DRIVING ROI IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

Our objective should be not only to be masters of the digital space, but also—and more importantly—to be curators of the human experience.

David Kenny, in the 3rd ROI Seminar by ZenithOptimedia, Driving ROI in the Digital World 

RETHINKING MARKETING

The year 2009 has been a year of worries, apprehension and speculation for the marketer. But it has also come as an eye opener. The industry is now expected to shift towards accountable, forms of marketing and digital is going to evolve as a mainstay medium. The Internet and mobile phone are turning ubiquitous and all pervasive affecting every facet of life. To succeed digital marketing must move towards a new paradigm of consumer engagement.   


THE NEED FOR CONTEXTUAL MARKETING

There is a growing need to move from the mass to the target, the all to you, the everywhere to the contextual. Marketing decisions cannot be based on the connections and pipelines we have available to us but on how people are interacting with connections. The mass exposure model has shifted to the ‘my media’ model. There are more than 19 million people engaging with social networking sites in India. They all have their unique behavior patterns, their online idiosyncrasies reflective of their real lives. ‘It allows us to listen closely to the people we are hoping to reach; to watch their behavior; to see what they elect into and opt out of.  With every click and keystroke they paint a powerful picture for us that we cannot ignore.’   


THE DIGITAL TOUCHPOINT ON THE CONSUMER PATHWAY

Buying tickets to your favorite destination, downloading or booking war movies, searching for retirement financial products, using related mobile applications, online shopping for books of your choice... These are not mere online activities but points of contact; they offer social interaction, engagement, and behavioral targeting. Evolving a social milieu of creators, empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers.     


MEASURING SUCCESS AND EVALUATING ROI

Every successful business strives to improve their return on investment, the earnings they return against the capital deployed. In the field of Marketing ROI is more difficult. How much did we invest and what was the return? But in addition to evaluating, marketers must take action. To do this they need to identify causes and the specific drivers of return on investment. The digital world offers that opportunity and the challenge. It offers the potential to measure and to evaluate. But more so the digital world offers the potential to subscribe to the outcome as much to the output of the media.

Such were the themes deliberated during the 3rd ROI Seminar on Driving ROI in the Digital world by ZenithOptimedia India this month. The central theme - driving ROI by engagement, involvement and consumer understanding in the digital world. Moving on from ‘Return on Investment’ to ‘Return on Objectives’. A new paradigm of marketing effectiveness.

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