The Magic and Logic of Marketing with Customer Obsession with Akankshaa Dalal

[00:00:06] Hello and welcome to the Digital Diary of Nikita Abhanave.

[00:00:10] In this episode, we discuss the magic and logic of marketing with customer obsession.

[00:00:15] We discuss points that unlocks the customer centric mindset and heightens customer experience

[00:00:21] through empathetic marketing.

[00:00:23] We are talking about data, consumer journeys, seamless customer experiences and so on.

[00:00:30] Today, we have Akansha Dalal who currently works with Amazon Prime Video as brand and

[00:00:36] service marketing lead in India.

[00:00:38] She has previously worked with L'Oreal and Yonal Ava.

[00:00:42] I recently met her in Mumbai at a meet up where we instantly connected with each other for

[00:00:47] our common love of digital media and marketing.

[00:00:50] And that's how we decided to keep in touch and do this episode.

[00:00:54] Hi Akansha, welcome to the show.

[00:00:56] It's a pleasure having you here.

[00:00:58] Thank you for making time.

[00:00:59] How are you doing today?

[00:01:00] Hey Nikita, thanks for having me.

[00:01:01] I'm doing pretty well.

[00:01:02] It's obviously a super rainy day but clearly we're making it.

[00:01:03] I'm glad we're doing this.

[00:01:10] Even the rains cannot stop us.

[00:01:12] We've been trying to do this since a long time and I didn't want to delay it any further

[00:01:17] because I think this is the right time to be in this space and talking about how is

[00:01:23] Amazon Prime Video making the most of this season, especially when the world is talking

[00:01:30] about AI, we are obsessed with customers and this is what we're going to discuss today.

[00:01:35] So I'm very curious to know about your journey Akansha.

[00:01:38] How did you get into this field and what are you doing at Amazon Prime Video?

[00:01:44] Sure.

[00:01:45] Okay, cool.

[00:01:46] So I've always been like a marketer at my heart I think.

[00:01:49] So the journey kind of started with me doing my MBA and then being very clear.

[00:01:55] The reason I did my MBA is because I obviously wanted to go ahead and be a marketer

[00:01:59] and sometimes it's good to get that grounding and that whole theoretical knowledge because

[00:02:04] people tend to believe you a bit more when you have an MBA on your side.

[00:02:08] So post that I have actually worked with Unilever and then L'Oreal and now I work for Amazon.

[00:02:14] That's great background.

[00:02:15] Yeah, it's been a pretty interesting journey.

[00:02:17] Obviously very, very steep learning curves.

[00:02:20] Each of these organizations are like marketing powerhouses in their own scope and deal.

[00:02:25] I agree.

[00:02:26] Yeah, so my journey has obviously been interesting.

[00:02:28] I've done a lot of FMCG marketing and in the last two years has been consumer tech.

[00:02:32] They're very different but the one thing that I've learned is that there are certain basics

[00:02:36] which just remain the same.

[00:02:37] So you touched upon customer obsession and really, really that's what it is.

[00:02:42] So I say this a lot of times that there are only two ways to marketing.

[00:02:46] One is having consumer insights and the second is data.

[00:02:51] Obviously the third is always gut but you can't kind of move ahead without these two.

[00:02:56] So I'm a very strong believer of this and all the organizations I've worked for have been

[00:02:59] absolutely consumer obsessed and I totally love it.

[00:03:03] Yes, and I know that Amazon's leadership principle, one of the leadership principles is customer obsession.

[00:03:09] So I want to understand the importance of having customer hope and leveraging data.

[00:03:16] So how are you doing this, Akansha?

[00:03:18] Okay, so I'm going to give you like a general perspective about everything that I have learned

[00:03:24] over these years and give you examples from the kind of work that I have done, the kind of work that I have seen.

[00:03:29] The deal with customer obsession and leveraging data is that the data kind of tells you

[00:03:35] who's buying your product, why they are buying your product, if they're not buying your product,

[00:03:39] why are they not buying it, who are they buying?

