EDITALK

Branding - The Right Route

The world of today is a world of Branding. It's about being relevant in the marketplace and ensuring that the brand is not only known, recognised and sought after, but also that it constantly stays on a growth trajectory. More and most importantly, it's all about building the brand and continuing to do so without a break or let-up of any kind that eventually stalls its growth path. This is most important and crucial, if the brand has to survive as well as grow.. In the present-day fast-paced and competitive business environment, the importance of branding cannot be overstated. It serves as the cornerstone of a company’s identity and strategy, shaping how it is perceived by consumers and stakeholders alike. Imagine your business as a person entering a crowded shop filled with potential customers. The importance of branding is the deliberate and strategic creation of your business’s identity, personality, and values. Effective branding sets you apart from competitors and establishes a meaningful connection with your audience, fostering loyalty and driving business growth. This is as important to our industry - the World of Timekeeping. By investing in defining and refining your brand identity, you can create a cohesive narrative that resonates with customers, fosters loyalty, and positions your business for long-term success amidst evolving consumer expectations and industry dynamics. At the same time, brand equity is the intangible asset that stems from consumer perceptions of a brand’s name, reputation, and value. It represents the value premium that a company generates from a product with a recognizable brand name compared to its generic equivalent. Building brand equity involves creating positive associations and perceptions that resonate with consumers and differentiate the brand from its competitors. By investing in developing a strong brand identity and building it, understanding the importance of branding, and implementing effective branding strategies, horological businesses can hence differentiate themselves in competitive markets, forge meaningful connections with consumers, and achieve sustainable success. Understanding the strategic imperatives and importance of branding empowers these businesses to navigate challenges, capitalize on opportunities, and maintain relevance in dynamic market environments. By consistently delivering on brand promises, nurturing customer relationships, and adapting to evolving market dynamics, horological companies large, medium and small, can all build enduring brands that resonate with consumers and stand the test of time. Today, India is home to the largest community of Instagram creators in the world. Facebook parent Meta introduced new artificial intelligence (AI) - enabled marketing tools that make it easier for brands to discover and partner with creators who can help increase their sales. Arun Srinivas, Director and Head of Ads Business for Meta in India says, " The new tools we're launching , harness the power of AI to make creator discovery even more seamless for brands, in turn boosting growth potential of both - the brands and creators. However, the influencer economy is undergoing a quiet reset. What was once a spend-heavy space dominated by marquee names is now leading brands to reassess and reallocate their budgets with a sharper eye on returns." As per a report by Quoruz, an influencer marketing intelligence platform, the total number of influencers has shot up from 9.62 lakhs in 2020 to 40 lakhs+ in 2024, reflecting a staggering 322% growth. A 2024 EY report on the state of influencer marketing states that, while follower count remains a key classification metric for creators, brands are now prioritising engagement rate and target audience quality as the top criteria when selecting content creators. But having said this, while the big and affluent watch brands can either do with or without influencers because they have tremendous resources and can use this to their distinct advantage through digital marketing as they are all, more into B2C marketing now, and no longer depend that much on Print Media, a comprehensive marketing plan nevertheless, still includes other traditional avenues of marketing such as B2B print advertising, even for these big players. But having said this, even though digital marketing is the most crucial facet of marketing today, the Mid Level, MSME and Smaller Players who have historically been used to advertising their brands and related stories in print media for many years such as trade or B2B magazines mainly to reach their B2B Channel Partners (distributors and dealers), still lean on this medium more than any other, because it is here, that they are not only known but also recognised by their target audience, and most of them rely on this form, as this is where their comfort level lies. Print advertising is a form of marketing that uses traditional printed media to reach a business’s target audience on a larger, yet targeted, scale. The most commonly used channels for B2B print advertising are: • Trade /B2B Magazines • Catalogues • Direct Mail • Inserts • Brochures •  Billboards and • Event programs. Understanding which forms of media your business’s target audience prefers, is therefore as vital, in enabling you to decide, whether or not, print media falls within your marketing plan. Take a moment to ask yourself these questions: • What form of content appeals to my target audience? • Are they more likely to read a trade magazine or view it online?• Do they prefer to browse a newspaper or scroll on their phone? If your audience is more drawn to traditional media, especially in their work life, then print media is definitely where you will mostly find them. B2B print advertisements can be beneficial for brand associations and recollections in the human mind. In an article written by Rob Errea, he details a neuromarketing study, which aimed to find the difference in human response to print vs. digital media. The study found that print advertisements, over digital, have the advantage of fostering a more emotional connect with the audience. They can establish a more natural contact with the audience, usually leading to the audience spending more time viewing the advertisement. Unlike online advertisements, print is tangible. This benefit of print advertising impacts the audience, as they can hold and interact with the ad and not just scroll past it. The shelf life too, is much greater than other mediums, and they can be stored, at times for an indefinite length of time, thus enabling quick and easy recall. Consumers can thus retain the ad and reference it later, as and when required. They can also view it again and again, over long periods of time. If your business is one of those, which depends on business-to-business (B2B) transactions or sales to channel partners, you have perhaps quite often struggled to pick the most suitable platforms for advertising, in order to communicate with your target audience. This is because, it works its way to accomplish consumers through both conventional and contemporary media, such as print media, outdoor advertising, and radio, as well as social media and mobile. B2B marketing, however, is an entirely different ball game. And over time, we’ve all learnt, that the most effective method, to place a product proposal before an appropriate audience, is none other than through Trade Magazines or B2B magazines. The significant and salient selling point of these magazines,  is that they target very specific and essential audiences. The readership of a B2B magazine too, is not only very devoted and faithful, but data from several sources indicates, that trade publications, still and do have, a lasting impact on consumer choices. Additionally, readers and subscribers get to have a more favourable opinion of businesses that advertise in trade magazines, and are therefore, more prone to refer their friends and family to a particular company's products and services. With the rise of internet - and its amazing tools- many still believe, that print media has met its end and that it's lost its effect as a form of B2B marketing. No, definitely not. It's not a Spent-Force any. It's far from true, because contrary to such beliefs, both print and digital media have as a matter of fact, evolved. So, print media hasn't lost its impact despite the slight decline in the popularity of newspapers, print magazines and the like. Both print and digital media need to be embraced by B2B markets, to best grow their businesses - and these two mediums can often be used in tandem, to support and enhance each other. Today, it's also a fact that renowned B2B publications have re-imagined themselves as multi-platform brands that provide their readers and advertisers with a wide spectrum of content and services. Some even organize online meetings, support and organise trade fairs and accumulate online amounts of data and information related to their industry, in addition to the currently common websites, social media community engagement and digital versions. And so, be they Large, Mid-Size or even Small Horological companies, it's time for each and all of them, to not just stay relevant in the marketplace through B2B marketing mediums, but to also constantly continue to build and grow their brands. It's definitely the need-of- the-day, if they are to indeed survive the onslaught of today's un-stoppable competition by selecting the Right Route!

Hemal M. Kharod