I recently stumbled upon an article by Bala Srinivasa and Darshit Vora called ‘The Future Of Digital Content And Media Disruption In India’. Inspired by it, here is my take on how content is changing under the influence of digital transformation.
I vividly remember when a friend of mine asked me if I had a smartphone. This was back at the beginning of undergrad years when I used to think – just how smart can a smartphone be from my usual phone? Millennials, do you remember the time you used phones just to make and receive phone calls? I do. Cut to today, there are 220 million smartphone users in the country.
Video consumption – what’s the hype?
As of 2015, there were more than 110 million video viewers in India and this was primarily possible due to the introduction of inexpensive smartphones and faster Internet (Future of Digital Content Consumption in India, EY report). 2016 saw tremendous increase in individual consumption of digital content spreading across several formats. For instance, at my first semester in Melbourne, I discovered ‘#LoveBytes’, easy to consume because of its length (around 10 minutes/episode) and availability (YouTube). The series essentially deals with the issues an Indian couple faces while in a live-in relationship. Modern-day concepts, choices and struggles have become the subject of these web series. On further research, I found that #LoveBytes was in fact India’s first-ever show exclusively for the digital platform. In the past 2-3 years, similar advancements have been made to create short-form content for news (like the inshorts app), gaming (Rummy) and education (classteacher).
With aggressive marketing, there is undeniable competition and it’s getting harder for companies to maintain their brand recall. This is especially prominent in a world where people are exposed to several hundreds of brands each day. As Richard Edelman, CEO at one of the best public relations firms in the world, mentions in his blog ‘The Way Ahead: 2017’, ‘native advertising will have to change to survive’ by creating unforgettable video and graphic experiences for audiences.
Digital content is meant to be short, quick to consume and omnipresent. With the increasing number of smartphone users, social media platforms are introducing features that enable users to share more digitally. In the words of Bala Srinivasa and Darshit Vora, “Content – especially video is a key focus area for social platforms.” Facebook with its live video option, Twitter and Instagram with short ad videos, and of course Snapchat, with its perishable short video-sharing feature. More platforms that give users the space to share live video streaming are joining the current scenario like Periscope and the most recent introduction of 360-degree live videos on Twitter. Even traditional Indian media is experimenting with the online medium and successfully building audiences. Earlier this month, a study revealed that Times of India had the most viewed videos on Facebook, with over 112 million views in just a month.
Digital content and brand building
This is my personal favourite. Over the past couple of years, experts in their respective fields have been using digital platforms to publish their own video content. I’m talking about the likes of Vani Kola (MD, Kalaari Capital) and Shradha Sharma (Founder, YourStory) who take on professional spaces like LinkedIn to express their views through blogs, and now even videos.
Producing organic video content and publishing it on a relevant platform is helping these influencers build themselves into a brand.
There are possible opportunities in this space this year where I find that increasing number of C-suite level executives, CEOs, founders are recognising the significance of personal branding. 2017 will see a rise in the number of people sharing perspective, predicting future industry shifts and more. In addition, 2017 is going to be the year of three-way conversations, where thought leaders will share their expertise with their audiences, who, in turn, will create and share their own organic content–becoming an integral part of the conversation. This nature of conversation promotes a healthier, more transparent dialogue among corporations, brands, and their most important stakeholders – consumers.
Looking at Internet penetration as a whole, a recent Assocham – Deloitte study revealed that Internet connectivity has yet to reach Tier II and III cities and touch the lives of a staggering 950 million Indians. When this does happen, the country will witness a revolutionary wave of growth. In September, Reliance Jio launched services, including unlimited voice calls, SMS and high-speed data in 2,00,000 villages across India, further strengthening digitisation in India. Further on, the demonetisation has acted as a catalyst in helping people make the shift to digital payments.
While digital content consumption is on the rise like never before, opportunities for 2017 remain exciting and prominent. With several advancements in the digital space, it’s an inspiring time for us digital enthusiasts.
Welcome to the world of Generation Z. Don’t get confused, this generation are the children of Generation X (population usually between mid-1960s and early 1980s, some may refer them as the Friends generation) but who also may have Millennials parents aka Generation Y.
