What Subhrangshu Neogi teaches about brand purpose

The era of selling is gone. It's not selling, it's counselling. Marketing today is very ROI focused. So what role does digital play and how do you compare it with other mediums in terms of ROI? I think digital Rajat is the fastest growing medium today. There's no denying that. A few years ago, I think the question was, is it a must do or is it a good to have thing? I think today it's a must do. You can't afford not to be on digital and therefore it is not an option but a compulsion because the consumers are moving in that direction.

And as far as the efficacy of the medium goes, I think it's clearly measurable. It is clearly something which lends itself very well to a ROI framework and can be easily measured. And at the same time, it's scalable, unlike any other traditional medium. So therefore, it has really caught the fancy of all marketers and across categories, whether it's an online only brand or an offline brand aspiring to be online, you know, digital pretty much is the centerpiece of most of what people are doing these days.

Do you think that digital could be mainstream one day instead of being on the periphery? Though it is taking the center stage. Look, I think I have a different point of view. I don't think digital is the periphery right now. But, you know, having said that, there is still a large section of the population who are still not completely digital.

And India as a market, you know, as a brand, you cannot be only just online and just offline. So hybrid is, you know, is the order of the day and offline brand needs to be online and online brand needs to have an offline presence. So therefore, the media mix also needs to be diversified. It cannot be digital only. It cannot be print only or conventional only. And I think ultimately, depending on the category that you're in, depending on your business objectives, it needs to have, you know, a diverse, you need to have a diverse media mix.

And as far as digital is concerned, oh, yes, I mean, if you look at the, you know, sheer penetration of and it's largely being led by smartphones and mobile penetration, and the more and more people are getting, you know, on the digital platforms or going online, I think few years down the line, digital definitely will be there and as a mainstay. So, yours is an education brand. Yes. What role does branded content play in getting you?

Look, I think branded content is important, but at the same time, you should not be overtly pushing the brand is in my view, because, you know, a brand story needs to be integrated with a larger story that you need to, you know, narrate to the consumer or to the prospect or people who could be interested in you as a brand, right. So basically, the narrative needs to be meaningful. The narrative needs to be, you know, more sort of up there, have a larger purpose and the brand story or the brand element needs to be integrated accordingly.

But if it is, you know, sort of a very direct sort of a brand integration or a brand plug, in my mind, I think people see through that. And therefore, it does not work.

It does not work. And as far as branded content is concerned, per se, I think it plays a very critical role. And I think, you know, it is an emerging area. And in education, where, you know, people are making a very important and taking a very important decision, as far as their future trajectory is concerned for parents and for kids, I think brand content becomes very important. And brand story needs, but the brand story needs to be integrated in a very, very sort of a smart and an effective manner.

What are the key points to make a content campaign successful? I think one, you know, as I said, you know, the brand integration needs to be done in a very smart manner, you cannot be overtly plugging in the brand, if you may, and it cannot be in your face. And there has to be a larger narrative that the brand needs to stand for, you know, the purpose, the philosophy, you know, those things need to be highlighted. What role is the brand playing in the life of the consumer?

Whenever content is being created, I think these are the things that you need to take care of. But ultimately, what is important is that, you know, content marketing is all about, you know, measurability, you need to have clear metrics, you need to have, you know, set out objectives, what you wish to achieve through content marketing, and finally, a key metric, you know, and finally, a framework for, you know, measurement metrics of what worked and what didn't work. In terms of sales leads, can it deliver the same results as other mediums?

Look, it again depends on how you craft the content, right? And how you kind of, you know, weave in the content, there is content, which is directly, you know, sort of works towards generating leads and generating business opportunities. But at the same time, you know, I think content is not just about sales leads. And if I were to take a, you know, I was telling somebody the other day that the era of selling is gone. You know, it's not selling, it's counseling.

You know, you need to actually nudge the consumer, you need to work along with the consumer, and assist the consumer in terms of taking an informed decision. So you cannot really sell. So content essentially helps you engage, and helps you kind of nudge the consumer a little bit more, and a little bit, you know, more effectively, and enable them to take the right decision. How do you see the marketing landscape in the country in the next five years?

I think, first of all, very clearly, as I said, you know, skill sets need to be reinvented completely. And I think if you look at the mix of the team, the kind of resources, the kind of talent, you'll see a lot of new talent coming into play, you'll see a lot of technologists coming into play, you'll see a lot of content creators coming into play, linear, traditional creativity alone cannot help you win.

I think it needs to be a mix of various skill sets, it needs to be a mix of cross functional capabilities, and it needs to have a fanatical approach in terms of execution. So I think these are some of the things which will, you know, sort of see how the marketing landscape evolves and changes over the next few years. So Shubhraanshi, you've been a seasoned marketer, what do you do to unwind after work?

I love spending time with the family, love spending time with my kids, love reading anything that is new, anything that is energizing, new trends, you know, new content, new technology trends, and so on and so forth. And I'm a movie buff. So I, you know, like to catch up on my movies.