[00:03:42] And this is important before you kind of go into the market and really sell your product

[00:03:47] because while you may have an understanding of who you want your customer to be,

[00:03:52] a lot of times you realize that that's not your customer or you can actually extend that to another set of customers

[00:03:57] or the people you targeted are not buying into your proposition and therefore you need to kind of do something different.

[00:04:03] So I think data as a starting point is very, very important.

[00:04:07] Correct.

[00:04:08] And once you've kind of got that data, it's about what you do with it, especially in India.

[00:04:13] Like a lot of times there are brands that leverage on just the functional expertise or filling that need gap.

[00:04:20] But I don't think in India it kind of stops there.

[00:04:22] You need to have a functional story and a functional messaging,

[00:04:25] but you also need to have that thematic emotional connect with the consumers.

[00:04:30] Absolutely.

[00:04:31] Because just as customers we are very emotional people.

[00:04:33] We don't make all our decisions by logic.

[00:04:36] I mean a very, very famous test is the Taste Test of Pepsi at Coca-Cola

[00:04:41] where people argue that they're brand loyalists and they know how these drinks taste different.

[00:04:45] But it's a hundred percent that people have failed the blind test,

[00:04:50] but we still have our preferences.

[00:04:52] And that's a very, very strong example that kind of goes to show the emotional value that these brands create in our lives.

[00:05:00] True.

[00:05:01] And I just think that a lot of brands have done it very, very well in India.

[00:05:06] So if I have to give you an example, one would be like Cadbury.

[00:05:10] I mean, chocolate was something which is always known for the younger people.

[00:05:15] But slowly through an emotional connect they've been able to drive the whole functionality that

[00:05:20] and in today's time everybody eats chocolates.

[00:05:23] Across age group.

[00:05:24] Absolutely.

[00:05:25] It's no longer in the zero to 15 kind of an age group.

[00:05:30] It literally transcends to people who are like possibly in their 80s and 90s as well and they enjoy it.

[00:05:36] Correct.

[00:05:37] And I think that's changed and it's very beautiful how the brand kind of did it.

[00:05:41] So they started it if you remember the whole 90s campaign that they had where the girl runs on to the cricket field

[00:05:48] and that went on to become an iconic brand.

[00:05:50] I had the good fortune of actually hearing, you know, Prasoon talk about how they kind of went about doing that brand

[00:05:58] and he said that the brief given to him by the Cadbury team was we don't want to see a single kid in the ad.

[00:06:03] So go make an ad.

[00:06:04] That's it.

[00:06:05] Wow.

[00:06:06] And if you kind of go and think about it there is no single kid in that ad, right?

[00:06:09] It's a cricket stadium.

[00:06:10] There are no kids and it kind of and that was the ad breaking for the first time without showing children in the ad or showing

[00:06:18] that Cadbury is meant for children.

[00:06:20] And then of course they went on to do Rakshabandhan first with a slightly younger TG bring it into festivals

[00:06:26] then Diwali which is obviously more family.

[00:06:29] They went into getting the young adults by talking about Pahli Tanka and how you should use that disposable income.

[00:06:36] So I think a lot of times brands need to use both emotional and functional and be relevant because every time you see this ad,

[00:06:43] you're like that's me.

[00:06:44] So I think a lot of brands do it very, very beautifully where they see a relevant consumer hook

[00:06:52] and they use their data to then create ads that all of us remember.

[00:06:57] Another example that comes to my mind is Unilever's brand Lipton Tea.

[00:07:01] If you see any of their ads, be it showing new neighbors coming together over a cup of tea and that's so in sync with the way we are as Indians.

[00:07:12] Yes, very relatable as Indians.

[00:07:15] It's a very everyday kind of a behavior or a new neighbor comes in you kind of warm up over a cup of tea.

[00:07:21] And I think just the way they bring that whole togetherness together is very in sync with what we see.

[00:07:26] So when you see that ad, you're like that's me.

