Mumbai: The second session being held on the first day of the Goafest 2023, was an enticing one, titled ‘Brand love suffering at the altar of short-term sale’ presented under Industry Conclave powered by ABP News & Zee TV.
The moderator of this session was none other than Anuradha SenGupta, independent journalist, and thepanelistss included Hemant Malik - divisional chief executive - ITC's Foods Business & member of Corporate Management Committee of ITC Ltd, Rohit Kapoor - chief executive officer - Swiggy, Prabha Narasimhan - MD & CEO - Colgate-Palmolive India Ltd.
The session emphasised the importance of brand love as it creates strong emotional bonds with the audiences, driving customer loyalty, advocacy, and higher engagement, resulting in sustained business growth and a competitive edge in the market.
Narasimhan mentioned, “If you look around at brand around you, have existed for a very long time. There is an opportunity for brands to do both - short and long terms goals.
Kapoor brought out that brands and companies are like making marriages work. “For every institution to be great, they have to do the big work and the small work too.”
Malik elucidated that one thing hasn’t changed i.e. the quarter to quarter results. “Every sale is a sale.”
The panelists also discussed the technological advances that have taken place over the last few years and the cyclical impact it has on the audience and in turn, the brand and love for it. Having said that, there was an agreement that the fundamentals of brand love largely stay the same.
Malik, in answer to SenGupta, said, “It's a great time for marketers, today! We are all enabled because we are able to make decisions with utmost clarity. However, while data helps you, it also makes you vulnerable.” Malik, with regards to synergy between teams and departments at the brand’s end, said, “CEO and creatives have too much distance between them. This needs to be corrected.”
The session ended on with SenGupta asking each panellist about their expectations from agencies. Each one unanimously agreed that they need to keep learning from and being challenged by the agencies.
