MUMBAI: Video is the new glue fusing brands with their consumers thanks to the massive explosion in consumption on digital and handheld devices. Marketers are working overtime to understand the nuances of video storytelling, platforms ‐ social or web destinations and distribution in order to build stronger bonds between brands and their fans. 

Brands are increasingly realising the importance of branded content and video marketing as a whole. It is no longer a one size fits all formula but rather customised content that is often native and geo-targeted. To learn and delve deeper into understanding video marketing as a crucial marketing tool, Indiantelevision.com hosted industry stalwarts at Sahara Star, Mumbai for BrandVid 2018, powered by Colors. The annual event is the ideal place for the industry to converge, discuss and ideate on the way forward for brand marketing.

The day-long summit was held with a vision to optimise the use of video as a brand communication tool and get a better bang for the buck for all those operating in the ecosystem. BrandVid brought together publishers, broadcasters, digital platforms, agencies, technology, brands and social media outlets to share notes and best practices, exchange ideas, understand and forecast video trends and build relationships.

The glittery event saw industry leaders from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Myntra, Marico, Fastrack, GroupM, VICE India, Bosch Home Appliances, Syska Group, Prajakta Koli, Miss Malini, Times Network, TVF, Onida, White Rivers Media, L'Oréal and more. 

The conference began with a keynote from Havas Media CEO India and South Asia Anita Nayyar where she discussed at length about how digital videos have grown significantly over the past two years from mere 60 million in 2015 to an astounding 200+ million digital video reach in 2017. She also highlighted that India stands second in the global mobile traffic share and the impact of Jio saw 48 per cent drop in data prices amongst other players. She also mentioned that today, 39 per cent of the content coming out of brands is meaningless and also 55 per cent of the youth is still watching television.

This was followed by a panel discussion on how important are branded videos to print publications and broadcasters and how are print and television media companies taking advantage of the large reach that they have through content in video format. On this, Group M business head of entertainment sports and live events Vinit Karnik said that if content is the king, distribution is god, then data is new oil that will pump up the mechanism. In the same discussion, Lokmat Media senior EVP and head of digital business Hemant Jain also noted that there is an over emphasis on data, due to which creativity is getting lost in the hype.

Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are the social giants today but what is the play for branded videos with these giants?  What is each of them offering to brands and how do brands operate in this universe were some of the key questions that were highlighted in the next panel where YouTube India entertainment head Satya Raghavan pointed out that the best practice a brand can follow is to think like a creator rather than a brand itself.

Speaking on the top 5 things to keep in mind for branded videos for both television and digital, Byju’s marketing head Atit Mehta highlighted that the hero of Byju’s business is the content that they create in house. An important insight that was highlighted at the session was that 75 per cent of videos played on Facebook were without sound which goes to prove that the audience is ‘looking’ at the content more rather than ‘watching' and listening to it. Hence, it is important for marketers to create more visually engaging videos. UltraTechCement brand building head Sanchita Ganguly concluded by stating that insights, respecting medium, conversation and being dynamic is important for branded video.

In a fireside chat with Indiantelevision.com editor in chief Anil Wanvari, Vice India CEO Chanpreet Arora spoke about how brands can be at the forefront in videos and there is no need to hide brands as consumers love to be entertained.

The event was also the appropriate venue for Vidooly to unveil a report on the rise of branded content in India that forecast that the branded content ecosystem in India is going to be worth Rs 745 crore in 2022.

We all agree that influencers have become celebrities in themselves and they carry a brand value. The products they use, the car they drive or the mobile phone they use have at some point or the other influenced our buying decisions. Hence, investing in influencers is key to a brand. But how can broadcasters, publishers use the influencers they have to build their communities and marry them with brands to have that multiplier factor? On this panel, White Rivers Media CEO and co-founder Shrenik Gandhi said that the fundamental of influential marketing is trust whereas Loose Cannons Studio COO Gaurav Lulla added that influential marketing may not necessarily mean brand endorsement and it goes way beyond that. 

The last session of the evening was an analysis of measuring the efficacy of videos where Legrand India head of marketing communications Laxman Tari stated that brand integration is reassuringly possible for entertainment industry and it does not work with news or current affairs. For L’Oreal India 60-70 per cent of its advertising money goes into videos. On a concluding note, the brand’s media and digital head Neel Pandya pointed out that unified measurement of TV and digital is the biggest challenge today for companies.

For marketers there never has been a better time to create and distribute videos. But it has also never been so complicated to reach audiences. They need to remember that whatever is the format of the content, it needs to be meaningful!