Storytelling is key to engage digital-savvy customers: Ramakant Khandelwal, PAYBACK India

Guest Column: Ramakant Khandelwal, Chief Marketing Officer, PAYBACK India explains how to keep the digital savvy customer engaged while telling your brand story

e4m by Ramakant Khandelwal
Published: Oct 1, 2018 8:52 AM  | 4 min read

In today’s environment where customers are exposed to a deluge of content, both visual and textual via the digital platforms, how to make your communication stand out? Well, storytelling seems to be an effective approach to make a deeper connect and engage.

Modern marketers must seek newer ways to explore, experiment and digitally present their core message to the larger audience and stand out from the competition. The growing penetration and influence of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, among others, is giving new opportunities to communicate with the customers. As more marketers are riding the wave, the space is getting too crowded from the customers’ perspective.

The recommended approach to leverage these platforms is to transform the storytelling style from traditional textual to short and engaging videos, caricatures or powerful photos. Communicating through visuals or picture messages creates an everlasting appeal in customers’ mind and makes them feel connected to the brand. It develops a strong kinship between consumers and the brand, thus providing a common thread to talk about. Brands can use these tools efficiently to produce stories that influence customers and leave a positive impression. This approach builds an emotional connect with customers, which increases brand loyalty and achieves customer retention.

So, here’s a list of things to keep in mind while telling your brand story:

Stay Succinct with Honesty

Brands must understand that today’s customers are content-weary. They pay less attention to brand advertisements. Which is why storytelling should be done in a succinct manner to grab readers’ attention. A short, crisp and interactive content, be it contextual or visual, always pulls consumers and ignites curiosity about the brand. While doing this, brands need to be honest in their approach as today’s customer can access information transparently.

Customer is the King and is Well-informed

Customer has always been the king, but today he/she is well-informed and connected, thanks to the ever-expanding online world. Regular posts or a periodical reach out through social platforms generate a mix of amazing stories creating high engagement levels and keeping customers informed. Brands must focus on social listening to understand the preferences of customers; hence keeping themselves updated and connected.

Decoding Your Customer

Brands must be good listeners and should know how to innovate traditional strategies by using social media and advanced tools. Brand should never ignore to gauge audience reactions once the story is out. Their reactions help evolve the brand and switch to newer strategies, and ultimately win customers.

Being Empathetic

Storytelling is about connecting with the customer, which happens only when its soul establishes an empathetic connect with the customer, especially when offering solutions or portraying a larger than life picture. The essence is in the feel of the story that should touch the customer’s sub-conscious mind, which will in turn create a strong and ever-lasting brand recall.

Create Characters from Storytelling

The customer is what we desire, and so brands must position the customer as the central character talking about the issues or problems and the brand helping to address the problem to make the customer happy and content. For instance, if you are launching a product that will help customers with quick and convenient shopping, the story narration should first talk about the problem being faced and then comes the brand as the solution provider.

Way Forward

Creating stories that are true and rich with emotions have the power to influence. So, keep customers in mind, articulate the core message or solution in the simplest yet, an engaging manner that leaves a mark on the mind.

Today, every brand educates its customers but the one that can do both, educate and entertain, in newer and innovative ways, will hit the bullseye – customer loyalty.

The author is Chief Marketing Officer, PAYBACK India

(Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com)

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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur

The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:15 PM  | 1 min read
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With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.

The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.

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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out

The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:07 PM  | 1 min read
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Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."

The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."

COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.

Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.

He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.

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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK

Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 11:48 AM  | 1 min read
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e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.

Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.

According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.

As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.

A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.

Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.

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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall

The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 10:54 AM  | 1 min read
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Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.

“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.

“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.

"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."

"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."

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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias

Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 24, 2023 3:35 PM  | 1 min read
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KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.

Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy

Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.

Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."

Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."

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