Self-proclaimed ‘digital natives’, Gen Z is the first generation to be born into the internet technology and the world of smartphones. The new consumer generation is made up of pre-teens and teens who seem to take in information just as instantaneously as they lose interest in them. Famously referred to as ‘millennials on steroids’ by worldwide director at J. Walter Thompson, Lucie Greene, this generation is shaping up to be a mysterious puzzle that market researchers want to discover more about ASAP.
Trend forecasters are studying heaps of data on this new consumer generation, their hesitation and choices that make up their digital lives. The following pointers dab into areas of their dilemmas and the digital direction they’re headed to.
Why share my life with everyone I know?
Being a millennial myself, I remember when Facebook came into our lives. I was still in school and hesitantly signed up to this odd website that was prompting me to send friend invites to my friends IRL. We excitedly jumped right into the deep side of the pool of networking platforms and admittedly so, may have even overshared our personal lives online. Gen Z is not only wise enough to pick on this, they are cautious and take their privacy seriously. No, they’re not abandoning social media, they’ve just decided to lead distinct digital lives. This means they’re not interested in using Facebook and Twitter, they’re more interested in applications like Instagram and SnapChat where they can share media with a close group of friends and maintain a rather strong personal brand.
Why read when I can watch?
Gen Z is not interested in reading an article, as a matter of fact, they may even skip listicles. Living amidst screens their whole lives, it’s no secret that this generation has a small attention span and feeds off video content. To add to this, they even prefer expressing themselves visually, for instance via emojis, snapchatting pictures and short-lived videos.
Gen Z > Gen Y?
Teens today have more opportunities than us millennials. There are websites and mobile apps that are helping them monetize their skills and find them freelance work. There is a surge in the production of fresh content (podcasts, videos, articles) by Gen Z and promoting it online. A prominent example is how a wave of teen beauty bloggers on YouTube have turned their content into businesses and are being approached by big brands for endorsement. Some even say Gen Z is the most entrepreneurial generation yet.
Innovation is closely integrated with our lives today. Technology used to take upto a decade to upgrade and Gen X, Y and Z have to adapt to new technologies every 1-2 years. This significant change is reflected in human attitudes and is a contributing factor making generations shorter. Regardless, we will always need to find a way to push through digital dilemmas and make sure we come out wiser.
One of the biggest information technology companies in the world announced its merger with the world’s largest professional network on June 13th 2016. LinkedIn was bought by Microsoft in an all-cash transaction at $26.2 billion for $196 per share. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s objective for the acquisition echoed in his statement “Together we can accelerate the growth of LinkedIn, as well as Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics as we seek to empower every person and organization on the planet.” (Microsoft News Center, 2016). In over 4 decades of Microsoft’s existence, the largest software-maker has been able to connect with over 1 billion users. On the other hand, LinkedIn has shown tremendous growth as the world’s largest professional network with increased membership to more than 433 million members worldwide. Adding this with the intelligent LinkedIn newsfeed, the year-on-year engagement growth are vital markers that prove their standing today.
In its attempt to penetrate the professional networking platform, Microsoft has chosen LinkedIn to join them on their journey to ‘empower people and organizations’ throughout the world. “Just as we have changed the way the world connects to opportunity, this relationship with Microsoft, and the combination of their cloud and LinkedIn‘s network, now gives us a chance to also change the way the world works.” “For the last 13 years, we’ve been uniquely positioned to connect professionals to make them more productive and successful, and I’m looking forward to leading our team through the next chapter of our story.” Read Weiner’s letter on the LinkedIn – Microsoft deal. (Weiner, 2016). LinkedIn’s vision to ‘create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce through the ongoing development of the world’s first economic graph’ is ambitious, yet not impossible with over 400 million members in just 13 years. (LinkedIn, 2014) (Figure 1, Microsoft News Center, 2016).
Why LinkedIn?
LinkedIn’s acquisition by Microsoft can be seen as one which involves combining synergies that would ultimately would help develop new businesses. In this approach, Microsoft would use LinkedIn’s technology and integrate it in its software to provide their users the ‘ultimate professional experience’. Although this is speculated to be a reason for the acquisition, analysts find it hard to imagine the deal to be purely a ‘blend of businesses’ since Microsoft paid $9 billion premium (which is over LinkedIn’s market value).
