The transition that had started during the 90s with the Internet entering our daily lives, is now complete. We are officially living in the digital age today. India was home to 622 million internet users in 2020, and the number is expected to grow by 45 percent by 2025, according to the IAMAI-Kantar ICUBE 2020 report. The number will touch a whopping 900 million!
The world has changed in more ways than one since the 90s. While the number of brands and companies prevailing in the market were considerably lesser back in the day, there was also a hesitation in most consumers to fulfill their wants.
The market earlier was `need' driven. But today's India is vastly different. The middle-class not only has more purchasing power, but it is also willing to spend more. The market also has considerably more players today, irrespective of the industry. Global and local players are embroiled in still competition to gain consumer eyeballs.
This war is being fought through requisite advertising and marketing campaigns. Brands today are not shying away from spending heavily on marketing and advertising, since it is one of the key components of business growth in today's highly competitive marketing.
A survey conducted by the DCMN about the Marketing Trends for 2022 found that 66 percent of marketers surveyed globally anticipated that their budgets would increase in 2022. The percentage was even higher (71 percent) amongst the Indian marketers.
In today's world where social media has gained immense momentum, the marketing game has also evolved drastically. Today, every brand irrespective of its stature and nature is looking to create a strong online presence in order to connect with the plethora of users and potential consumers who can be found on the digital verse.
Over the years, marketing has evolved drastically to accommodate these new trends. Technology has also acted as game changer in terms of amplifying the effectiveness and efficiency of digital marketing solutions. With data-driven solutions and AI based insights becoming the norm, digital & social media marketing has experienced a facelift.
We have also witnessed the rise of `influencer marketing' over the past few years. Rendering an instant connect with niche audience, this trend has brought about a paradigm shift in how social media can be utilized to not only connect with consumers, but to also aid brand discovery.
Although various variables have entered the equation to make it more complex, the most important factor in all of this still remains the same, and that is `communication'. Marketing still depends on how well a brand can communicate with their target audience. This is what can make or break a brand.
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