MAM
How brands can skip being ‘ad blocked’
MUMBAI: Imagine a future without advertising! Not a pretty sight, is it? If that ever happens it would lead to major agencies and brands shutting down because they won’t be able to create awareness about their products and market themselves correctly. But with increasing usage of “ad-blocker” and rising consumer irritation with ads before content, it wouldn’t hurt to imagine the worst.
Sparrow Digital Holdings principal Ana Milicevic spoke at Zee Melt about what the future of advertising would look like if we didn’t rectify our communication now. Her company is a digital advisor with extensive operational experience specialising in advertising and marketing technology, programmatic advertising, data management, analytics, strategy, product development and go-to-market positioning.
Although the ad industry today is worth over $600 billion, Milicevic thinks that we are in deep trouble because most people today don’t consider ads useful and informative but find it rather annoying. Even ad blockers now have ads and that’s funny and ironical. 30 per cent of all digital consumers use ad blockers in North America which is the highest rate globally.
Milicevic mentioned that the consumer behaviour has changed over the years where today’s consumer lives on his mobile phone which wasn’t the case 20 years ago. The expectations of consumers have changed and they expect a lot from the brand and hence need communication which is true and honest and not something that is too glossy and comes across as artificial.
Traditionally, brands create a campaign or communication and push it to a large set of audience at once (mass marketing). But that has changed and now brands are actively investing in creating personal and semi-personal communication with each consumer depending on their likes and mood.
A key problem with the industry today is that since it is cheaper to run a blanket campaign, most brands just go with it rather than creating customised content for the audience. She pointed out that the industry has so many channels and opportunities to talk to people but it doesn’t.
Brands need to look into what is important to consumers and create content accordingly. They need to create personalised content or the consumer would just lose his interest in the brand. Brands also need to show immediacy while dealing with customers, be it fast delivery or quick response on call or a social message page.
In future, every interaction will become advertising as every conversation with consumers will become advertising. She concluded by saying that the industry needs to re-evaluate itself and the way it is communicating with the audience today “or we will risk getting skipped”.
Brands
Axis Bank named Official Banking Partner of DP World PGTI
Partnership supports all tournaments this season to grow professional golf in India.
MUMBAI: Axis Bank just teed up a hole-in-one partnership because when a bank sponsors golf’s biggest swing in India, even the fairways feel more financially secure. Axis Bank has been appointed Official Banking Partner of the DP World Professional Golf Tour of India (DP World PGTI), strengthening its commitment to sporting excellence and community engagement while backing the growth of professional golf across the country.
Under the partnership, Axis Bank will support all DP World PGTI tournaments this season, contributing to talent development, enhanced tournament experiences and wider fan engagement. The collaboration aligns the bank’s values of precision, discipline and trust with the Tour’s focus on performance and opportunity.
Axis Bank executive director Munish Sharda said, “We are pleased to partner with DP World PGTI as its Official Banking Partner. Golf embodies precision, discipline, and a pursuit of excellence qualities that strongly reflect who we are at Axis Bank. This association also strengthens our engagement with India’s growing premium customer segments, where the sport has a deep and enduring connect.”
Professional Golf Tour of India president Kapil Dev said, “We are extremely pleased to welcome Axis Bank as a Tour Partner of the DP World Professional Golf Tour of India. Partnerships of this stature play a vital role in strengthening the foundation of the Tour, enhancing opportunities for our players, and expanding the sport’s reach across the country.”
Professional Golf Tour of India CEO Amandeep Johl added, “Axis Bank’s strong legacy of excellence, innovation, and nationwide reach aligns perfectly with DP World PGTI’s goal to elevate professional golf in India and provide greater opportunities for our players.”
In a sport where every stroke counts and every partnership drives distance, Axis Bank isn’t just backing golfers, it’s investing in the fairway to future, turning India’s greens into a stage where precision meets passion and every drive has the power to inspire.
