Content marketing spends likely to touch 2019 level this festive season

With a guarded optimism that the worst of the Covid pandemic is behind us, manufacturers have cautiously began to loosen their purse strings for the festive season that lies simply not far away.
The manufacturers, nonetheless, won’t get as aggressive as within the pre-pandemic period, as they don’t plan to exceed the 2019 investments on the content material marketing entrance.
Marketers inform BuzzInContent that authenticity in storytelling goes to be probably the most successful type of content material this yr and what different codecs and channels will rule the season.

Petal Gangurde

Festive content material will proceed to be harder to nail even this yr, stated Petal Gangurde, Vice-President, Brand and Marketing, XYXX Apparels, which is able to spend 30% of its content material finances throughout the festive quarter.
Gangurde stated manufacturers have the ability to uplift the sentiment of the nation however share the accountability to create significant, impactful communication in these occasions.
“Eighty-five per cent customers are extensively researching and exploring earlier than Diwali, which suggests interactive content material and influencer-driven content material will see wonderful engagement. I see digital media spends persevering with to enhance steadily and already crossing the 2019 ranges. I see 30-40% of the branding finances for the yr 2021 earmarked for the festive quarter,” she stated.

Aarti Samant

Aarti Samant, Founder, Sorted and Masala Tokri, Head of Content, Future Group, stated spends aren’t as excessive as within the pre-pandemic period.
Future Group, nonetheless, will spend 60% of their pre-pandemic media finances on digital on consciousness, consideration and conversion for the festive season, he stated.
“The market is actually opening up and there’s a pent-up demand that we foresee throughout the festive season,” she stated.

Karthik Nagarajan

According to Karthik Nagarajan, Chief Content Officer, Wavemaker India and Head, Branded Content, GroupM India, a variety of the funding is determined by whether or not or not unique content material manufacturing will get again to regular ranges by the top of August.
“At this level, all indications are that it might and if that’s the case, there is no such thing as a motive to imagine we won’t be able to exceed 2019 investments in content material. There is guarded optimism that the worst is behind us and even when there’s a third wave, it won’t be of the magnitude we noticed in April-June. Hence entrepreneurs are bullish concerning the festive season and gaining misplaced floor,” he stated.

Bhavna Sharma

A 30% increased development was seen in 2020 throughout the festive season and the identical is predicted in 2021, stated Bhavna Sharma, Vice-President, Bangalore and West Head, Omnicom Media Group.