[00:07:28] So I think yeah, so I would say that it's definitely data but you need to have these relevant hooks that when people see it,

[00:07:35] they are able to kind of relate to it and they're able to see them then using this brand or buying into it.

[00:07:41] I agree.

[00:07:42] And I think this is how brands elevate the entire consumer journey and make it very seamless.

[00:07:48] But I also feel for this journey marketers need both EQ and IQ.

[00:07:54] There is a lot of empathy that is required in this entire marketing process.

[00:07:58] So what are your thoughts about this?

[00:08:01] 100% agree.

[00:08:03] I don't think you can do anything without EQ, be it your relationships, your personal relationships,

[00:08:11] your professional relationships or even a brand's relationship with its customers.

[00:08:15] I have an example there which I'd love to share with you.

[00:08:18] This is when I just joined Amazon on 2021 around maybe like September, August, September.

[00:08:25] We were actually thinking of a Diwali campaign for our customers because Diwali is a time that every brand wants to connect and speak to their customers.

[00:08:33] And I started off with this thought that what is it that consumers would like to watch on Prime Video during Diwali?

[00:08:39] And I kind of wrote out some concepts and I love going in speaking to consumers because I feel that's the best way to kind of know what's going on in their mind.

[00:08:46] And I started testing these concepts saying Diwali-wala mood and what would you like to watch during Diwali?

[00:08:51] Would it be like a family, something to do with the family, something some content to do with romance.

[00:08:56] And I just wanted to figure out that.

[00:08:58] And I thought I've got this.

[00:09:00] I'm going to launch a campaign which says Diwali-wale mood.

[00:09:02] And when I took it to the consumers, they trashed the concepts because their response was, I mean, Diwali, why are we going to watch something?

[00:09:10] And why during this Diwali, this 2021 Diwali is very special for us?

[00:09:16] And when I just kind of thought about it, I said they are so correct.

[00:09:21] And I am so wrong to be taking a Diwali-wale mood to them because what I realized is that what they were basically trying to tell me is that Diwali of 2021 is very special to me.

[00:09:31] We all missed Diwali in 2020 because of COVID.

[00:09:35] And while 2021 was not as normal as 2019, it was way more hopeful than 2020 because you could finally step out at least in your bubbles, meet with the close people that you kind of wanted to like meet up with.

[00:09:50] Most of the country was like vaccinated and it was a very hopeful time.

[00:09:54] And no, they didn't want to sit back and watch Prime Video or any OTT platform for that matter.

[00:10:00] And that kind of drove me to land a Diwali campaign with said, Upnow-Wali Diwali in which we actually go and tell our customer, you know what?

[00:10:09] We've been with you through this COVID time because all of us were binging at that time.

[00:10:13] We know that OTT engagement was at its highest during COVID because that's all the people had.

[00:10:20] And that ad kind of spoke about that we've been here with you through this time.

[00:10:24] But now we don't want you to sit and watch us. We want you to go spend it with your family.

[00:10:29] So almost like, don't watch Family Man, go B1.

[00:10:32] Wow.

[00:10:33] Watch for more shots. Go do for more shots with your friends.

[00:10:37] And that was the kind of narrative we kind of took and we got our very famous protagonist, Pankaj Sipati who plays of Mirzapur fame

[00:10:47] to kind of come out and tell their customers that we will be here.

[00:10:51] But Diwali won't come tomorrow. So go and spend it with your people.

[00:10:56] And that did really, really well for us.

[00:10:58] And I think the reason it did well for us was because we spoke the truth.

[00:11:02] We told people do not watch us.

[00:11:04] We took that heart stand and say this is not about us.

[00:11:08] This is about you and your family. So go and celebrate it.

[00:11:10] What great use of consumer insights. Great use.

[00:11:14] Yeah. And it was, it was, it was a mean like truly to your question.

