IMB – Digital Marketing and Web analytics
The pandemic has accelerated the changes in the dynamics of marketing as a profession. It has caught many people off-guard as the market was not entirely prepared for this change. Digital Marketers suddenly became the need of the hour as people realised the importance of having a social media presence for their businesses. This especially affected small and medium-size businesses as the only way to reach wider audiences were to spread brand awareness through all the different channels of social media. This led to sudden flooding of business pages with content and information for all eyes to see but still, only some were successfully able to establish themselves as a brand. To understand the reason for the success of these select pages, we need to first understand the real meaning of Digital Marketing. The purview of digital marketing goes way beyond just creating content and graphics. It encompasses various factors such as understanding how to use analytical tools, studying the market trends, understanding algorithms of various pages, and the list goes on. The common practice to understand these dynamics is to do an online course but that pathway has its limitations in terms of scope and applicability. On the other hand, these skills are far too new and have not been embedded in the education system yet. So where does an aspiring marketer learn these skills? This is where the International Master in Business (IMB) course at SDA Bocconi Asia Center becomes a ray of sunshine in the dark as it helps you get an edge over your peers by redefining the boundaries of education and continuously updating the courses to integrate them with the current requirements of the market. Professor Andreina Mandelli has over 25 years of experience in teaching strategies of marketing and has been a pioneer in promoting the importance of integrating ‘Digital Marketing and Web Analytics as a course in the IMB program. Throughout her course, she helps you gain more insight about various tools you can use to increase your brand reach and engagement on digital platforms and how to use available analytical tools to your benefit. It helps you gauge the skill sets and the theoretical backing, which is extremely important for any aspiring marketer, especially freshers. At the same time, you have numerous opportunities to take up Live Projects offering dedicated roles as digital marketers which help you get hands-on experience while learning about this new wave. This combination of classroom learning along with hands-on experience in my opinion helps every aspirant to get a holistic view of how the future in marketing looks and gives a boost in regards to being interview-ready for a role in this domain. Author Rohan Mehrotra | Editor – Rohan Mehrotra and Vedika Nathani
Marketing is not Selling, but Developing a Relationship
The Post graduate students of International Master in Business of SDA Bocconi Asia Center had the rare privilege of hosting the guest session of Mr. Prashant Parameshwaran, Director, Marketing Strategy & Insights, CocaCola for India & South West Asia. Mr. Parameshwaran being a man of practicality over theory, discussed what marketing meant for the students. Mr.Parameshwaran’s perspective, though very simplistic, commanded a great amount of effect. “Marketing is to market a thing,” and not just anything—it is to market a brand. What is a brand? A brand is a thing with life. So, how do you market a brand? With this question, Mr. Parameshwaran commenced the main session: He started with the case of Netflix, how it grew from the 0.1 million subscribers to over a 100 million subscribers. The point conveyed was that with the growth of Netflix, brands like Blockbuster died out. Following an extensive survey, it is known that about 74% of consumers/customers do not care if a brand disappears. The question then raised by Mr. Parameshwaran was, how do you make sure that your brand does not die out. The solution to which is to form a relationship between the brand and the consumer. And how to accomplish that? Here is his outlook on that: Consumer Connect: This is where a brand should try to read between the lines. A consumer doesn’t always know what they want. But when you shine a spotlight on a consumer’s life, you can better understand your role in their life and establish a relationship. Know who your consumers are: The brand should understand who the consumer is. This was beautifully explained with a series of ads where famous brands were successful in understanding who their target consumers were. Some ads were from Air Deccan, Heineken, Axe, and Nike. The concept behind knowing who your consumers are is psychographics, exclusivity, and ability to find a need in their lives. In that way fulfilling their emotive needs. Uncover the Insight: Once you unravel the need, it is important that you define and understand the underlying emotion behind the need, since all needs have very specific behavioral dimensions behind them which arise from belief/ feelings/ attitude. This was well explained with ads like Oreo which highlights how a child’s curiosity for discovery fuels the sales of Oreo. A powerful insight is important to give a brand the image it needs. Growth Idea: For the growth of any brand, it is crucial to maintaining a balance between the rational need and the emotional need. Since any product which fulfills an emotional need but ignores the rational need will fade and vice versa. Three key points for growth idea are: To be single-minded, to stay on track and to always have a benefit ladder. Following a thorough interactive session with students, Mr.Parameshwaran made it clear that marketing is not selling, but developing a relationship. Towards the end, a considerable change was seen in the student’s perspective as the answers shifted from a theoretical point to a practical approach. This was a clear indication of a change which was brought on by Mr. Parameshwaran. SDA Bocconi Asia Center, Mumbai is immensely grateful for the wonderful session that Mr. Parameshwaran conducted and we look forward to implementing the knowledge he provided in our future endeavors.