It has been 100+ days since India went under lockdown. The country is slowly opening up now. The recent outbreak of the COVID – 19 has caused a tectonic shift in most people’s lives.
WFH is the new norm now, many companies are now willing to extend this facility even after the lockdown is lifted. In our endeavor of bringing our readers views from a wide variety of stakeholders in the industry Medianews4u spoke to Siddharth Vanvani, Founder & CEO, Digidarts, an Innovation-Driven Performance Marketing Agency which excels in driving Performance & Content Marketing in unparalleled ways.
DigiDarts founded in 2014, is an Innovation-Driven Performance Marketing Agency, that excels in driving Performance & Content Marketing in unparalleled ways. Backed by nuanced expertise in Indian consumer behavior, their creative & data-driven Darts have hit the bullseye for 5+ years consistently. The agency’s plethora of offerings includes digital growth hacking via Search, Social, and Affiliate (DSPs & Mobile Apps) channels, both via organic and paid media. During the lockdown, the company launched “No-Cost ASO Initiative for 15 startups as a helping hand amidst COVID-19 pandemic.
As WFH is the new culture which will be adopted by many companies, how has DIGIDARTS positioned itself?
The safety and well-being of each and every member of the Darts family is a top priority for us. In lieu of the same, we are working from home until at least July. We shall be extending the same if situations demand it.
Optimum use of the lockdown period
This lockdown has been a challenging time for all of us, especially in mental and emotional terms.
Keeping this in mind, brands are altering their communication with the intention of extending an olive branch to those who are going through these tough times. It is the need of the hour for brands to offer warmth and support to those who need it the most.
What kind of communication tools has DIGIDARTS launched and can you take us through ‘No-Cost ASO Initiative’?
At Digidarts, we are strong proponents of the value of empathy. We believe that honest communication is the need of the hour, and that we should try and extend a helping hand to startups and small businesses during these tough times.
In order to make sure of that, we have initiated:
- A weekly newsletter with the latest happenings and trends in the ‘new normal’ digital world, so as to evoke hope and inspiration.
- Daily Social Media content relatable to the current times, along with the challenges of navigating professional and personal lives.
- Apart from this, our ‘No-Cost ASO Initiative’ was a goodwill program we had initiated during the early stages of the lockdown due to COVID-19. In this program, we handpicked 15 ‘Made in India’ Apps, & delivered ASO-enhanced Play Store listings without any charges whatsoever.
Coming back to work
Times have changed drastically over the past few months, and so should brand strategy for businesses.
Some things we found were extremely pivotal for the post-lockdown business world strategy are:
- No matter what the service or product, every brand should communicate what steps they are taking to ensure consumer safety or think about how they are going to communicate to people to stay safe.
- The tone of content brands produce has to be even more relatable and empathy-driven than ever before.
Using the plight of people to market yourself is a big no-no, as this only alienates audiences. Authenticity always wins. - Brand recall is actually more beneficial in this environment because it might playout for the better in the long run.
- Brands should be urged not to look at getting revenue back immediately but should instead, focus on acquiring old consumers back along with new ones.
- Offering a friendly discount or free services every once in a while can help brands in the long run.
Keep your expectations low. The economy will need time to stabilize.
Communication Strategy post lockdown for clients and self
The events that have transpired over the past few months have never been witnessed before in the recent past.
Hence, it is vital that we understand that people are actually having a tougher time dealing with the scenario and coming up with ways to overcome the same.
Your strategy as a brand or as a professional should be to connect with people and nothing else – while business is essential, humanity transcends all else as of this moment.
Your communication should be friendly and steered toward guaranteeing the safety of your audience. Also, as we keep iterating, all communications should be genuine and brim with empathy.
Positivity during the crisis
The Darts family believes in working together while making the journey fun and cathartic. Hence, our video calls are always fun-filled!Apart from this, we jam virtually, attend art therapy classes together, sing old Bollywood classics out loud, and so much more.
We have team meetings every week with no agenda but just to catch up. In addition to the team meetings, we have a Virtual Game Night every Thursday where our Human Resources Team plans a fun online game to keep everyone engaged.
Learning and a message to the young millennials.
Learning
- The landscape of the business world is slowly turning into an extremely ruthless and volatile market, hence you need to get organized, smart and efficient.
- Time management and resource allocation will be key as the world goes into an overload of high competition and information exchange.
- Mediocrity is the new evil.
- Nothing is permanent in this world.
- Nobody has absolute job security.
Message
- That being said, connect more with the world around you as we have come to realize the delicate nature of the existence of our loved ones and things we adore in the world.
Express your true self without any hesitations!