[00:11:18] It was really about also using that EQ and understanding what the mood in the country and the nation and with the customers is

[00:11:28] and to keep up with that mood in the true spirit of Diwali and do right by our customers and the festival

[00:11:34] and not necessarily just right by us.

[00:11:36] Correct. Correct.

[00:11:37] And I think this also brings a perfect balance of marketing between the magic and logic what we had discussed earlier.

[00:11:45] I really think only a marketer can find that sweet spot and balance this out so that there is magic at the same time

[00:11:54] we also use our logic right?

[00:11:57] Absolutely. Any which ways I mean like all of us can do with a little bit of magic, right?

[00:12:02] And I always feel that you know you get the logic in place but sometimes the magic in those are in those small moments

[00:12:10] and the small decisions that you kind of make which brings a smile on the face of the customer.

[00:12:15] So when they see your ad, you really want them to smile and you want them to move something within them

[00:12:20] and for me that's the magic like in the Diwali ad also like you know there's a there's a shot in the Diwali ad

[00:12:26] the one which has Pankaj Sarpati in which basically he's stopping this girl from binge watching Mirza poor

[00:12:31] and it's almost like you know he breaks the third wall to come out of the screen and taps her

[00:12:36] and says you know go celebrate Diwali with your family and in that she's putting up the toran of her family

[00:12:42] and I feel that usually in India because it's just generally been a very patriarchal society

[00:12:48] just getting that girl to put up the toran versus some boy in the house

[00:12:53] getting that girl to binge watch on Mirza poor and not necessarily like you have a boy watching Mirza poor

[00:12:58] in the other Diwali ad you know the couple is kind of binge watching for more shots together

[00:13:04] and they actually show the guy get emotional. For me those are moments of magic where as a marketer

[00:13:09] you want to tell customers it's okay for a boy to cry

[00:13:13] it's correct to have a girl put up the toran for Diwali

[00:13:17] like and that those are the small nuances of the magic you bring

[00:13:21] you know I earlier referenced the Cadbury ad and then a couple of years ago

[00:13:25] they did the reverse where there's a girls cricket team playing

[00:13:29] and then the boy comes in kind of dances onto the field

[00:13:33] which is recent it's just a couple of years old and they did a remake to kind of break that gender stereotype

[00:13:39] and for me in all of these small moments

[00:13:43] is really where the kind of magic kind of comes in

[00:13:47] and you know one brand that I think does it beautifully

[00:13:51] is Daav right so while they do tell you even for something as basic as a soap

[00:13:55] while they do tell you it's one third moisturizing

[00:13:59] they also talk about real beauty and they walk the talk

[00:14:03] and it's when you see their ads it is magical because a lot of times

[00:14:07] you are stereotyped in that fare is equal to beauty

[00:14:11] straight has equal to beauty, slim and tall is equal to beauty and they kind of break that for you

[00:14:15] and they are able to create that magic which brings

[00:14:19] a smile on your face and for me I feel it's

[00:14:23] every marketers responsibility to see that behind all

[00:14:27] that logic can they put a few moments of magic

[00:14:31] into what they're doing and make that shift you know in the heart

[00:14:35] of the consumer if I can kind of call it that and I think all of these

[00:14:39] things put together is really something which

[00:14:43] brings things together brands as people and makes that absolute heart

[00:14:47] to heart connect with its customers absolutely

[00:14:51] I think all this really heightens the customer experience

[00:14:55] and it unlocks the customer centric mindset for the marketer

[00:14:59] and I'm so glad you shared these things with us Akansha there's so much

[00:15:03] learning from the campaigns that you mentioned I agree with you on

[00:15:07] examples like Daav and you know even these magical

[00:15:11] events that you try to create in the Diwali campaign are so important

[00:15:15] as marketers and you know understanding what the consumer

[00:15:19] wants so I'm so happy Akansha that you

[00:15:23] took our time and discussed this with us thank you so much

[00:15:27] I think this was great conversation and

[00:15:31] listeners are going to love this Akansha thank you so much

[00:15:35] I hope you liked this episode you can now listen

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