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What I learnt at the CII Brand Summit Bangalore

What I learnt at the CII Brand Summit Bangalore

And What Surprised Me

The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) hosted the 6th Edition of CII Brand Summit at Bangalore last week. Here are a few thoughts I gathered from meeting many illustrious marketers, some representing very established brands and others which were emerging in the journeys :
 

  • Digital Marketing is Marketing : Marketers and Brands have moved on from the era when they talk about digital channels and methods like they are new animals in the zoon. The channels and methods are mainstream- measurements, process, outcomes, expectations are all well understood by all stakeholders
  • Customer Centricity is not cliché : Unanimously all successful brands acknowledged that keeping the customer at the heart of the insights is still the best way of developing and sustaining a brand. It is by applying analytics and judgment, brands create the next phase of growth. The use of marketing analytics is very mainstream in marketing processes, in fact ubiquitous
  • Tensions to be managed : There are tensions and contradictions that brands need to manage. But the biggest tension seems to be between being inclusive and exclusive
  • Confessions are good : Recognizing and communicating that your brand is good and adds a lot of value to customers is fine. But you cannot claim that it can solve world hunger. Amazon has overcome one of the softer objections to the ecommerce gifting category that it precludes human interactions and gifting, largely an emotional engagement by using this commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo6BkRgvYF8 )
  • Branding is giving a purpose : Almost unanimously brands are seeking to assume and give a purpose which takes them beyond transactions and even relationships. Inclusion, sustainability, equality and education are becoming far more mainstream than ever before. There were some force fits, but overall the attempt is clear and persistent.

 
However, what surprised me were a few thoughts by some speakers :
 

  • Incestuous existence : Some, and not all, live in deep silos. They have a bright idea (many times magnificent ones) but with virtually no connection to the business purpose of brands that they are speaking to. It was definitely a missed opportunity for many of these thinkers to broad-based their concepts over wider set of industries and not be taken in by their initial and limited success
  • B2B branding is absent : While the market has clearly fading the demarcations between B2B and B2C branding, marketers are not. There was a missed opportunity to atleast suggest a bridge between B2C brands that they worked with and the B2B world of branding

 
Overall, a substantive event and as always loved being amongst brands!

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