Pradeep Chopra, Co-Founder at Digital Vidya: Digital Marketing has already become a key to any modern business approach. Since a majority of the customer base has shifted towards the digital platform, digital marketing is an immediate way to reach out to them and connect with them.
In this interview, I spoke to Udit Jain to know his views and significant approach towards Digital Marketing.
As a founding member of central digital teams during the digital transformation of world’s leading media houses like Condé Nast, HT Media, Mediacorp, I’ve worked at the intersection of data, technology & content across India & Singapore markets. In my past roles, I’ve focused on creating data-driven digital strategies & measurement frameworks aimed at capturing 360 views of customer interactions across all products and digital channels to generate actionable insights and drive digital strategy.
According to you, what are the advantages of conventional marketing over Digital Marketing? Do you think that Digital Marketing is a threat to the future of conventional marketing?
Udit Jain: Having worked with print focused publishers at a crucial phase of their digital transformation, I can say that digital is definitely disrupting marketing across the globe with the share of traditional media declining every year. For example, according to the eMarketer share of global ad spend on traditional media will drop from 60.3% in 2017 to 46.1% by 2022 as the share of digital continues its unprecedented growth.
The sentiments are the same in the APAC market. In 2019, non-digital Ad revenue is expected to grow by a nominal 0.8%, whereas digital will grow by 15.7%.
But India is a different market, with only ~35% population connected to the internet. To be successful, marketers need to leverage both the targeting capabilities of digital along with the wider reach of conventional marketing at different touch points across the consumer journey.
Share your favourite Integrated Marketing case studies. What did you like most about them?
Udit Jain: Data forms the core of marketing. When we say digital is disrupting marketing, we must not forget that disruption is also happening within digital with the increased adoption of AI & ML.
For instance, PAMco&Mediacorp has already developed true cross-media audience planning solutions which are unifying fragmented audiences across TV, Print, Radio, Digital & OOH to deliver unduplicated reach for marketers resulting in improved ROI. Today, with access to a richer, unified view of audiences, agencies and advertisers are able to plan, allocate and optimise their integrated campaign budgets more efficiently.
According to you, what are the top 3 mistakes committed by organizations today in leveraging Digital Marketing?
Udit Jain:
(i) Culture
Most organisations undergoing a digital transformation not only require the right technology, Tools & Insights but more importantly a digital-focused culture across the organisation to meet their goals.
(ii) Data
Data is everywhere but mostly stored, analyzed& activated in silos by individual teams. Powerful actionable insights are generated when we find ways to stitch together data across multiple touch points including site, campaign, social, search and app.
(iii) Experiments
Every organisation is different and require tailor-made strategies. For instance, a successful audience growth & content distribution strategy for one publisher may not work for another. This is because their social fans& followers have different demographics, interests, login at different times of the day, maybe prefer different content formats and so on. The best way to design the perfect strategy that works is to run a lot of controlled experiments.
Between Agency and In-house, which approach would you recommend for a maximum value of Digital Marketing? Why?
Udit Jain: While agency partners bring-in much-needed creativity, which is sometimes impossible in-house with lean marketing teams juggling with multiple responsibilities, much of tech stacks & audience planning are moving in-house.
The rise of publisher consortiums, Programmatic In-house, Trans-media audience planning & measurement systems and Customer Data Platforms, give more control back to the brands.
How do you ensure increasing Digital Marketing’s relevance and influence in the organization?
Udit Jain: Having worked with print, TV& radio focused media organisations, I believe the key to success of increasing digital marketing relevance is to first understand the business challenges, the teams trying to solve it at the ground level & then train people on how digital can help them succeed in their roles. Change is never easy, a genuine desire to help teams succeed is indispensable for success. Data, actionable insights, expensive tools, proven strategies will not deliver returns unless the vision is clearly understood by each and every employee involved in digital transformation.
Why do you think it’s important for entrepreneurs, marketing professionals and students to learn Digital Marketing today?
Udit Jain:
For Entrepreneurs: In 1965, the average tenure of companies on the S&P 500 was 33 years. By 1990, it was 20 years. It’s forecast to shrink to 14 years by 2026.
About 50% of the S&P 500 will be replaced over the next 10 years. The world is evolving faster than ever, if the organizations don’t transform, they might lose market share to competitors.
For Professionals: Digital marketing is crucial to remain ahead of the curve.
For Students: Digital is evolving as we speak, and this evolution offers greater challenges and with greater challenges comes bigger opportunities.
What are the top 3-5 skills you look for when hiring a candidate for Digital Marketing profile?
Udit Jain:
(i) A data-driven approach to digital
(ii) Storytelling skills
(iii) Ability to effectively navigate a complex environment
What is your advice for newbies, who are looking at building a career in the Digital Marketing industry?
Udit Jain: Digital marketing is all about data & creativity. One must learn to uncover the stories behind the number.
Share the names of 3 people you respect when it comes to Digital Marketing.
The list is long but I’ll try to keep it short
(i) Shantanu Bhanja, CEO, Pidilite – I’ve never met a leader who has more empathy & compassion for his team. His passion for work, approach & leadership skills continues to inspire me every day.
(ii) Kiran Suryanarayana, Director Technology, Conde Nast India – I’ve been lucky to have Kiran as a boss. His strict discipline for work-life balance, unmatched creativity, knowledge and empathy & compassion for his team has made a huge difference in my career.
(iii) Pankaj Seth, VP Hindustan Time – Digital marketing without insights is like a car on a highway without headlights. Sooner or later it will fail. But generating actionable insights isn’t enough today. Pankaj has done groundbreaking work in the field of insights &taught me how to put them to use, to empower people & improve systems.
Would you like to share a few words about the work we are doing at Digital Vidya?
Udit Jain: Digital Vidya is doing an excellent job in helping people succeed by training them on key digital marketing skills. Their In-depth course material prepares students for real-world challenges.
Are you inspired by the opportunity of Digital Marketing? Start your journey by attending our upcoming orientation session on Digital Marketing for Career & Business Growth. It’s online and Free :).
