If you want to reach your customers, a digital marketing presence is not a luxury. It’s essential. In the digital age, the customer has evolved. 4ps of marketing (Product, Place, Price & Promotion) in the digital age has been converted to CODE (Co-creation, Omni-channel, Dynamic Pricing & Engagement) called as marketing mix of the digital age.

Are you looking for Digital Transformation? The marketing mix in the digital age CODE will strengthen, accelerate and scale up your business model. For PromiAD users we have added are some interesting examples for the marketing mix as well.

Product – Co-creation

So what is Co-creation? Co-creation is a collaborative innovation where a business allows stakeholders (usually customers) to share input in product or service design.

In the Digital Age, all companies worry about their customer experiences with products and services. To build more trusting relationships companies have strived for years to involve all stakeholders to solve problems.

Marketing in the digital age is two-way communication, therefore, co-creation is more informative than traditional market research and yields deeper market insights.

Co-creation examples:

Lays – How a great idea of PepsiCo’s Lays brand traveled around the world. Above all, Do Us A Flavour (DUAF) is an idea that has engaged 38 million people in 25 countries around the world, each creating and submitting their own unique flavor.

These are some other examples of co-creation, what Starbucks does in its highly touted MyStarbucksIdea.com website or Dell on its equally acclaimed IdeaStorm.com site.

Place – Omni-channel

Omni-channel is a multi-channel sales approach that provides the customers an integrated shopping experience. Omnichannel marketing — marketing that seeks to provide a seamless buyer experience, regardless of channel or device.

It’s about making customers’ life as easy as possible with omnichannel. The wholesome benefit of omnichannel is delivering a seamless buyer journey.

Omni-channel example:

OASIS – UK Fashion Retailer fusing their e-commerce site, mobile app, and brick-and-mortar stores into a simple shopping experience.

Price – Dynamic Pricing

The practice of pricing items at a level determined by a particular customer’s perceived ability to pay. The digital economy has changed the landscape of pricing as well. Businesses set flexible prices for products or services based on current market demands.

Dynamic Pricing example:

For example, me and my friend sitting at the same place Book Uber or Careem, the fair charges for both will be different for the same location.

Promotion – Engagement

In the digital age, the core of promotion is engagement unless you don’t engage through advertisement you lost in the clutter. It’s about creating an experience online for users that gets them engaged with you.

Engagement example:

For example, Lays SAY IT WITH A SMILE campaign gamified the engagement with users.

In conclusion, Do you know what is the one thing that hasn’t changed in hundreds of years in marketing? The ONE THING that hasn’t changed in hundreds of years, and it will NEVER CHANGE, that the brands will always put money wherever the audience is and the Audience is Online. Make sure you stay up-to-date with all the latest marketing-related news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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The importance of ‘brand identity’

A company has a distinct personality, also known as the ‘brand identity’. This is the premise that bridges the gap between the product and the customer. Brand identity could be anything. Either a tagline, service, symbol or a logo.  However, brand identity and brand image are two different words. Brand identity is usually related to the positive aspects of a business. The brand image could be categorized as both positive and negative.

As advertising gurus’ quote: “brand identity is the personality of a business’. For instance top clothing brands for men in Pakistan, the word fashion and trend are usually synonymous with the brand ‘outfitters’. The tagline ‘Just do it’ immediately reminds you of ‘Nike’. Looking for world-class denim jeans to wear? Our minds immediately go to ‘Levi’. For formal-quality wear, the brands we usually think about are Uniworth, Royal Tag or Cambridge. These are just a few of the examples provided. The distinct word that can immediately connect you to the brand is known as the ‘brand identity’. 

The brand-identity crisis

The internet has brought a dynamic change in how businesses work. Companies now pursue social media as their branding strategy. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have brought a digital change. Companies now pursue digital campaigns as a means to communicate with customers. The ‘ease’ brought in social media has somehow affected how we relate to a brand. The lines have blurred. Companies now seek a different strategy.

Some consider reactive marketing strategy as a way to reach customers. Others feel the need to do something different that can create a buzz on social media. Somehow in the race to engage customers, companies have now created a ‘blurry identity’. Every company now ensues ‘two identities on social media’. Which indicates a lack of integrity and purpose. For instance, Hardees Pakistan is known for its tasty burgers but appalled for their branding strategy. Their campaign usually includes crude humor and objectification. 

What does the future hold?

Digital content is a new way of advertising. This could be the hard truth. Things have changed. Companies now seek subscribers, comments, followers, and views as a means to measure the success of their branding strategy. The premise itself has a lot of loopholes. A post with quality content may not generate the same buzz as a controversial post. In this case, will the low engagement be considered as a failed campaign? 

The brand-identity crisis is real. Companies now need to improvise exactly what they believe in. And how they want to connect with customers. Before it’s too late.

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Also Read: Social Media in Pakistan is evolving – 2024 Trends

So why the sudden change? Before the widespread use of social media platforms, many businesses sought ‘reach’ as their strategy to maximize returns. However, with the technological boom and ever-changing dynamics businesses now believe in ‘out of the box’ solutions when it comes to branding strategy. This will not only help achieve their objectives but also promote awareness, improve potential reach and penetrate new markets.

For instance, DECIEM a Toronto based beauty company has built its brand solely on social media platforms majorly Facebook Page and word of mouth. The company’s tagline is “An abnormal beauty company’ which indicates their principle to not follow the norms of the beauty industry but to do something completely different. Which is to produce products targeting specific skin issues with minimal ingredients and simple packaging.

The result:

The company has customers raving about their products all over the world and that too with little to no advertising budget.  Their branding strategy isn’t limited to defying beauty standards. They also ensure highly attentive customer care providers that help cater to skincare regimes with explanations. 

Similarly, Realme a Chinese mobile company is taking over the Asian smartphone industry especially in Pakistan and India through advertising and brand building via social media mainly Facebook and Instagram. The company has now sought a foothold in the market and has become an indirect competitor to major companies including Samsung. What Realme actually did is target a particular segment of the market.

The company’s branding on social media strategy includes producing smartphones with quality specifications sold at economical or competitive marketing. Furthermore, they bring out new phone models within two to three months. How is this possible? The thing is Realme targets consumers that play PUBG Mobile, a shooter game that has taken over the world. 

However, ‘content’ matters. Social Media provides you a vast market or groups to target but if your content quality isn’t able to get the message across, then all your efforts are in vain. In order to devise a branding strategy, customer engagement, and loyalty matters. Facebook pages have a specific review section for potential customers to seek before decision making. There is an instant messaging option for customers to ask their queries. This is a personalized experience directly giving customers a personal touch and improving satisfaction. Also, many major companies seek social media as a way to maximize their reach and create awareness.

Goal:

The ultimate goal is to seek customer loyalty and turn your reach into ‘conversions’ (a customer buying your product). For more personal touch companies seek Instagram a mobile application that lets you convey your message via photos and videos. Visual representation helps create a stronger image in a customer’s mind. Also, a great opportunity to pursue subliminal marketing. 

With so many benefits and opportunities presented by social media, there are challenges. Brand Building ensures a wholesome effort including how well you conduct a social media audit to derive marketing insights that will help create a devised strategy. 

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