Umanshi's feature in Times Of India's Times Techies.AI Section
AI is Shaking Up Ad Industry
In a recent Times of India’s Techies.AI feature, Umanshi, sheds light on how Generative AI (Gen AI) is revolutionizing the advertising industry. Umanshi’s founder Tamanna Gupta offers a firsthand account of the exciting yet chaotic world of Gen AI, exploring its impact on workflows, its effectiveness in generating content, and the challenges it presents. This article dives into the future of advertising, where AI acts as a tireless content creation machine but human expertise remains irreplaceable in crafting emotionally resonant stories.
How has Gen AI impacted your average working day? Are you or your colleagues using any Gen AI tools at work?
It is a mayhem at our office. It is like giving a bunch of kids a new toy and a toy that shape shifts every moment and we all are breaking our heads around it in excitement, bewilderment, frustration, joy and mixed emotions. At times, things and outputs are straightforward but most of the time, we are figuring out how to even figure it out. As we are progressing, we are getting aware of its limitations and possibilities both. AI is evolving and so is my creative team with its usage; hopefully we should be there soon. Indeed there is a lot of time being invested in understanding the same. It has not reduced the workload or time taken to deliver the creatives because we are still on a blind date with Gen AI. From weird to kickass creatives, AI and my creative team have their hands all over the place.
Some of the common Gen AI tools used range from ChatGPT that can whip up anything from killer marketing copy to beautiful poems in no time. We can generate headlines and ad copy in a matter of seconds. And with image generators like DALL-E 2, we can create mind-blowing, hyper-realistic visuals based on descriptions. These visuals are perfect for eye-catching ads or creating mockups of products. Then there’s Jasper that churns out all sorts of content formats, from blog posts to captions for social media. Midjourney helps us bring an artistic flair to the table. With Midjourney, we can generate dreamlike visuals that are sure to grab attention for ad campaigns or design projects. It feels like there’s a new AI tool popping up every day, which means we’re constantly learning and discovering new ways to enhance our work.
How effective are Gen AI tools for the advertising/marketing sectors?
Gen AI is totally shaking up the world of advertising and marketing. It’s like a total efficiency machine, cranking out all sorts of content like catchy headlines, social media posts, and even website copy faster than lightning.
More than handing out straightforward content, copy or creative, GEN AI is a buddy that also helps you discover unique ways to creative directions! A way of breaching storytelling that possibly we wouldn’t have imagined. But here’s the deal, you gotta make sure you communicate crystal clear with this super-powered tool to avoid any wacky AI outputs. It’s all about teamwork. The future is all about humans and AI joining forces. AI will handle all the heavy lifting when it comes to content creation, but us humans, we’re the ones who will bring the emotional stories to life that really strike a chord with our audience.
What are the challenges of using such AI tools?
One of the biggest challenges so far has been for those who aren’t strong communicators. While they might be amazing data analysts, for instance, if they can’t provide clear and concise prompts, the AI can get thrown off course. It’s like giving someone a fancy new drill but forgetting to explain how to use the different bits. However, this highlights a deeper challenge: the need for a new kind of expertise. Graphic designers now have to learn to work with vast datasets, a new “Gen AI fluency” is emerging. This encompasses understanding the strengths and weaknesses of different generative models, as well as crafting prompts that leverage the AI’s capabilities while steering it away from potential biases or factual errors. This new skillset will be crucial for unlocking the full potential of generative AI in advertising.
What does the future look like for your sector?
The future of advertising with generative AI is full of exciting possibilities. It’s like having a tireless factory that churns out amazing content at an incredible speed – targeted ads, personalized headlines, and custom visuals. This “industrialization of creativity” opens up new avenues for reaching our audiences with laser-like precision, creating messages that truly resonate.
Of course, there are some challenges we’ll need to tackle along the way. One of them is the sheer volume of content. With AI generating content on a massive scale, we’ll need robust filtering and curation systems to ensure top-notch quality and avoid bombarding our audiences with irrelevant stuff or be an idea factory on steroids!
While AI excels at generating ideas, the human touch is irreplaceable. Storytelling that connects on an emotional level requires human creativity, strategic thinking, and emotional intelligence (EQ). The future belongs to the dynamic duo of human IQ and EQ working hand-in-hand with AI to create the advertising campaigns of tomorrow.
