Brands
Lockdown earmarks a digital progression of brands
As the world collectively grapples with the pandemic, several businesses have come to a complete halt owing to the lockdown situations globally. With the spread of COVID-19, the world is facing a very serious challenge of keeping the economy stable while easing the impact across sectors.
A significant downfall in the economy is visible across the globe. While some businesses are shut, for some there are limited avenues to continue work. These uncertain times have shed light on a unified communication approach of creating awareness and adopting the digital business model. A gap in communication is visible, which marketers need to bridge going forward. In times of crisis, what is important for marketers to know how they can overcome obstacles and connect with the audience.
Lockdown has forced people to stay at home for their own good, which has created a powerful avenue for marketers if they have the vision to do so. Since people spend maximum time staying at home during the quarantine, connecting with them through digital media is the need of the hour. In such cases, a digital marketer needs to know the strategy they can use to communicate with the consumer in a sensitive manner to relate with their audience and project themselves as a brand of choice.
Strategic approach
There is no denying that major sectors like travel & tourism, hospitality, and real estate have been majorly affected by the impact of COVID 19. Essential services, however, are operational across the country alongside online businesses such as digital marketing agencies, advertising sectors, technology service providers, etc. This pandemic has provided an opportunity for the brands to create stronger bonds with consumers by creating awareness and communicating with the consumer regularly. Digital is becoming the new normal and brands are now exploring a new and diverse path to survive this pandemic. Digital marketing is the ultimate way for the brands to spread awareness and keep the audience engaged with the brand.
Leveraging Digital to the fullest
Pay Per Click – With people being quarantined and spending more time online, it’s a great opportunity for businesses/brands to use PPC marketing to connect with their customers and gain a competitive advantage. It is cost-efficient at the same time and one can better leverage the digital marketing budget.
Search Engine Optimisation – Anything online right now will be consumed more than ever. This is not the time to stay low-key online. Using search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies to gradually rise to the top of Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs) is crucial for the business to gain better visibility. It's important to
Realigning advertising strategies
Pre-allocating advertising amount – As the world makes its shift toward digitalisation, it is easier for the brands to restore their trust into digital aspects of their marketing strategy and allocate a certain amount of money during the times of crises as a part of the reactive strategy. Ad spend reallocation acts like a savior during such unprecedented times., It may help with online advertisements since marketers are aware that ad spends get highly affected when cost-cutting is required.
Displayed ad spends – Due to cancellation of conferences, meetings, tie-ups and large scale events because of the pandemic, the advertising market is expected to witness a downfall and a possible dip in performance. Displaced ad spends will undoubtedly be reallocated later in the year and would benefit both the agency as well as the brand in the eventually
At this point what matters the most is to position your brand rightly during this economic downturn and communicate effectively. Businesses should maximize social listening and be prepared to put out important brand statements. Informing the target audience on how your brand is managing the pandemic and strategically placing your messaging amidst the content that the target audience is exposed to is of utmost importance.
Digital marketing can be incredibly agile, and agencies should be prepared to be nimble in their approach to adjust during times of crises. Marketers are also planning on how to get the business to recover after the Coronavirus impact. One can optimize digital marketing by pushing useful content which will help in maintaining and sustaining the traffic through consumer engagement. Brands need to think long and hard about digital transformation that could majorly be focused through brands reinvesting physical marketing into virtual mediums.
(The author is co-founder and managing director, Makani Creatives. The views expressed are his own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them)
Brands
Maruti Suzuki posts record FY26 profit of Rs 14,445 crore, dividend at Rs 140
Sales hit 24.22 lakh units as Q4 revenue crosses Rs 50,000 crore mark
NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki India Limited reported its highest-ever annual performance for FY2025-26, with record sales volumes, revenue and profit, alongside a dividend of Rs 140 per share.
The company posted net sales of Rs 1,74,369.5 crore for the full year, marking a 20.2 per cent increase over FY2024-25. Net profit stood at an all-time high of Rs 14,445.4 crore, up slightly from Rs 14,297.6 crore in the previous year.
Total sales for the year reached 24,22,713 units, compared to 22,34,266 units last year. Domestic sales accounted for 19,74,939 units, while exports rose sharply to 4,47,774 units from 3,32,585 units a year earlier. The company retained its position as India’s top passenger vehicle exporter for the fifth consecutive year, contributing 49 per cent of total exports.
Exports of the made-in-India e VITARA, the company’s first battery electric vehicle, expanded to 44 countries, highlighting its growing global footprint.
In the January to March quarter, Maruti Suzuki recorded its highest-ever quarterly sales of 6,76,209 units, an increase of 11.8 per cent year-on-year. Domestic sales stood at 5,38,994 units, while exports touched a record 1,37,215 units.
Quarterly net sales crossed the Rs 50,000 crore milestone for the first time, reaching Rs 50,078.7 crore, up from Rs 38,839.1 crore in the same quarter last year.
Operating profit, measured as EBIT, rose 30.4 per cent to Rs 4,409.2 crore, reflecting improved operating efficiency. However, net profit declined 6.9 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3,590.5 crore, primarily due to mark-to-market impacts.
The company said growth in the second half of the year was supported by a reduction in GST rates, which boosted demand in the domestic market. However, production constraints remained a challenge, with around 1,90,000 pending customer orders at the end of the year, including nearly 1,30,000 in the small car segment. Dealer inventory levels were also low, at about 12 days of stock.
During the year, Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private Limited was amalgamated into the parent company, effective 1 December 2025, with financials restated from 1 April 2025 for comparability.
The board recommended a dividend of Rs 140 per share, up from Rs 135 in FY2024-25, marking the highest payout in the company’s history.
With strong export momentum, improving domestic demand and continued capacity constraints, Maruti Suzuki enters FY27 balancing growth opportunities with supply-side challenges, even as it strengthens its position in both conventional and electric vehicle segments.
