Marketing in the times of Covid-19: Motorola India

• In our latest interview series, we talk to brands to understand how they are coping with the new normal and their strategies towards navigating these difficult times.
• With retail outlets under a complete shutdown and e-commerce only delivering essentials, electronic brands are facing a roadblock too.
• Shivam Ranjan, Head of Marketing, Motorola India however, shares his optimist with us and tells us all they have been doing during the lockdown to ensure the relevant messaging goes out to its customers.

As we enter another week of India’s lockdown, the world as we had known it seems to have changed completely. People have been indoors in India for close to 1.5 months now. It has had a huge impact on our economy, and on the way we conduct business.

While it is still too early to predict what the post-Covid world will look like, there are constant conversations around the best ways and strategies organizations can employ to effectively navigate these unprecedented times and the uncertain future.

While there have been many industries that have seen a complete shutdown, there are many that are optimistic about the future and are confident that they will bounce back once things start coming back to normal.

We recently caught up with Shivam Ranjan, Head of Marketing, Motorola India who shared his optimism about the post-Covid world and also spoke about how meaningful and relevant messaging through digital media and CRM has helped the brand stay connected with its target audience during the lockdown.

Edited excerpts:

Q) Considering all retail outlets are shut and e-commerce is only delivering essentials, how challenging have the last few weeks been for you as a brand?
These are unprecedented times and are challenging times for all brands and businesses alike. However, as a technology brand, we are still relevant as enablers of connectivity and are optimistic that consumer demand will bounce back in the long run for mobiles and technology products.

Q) What has your marketing strategy been during the lockdown weeks? Have you changed your media mix, investing more on platforms like Digital since a few other mediums like OOH/Print have been suffering due to the lockdown?
Our strategy is to stay genuine, relevant yet engaging during the lockdown. We have been doing this successfully by sharing information, technology tips and engaging on topics that are useful and entertaining.

In terms of media, Digital and TV have clearly gained during the lockdown whereas Cinema, Radio, OOH and print are virtually non-existent. However, in the recent past, we have been a digital-heavy brand and hence for us, the media mix does not change significantly.

Q) How have you been ensuring you stay connected with your target audience?
Meaningful and relevant messaging through digital media and CRM has helped us stay connected with our target audience.

Q) What have your key learnings from this experience been?
Change is the biggest constant in this dynamic and unpredictable situation. It is extremely important for brands to be agile and responsive to the changing consumer behaviour and dynamic external factors. ROI will become more important than ever for marketers across brands and consumer behaviour as well as media consumption patterns will continue to evolve till external factors stabilize. I feel it is too early to give any concrete learnings at this stage since the situation is still evolving.

Q) Do you foresee the future of retail seeing a sea change in the post-Covid world? Are you as a brand, ready to adapt to that change?
In the post COVID-19 world, every business and industry will have to adapt, including retail. It will be important for retail to incorporate processes and norms that promote social distancing and hygiene thus evoking trust in consumers. As a brand, we are absolutely committed to the channel and will support them in every way to ensure a sustainable and mutually beneficial outcome.

Q) Marketing during times like these could be tricky as a lot of times brands can be blamed of being opportunistic. How have you made sure that your marketing communications have stayed relevant and not come across as insensitive?
Consumer sentiments are heightened as we deal with this unprecedented situation. In these times, it is extremely important for the marketing communication to be sensitive, meaningful and relevant. At the same time, communication from brands cannot be product-agnostic. It is important to find the right balance between them. Business continuity is important, not just for the brand, but also for consumers and overall economy to recover.
We have simply tried to do a healthy mix of both promotional as well as helpful and relevant messaging to ensure that we come across as genuine yet responsible and empathetic.