Mumbai : Omnicom Media Group India in collaboration with MICA (formerly Mudra Institute of Communications), Ahmedabad, has released a report titled ‘What’s Next in 2016 – Top 10 Digital Trends in India’. The report prepared by Omnicom Media Group India’s Innovation team covers the top 10 trends for India in 2016, the implications for brands as well as predictions from platform providers like Google and Outbrain.
The top 10 trends revealed in the report are:
- India gets Mobile-ized
- Commerce Everywhere
- Story Rises Above the Medium
- Moment Marketing breaks Silos
- Rise of OTT Content
- Social Moves into Walled Ecosystems
- Internet scales up from Urban to Rural
- Vernacular Content Rises
- Internet of Me
- Form vs Function in Wearables
The study says that each mobile-enabled moment is a critical opportunity for brands to shape the decisions and preferences of your consumers. The unique ecosystem of India, with its young population, is operating in such a way right now that mobile first will be the way to go. For some brands, it even makes sense to be mobile only.
Mobile payment start-ups like PayTM and Mobikwik have become popular in a short period of time. They are partnering with brands to lure customers with discounts and cashback offers and even create branded wallet stores. ‘Commerce everywhere’ will mean better micro-segmentation and personalization as brands can better gauge the desires of each consumer by analyzing their online behaviour.
The report further says that brand conversations are less likely to be driven by a piece of advertising. Instead, brands need to show consumers authenticity and value to inspire peer-to-peer conversations held within these chat apps and encourage community marketing. This could result in increased chances of closing a sale.
Commenting on the report, Avinash Jhangiani, MD – Digital & Mobility, Omnicom Media Group India, said, “2015 saw consumers getting served up and spoilt by ecommerce start-ups with same-day delivery, 24/7 customer service and 365 days of mouth-watering discounts. This now leads to higher expectations in 2016 and requires brands to reimagine marketing for the new Indian consumer. While change is the DNA for start-ups, it is hard for well-established brands. To counter well-funded start-ups, established companies are being forced to let go of mass marketing channels and adopt digital for higher returns on investments. The trends report provides the necessary direction for brands across industries to invest in digital.”
Guy Hearn, Chief Innovation Officer, Omnicom Media Group Asia Pacific, said, “There are now so many touch-points that channel-centric planning makes diminishingly little sense. Instead, we need to better understand both the consumer journey and the consumer experience – and plan with a focus on consumer experience. The marketing department now needs to break down silos to create a focus on better customer experience and product innovation. We do hope that the report inspires the industry for the year ahead.”