Shradha Agarwal

Shradha Agarwal, COO and Strategy Head, Grapes Digital, stated classes akin to cars, FMCG and ecommerce gamers will spend round 25-30% on digital, which may enhance additional throughout the festive season (Dussehra to Diwali interval).
For particular classes akin to electronics, client durables, and jewelry, the festive interval is probably the most essential time as most gross sales is derived throughout this season. Such classes of manufacturers spend excessive on TV, digital and print.
If the third wave doesn’t strike throughout this interval, then there shall be a optimistic indicators for the trade, and it will likely be shut to 2019 by way of promoting spending.
“Branded content material serves its goal when it’s in a position to seize consideration with out being pushed and is stitched seamlessly with storytelling as a result of the viewers doesn’t desire repeated interruptions by adverts. Branded content material is a greater approach to attain out and in addition helps in creating an affect on the viewers. This yr too, we may see manufacturers creating distinctive content material. Creative groups will want to work successfully to deliver partaking content material to the desk,” she stated.
While the pandemic has strengthened the significance of content material for all types of manufacturers, they’re readjusting their marketing methods and spends earlier than the festive season begins.
Brands to guess extra on short-video platforms, influencer marketing, on-line gaming, OTT
Given the audiences’ current sentiment and protecting in thoughts hypothesis round a 3rd wave, manufacturers are anticipated to be extra empathetic and fewer loud this yr.
Gangurde stated authenticity in storytelling goes to be probably the most successful type of content material this yr.
“From uncooked, actual emotion to documentary-style again tales to a glance behind-the-scenes, manufacturers will look to join with on a extra private, human level. I foresee content material being tailor-made to develop into an emblem of hope, new life and renewed optimism,” she stated.
Marketers will want to discover the high-quality steadiness between sounding optimistic however not seeming tone deaf. While most manufacturers will stick to cliché templates of household, togetherness, kindness and indulgence, it should nonetheless want to be interwoven with the challenges of a socially remoted celebration.
Ephemeral content material by way of reels and story will rule, she stated. Livestreams and audio content material will acquire important traction. Content pushed personalisation shall be huge.
Sharing XYXX’s content material plans for the festive season, Gangurde stated, “The thought just isn’t to be generically festive (which finally ends up having a wallpaper impact). We will construct coherent and compelling festive messaging capturing micro-moments of consumption to drive a notable enhance in shopping for each individually and for gifting. Influencers will play a significant function to put the model message out for us and we’ll construct Content IPs with them to create new narratives. We will take a region-specific method and create extra culturally related and nuanced content material themes utilizing regional influencers. We are dedicated to bettering the general content material expertise by investing in interactive content material and bettering our UX throughout channels. Our focus continues to be on conversations by way of choice, innovation, tendencies and our model differentiators.”
Brands are general anticipated to be in a extra efficiency mindset in direction of content material.
Nagarajan stated the mediums which are measurable and people who lead to conversion shall be approach up the radar. Short video mediums, the place the creator financial system thrives, develop into automated selections for manufacturers.
“One of the largest guarantees of this season is what manufacturers are in a position to do with the quickly growing variety of OTT exhibits. The stage is about for extra revolutionary and imaginative integrations than what we now have seen thus far. Advocacy and social commerce can also be likely to hit new thresholds,” he stated.
Future Group appears at Instagram and particularly Reels as a format from a content material perspective. Ecommerce and different marketplaces are presently main for it so far as conversion mediums are involved.
Samant stated the plan is to construct an aggressive commotion occasion whereas sticking true to the present context and the temper of its clients.
Hence, Future Group will deal with trustworthy story-telling narrative whereas driving large value-for-money affords to cater to the pent-up demand.
“Even whether it is online-to-offline or e-commerce, we shall be focusing largely on digital marketing. While Google and Facebook are nonetheless taking the bigger pie of our media budgets, we’re additionally scaling up our spends on affiliate and programmatic to optimise our general spends and experiment a bit,” she added.
Agarwal believes TV and digital will get the largest share. Brand advocacy on digital has develop into fairly vital and types is not going to hesitate to go for the influencer marketing route like final yr (as their model advocates) of their campaigns.

Chaitanya Ramalingegowda

Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Co-founder and Director, Wakefit.co., believes that fixing issues by artistic narratives and revolutionary marketing mediums are simpler than spending extravagantly throughout the festive season.
He stated lockdowns and restrictions have not actually dampened procuring spirits throughout the festive season; moderately the dependence on e-commerce has elevated manifold.
Therefore, as a D2C model, digital will proceed to be a significant a part of its marketing spends this festive season. Within digital, it should discover a number of mediums akin to video, audio and text-based content material.
“Content will drive all our artistic efforts to guarantee deeper and long-lasting relationships with our viewers. In phrases of codecs, information portals, information apps, OTT platforms, social media, unique and artistic video content material, and podcasts have steadily gained prominence within the final one yr. We will proceed to stay invested in content material and storytelling, and discover newer avenues to faucet the ever-evolving audiences and share our tales with them,” he stated.
Digital mediums are right here to keep and consultants imagine Instagram, Facebook and YouTube are probably the most dependable platforms even at the moment for branded content material to be pushed since they’re main discovery channels for the viewers.
Gangurde stated 2021 will proceed to witness an inherently ‘indoor’ festive season with sports activities, on-line gaming and OTT content material consumption being on a pure upswing.
“My guess is these will deliver the utmost bang for the advertisers buck,” she stated.

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