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InMobi and Microsoft collaborate on a festive trends guide for marketers
Mumbai: In line with the ongoing festive season, InMobi, a leading provider of marketing and monetisation technologies in collaboration with Microsoft Advertising (https://www.MicrosoftAdvertising.com) has unveiled key insights from its annual guide to seasonal digital marketing. The study, India’s 2023 Festive Trends Decoded revealed how brands can leverage the power of search and omnichannel solutions to create a unique marketing strategy and maximise their impact by better connecting with their audiences. The report also highlights the consumer’s interests across various categories.
In 2022, a significant trend emerged in festive shopping: a dramatic surge in keyword searches for sale, discounts, offers, cheap, deals, and near me. Across categories like consumer electronics, groceries, food, personal care, gifting, and automobiles, these searches experienced an average Month-over-Month (MoM) increase of 19 per cent.
“Brands play a significant role in amplifying the emotions of festivities among people, and it is vital for a brand to have a presence while catering to the needs of their consumers. By leveraging smart solutions and implementing an effective marketing strategy, they will not only enable themselves to reach their target audience effectively but also stay ahead of their competitors,” said Rohit Dosi, Vice President and general manager – Microsoft Advertising at InMobi. “The months leading up to the festivities around Dussehra, Diwali, and Christmas are important seasons for brands to leverage smart solutions, as consumer interest is piqued at this time,” added Rohit.
The study highlights that brands can prepare for pre-festive excitement and beyond by tapping into category-specific user insights to craft tailored experiences like special offers and engaging content. In line with InMobi’s 2023 report, The Marketers Guide to India’s Festive Season, 54 per cent of consumers are expected to engage in hybrid shopping. To maximize their presence throughout the customer journey, brands should connect with high-intent audiences early on through a multi-channel, full-funnel approach, rather than solely focusing on the final purchase stage. Additionally, fostering trust is crucial during festive periods when consumers explore numerous brands. By offering accurate and relevant information during product searches and discovery, brands can establish credibility and reliability, ultimately standing out in the competitive festive market.
“Our insights report comes at the opportune time owing to its valuable insights into evolving consumer trends. The shopping landscape has seen a great evolution with omnichannel marketing taking centre stage,” said, Microsoft Advertising, regional vice president APAC Nick Seckold. “The omnichannel experience will enable the brands to maximize their presence throughout the entire customer journey and provide a seamless overall customer experience. Additionally, by using Microsoft Advertising’s In-Market Audiences and omnichannel solutions, brands can effectively leverage these intent signals to connect with their target audience across diverse platforms and devices,” he added.
InMobi and Microsoft Advertising have been in a strategic relationship since July 2018 to help enterprises accelerate their digital transformation by providing them with insights, audience, and engagement platforms for a connected world. The relationship was expanded in 2019 as InMobi added Microsoft Advertising products and solutions to its offerings in India. Today the partnership covers over 75 regions across India, Southeast Asia and META.
Additional findings from the study include
Apparel and Jewellery: In October 2022, searches for apparel, accessories, and jewellery increased by eight per cent MoM, while clicks grew by three per cent. During Dussehra the previous year, searches surged by +16 per cent WoW, but clicks decreased by eight per cent WoW. Conversely, during Diwali week, there was a six per cent WoW increase in searches and a 20 per cent WoW rise in clicks.
Beauty and Personal Care: Beauty and Personal Care items in India experienced a 21 per cent rise in searches and a 13 per cent increase in clicks, aligning with the shopping and festive periods.
Consumer electronics: Witnessed a 30 per cent increase in searches and a 13 per cent rise in clicks, driven by festive season deals, reflecting heightened consumer interest in October 2022.
Groceries and Household Supplies: The festive season led to a 20 per cent rise in searches for groceries and household supplies, driven by the need to prepare meals and treats.
Food and Beverages: The food category saw an eight per cent rise in searches and a four per cent increase in clicks, highlighting the enduring appeal of festive culinary experiences in October.
Home Furnishings: During the festive season, consumers sought novelty by revamping home décor and furnishings, resulting in a 19 per cent rise in searches and a 37 per cent increase in clicks month-on-month.
