FACEBOOK: The best contextual marketing ever?

The definition of Contextual marketing is as below:
Contextual marketing is an online marketing model in which people are served with targeted advertising based on terms they search for or their recent browsing behavior.

I have been fascinated by this as you are actually reading the mind of the consumer. Though it may have existed for long, the online mediums and the advent of social media has further accentuated its prospects.

During the financial market crisis when our favorite shares which were zooming their way to the apex, plummeted all of a sudden causing headaches and heartaches like never before, smart marketing managers saw this as an opportunity to capitalize. Some pharmaceutical companies were quick to have their web banners in financial market portals with their medicines for headache, hypertension etc. etc. Quite smart isn’t it?

But yesterday’s smart is outsmarted by today’s smarter. Facebook has been in the news now for doing something similar.

When you change your status on the facebook page to declare that you are engaged and not single anymore, the smart Facebook page displays ads on wedding jewellery, bridal outfits and so on. A person who is about to get married will surely have these on the top of his/her mind and is highly likely to click on the advertisement. It’s a Job well done for Facebook, job done for the brand using Facebook as a marketing medium.

Mr. John Wanamaker, considered father of modern advertising once said, ““I know that half of my advertising dollars are wasted … I just don’t know which half”. Had he been there today, he would have had less ambiguity about the ROI on his marketing dollars.

If I had to put it in formula like most marketing books would do, I would say,

(Contextual marketing) ^ (social media) = Guaranteed brand visibility with the TG

Read it as:

Contextual Marketing leveraging the power of social media will ensure brand visibility among the right target group.

A popular adage says “Put your money where your mouth is”. With such powerful marketing tools, we should rephrase it as “Put your money where the mind of your target audience is”.

You saw it but WERE YOU SEEN???

The India Pakistan Semifinal clash probably attracted more media attention than the Earthquake in Japan. The “Fourth estate” went into a real frenzy. A room in Amritsar would have sold for more than the same in most Tier 1 cities of India. And for all Indians, it was joy all the way as India won comfortably.


Did you see the match? I can ask this question to most Indians, wherever they are on this planet, and I am most likely to get a reply in the affirmative. There were about 50, 000 in the stadium who will be etched forever in the stills of one of the greatest days in cricketing history. What a platform it was! Wouldn’t it have been a great marketing platform?

You saw the match but WERE YOU SEEN? Two geniuses (read astute marketing minds) from India ensured they were.

While the Prime Minister of India and his Pakistani counterpart decided to watch it from the VIP box, it was brand “Sonia Gandhi” and brand “Rahul Gandhi” who leveraged this mega event to the optimum. They saw the match with the aam aadmi (Common man) in their non-air-conditioned stands. They surely won the match. With elections in many Indian states just around the corner, they have definitely gathered enough video footage which will stand testimony to prove that their heart goes out to the common man. The footage will be as fresh when the congress contests the assembly elections in two years’ time. This is Brand Visibility at its best. India did not hit even a single six in their match but Sonia and Rahul surely hit their oppositions for a six!

From the netas(politicians), let’s move to the abhinetas(actors). Aamir Khan is one of the finest actors Indian Cinema has produced. He is an even better marketing brain. Did you know that he will be seen in the role of a cop in his next movie? Yes, it made headlines and so did the fact that he will have a new look for the film. While he ensures that his look is a major selling point of his films, he also finds an apt platform to unveil it. So the new look for the upcoming movie was unveiled to the World at the greatest sporting extravaganza you can manage to host in India. His look will be the talking point for sometime now. As the movie nears release, the footage from the match will surely help with some word-of-mouth. He also ensured that he was seen with the Big boys of the BCCI for a brief period. Optimum use of the stage, the world saw your news look. Kudos Aamir!

There are many who saw the match but MISSED BEING SEEN. Aamir’s competitors and Sonia’s opponents are among those and have surely missed a trick yesterday.

Viewing things from a marketing perspective and posting my thoughts at http://thebrandmaverick.wordpress.com/. Do let me know your thoughts. Cheers!!!