Chaos? It’s just another name for the bustling metropolis that digital marketing stands for in today’s landscape. Shiny new tactics cleverly pop out daily, promising clicks to fast track brand dominance. But amidst this hustle, it becomes conveniently easy for digital marketers globally, to forget that ethical practices are the foundation to a thriving online presence, and the road to clean and fair digital marketing.

Here’s a guide to equip your digital marketing practice with the right tools to navigate the ethical minefield and build a client base that trusts you (along with their customers, of course.)

Ethical digital marketing isn’t just a good to have nicety, but a game-changer. Here’s why:

Ethical digital marketing boosts your brand reputation.

Today’s consumers are savvy. They can sense a broken authenticity from figurative miles away. Want to build a trustworthy and loyal image? Ethical practices will be your bedrock to a strong brand reputation.

Why waste that hard earned cash on penalties?

“Over the counter” SEO tactics might be a great way to get temporary traffic spikes (and adrenaline rushes), but getting caught while implementing these can lead to hefty penalties and a long-term blow on your strategies.

Grab the best talents in the market.

Clean practices resonate with the so-called creamy layer of talented marketers who wish to be a part of something meaningful. Demonstrating your commitment to doing things the right way can get you a workforce that can optimally contribute to your growth.

Here’s some actionable tips you can go through (and maybe administer) to keep your digital marketing practice on the straight and narrow:

With great data, comes great responsibility: Data is definitely tempting, but it’s never right to violate a user’s boundaries to get to it. Make sure you get explicit consent before collecting user data, and use it responsibly, clearly keeping data privacy regulations in mind.

Transparency is key: Be upfront with your clients about strategies, costs and expected results. It’s only fair, and ideal.

Content and integrity go hand-in-hand: Avoid clickbait tactics, however useful they may seem, and refrain from propagating misleading information. Focus on crafting compelling content that educates, informs, and entertains.

They’re called “influencers” for a reason: Prioritise partnering with influencers that align with the brand values and resonate with your target audience, and avoid inauthentic endorsements for the sake of reach.

Don’t run behind instant gratification: It’s easy (and addictive) to get caught up in the quick-win mentality. Learn to focus on long-term value, and strive to build a sustainable growth for your clients, executing ethical strategies that put user experience and brand reputation in the front seat.

Your digital marketing practice can stand out in the crowd, and become a beacon of excellence by embracing ethical practices. It will lead to attracting the best clients, and achieving sustainable success in the evolving digital marketing landscape.

At Three Percent Collective, we strive to be responsible citizens of the digital world. Reach out to us if you’re looking to partner with a practice that keeps it clean!

The post Why Ethical Digital Marketing is the Real Game Changer appeared first on .

India’s digital advertising market is projected to reach USD$4.99 billion by 2024, with year-over-year growth at 18%. Your brand/ business spend will be in this too. And when two approaches have emerged: being present on the open web and/ or walled gardens like Google and Meta, there is always new information to consider in the equation of the media mix. Understanding the nuances, advantages, and drawbacks of each is crucial for making informed decisions about your digital marketing strategy. And this needs expertise and experience and a thorough knowledge on best practices, current trends, growth of new platforms etc.

While we look at where to spend your marketing budget efficiently, we need to understand where your TG is. The consumer’s online behaviour is no longer so straightforward as being present on one or the other platform. This has been some time in the making, especially during and post-pandemic. Recently, Kantar and The Trade Desk released a study of online consumer behaviour along with the Open. Today, Indians spend half of their time on the open internet, even though ad spend is 5.5 times higher on walled gardens.

Wait a minute? If your TG is spending time on the open internet, why is your money being spent mostly on Google and Meta? Should you relook at your spend bifurcation? Should you look at how your agency is planning and buying media for you? These are all difficult questions indeed.

To make it simpler for those who need a quick understanding, here are a few things to show how walled gardens and the open internet work, along with their pros and cons.

