Content Marketing Summit Asia 2014: It all begins with a good idea

Some of the greatest minds both from the agency and brand sides gathered at the two-day event in New Delhi to discuss the nuances and future of content marketing in India.

Even the biggest brands with deepest of pockets cannot be present everywhere, every time and to everyone. However, interaction with the audiences remains a constant necessity for all brands, both for positioning the brand and creating recall. The two-day Content Marketing Summit Asia 2014 held in New Delhi focussed on the importance of creation of a clear content strategy for each brand, and the role of content marketing. Some key points discussed during the event were the importance of content marketing, the dos and don'ts of engaging content and tapping the youth through relevant content.

Good content creation begins with a good idea and content marketing provides direct interaction with the consumer, one to one. Effective content thus provides an ideal engagement tool for brands.

Speaking about Bollywood, which generates huge content of different genres every year, Ashish Patil, VP, business and creative, Yash Raj Films, said that the Ten Commandments to get the audience plugged in involve emotional buy in, distinctive idea, consistence, and word of mouth over heavy promotions. With a consistent idea, one can expand in different segments.

The phenomenon of brand integration in films is fast catching up in Bollywood. A large number of brands are now doing it, sometimes subtly and at other times extremely loudly. One example of loud brand integration was what Nokia Lumia did in Chennai Express, where actor Shahrukh Khan went to the extent of telling each and every feature of the phone along with its price.

Keertan Adyanthaya, MD, Fox International Channels, India spoke on brand integration in content and spoke for original, simple, non-controversial content that surrounds the audience and can be expanded. Do not tell, instead show, he said, and make it brief.

Ankur Warikoo, regional head, APAC, emerging countries, Groupon, spoke about an experiential marketing activity carried out by the brand. Groupon booked nearly 5,000 tickets for the movie, Dabbang 2, across several cities for a Saturday evening. It then branded the entire theatre and sold the tickets at half the price.

He said that India is no longer an industrial economy but more of a connection economy, where you have to have a connection - an ongoing dialogue and interaction. A brand should follow a strategy that integrates several factors into the content it creates, he said. This includes clarity on who it targets; how to connect; unique experience; and capitalising on the content.

At one time, paid media worked well for brands and some even tried to leverage it to their benefit. However, it also backfired for several others. Speaking about the experience of the auto industry, Avik Chattopadhyay, head, marketing, Volkswagen, said that cars have virtually been the same for a very long time - with four wheels. But the consumer has changed and so has everything around him, especially the way he thinks and communicates. Today there is no debate that paid media is gone. "If we do our basic things right, we will not need paid media at all," he added. There will be reviews, tweets, shares, and all the content that brands may not like, but have to listen to as they come from the consumer.

People trust a brand, they believe in its credibility, he emphasised, and every brand has a higher purpose to it. Citing the example of Maruti and India's growth story, he said these brands have their own life and even when they are gone, people remember them.

The event included an awards ceremony on Day One of the summit, where awards were given away in several categories. The Best Brand went to Oreo, while Ford Ecosport's Urban Discovery won the Best Campaign of the Year. Tara Sharma of Tara Sharma Show won the Best Personality, and Maruti Ertiga won the Best Innovation of the Year award.

Content Marketing Summit (CMS) Asia is a premier event that sees some of the greatest minds, savvy brands, renowned publishers, innovative technology enablers and leading practitioners from across the world coming together to explore the exciting world of content marketing. Backed by ACMA (Asia Content Marketing Association), CMS Asia endeavours to bring leading practitioners from across the world together to explore the world of content marketing. The event is a property of Kontent Café, which is a part of the Sirez Group.

This was the first edition of the Content Marketing Summit Asia 2014, which was a joint initiative between the Kontent Cafe and afaqs!.

The other partners for the event were Outbrain, Zirca, Taboola, Yahoo!, Pure Media Imagination, and NDTV Profit.