Another reason why this acquisition may not seem to be a simple ‘mixing of synergies’ is due to Microsoft’s previous fail with a similar approach with Nokia. While the 2014 Nokia acquisition was initially made to add value to Microsoft’s services, the deal is perceived as a failure since after a year of making the deal, Microsoft wrote off Nokia for $7.6 billion (which is more than what it paid the phone business for – $7.2 billion). In 2015 Microsoft announced 7,800 job cuts and Satya Nadella stated that Microsoft was restructuring, further adding to his statement “Microsoft devices will spark innovation, create new categories and generate opportunity for the Windows ecosystem more broadly. Our reinvention will be centered on creating mobility of experiences across the entire device family including phones.” (Warren, 2015).
Another acquisition model that would make better sense is an integration of strategic mix with the private equity model. This deal would have the same benefits as combined synergies in addition to pumping business with resources and possibly, sell it high in the future. A better comparison to this type of acquisition is the ‘Google model’ also known as the ‘Alphabet model’. In this type of acquisition, the company evaluates businesses with potential, acquires them with the purpose to nurture them and at the same time let them run independently. If this merger is Microsoft’s way to follow Google, then LinkedIn is the first step towards Microsoft’s own ‘alphabet’. (Gomes-Casseres, 2016). The parent company would have numerous businesses, independently running yet a part of the same mission.
When the Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn was announced, senior analysts and industry experts saw this move as a failure. One of them was Roger L. Martin, who in his Harvard Business Review article explicitly states that “Companies that focus on what they are going to get from an acquisition are less likely to succeed than those that focus on what they have to give it.” According to him a staggering ‘70%-90% of acquisitions turn out to be abysmal failures.’ (Martin, 2016). The question that everyone seems to asking is
‘What would Microsoft benefit from acquiring LinkedIn? ‘How would LinkedIn benefit from Microsoft after the acquisition?’
There could be two possible significant reasons for an acquisition of this magnitude. First, to provide the acquired business increased growth capital, second, to overlook the management and provide valuable skills wherever required. This transfer of rich resources and sharing capabilities between businesses is a risk for both to make a collaborative effort to deliver better services and products. But since Microsoft said that “LinkedIn will retain its distinct brand, culture, and independence”, it is better understood that overlooking LinkedIn’s management is not on Microsoft’s list. (Frick, 2016)
Figure 2 (Warren, 2016)
Microsoft has an established market presence and is also one of the top companies with the highest spend in the research and development (R&D) department. Another part of Microsoft, fully dedicated to conduct research in top universities across the globe is called Microsoft Research. Focusing on their users overall professional development, one of the many companies LinkedIn acquired called lynda.com is an online learning platform to help teach people business and technology skills. Both Microsoft and LinkedIn merged as one could encourage participation by professionals and help leverage user engagement. (Figure 2, Warren, 2016) The target segment for both LinkedIn and Microsoft include a majority of career-oriented digital enthusiasts. This list includes students, young professionals, executives and company employees. Microsoft has a reputation to create innovative technologies, having introduced products like Xbox 360 and Skype translator in the recent years. (Casey & Hackett, 2014).
If Microsoft has stood the test of time, LinkedIn stands as the dominant professional networking platform today, having acquired several hundreds of million users within a span of a couple of years. There is a visible growth in IoT (Internet of Things) market giving way to the growing mobile application servers. This fits with LinkedIn’s focus on its mobile presence with its recent year-on-year increase at a rate of 49%. (Microsoft News Center, 2016) Other major opportunities include introducing Microsoft users to their cloud computing services integrated with the LinkedIn platform. Microsoft can help organize the large LinkedIn database in a revolutionary way by converting them into ‘data products’ and selling them to members, recruiters and universities. (Davenport, 2016) Having said that, Microsoft and LinkedIn have had their share of legal issues where the latter even faced data privacy violations. Both these giants face extreme competition and with their ongoing legal proceedings, they may invite government regulatory laws.
Another point to ponder over is how these very two distinct company cultures are going to co-exist post-merger. While one has aged decades and stands as a bureaucratic giant, the other is young, energetic and constantly innovating. Not to insinuate that post-merger ‘culture-fit’ would be the number 1 problem between the companies but acquisitions where office cultures prove compatible have noticeably been more successful. (Knilans, 2009). Although most of LinkedIn’s revenue is generated from advertisements and selling subscriptions to corporate recruiters, pushing organic content creation on its platform is one of reasons why 100 million people visit LinkedIn pages each month.