The Open Web: Allows you to embrace freedom and flexibility

Some examples of the open web in India are music streaming platforms, news platforms, OTT/ CTV platforms etc.

Let’s look at the Pros of the Open Web

Control and Independence: Control is one of the most significant advantages of the open web. You can have the autonomy to build your online presence without being bound by platform restrictions. Leading to the ability to create a unique digital experience that aligns precisely with your brand’s vision.

Transparency: The open web provides greater transparency in terms of data and performance metrics. This data is a gold mine about your audience’s behaviour, and gives you the opportunity to make data-driven decisions and optimize your approach effectively.

Innovation and Customization: Here, you can experiment with various content formats, ad placements, and user experiences that resonates with your brand and creates a sync with your audience.

Various Advertising Options: Beyond traditional display ads, you can figure out content marketing through partnerships/ deals, build influencer partnerships, and add affiliate marketing to your mix.

Cons of the Open Web

Fragmentation: Too many options could create a fatigue in managing platforms and channels. This can lead to complexities and laborious situations, especially if you don’t have people resources, unlike a specialist agency. This could lead to inefficiencies.

Trust Building: Your TG will be bombarded with a plethora of ads and content on a daily basis. So, building trust with your TG on the open web can be difficult and may take a longer time to establish a solid online presence for your brand.

Walled Gardens: Attraction of reach

In India, we have Google, Meta and Amazon as closed gardens.

Pros of Walled Gardens

Massive Reach: Google and Meta (formerly Facebook) offer a massive user base. This has been built over time and everybody is on them. For your brand to quickly expand your TG, this is a no-brainer.

Ease of use: Walled gardens offer the ability to be self-served platforms. You can create and manage campaigns without navigating multiple platforms.

Sharp Targeting: With the crazy amount of data, these platforms help in sharper ad targeting. Specific requirements like, demographics, interests, affinities can be utilized to build efficient campaigns.

Cons of Walled Gardens

Less Control: These platforms can give you plenty of convenience while managing and reaching and expanded TG. But you are at the mercy of their algorithms and inner workings that can impact visibility of your brand. Also, with constant updates, their changing algorithms can affect your approach.

Privacy Concerns: today, data privacy has become very important especially with the advent of GDPR and soon, the coming cookieless future. What this will mean is that you have very limited access to get user data, again, affecting your effectiveness.

Transparency: They provide low transparency into how your ads are displayed and their performance. This can make it very difficult to optimize your campaigns well.

Costs: Everybody wants to be on Google and Meta. Today, even a small business knows this and tries to be on the platforms. This increases competition for inventory. Imagine a Diwali scenario, everyone from BFSI, to Ecommerce, to FMCG, and then some will be heavily advertising. This will not allow an SMB to compete effectively and get it literally out of the game.

So, what should a brand or a business do in this kind of a reality? A marketeer has plenty on her/ his plate and wondering about what next to do shouldn’t be there as a problem. So, as an agency which has worked with national brands and managed plenty of media spends, our POV is that we need to have a combination of both open web and walled gardens on balance. We bring in the learnings across verticals and across business cycles. Here are some tips for finding the right balance:

Diversify Risk: The old adage of not putting all eggs in one basket needs to followed. So, diversify your marketing channels and reduce risk and reach a broader audience.

Data Protection: Most companies now build their first party data for their marketing purposes. If you are not as mature, start building that and ensure you prioritize data privacy and comply with regulations like GDPR to build trust with your audience.

Analytics Monitoring: Tools that can be provide insights across all your platforms for a unified view help in making decisions. Talk to us if you need help with this.

ABT (Always Be Testing): The digital playground has become actually a place to continuously refine processes by testing due to its sheer dynamism. So, the opportunity here is to keep testing out different strategies and adapt your way forward based on data.

Content will always be King: High-quality and engaging content that your TG syncs with are a must irrespective of any platform you choose. As a marketeer this is critical for your arsenal.

