It’s been only three years for Sociapa to partner its clients. However, the preparation has been going for over a decade. It’s our collective experience in the industry that led us to venture on our own. One of the key motivators has been our belief to do things differently. In that strive, we are guided by five commandments that we have built on our experiences across the years.
The goal of marketing is not to prove anyone’s wit or smartness. It’s not even to come up with catchy phrases or striking artworks that may whip up a few awards at some glitzy show.
The sole purpose of marketing is to sell the client’s product/service. We should make the audience buy your product/service we are marketing. To ensure that, we must explain it as briefly and simply as possible. The rationale for how what we sell is going to improve their lives should be communicated very clearly. People don’t have that much time to stop and read. If we can shock or awe them, that’s fine, but never at the expense of making the sale.
In the same way, our clients pay us to build their business and brand. How creatively we can do it is our call. To exercise creativity that doesn’t solve the business purpose is an anti-thesis of the job we are in.
The core to-do of marketing is to create a positioning for the brand and the product/service. Without this North Pole, every marketing activity goes haywire. What does the product solve and for whom should be very clearly communicated through each campaign or piece of content. This cements the positioning, also called brand image, which strikes a relationship with the audience.
This process is continuous and sustained for over a time. The idea is to connect the audience, the brand story at the right place, at the right time.
Father of modern advertising, David Ogilvy famously said, “Advertisers who ignore research are as dangerous as generals who ignore the signs of the enemy.”
Without adequate homework, there is no possibility of creating advertising work that sells. It’s a boring-as-hell job, but it saves lives and hence mandatory.
If you don’t know what you are marketing and to whom, you are certain to fake your promise and communication. Knowing what your target audience wants, what they need, and how they think, will help you build an effective marketing strategy to influence and achieve the ultimate goal - to sell.
Less is more when it comes to marketing and advertising. Every day, consumers are bombarded with advertisements, across mediums. Most of them are absolutely useless. Most of the brands today are more concerned with their issues. They want to showcase their expertise, smartness, wit and what not. Whereas, what they should’ve done is to communicate relevant information and how they can add/make a difference to the customer’s life. Today, on an average, the average attention time span is less than 3 seconds. If we don’t make our point in that duration, we never will.
A recent study has shown that 8 out of 10 people only read the headline (or the first statement) of a communication. With such a change in culture, to expect the audience to go through something very clever or a barrage of information is like living in a fool’s paradise. In today’s media world, one just need to know the right amount of information, in that shortest spurt of time that makes one linger around for a little longer. To put it simply, a great piece of advertising should make the audience say, “OK, you have my attention. Now, tell me more!”
Human behaviour and culture is ever fleeting and ever emerging. This is evident in the rise and drop of popular mediums. From newspaper, to TV, to websites to social media – no medium is permanent. But while it’s around, there is no denying it. No marketing campaign can be successful if it ignores the reigning mediums and formats of the times. For instance, social media is where the audience is spending time. Similarly, metaverse is where they are going to be in the times to come. Hence, every strategy should be mindful of these facts.
As we go forth in our journey, we will keep learning, unlearning and relearning. This list consists of values that we abide by. We hope to make them part of our DNA.
Following them, we hope to make the best of our efforts and give back our clients the best value for their time and money.