The Benefits of Hiring a Virtual CMO for Your Business
Introduction
In the modern dynamic business panorama, staying one step ahead of the competition requires a strategic approach to marketing.
This is where a Virtual Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) steps in, providing corporations the know-how of a pro marketing expert without the dedication of a full-time rent.
Let's get into the benefits of bringing a Virtual CMO on board.
Virtual CMO Expertise Tailored to Your Needs
One of the foremost advantages of hiring a Virtual CMO is the power it offers. Unlike a traditional CMO, who might have a fixed skill set, a Virtual CMO may be selected based on the precise know-how your enterprise calls for.
Whether it is digital advertising, content approach, or branding, you have the liberty to select an expert whose skills align seamlessly along with your goals.
Cost-Efficiency Without Compromise
Bringing on a full-time CMO may be a considerable financial commitment, particularly for smaller companies. A VCMO solves this issue, as you are able to get top-tier marketing know-how without the overhead costs related to a full-time executive. This cost-effective solution permits you to allocate assets, particularly financial, wherein they may be needed most.
Fresh Perspectives and Innovative Solutions
A Virtual CMO brings a wealth of experience from numerous industries and tasks. This breadth of knowledge allows for clean perspectives and innovative solutions on your business challenges. They can bring in creativity into your advertising and marketing techniques, supplying specific insights that an in-house employee might not possess.
Scalability to Match Your Business
Your business needs can change over time, and a Virtual CMO can scale their services for this reason. Whether you're launching a new product, expanding into new markets, or rebranding, a VCMO can adapt their techniques to satisfy your evolving requirements.
Unbiased and Objective Guidance
An outside CMO gives an unbiased viewpoint, unencumbered with internal politics or preconceived notions. This objectivity is helpful when making important marketing decisions. A Virtual CMO can assess your business objectively, identifying strengths and weaknesses and give suggestions suited to your wants and ambitions.
Agile and Adaptable Strategies
In the short-paced world of advertising & marketing, agility is fundamental. A VCMO is adept at adapting to evolving marketplace trends and consumer behaviour. They have the agility to pivot strategies quickly, making sure your business remains relevant and competitive in an ever-changing landscape.
Seamless Integration with Your Team
Despite not being physically present, a VCMO can seamlessly integrate together with your existing team. Through virtual communication platforms and assignment control solutions, they are able to collaborate correctly with your in-house executives. This creates a cohesive unit running towards a unified marketing roadmap.
Data-Driven Decision-Making
A Virtual CMO lays emphasis on facts-based decision making. They have the analytical competencies to interpret marketing metrics and flip them into actionable insights. This method ensures that every marketing initiative is backed by tangible data, maximising the outcomes and returns.
Strategic Planning for Long-Term Growth
A Virtual CMO isn't just aware of short-term profits; they are adept at crafting long term growth strategies. They work alongside you to execute a roadmap that aligns with your business goals, ensuring sustained growth and success in the aggressive market.
Improved Time Management
Bringing in a Virtual CMO allows you and your team to focus on what you do best – running your business. By offloading the intricacies of marketing approach to a professional, you keep treasured time and may allocate your efforts to other important aspects of your business.
Access to a Global Network
Virtual CMOs regularly have big networks and contacts in the advertising and marketing industry. This can be wonderful in your business when you need to collaborate or seek partnerships with other agencies. Your Virtual CMO can faucet into their connections to open up new opportunities.
Conclusion
Incorporating a Virtual CMO into your business may be a game-changer. From tailor-made know-how to price-efficiency, unbiased guidance, scalability, and time control, the advantages are multifold. Embrace this progressive technique to watch your enterprise thrive in today's dynamic market.
Get in touch with our Virtual Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) experts today and discover how we can tailor our expertise to meet your specific needs.
PR Strategies for Startups: Building a Strong Foundation
Introduction To PR Strategies
In the fast-paced world of startups, standing out is a crucial element. Effective PR strategies may be the catalyst that propels a startup towards increased reputation. This article dives deeper into PR Strategies approaches tailor-made for startups, communicating a whole manual to set up a sturdy foundation for positioning the brand and gearing up for sustainable progress.
