1. 2013 TRENDS : LESSONS FOR MARKETERS
AUTHOR: ANISHA MOTWANI

2. LEGACY POLITICS PROVIDED WAY TO FRESH BLOOD
This could very well find place among the best marketing case studies for
2013. AAP mobilized the disillusioned Indian voters specially the middle-
class and significantly first-time youth voters. Grass-root politics took a
new definition. But reactionary politics is one thing and consistently
developing proactive long term sustainable strategies is another. How this
succeeds as it evolves in the next few quarters may go a long way in
redefining politics in India.
AAM AADMI PARTY

3. ARRIVAL OF 'PURPOSE' BASED MARKETING
The trend on ‘purpose’ over pure
ingredient based campaigns that
started as a trickle with ‘Daag
Achche hain’ found itself
reflecting in reflected in a slew of
brands that have taken up issues
like progressive parenting
(Bournvita), widow remarriage
(Tanishq), barriers between India
and Pakistan (Google). More and
more brands have been able to
make the bold departure from the
conventional.

4. CONSUMERS BECAME DEEPLY ENGROSSED WITH THE
OVERALL NEGATIVE ECONOMIC SENTIMENT
The current state of the
economy - high inflation,
rising fuel prices and interest
rates had their impact on the
end consumer. Never before
was the lay consumer
following GDP & Inflation
rates so closely. The
conventional symbol of India’s
appetite for consumption –
Car sales, took a hit for the
first time in 11 years

5. DIGITAL GARNERED A LARGER PIECE OF PIE
More and more marketers increased
their digital spends and actively
experimented, and rightfully so, with
digital marketing. From creating
content, to launching communication
on digital first, from contests on social
media to using the medium to track
and target prospects better
....marketers preoccupied themselves
more with this medium than ever
before. The trend is only going to
strengthen next year with more
digital specialists becoming a
permanent part of the marketing
team.

6. ‘MOBILE’ GOT A SHOT IN THE ARM.
Growing four times faster than the global
average, India overtook Japan as the 3rd
largest smartphone market in the world.
The ‘Google-Airtel’ free zone, a service
that allows you to access Google mobile
services on the go at absolutely no data
costs is an early indicator of marketers
picking on this. The consumer is showing
a mirror. It’s now for marketers to
interpret this effectively and design
relevant & effective solutions & apps for
their categories.

7. MEN EMERGED AS SIGNIFICANT SHOPPER BASE.
Gone are the days when we could
confidently say that men hate shopping.
They are actively buying and
consuming a whole lot of brands /
products - from deos to fairness face
washes, from clothes to shoes, from
gadgets to lending a helping hand in
monthly grocery/household purchases,
Marketers would be better placed to
learn their unique shopping patterns,
subliminal selection techniques, and
their aspirations to extract more value
from this consumer base, going forward.

8. UNCONTROLLABLE & EMPOWERED CONSUMERS
Time and again, a lesson that marketers
realised was that today you can't control
your consumer no matter how powerful your
message may be. Social media emerged as a
strong medium to raise voice, show dissent,
complain about brands and gather
momentum with fellow friends and friends of
friends, to publicly mock brands that made
mistakes/did wrong. It is a clear lesson for
brands to think twice before launching an
initiative and to handle tactfully and
'quickly' any faux pas they make. While
many a brand would have experienced this –
a societal manifestation of this in the Indian
context was the common citizen’s furore on
the Nirbhaya episode that shook the
conscience of the whole nation in 2013.

9. FEWER INNOVATIONS IN PRODUCTS
2013 saw most innovation and action take place in the field of service
delivery and not in new disruptive products. The world did not get to see
much that could deserve status of the next Smartfphone, the next iPad or
the iPhone. More & more work happened in incremental innovation in new
customer interaction channels, a distribution system or a technological
concept or a combination of all of these. The incremental innovation by
Flipkart and possibly some other e-tailers of sending step by step shipment
status updates to customers after payment goes a long way in assuaging any
apprehensions they would have on merchandise delivery very relevant
keeping in mind the dis-intermediated nature of their purchase.