“Jo Dikhta hai vo Bikta hai”, as the Hindi phrase goes. True to the world of marketing and illustrating the significance of ‘being seen’. Marketers strive to be as close to their customers as possible in order to achieve this. They make an effort to savour every time spent with customers. Moment marketing has been increasingly popular among many brands in recent years. As a result, brands are now focused on keeping up with the newest trends, news, events, and incidents. These current developments may provide possibilities for brands to gently remind their customer base of their existence. Moment marketing is not a new concept, but it is becoming increasingly popular among marketers. Brands are transitioning from direct advertising with a call-to-action to conversation marketing, in which they join the general public’s conversation. As a result, instead of a push effect, it will generate a pull effect. Brands are primarily employing digital, electronic, and social media platforms to reach customers instantaneously in this digital era and to keep up with the current trends.
Competition isn’t only about getting noticed in the marketplace or landing a prominent shelf space in a store; it also about getting to the top of your customers’ minds. As a profit-making entity, business has successfully utilized the different prospective opportunities that exist in various current events. The question now is why do brands require moment marketing? The core psychology behind is that current trends or occurrences may cause your customers to become distracted from your brand. The fear of missing out (FOMO) keeps brands on their toes, constantly looking for new ways to connect with their customers.
AMUL and Fevicol have a long history of working in this murky area of marketing. However, new participants such as Netflix and the Mumbai Police Department continue to add a brighter feather to the moment marketing cap. ITC’s Savlon (germ-free soap), Lifebouy (handwash), ITC’s Nimyle (Germ-free floor cleaning), Dabur and Patanjali (Immunity booster products), and others are among the brands reporting increased sales as a result of the pandemic. Following the epidemic, social marketing efforts emphasized on the government of India’s vaccination drive awareness campaign, as well as numerous brands including ITC, Lifebuoy, Zomato, and others encouraging people to use protective masks in a right manner. Some firms were generous in their efforts to raise pandemic awareness and show their love and care for their customers by wishing them a healthy and virus-free life. Some brands have even discovered ways to encourage those who get vaccinated. Dominos (be vaccinated and earn Rs. 400 off), McDonalds (India’s 20% discount), Indigo Airlines (up to 10% discount), Godrej Appliance (an extra 6 months guarantee), and a few more are among those who reward their customers once they have been properly vaccinated. On COVID-19, we now need to comprehend the essential distinction between two types of moment marketing: caring and opportunistic. The fundamental difference is the ‘objective’, and that is how customers perceive it. Consumers may learn to regard the brand in the example above for its caring attitude or for taking responsibility for raising vaccine awareness, on the one hand. Consumers, on the other side, may begin to criticise the brands in order to capitalise on the epidemic. Aside from the fact that predicting how consumers will react to communication is incredibly tough – adding another layer of complexity. The marketer should choose the type of mask that is displayed to customers with consideration. It will affect brand equity sentiments in the long run.
In another instance, brands were seen coming out on numerous social, digital, and electronic platforms to praise athletes for their tremendous contribution to the renowned field of sports. As a token of appreciation, Mahindra presented the esteemed athletes with a Mahindra SUV. There are also brands like ThumpsUp and Tanishq in the fray. As a result, we can conclude that brands like Mahindra, Thumsup, and Tanishq are solely focused on discovering and cherishing moments with consumers rather than raising revenue.
“Sustainability should always take precedence above short-term financial rewards.” As a result, increasing visibility or remaining at the top of the consumer’s mind is always a good idea, followed by recognition of the brand during purchase decisions. The importance of content in moment marketing cannot be overstated. It is beneficial if the content is authentic and meaningful, allowing you to connect with your customers and thus being well-received. Content that is imposed on consumers with a direct call to action for purchase, on the other hand, must contend with consumer dissatisfaction. One thing to keep in mind as you work to build visibility by focusing on particular occasions is that too much of anything can backfire. Too much visibility may be misconstrued as a desperate attempt to promote products and services. This desperation instils a sense of irritation in your customer base, driving them away.
Last but not least, I’d like to mention my personal favourite. Cadbury Dairy Milk has remade an old TV commercial, bringing back fond memories. It simply flipped the ad and, without saying anything, nailed it by praising the importance of female athletes in Indian sports as the other gender celebrates the occasion with equal zeal. Cadbury makes us all celebrate the moment with – kuch meetha ho jaaye! – without saying anything or making a call to action.
Dr. Anuradha Yadav
Assistant Professor
DSCE-MBA