Define Your Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
Before diving into PR Strategies projects, startups have to tremendously articulate their Unique Value Proposition (UVP). This is the essence of what differentiates your enterprise from competition. A crystal-clean UVP serves as the foundation of a hit PR campaign.
Craft an Engaging Brand Narrative
Every startup has a compelling tale in the back of its inception. This narrative can be an effective PR Strategies. Share the journey, the hurdles overcomed, and the vision that fuels your business. Engage your audience emotionally, inviting them to be a part of your narrative.
Precisely Identify Your Target Audience
Understanding your target audience is paramount. Conduct full-size studies to discern their desires, choices, and ache points. This insight will manual your PR efforts, making sure they resonate together with your intended audience.
Establish Thought Leadership
Positioning your startup as a thought leader can extensively raise credibility. Regularly making insightful contributions to content like weblog posts, whitepapers, or webinars that exhibit your know-how, can cause media coverage and speaking opportunities at industry activities.
Foster Relationships with Journalists and Bloggers
Cultivating and nurturing relationships with relevant journalists and bloggers can lead to treasured media coverage. Personalize your outreach and offer them unique insights or tale ideas that align with their pursuits.
Leverage the Power of Social Media
Social media is a dynamic PR Strategies for startups. Cultivate a robust presence on platforms that resonate with your audience. Share valuable content, interact along with your fans, and use paid advertising to amplify your reach.
Invest in Visual Storytelling
Visual content is more shareable and memorable than textual content. Allocate resources to create amazing pictures, infographics, and motion pictures that correctly enhance and voice out your message.
Harness User-generated Content (UGC)
Encourage your customers to share their experiences along with your services or products. UGC serves as true testimonials and may be a robust PR Strategies. Showcase those tales in your website and social media handles.
Swiftly Respond to Feedback and Reviews
Feedback, whether constructive or negative, offers a possibility to interact with your target audience. Respond directly and professionally, showcasing your dedication to consumer delight.
Monitor and Analyze PR Efforts
Utilize analytics tools to track the effect of your PR projects. Measure metrics like internet site traffic, social media engagement, and media mentions. This statistics will assist you refine your strategies for even extra effectiveness.
Collaborate with Influencers
Partnering with industry influencers can provide your startup with a powerful endorsement. Their endorsement can drastically enhance your credibility and expand your presence to a much wider audience.
Conclusion
Establishing a strong PR foundation is necessary for startups aiming to thrive in today's aggressive landscape. By defining your UVP, crafting a captivating brand narrative, and leveraging a multifaceted PR method, you could efficiently engage your target market and set up authority in your enterprise. Remember, consistency and adaptability are key in PR. Stay committed to your techniques, and be prepared to regulate them as your startup grows and evolves. With a solid PR basis, your startup can not only stand out but additionally reap sustainable recognition and word-of-mouth in the long run.
Contact Umanshi we specialize in assisting startups, SMEs, and the social sector by enabling brands, companies, and startups to enhance their visibility, credibility, and market impact through effective PR strategies.
Navigating Distressed Times: Strategic Marketing for EdTech Startups
Strategic Marketing for EdTech Startups involves crafting tailored campaigns that highlight the unique benefits of their educational technology solutions, ensuring effective communication with target audiences and fostering widespread adoption in the dynamic and competitive education technology landscape. The Indian edtech landscape is undergoing challenging times with high losses, lack of profitability, and a funding winter, raising concerns about the future of many startups. However, despite the current slowdown, the sector has a huge potential for growth. With over 4,500 edtech companies in India and a youth population of over 300 million aged between 14 and 34, the edtech market is estimated to value close to USD 3.5 billion by 2025, signifying its immense potential.
In spite of the above growth potential, edtech players will need to tide over the current challenges as beyond it lies the opportunity for growth and for edtech entrepreneurs to emerge as shining knights in the industry. This article delves into strategic steps that edtech startups can take to not only weather the storm but also thrive in the face of adversity.
