Tata Motors has reacted to the rapidly changing media landscape in India by moving from a traditional linear media model – of creating awareness, educating and inspiring – to a “fishbone” model, where the brand is ever-present in digital media.
UT Ramprasad, head of marketing communications, Tata Motors, outlined the shift at the recent Marketing Conclave in Mumbai, organised by the IAMAI.
Tata Motors’ share of the passenger car market is relatively small, at 7%, but it commands a 40%+ share of the commercial vehicle market, where using digital media to market to buyers is a more difficult proposition.
“As a marketer I need to provide something that is information-based so that the consumer can find out more about my product wherever he is, whether it’s an article or a hoarding or a YouTube video or through an influencer,” UT explained. (For more details, read WARC’s report: How Tata Motors drives brand stickiness with creative digital content.)
“In the digital space I must be present everywhere and if I am not there, my competition will be there. For example, for cars, there are these product comparison videos, a lot of people follow these, and these third-party videos play an important role in making product decisions. The width and depth of content has really gone up,” he said.
Another big change has been referrals, UT added. “Earlier when you bought a product, how many friends did you have who could tell you about it? Today it’s all over the place, you will find 10,000 statements about the product and that becomes challenging.”
On the plus side, digital media, unlike traditional media, allows marketers to focus on a certain audience and be able to measure the results accurately.
“This is where programmatic buying becomes useful,” said UT. “I know on which native site people are watching my content more, and so I can apportion more money to that site.
“Over a period of time, I know their profile and usage habits and so my media becomes more fine-tuned.”
Sourced from WARC