In the end, the open web and walled gardens have the ability to give various results for your needs. The idea is to use both of them for specific goals and budgets like how a Swiss Army Knife is used in survival. But it is critical to know what they offer and integrate them accordingly in your marketing efforts. This becomes difficult if you are lacking in resources – both people and time. If you are a brand in this kind of a situation, talk to us for a no obligation call. We will be glad to help you out here.

The post Navigating the Digital Landscape: Open Web vs. Walled Gardens appeared first on .

Brands face stiff competition while advertising during the festive period

While the Indian consumer’s wallet also opens up during this time and she is on the hunt for deals, cool new things to buy for friends and family, brands have an uphill task.

Plus, this year, it is a double dhamaaka as Cricket coincides with the festive season. So, every brand and their uncle, in E-commerce, FMCG, hospitality, fintech, health, auto and other consumer discretionary verticals, will compete for a pie out of the consumer’s wallet.

So, what should brands do in this situation? While spends dictate many things, other things to consider in your arsenal are these factors while maximising impact and reach:

1. Pay attention to Consumer Behaviour:

Understanding the changing consumer behaviour during the festive season is crucial. Brands should analyze trends, preferences, and purchase patterns to tailor their marketing strategies accordingly. By identifying what motivates consumers to make purchases, brands can align their messaging and promotions to effectively capture their attention. Eg., If you look at the screenshot below, the change in digital transaction volumes is visible in terms of consumer preferences. It becomes a no-brainer that your business needs to be addressing a seamless transaction experience on your D2C site, while also even removing COD for transactions.

2. Be culturally relevant:

Festivals in India are deeply rooted in culture and traditions. Brands should gear their marketing campaigns towards connecting with consumers on a cultural level. By incorporating elements that resonate with the festive spirit, brands can create a sense of familiarity and emotional connection with their target audience. This means creatives being emotional, funny etc. Look at your creatives with a clutter-breaking approach and create an opportunity to connect on all your channels with videos, banners that convey an idea singularly. While as a brand you might be outspoken, but an idea that cannot connect Diwali to your brand truth might not help you this festive season. E.g., most brands will be looking at the environmental and sustainability factors for Diwali, will your brand benefit from a different route?

3. Audit and reorganise your digital presence:

With the rise of digital platforms, brands must have a strong online presence during the festive season. Investing in digital marketing channels such as social media advertising, influencer collaborations, and search engine optimization can significantly enhance brand visibility and engagement. Brands should also ensure that their website and online platforms are optimized for mobile devices, as mobile usage tends to increase during this time. But the SOV game also needs a war chest what with Ecommerce platforms, BFSI etc., also participating, inventory becomes scarce. So, can you play the game a bit differently? Why not move away from the walled gardens and look at the Open internet and create an opportunity with deals that you can afford?

4. Create personalization:

Tailoring marketing campaigns to individual preferences can greatly enhance brand perception and loyalty. Brands should leverage data-driven insights to create personalized experiences for their customers. By understanding their target audience’s demographics, interests, and purchase history, brands can deliver targeted messaging and offers that resonate with consumers on a personal level. And if you are already at this digital maturity, have you explored programmatic leveraging your first party data? Can your agency get you cool inventory deals that you can participate in?

5. Take an omni-channel approach:

The festive season sees an influx of shoppers both online and offline. Brands should adopt an omni-channel approach to reach consumers through various touchpoints. This can include a combination of traditional advertising, social media marketing, influencer partnerships, experiential events, and collaborations with local retailers. By being present across multiple channels, brands can maximize their reach and engage with consumers wherever they are. Again, do you have the ability to marry online and offline campaign push and measure the metrics really well?  

The festive season this year is going to be big, especially with consumer sentiments being positive, leading to good sales for most brands. By understanding these key factors and aligning your strategies accordingly, you can make a difference to your brand by making the most out of their marketing budget and create a lasting impact on their target audience.

The post Top 5 things advertisers need to be ready for this festive season (2023) appeared first on .