Personal link with consumer is must - Prateek N Kumar

Prateek N Kumar tells SHALINI SAKSENA that consumers demand relevant information today. To tackle this, brand managers are using below the line advertising technique for more personalized messaging.

 "Why are brand managers increasing their marketing spends on Below the Line (BTL) technique?

More channels and more newspaper reaching out to diverse customer base, makes it harder for brand managers to reach a truly mass audience. Simply stated, above the line (ATL) marketing that utilizes generic messages to build awareness is no longer the best way to influence customer behavior. BTL marketing allows the managers to customize their messaging in a more personalized manner to the audience that a brand is targeting and are highly measurable, giving marketers valuable insights into return on investment of each campaign. These insights in turn help in more robust campaign for next crucial offer point.

"How has BTL changed?

The last five years has been exciting. Technology, Internet, social/digital media and smart devises have connected people like never before on the other hand it has provided the marketer with actionable insights. Any BTL (advertising) campaign has been all about speed-to-market with the right message at the right time through the right channel while maintaining brand consistency and being non-intrusive.

"How is this impacting the market and hiring trends?

As this segment is getting consolidated and organized, the line between traditional ATL and BTL has started blurring; marketers have started looking for a more robust marketing mix, one which will interact with consumers in unbelievable ways at various touch points. On the hiring front agencies are looking for freshness of ideas more than the Ivy league degrees.

"Why is BTL a better return on marketing investment?

The shift from ATL to BTL spending is in part the result of changing consumer attitudes. At the same time, technology allows marketers to better target consumers. BTL initiatives are more successful because they stress targeted and customer- centric communications and creates measurable results and return on investment metrics, which are important to marketers under growing pressure to prove the value of their campaigns. 

"Are there specific sectors which will benefit from BTL?

An increasing number of brands have begun to engage masses at oneon- one conversation and are relying on BTL medium for effective marketing. While all sectors, industries and verticals stand to benefit from BTL the current trend of spent on BTL varies depending on the industry, the product life cycle and the brand itself. Sectors like IT, consumer durables, auto, education, healthcare services retail, food & beverages and even mass entertainment like TV shows and movies are using BTL.

"What is the importance of an emotional connecting with customers?

Sophisticated consumers with access to information available on their smart devices, demand relevant messaging. Brands that interact with consumers at various touch points and create connections in their personal world tend to gain as they create experiences that are personally unique but relevant to the consumer; it is memorable for them and invokes emotion. This emotional connect changes a target group consumer to an influence.