LinkedIn is emerging as a hub for content.
People turn to LinkedIn for opinionated articles from influencers, company executives and experts, applauded journalists and multinational companies. In addition to using LinkedIn to get bigger reach in terms of social networking services and professional content, Microsoft will use LinkedIn’s social graph as an integrated selling tool alongside its existing CRM products. (Lunden, 2016). While the competition in the market is fierce, having merged into one force, the companies have notably become more powerful from what they were. (LinkedIn Corporation SWOT Analysis, 2016, pp. 4; Microsoft Corporation SWOT Analysis, 2016, pp. 4)
Figure 3 (Gershbein, 2016)
In their interview (Nadella & Weiner, 2016), both Satya and Jeff talk about how the merger would help them create an individual’s ‘entire professional experience’, transforming careers worldwide. The possibilities are endless with Microsoft delivering its users with the latest software technology with a choice to be a part of the world’s largest professional network. Having acquired intelligent businesses in the past couple years, Microsoft seems to be planning a huge comeback with its most recent purchase. Although Microsoft has bought Nokia’s Devices and Services division (only the smartphone department in Nokia), there is a possibility they join hands with Nokia’s Technology department in the future which is currently working on introducing the world to a ‘new era of communication’ through 5G. (Nokia Networks, 2016). LinkedIn, the world’s most influential, specialised, highly read, constantly-updated digital media companies (Feller, 2016; Figure 3, Gershbein, 2016) can play a strategic role in this comeback and help reposition Microsoft.
As on early 2016, there are about 87 million millennials on LinkedIn (LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, 2016) who spend 18 hours a day consuming media (Taylor, 2014). These numbers signify a surge in the need access this content from anywhere (read: mobility) and satisfy the need for immediacy of information. As social networking takes over our personal and professional lives, connecting online will be as vital as face-to-face meetings. Microsoft will attempt to transform our online experience into something more valuable through measurable reach and influence. If LinkedIn manages to retain its independence and continue to engage its audiences whilst under Microsoft’s years of wisdom, LinkedIn could change Microsoft’s history with acquisitions.
At this point, LinkedIn’s abilities to connect the world with every professional and Microsoft’s mission to empower each and every person through their services can be critically analysed as an attempt to outdo increasing competition in the industry. The risk of reputation lies with both, as both brands have earned significant value over the years. With the introduction of smartphones using Microsoft and Nokia’s technology in the near future, Microsoft’s relationship with LinkedIn will be tested.
This case study was first put together as a part of my coursework for master of marketing communications at the University of Melbourne.
One of the globe’s largest corporations, Nike is known for their athletic shoes and apparel. In fact, “in 2014 the brand alone was valued at $19 billion, making it the most valuable brand among sports businesses. Today, Nike is one of the largest public companies in the world.” (Forbes, 2016). This year, the multinational corporation has jumped to 91 from 106 on the Fortune 500 list. (Fortune 500, 2016).
But the company was not always growing at this pace.
Despite being one of the top athletic companies of their time, Nike was not the first to introduce sporty products exclusively for women. “In 1981, Reebok, one of Nike’s competitors in the athletic shoe industry, chose to make women its primary target market” (Lucas, 2000). Reebok went on to earn profit that year while Nike experience a significant dip in sales. It was not until the 1990’s that Nike started marketing products for women. Nike used icons, symbols and indexical signs to create and develop a concept of community for an audience that was once uncatered, that is, the athletic female. Nike introduced women to the idea of being strong, athletic, in an approach that did not threaten their femininity. It was an accustomed option, a new identity that women could embrace without feeling as if they were stepping into an unknown territory. This way, Nike positioned itself as a brand that united women to the idea of stepping into a category, previously only dominated by men. (Grow, M. Jean. 2006).
Distinct from their first commercial aired in 1982 (Nike’s first television commercial – 1982, 1982), today Nike strategically creates advertisements specifically for female audiences, involving their intricate life experiences and hurdles and blending them in a way that appeals to all those women who strive to either enter sports or those who have already achieved credibility as a sportsperson. With numerous online and offline marketing campaigns to add to their brand value, their tagline ‘Just Do It’ has been named as one of the top five slogans of the 20th century. (Advertising Age, 1999). Nike allocates a huge part of their marketing for just women sports products. “Nike is bullish about what’s ahead, projecting $50 billion in sales by 2020 due to a global shift toward fitness and significant growth from the women’s business, Jordan brand, and e-commerce sales.” (Fortune 500, 2016). “The women’s business has proved lucrative for Nike, growing 20% in the fiscal year ended May 31. That’s twice the rate of its men’s business…” (Malcolm, 2015).
