The digital age has brought forth an essential term around which all online communication is consumed – content.
In itself, the term ‘content’ has always existed. Ever present in the form of movies, comics, magazines, radio and newspapers, content as we know it has always hinged on two essential pillars- aspiration & relatability.
“Content has always hinged on two essential pillars – aspiration & relatability.”
Not too long ago, content consumption was an occasional or weekly affair. Remember when we perched on our sofas with gleaming eyes watching Rendezvous with Simi Garewal to get an idea of how our celebrities spoke when they were, so to say – not acting? The shift to now watching celebrity’s half-baked as they have the time of their life when a famous director ‘accidentally’ posts a story to instagram has been drastic.
The increase in content has led to an increase in aspiration, whereas relatability as a concept has broken the ceiling. Be it brands, celebrities, influencers, you, me or even our dog’s Instagram profile are all jumping onto the relatability wagon.
Because nothing resonates more than someone going ‘AREEEEH SAMMEEE!’. Content consumption was once an evening occurrence, now screen time has increased where we have access to multiple stories – just a refresh away.
The current fight for content is ‘who said it first’.
Is your brand the first to congratulate the Indian scientists who sent a satellite in space or you are just someone who is trying to catch on to a trend? If you see the current moment marketing scene, Amul’s marketing strategy was anchored around capitalizing the moments long before any brand dared to get into the game. Long before digital as a medium came into existence, they put out well positioned hoardings which slowed down traffic and made people turn their heads just to catch a glimpse of it.
But the moment marketing game has brand managers forcing agencies to have a say on an issue which does not relate to the brand.
We have to understand, Amul did it and owned it after years of repeated messages and setting the brand tone with the Amul girl.
A masala brand may necessarily not have the same impact and the communication may confuse the audience.
Do you know that saying ‘fashion repeats itself?’, well we are witnessing content repeat itself. Just this time, there is a new medium and we are exploiting the hell out of it. With this replication taking place and advertising getting back to raising customer’s eyebrows, we as a generation might be on the brink of experiencing the best of advertising. It’s always a pleasure to watch a creative mind convince an educated customer – and that is where we are with content today.
Gautam Anand is the Orchestrator of Content at AGENCY09
