Businesses often classify crises as periods when they must focus on risk and damage control. For a resilient company, however, crises can in turn offer opportunities for varying growth and other benefits. Some researches prove that resilience or the capacity to absorb stress, recover critical functionality, and thrive in altered circumstances has significant strategic value as crises increase the gap between the top and bottom performers.
Shareholder returns typically move in a sequence during normal periods but divide considerably during crises, and the Covid-19 pandemic was no exception. Now, while the world is recovering from Covid, two important questions arise: Who are the emerging top performers following the Covid shock? And what lessons can be learned from their resistance to help companies prepare for the next possible crisis?
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE DURING THE CRISIS
Resilient companies enjoy better outcomes than their competitors with the help of a combination of three components of performance:
• Lower shock impact: Resilient companies soften the direct impact of the shock due to their preemptive advantage (by recognizing threats and preparing for them in advance) and their cushioning advantage (alleviating or absorbing the immediate negative effects of the shock).
• Faster recovery speed: A resilient company will recover faster than its competitors due to their anticipation advantage (preparedness to capitalize on disruption during a crisis) and their adaptation advantage (quickly pointing out the actions needed to restore operations and executing them promptly).
• Greater recovery extent: Resilient companies thrive in the new circumstances after a crisis, due to their adaptation advantage (adapting to the new normal post-shock) and their shaping advantage (structuring the dynamics of the industry in an environment after the shock giving them an upper hand).
Without a doubt, we can say that the Indian advertising ecosystem post-recovery, is heralding a new era. With the pandemic having sped up the digital revolution, expectations across every possible grouping, be it, consumers, brands, agencies, or media owners. They are at an all-time high.
As we continue to find our way through a rapidly evolving ecosystem, brands and marketers will have to build their strategies around three key elements: people, platforms, and partners. Brands that are aware of what their consumers expect of them and maximize the prospects of each of their channels by creating personalized and immersive experiences will thrive in 2022.
Understanding the Indian Hyper-connected User Dominion
- The undeniable internet boom: India continues to be the largest global market, second to China by combining its App Store, and Google Play Store installs, and the average hours spent per device every day grew by 37% between 2019 and Q3 of 2021. According to the Ericsson Mobility Report 2021, India’s average data consumption per smartphone was the second-highest in the world and 60% higher than the global average.
- The urban vs. rural digital adoption: Digital adoption in India continues to keep rising through the non-urban sectors. Its users account for a 13% growth in internet users in 2021 and urban users record only a 4% growth.
- The rise of the woman gamer: As of 2021, the mobile games market is on track to surpass $120 billion in spending, growing 20% over the $100 billion in 2020. Today women constitute over 43% of smartphone gamers, with 49% of them having begun playing mobile games during the pandemic.
- The new era of live commerce: With support from the changing consumer preferences, content consumption patterns, and technological developments, India’s live commerce market is expected to reach $4-5 billion by 2025. Live commerce gets rid of the need for a physical shopping experience by allowing real-time, two-way interactions for mobile-first consumers in India.
The Top Trends for Marketers to Rise in 2022
- The Zeroth’ P’ – Purpose: The pandemic has given rise to a new ‘P’ that has repeatedly proven to be the key for brands to succeed in 2021- Purpose. Be it Kingfisher encouraging the public to stay home safe during the peak of the pandemic, or L’Oréal that inspired and educated citizens to #StandUp against street harassment. When brands took on goal-driven positions, they have witnessed a rise in the real connections with their consumers.
- Personalized Mobile Video: In the last few years, there has been an unexpected growth in video consumption across the globe. Brands that have made use of these shifts and invested in building customized mobile-first campaigns have gained an advantage, with mobile video ads witnessing a 112% higher Click-through Rate (CTR) in comparison to other ad formats.
- The Great Indian M-Commerce Boom: India is expected to be the fastest-growing e-commerce market in the world in the year 2022, with retail e-commerce sales anticipated to grow by 25%. With the rapid rise in smartphone usage and increasing mobile literacy, there is no doubt that India country will soon emerge as the digital shopping powerhouse in the world.
In 2022, resilient or adaptable brands will emphasize building their mobile marketing maturity by leveraging video, gaming advertising, programmatic buying, data-driven personalization, and search advertising on mobile, to not just survive but thrive in the next normal.