Industry experts navigate the complex challenge of finding the right metrics that provide the best ROI without compromising creative choices.
Developing a digital strategy has become a crucial process today, helping companies harness the power of digital technologies to achieve their goals and remain competitive in the so-called digital age.
The first BW Merit Awards 2024 will be Marketing leaders shared their insights on the journey of transforming campaigns from traditional media to digital and how important it is to find the right balance between data-driven decision-making and innovative storytelling.
Rohan Tyagi, Head of Product at NDTV, outlined how various metrics have contributed to this shift: “Data abundance is both a blessing and a curse. Metrics deliver immediate results but often overshadow the long-term creative strategy that builds a lasting brand story.”
Meanwhile, Harshdeep Singh, VP Marketing at Droom, spoke about the contradictions that come with instant metrics in digital media marketing, pointing out the danger of stifling creativity and the fact that marketers get so caught up in measuring clicks and conversions that they forget about the essence of crafting a compelling story. However, he asserted, “The virality of traditional advertising happens on digital platforms. Online advertising probably accounts for about 50-55 percent of the overall spend today, and the rest is traditional advertising, but almost 80 percent of the audience is online and they spend much more time online every day. So we have to be where the audience is.”
While experts acknowledged the benefits of the immediate feedback that comes with digital medium, they also noted the strategic merits of companies allocating around 10-20 percent of their funds to campaign experimentation, and not playing it safe with insights derived from metrics alone, which can help increase brand presence and consumer retention.
Ishwinder Singh, general marketing, Pernod Ricard, agreed, saying there is a risk of mediocre results if creativity is driven solely by metrics. Brands must balance ROI with bold creative choices. The essence of good marketing is taking calculated risks. He added, “While digital medium offers personalized and interactive experiences, traditional media still has influence in certain situations. The key is to understand where your audience is and adapt your strategy accordingly.”
Here, Tyagi adds, “Creativity takes time to deliver results. It's important to go beyond short-term metrics and nurture stories that resonate with the audience.”
While the importance of digital media marketing’s rapid metrics generation and factors like click-through rate (CTR) and cost to customer (CTC) in guiding campaign success and development is indisputable, the balance between speed of content development and quality, innovation and customer retention is a solid perspective to consider, according to the panel.