With a history in representing women who play sports, Nike has decades of background in advertising and marketing to this specific target segment. Making sure it stays current with the on-going cultural conversations, Nike has come up with an advertisement this year that vouches for their stand on embracing women of all shapes and sizes.
This Nike advertisement was first published on December 10th, 2014 on Bani J’s YouTube channel.
Although Bani J herself is paradigmatic to the idea of women bodybuilders, the complete video is a syntagmatic representation of how this independent woman lives her daily life and fearlessly follows her passion. The surface level reading of the advertisement is that of an independent woman choosing a healthy lifestyle, but a deeper reading reveals the acceptance of all kinds of body types and a sense of approval which is required by all humans and is regarded as a primitive need.
After a run, she posts her achievements on social media and makes yoga dates with her friends. She is one of the 83% of the millennials for whom “wellness is a daily, active pursuit.” (Goldman Sachs, n.d.). When compared to their predecessors, millennials are smarter eaters, regard smoking as more of a taboo and exercise more. This is the generation that uses applications on their phones, tablets or laptops to search for information to make informed diet-related decisions as well as to track their training data or diet history. This is also an area that they are willing to spend money in to get the best quality services. Understanding what millennials want, large corporation like Nike have “build their (marketing) strategy around digital-physical fusion.” (Rigby, 2014). In addition to this healthy side of her life as seen in the video, Bani J does not forget to have fun with her girlfriends every once in a while.
The video continues to show glimpses of her life while the background music is consistently peppy and upbeat with lyrics mostly repeating “don’t stop”. This makes the underlying theme of the video motivational as it showcases the life of Bani J. Words like “train”, “run”, “live” and “style” flash the screen representing the ‘signifier’, that is, the words that symbolize positivity, health, exercise and staying in fashion. Bani J’s lifestyle choices, body type, eating habits, work out regime, her choice of clothes and tattoos, all act as the signified while Nike’s campaign acts as the signifier that puts her muscular body type in high regard. Here, Nike positions itself as a brand of the current generation that embraces all women body types.
Despite what the message of the video is trying to send across to the masses, Bani J has faced significant backlash for her ‘muscular body’ from the viewers. People on social media have been quite vocal about their disapproval for a woman to have a ‘muscular body’, saying things like –
‘Lifting weights will make you look manly’, ‘You’re not a girly girl if you lift weights’, ‘I don’t lift weights because I just want to ‘tone up’, ‘Girls should only do cardio, lifting is for guys’, ‘So what steroids are you on’, ‘That’s way too much muscle.. For a woman’.
-(FirstPost, 2016; Hatch, 2016; The Hindustan Times, 2016; Baruah, 2016).
The irony of this Nike advertisement is that although it conveys freedom of choice to a woman to live her life the way she wants, even if she wants to be a bodybuilder (as in this case), the protagonist of the video received backlash for the very same reason.
Another Nike advertisement (as seen in figure 2) called ‘Da da ding’ presents itself as a perfect example of a video that is created to help develop a sense of acceptance for all body types in women. (Natividad, 2016).
The advertisement is able to speak to women who may be short, tall, muscular, slim, bulky or curvy and convince them that they are capable of achieving anything regardless of their body type. With the idea of showcasing a woman choosing to keep healthy by going to the gym, maintaining a fit body and proud of her muscles, the Nike advertisement was able to build on its brand with the reputation that it understands the issues of women just as it does the other sex. The advertisement speaks to women of all shapes and sizes, women who are self-conscious, women who would rather not choose a certain career in life because their body type did not conform to society’s idea of ‘normal’. With a majority of women facing body image issues, the audience the commercial caters to is a staggering number. I conclude this article with an epiphany that if huge corporations like Nike focus on developing marketing campaigns directing at creating positive body image and diminishing body image issues in women, the self-acceptance and happiness quotient in women will rise, giving way to a happier consumer population.
This was first put together as a semiotics textual analysis paper as a part of my coursework for master of marketing communications at the University of Melbourne.