Home Appliances: High demand for home appliances and sales contributed to significant online interest, with the category experiencing a remarkable 29 per cent surge in searches and an impressive 59 per cent increase in clicks in October 2022.
Gifting: During the festive season, there was a 35 per cent increase in searches and a 42 per cent rise in clicks for gifting and flowers in October 2022, a trend that continued until December.
Cars and Automobiles: Interest in new cars and motorbikes peaked in October with a 12 per cent increase in searches, driven by festive and year-end sales, and this trend continued until December 2022.
To learn about other unique festive consumer trends and uncover the strategies for your brand, download your copy of 2023 Festive Trends Decoded by InMobi and Microsoft Advertising.
Buying family medical insurance online in India has become a common option for individuals who want to secure health coverage for multiple family members under a single policy. However, many buyers are unsure about the exact steps involved in selecting and purchasing the right plan online.
In this guide, you will know the step-by-step process of buying family medical insurance online in India, along with the key factors to review before purchasing a suitable policy.
Step 1: Assess Your Family’s Healthcare Needs
Before buying online health insurance, check the healthcare needs of all family members. Check age, existing illnesses, regular medicines, and the likely need for hospital care later. This helps in selecting a suitable sum insured, policy type, and level of cover. It also reduces the chance of buying a plan that appears suitable but does not meet actual medical needs.
Step 2: Visit the Insurance Company’s Official Website
After understanding the family’s needs, visit the insurer’s official website and read the plan details carefully. Use the official platform to review eligibility, policy wording, waiting periods, cover details, exclusions, and renewal terms.
This step gives a clearer understanding of how the policy works before payment is made. It also helps avoid confusion caused by incomplete summaries on other pages.
Step 3: Compare Available Family Health Insurance Plans
A family medical insurance policy should be compared on factors beyond the premium. Review the sum insured, hospital network, room rent limits, pre- and post-hospitalisation cover, daycare treatment coverage, and waiting periods. It is also important to check treatment sub-limits and specific policy conditions.
Careful comparison helps determine whether a plan provides balanced coverage and whether its terms are suitable for the healthcare needs of the entire family.
Step 4: Choose the Right Policy and Start the Online Purchase
Once the options have been compared, select the policy that best fits the family’s medical needs and budget. Before starting the application, review the covered members, policy term, benefits, and main conditions again. This is an important stage because errors here can lead to the wrong cover amount, an unsuitable variant, or missing details that create problems during policy use.
Step 5: Calculate the Premium Using an Online Calculator
Use the online premium calculator before making the final choice. Enter the correct details, including age, city, number of insured members, and selected cover amount. The result helps in understanding the expected premium and whether the policy fits the annual budget. This step is useful because it allows cost and coverage to be reviewed together, instead of choosing a plan only because the premium looks lower.
Step 6: Fill in Personal and Medical Details
When filling in the proposal form, provide accurate details for each insured member. This includes name, date of birth, contact details, medical history, ongoing treatment, and previous insurance information if required.
Every answer should be complete and truthful. Incorrect or missing details can create difficulty later. Before you submit the form, read every section again and correct any mistakes.
Step 7: Make Payment Through the Secure Payment Gateway
After checking the form, go to the payment page and complete the transaction through the secure payment gateway. Review the premium, policy term, and entered details once more before confirming payment.
After the transaction is completed, save the receipt, reference number, or confirmation message carefully. Keeping this record is useful if you need to track the purchase or follow up on policy issuance later.
Step 8: Download and Keep Your Policy Document Safely
Once the policy is issued, download the policy document, schedule, and any related papers without delay. Read them carefully to confirm member names, policy period, sum insured, and major terms. Save a digital copy in a secure folder and keep a printed copy if needed. Proper record keeping makes future renewals, document checks, and policy servicing easier and more organised when information is required quickly.
Conclusion
Buying health cover online becomes easier when you handle each step with attention. From checking your family’s needs to reading the final document, every stage helps you make an informed choice. A careful approach can reduce mistakes, improve your understanding of policy terms, and help you choose coverage that matches your household’s medical needs, financial capacity, and long-term healthcare planning in a reliable way for your family over the long term.
