The industry needs to take note of the lessons learned over the past year. Although it’s been hugely challenging, the level of knowledge that has been gained will transform the role of marketers in the years ahead, says Kathuria.
If the interviewees are to be believed then despite the subsidence of the pandemic, virtual events are very much here to stay. When asked whether the frequency of virtual events would drop back to pre-pandemic levels (score 1) or remain as they are today (June 2021) (score 10), the average score of participants of this study was 6.5. Coming up with innovative ways to engage and add value to buyers through virtual events would seem to be an important consideration for marketing leaders.
Stepping out of the crowd and doing something different can pay dividends, adds Babu. “I think we were guilty of jumping in during Covid and posting pictures of empty buildings like everyone else, but we did some A/B testing and found that people were bored of that – they wanted optimism, hope and to be inspired by something new,” says Babu. “We launched a new campaign (TimetoAdapt) about the evolution of the animal kingdom, that was emotional and hooked into the idea of possibility. It was successful because it was visually different, and the messaging was about adapting. Sometimes we get so lost in business messages, and we forget that we need to connect with people and give them hope and optimism. Branding is about living in the hearts and minds of customers.”