Indiantelevision.com Team

(8 February 2010 10:15 pm)

MUMBAI: As the new decade is moving into an era where driving consumption is becoming a more important driver of growth vs penetration, crafting a desire in consumers is the biggest challenge that marketers face today.

Speaking at the Mindshare Brand Equity Compass 2010 here today, Britannia MD Vinita Bali said, "The decade has seen an explosion in various categories which has thereby, lead to an explosion in competition. Thus, the challenge that a marketer faces today is to create a desire amongst consumers to buy more. And, the key determinants for creating this component within the buying community are right pricing and value for product." s

An increase in product penetration has led to a cut in costs and pack sizes and also making brands available through strong distribution. Thus today, building consumption has become a direly complex process.

Stated Bain and Company India MD Ashish Singh, "As the process of consumption is becoming an increasingly knotty process, there has to be tactical methods crafted for increasing it. And these could be an increase in product volume and product usage."

Singh noted that marketers have to embrace the buyer's nuisance and complexity and "think ecosystem" like products, distribution system, network, and segmented media to take advantage of the market pace to design a desire for consumers.

As communication also forms an important medium to device the desire, the platform has to be utilised to fight perception and fight consumer behaviour.

Said Ogilvy & Mather India country head - discovery and planning Madhukar Sabnavis, "In a bid to increase consumption, communication has to look at people and their lives and then fashion rituals, create a changed thinking pattern and then create relevance of the products in consumer's life."

Countering Sabnavis, however, stood Mindshare Asia Pacific CEO Ashutosh Srivastava who was specific that while communication does create impact, it does not change behaviour completely.

"There are consumers who do not believe in advertising and rather go by experience. Thus, marketers need to explain the functional benefits and frequent reminders," he averred.

He further added that marketers have to pass along the right messages so that consumers can become advocates of their own choice.