KOCHI: When the digital technologies have gate-crashed into the overall marketing plan, common sense and reason would surely suggest that business houses and advertising agencies in Kerala ought to make a case for integrated marketing.
Advertising campaigns, in a consumer market like Kerala, are always exciting. With the possibilities that come with digital, integrated campaigns should utilise the highest smartphone density in the state. In internet connectivity, Kerala doesn’t have any difference between city and village in this state.
Though we have infinite potential, utilising it is a big challenge in Kerala. Now, digital media has established itself as just another media space. Nowadays, technical aspects like Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and other user experience designs depend on ever-changing algorithms or gadget sizes.
Currently, about 4 million students are internet literate with the IT@School program, and the coming generations are guaranteed to be digital natives. Numbers from digital portals are even more interesting.
The top 4 or 5 online Malayalam news portals have a combined readership of almost 300 million visits per month.
If you have been disappointed about the response to the poster or video you promoted on social media, take a moment to consider your company’s advertising budget and the amount you spent on digital. Both traditional and digital media seems separated and disconnected.
Major problems hindering the integration
We often miss the fact that, it is a new medium with endless possibilities that can be integrated into the existing system.
Brands have an extra medium on the table without any additional budget.
As brands will never entrust big amounts to small agencies, the digital agencies struggle for survival and quality.
Unavailability of good remuneration and growth opportunities, talented resources will not stick on to the field.
We are in a win-win situation for everyone. The growth of digital shouldn’t be at the cost of anything else. There are also digital-only channels like YouTube need high consideration owing to its effectiveness. Apps are another big area which needs to be considered.
The extra medium needs to be sorted out by brands and advertising agencies together with the aim to integrate all activities and directing all digital initiatives through existing mainline agency. This is important for two aspects. One is the monetary aspect. Second for cohesion. Entrusting social media or digital advertisement to a completely separate entity will result in disconnected advertising campaigns and ultimately losing money which will further demotivate digital integration.
Surprisingly, many planners and strategists in national markets are from Kerala. But low remuneration and growth opportunities do not attract them to Kerala. We have enough resources but the industry needs to facilitate basic amenities to accommodate and integrate them into the whole chain. We do not need a separate fund for digital media but we need money coming into digital marketing activities, as part of integrated marketing campaigns.
The video is the main tool in today’s marketing environment. If the perspective of integration is right then creating or adapting video content for digital will not be an extra burden and can be managed at once. There are technical aspects like the small screen of mobile phones competing for users’ attention versus TV or theatre screens. But pre-planning a digital-involved production can solve this issue and create output for all media at the same time. This problem needs to be creatively solved with brainstorming sessions by people from traditional and digital media.
There is a lot of thinking happening in the digital space. But lack of support affects the quality and scope of digital marketing. We need visionary brand owners and advertising leaders who can see the future of advertising in Kerala to come out and support the idea of integrated marketing campaigns with a fair share for digital. In return, it will provide unseen possibilities for the brands. If the integration is executed well, advertising as a whole will rise to the next level.U S Kutty is the director of Sobhagya Advertising Service
(The views expressed by the author are his own)