a discipline and marketing communication tool has been growing relentlessly for the past 15 years, at first in spurts and now in leaps and bounds.

In the economic slowdown, more and more brands are shifting money to BTL to influence buyer decision making. The process of growth of BTL has been given an almighty heave, where BTL was already growing in credibility and delivery, the economic slowdown is going to prove to be a major turning point in this growth.

21 January 2015

10 years that have changed the world of Activation.

10 years ago when a brand had a moment of truth with a consumer through activation, it was just that – a single moment of truth. And that was the big challenge at the time, justifying the cost per contact as marketing spend worth doing. It was an uphill task to compare the numbers delivered by mass media like TV, Radio and Press and compare that to the superior quality of contact delivered by activation and direct consumer contact.

Over the past few years, it has all changed and the key drivers for the change have been technology, digital media, Social media & mobile amplification.

Technology has allowed and facilitated unique and engaging quality of contact with consumers. Ever changing and developing technologies are making life rather interesting for consumers.

Digital Amplification has now made it possible to intensively engage with consumers through permission marketing post the initial activation contact. This was typically done through voice calls earlier but was expensive, tedious and intrusive. Digital marketing allowed us to reach consumers repeatedly post-activation and build stronger brand-consumer relationships.

Social Media Amplification has been a match made in heaven for activation to be amplified to audiences beyond those present at the immediate activation location. This allows for greater width and length in the activation reach. Thereby making each activation rupee spent far more effective and justifiable.

And finally, what may prove to be the biggest game-changer of all, the impact of Mobile Amplification on activation. The one ‘thing’ the consumer has with him at all time and thus at the point of activation is the mobile. This lends itself as a unique opportunity to not only drive greater width and length of the activation reach but also push greater activation depth. Activation depth is the ability to engage with the same consumer repeatedly over a period of time. Mobile Amplification combines all of the above and drives greater activation width, length and depth!

It’s been a long time coming, but in the next 10 years, Activation is where it’s at.



Atul S. Nath is the Founder; Managing Director of Candid Marketing, founded in 1995. You can follow atul’s musings on twitter @atuln