According to a study conducted in 2013, it has been stated that the BTL industry has grown at over 20 per cent during the last two years. The massive shift in spends towards both ATL and BTL initiatives haveled to the result of changing consumer attitudes. At the same time, technologyplays a great role in differentiating both forms of marketing. BTL allows marketers to better target consumers, and to better track results and measure ROI,as per industry experts.
Food brands, and other FMCG products, which fall under the impulse purchase category are dedicating more than 60 per cent of their marketing spend to BTL activations.
Elucidating further on the changes seen in BTL activities over the last few years, EE consults industry experts-
EE:What kind of brands seek to benefit from BTL- now and then?
Valay Lakdavala, Director, Neoniche Integrated believes, “The last five years has led to immense change. An increasing number of brands have shifted their focus towards BTL initiatives to engage audience, Auto sector was one of the early adopters of this channel for car launches and promotions, FMCG and luxury brands which highly rely on word of mouth and direct selling, Consumer electronics brands like LG, Samsung and Sony are constantly seeking opportunities to directly engage with their audience.”
Siddhartha Chaturvedi, CEO, Eventcrafter, develops further, “The idea of gaining one to one connect with the target audience and estimating instant response to the promotional exercise provides great opportunity to every client whether it be a telecom service provider, major food chain brand or even a cement or adhesive brand, the idea of capturing real time feedback that’s totally transparent can be derived out of an experiential promotion only.”
EE:Why is BTL a better return on marketing investment?
AnkurKalra, CEO, Vibgyor Brand Services Pvt. Ltd. feels, “BTL has the ability to measure the returns accurately – one can quantify the objectives and effectively track the returns generated within a stipulated time frame. The assumptions and generalizations are much lesser compared to traditional ATL campaigns and returns are specific, measurable, result oriented and time bound.”
EE:In what ways are BTL initiatives different from ATL?
BTL directly reaches out to consumers and gives them a ‘live experience’ of the brand. They engage, educate and entertain audiences of brands and touch consumers in a way most ATL campaigns cannot reach out to them. BTL campaigns have the capability of changing consumption patterns, building brand loyalty, creating lasting impressions and inducing instant trials, said Ankur.
EE:How are the BTL ideas in India different from those in the west?
In the west, campaigns are not constrained by budgets and permissions. Innovations in technology are more easily available and can be used to deliver superior experiences. The use of technology for reporting, monitoring and connecting with consumers is also quite advanced in the west. While there are various technology based activations here as well, case in point being Bullet Time Photo Stations powered by smartphones, a campaign created by Vibgyor, Ankur said.
EE:How would you explain the reach and expansion of BTL initiatives in terms of urban and rural marketing?
Siddhartha explains that the reason of this growth could not have been anything else but the mandatory need of communication at the BTL level in both urban as well as rural markets. The rural markets have specifically been exposed to brands, services and facilities due to this amplification of reach.
Considering facts, Ankur stated, “In my personal opinion if one were to quantify the reach I feel that BTL activations are still being planned primarily in the top 17 cities of India since they contribute to around 60% of the total consumption as per a study of a leading audit firm. While rural holds a lot of potential for experiential, much of it is yet to be explored.”
EE:How does BTL support the idea of emotionally connecting with its customers in today’s times?
Both Valay and Ankur feel that BTL campaigns have the ability to touch, feel & inspire audiences and create bonds which are difficult to create through any other form of communication. Most BTL campaigns are very well amplified on social media and create emotionally compelling content. Thus brands that interact with consumers at various touch points and create connections in their personal world are capable to change a target group consumer to an influencer.
AnkurKalra concludes by saying “The situation of BTL initiatives has changed drastically lot over the past 5 – 6 years with its market understanding increasing excessively. Some of the bigger BTL agencies which were earlier viewed purely as executers are now being considered as creative and marketing partners. We have seen various examples of activations being the focal point of campaigns and BTL agencies being involved at the ideation stage of brand planning rather than just the execution stage – I feel that BTL agencies that provide value have actually moved up in the food chain of brand planning over the last few years.”
