Following the death of adman Sylvester daCunha last month, former Amul MD and current Indian Dairy Association president RS Sodhi tweeted a picture of the otherwise-bubbly Amul girl in tears. It was a tribute to the creator of India’s most popular brand mnemonic and harbinger of moment marketing in the country. Amul’s social commentary was mostly spot on, though it did rake up controversy here and there. The question the industry is debating now is, with digital media dominating the communication landscape, how best can brands leverage the tool of moment marketing à la Amul while steering clear of controversies?
While cashing in on a trend may help build brand love, it could also backfire if not thought through. Food delivery platform Zomato learned that the hard way with its controversial ad for World Environment Day last month, as consumers were quick to call the brand out for being casteist. Zomato, one of the few brands to have leveraged social media trends cleverly in the past, took down its ad.
Other brands too have found themselves in a soup over poor messaging in their moment marketing initiatives. Last year, cricket fans accused e-commerce player Myntra of taking a cheap shot at Indian batsman KL Rahul for his performance during the ICC T20 World Cup.
Sudish Balan, co-founder and chief creative officer, Tonic Worldwide, says while moment marketing enables brands to break through the noise in an age of constant misinformation, they must maintain a balance of agility, creativity, and sensitivity to build meaningful connections. “Brands should refrain from capitalising on sensitive or tragic events that may offend the audience. Forced connections should also be avoided to ensure genuine alignment with the brand,” he says.
Risky business
Naturally, time is of the essence when it comes to moment marketing but authenticity and relevance for a brand are far more important, stresses Rajni Daswani, director, digital marketing at SoCheers. “Using wit to grab attention is perfectly fine, as long as it aligns with your brand image. Another major risk is getting caught up in controversies. Events and trends can be unpredictable, so brands must be cautious not to get involved in anything that could backfire or offend their audience,” she cautions.
The other challenge lies in outcome measurement. Daswani adds that it is not always easy to assess outcomes for moment marketing. Brands have to establish metrics to measure their return on investment.
It is critical to have a messaging framework that sits at the intersection of a consumer insight related to the moment and the brand’s values or product differentiators, notes Sourav Ray, chief strategy officer at Cheil India. “Moment marketing requires brands to respond swiftly, while a topic is trending. This can lead to a compromise in quality,” he observes.
Another potential pitfall could be latching on to a topic too early, before it has achieved critical mass. Ray says brands could learn a thing or two from Durex, which often succeeds in finding the “sweet spot between their product and a particular moment, thereby making the message infinitely more powerful”.
With a well-prepared team and efficient processes in place, it is feasible to launch a campaign within a few hours or days, states Balan. The key lies in maintaining flexibility and harnessing the momentum of the moment.