Finding Your Niche: Embrace Uniqueness
In already stressed markets, it is important to prioritise marketing spends in a manner that optimizes efforts and yields good results. This is especially true for new start-ups who are still seed funded or currently lack strong funding. In order to be visible and noticed, these edtech startups should focus on building a unique identity by focusing on a niche area of expertise. This can be through customised offerings around specific subjects or specialized learning approaches, catering to a specific target audience.
Segmenting Target Audiences: Catering to Varied Needs
Understanding the distinct needs of different age groups within the edtech market is crucial. Some learners may seek to acquire new skills, while others aim to enhance existing ones. By segmenting the target audience based on age groups and their learning goals, edtech startups can tailor their offerings and marketing strategies more effectively.
Capitalizing on Ambitious Non-Metro Regions: Targeting Untapped Markets
While metros boast a pool of potential customers, they also present fierce competition. On the other hand, non-metro regions offer less clutter and ambitious learners hungry for quality education. By strategically targeting non-metro regions, startups can build a strong presence in less-saturated markets, saving marketing costs and gaining a competitive edge.
Building a Compelling Narrative: Differentiate and Conquer
In a crowded market, establishing a unique narrative that aligns with the core product promise is crucial. Edtech startups must assess whether their product experience is immersive or experiential in nature, offering distinct advantages over competitors. Effective differentiation is the key to breaking through the clutter and avoiding commoditization.
Think Beyond Performance Marketing: Holistic Approach is the Key
While performance marketing is essential, a holistic approach to marketing is equally critical. Startups must explore various marketing avenues, including below-the-line (BTL) promotions, public relations, and brand building. Building distribution channels, such as partnering with existing networks like government agencies, can also open new opportunities and solve challenges beyond traditional advertising.
Challenging times in the Indian edtech industry offer both obstacles and opportunities. Embracing a niche approach, understanding target audiences, and building a unique narrative can position startups as experts in their domain. With a nimble and innovative and innovative approach capitalizing on their uniqueness, and a focus on holistic marketing strategies, startups can not only survive but thrive, becoming guiding beacons in this dynamic industry.
How Strategic PR can Propel Growth of New-Age to Legacy Logistics Companies
Strategic PR initiatives play a pivotal role in shaping and enhancing a company's public image, fostering meaningful connections with key stakeholders, and ultimately driving organizational success.
The Indian logistics sector has been making waves & boasting impressive growth figures. As per IBEF, the logistics sector in India was valued at US$ 250 billion in 2021. It is projected to reach a staggering US$ 380 billion by 2025. Fuelling this growth are government initiatives such as the National Logistics Policy that have been set in motion, along with ground-breaking national projects. These initiatives, coupled with the global manufacturing shift towards India and the thriving e-commerce segment have presented a massive opportunity for Indian logistics companies to flourish.
However, with the sector experiencing such exponential growth, competition is heating up like never before. New players are entering the field and existing players struggling for a greater share of the growth pie. To thrive in this environment, companies must embrace strategic Public Relations (PR) as a vital tool for standing out from the crowd. PR is no longer about general media coverage and press releases; it has transformed into a powerful means for navigating the intense competition that mars the industry. In a fast-paced world where information spreads instantaneously and social media dominates conversations, PR can be the strategic tool for logistics businesses seeking to grow significantly and gain a competitive edge.
Tamanna Gupta (Ex Allcargo Logistics & Eculine), Founder of Umanshi Marketing & Branding, an award-winning marketing firm, lists key reasons why strategic PR needs to be a part of the marketing plan for new-age logistics and supply chain companies:
Growth led by Distinct Positioning:
Logistics companies are more than just moving goods from point A to point B. They have an ingenious approach to problem-solving, skin in the game with infrastructure investment, extensive networks, and others. Strategic PR can build compelling narratives for logistics brands, effectively differentiate themselves, build trust, and cultivate enduring stakeholder relationships. These fuels sustained growth and provide a significant competitive edge in the ever-evolving logistics landscape.
From Obscurity to Prominence, Out of Sight is Out of Mind:
In an industry where the options for a service provider are high, an ongoing Strategic PR exercise creates the opportunities to maintain optimum visibility to be on the constant radar of prospective stakeholders - clients, talent, vendors, etc. By increasing visibility and exposure, PR increases top-of-the-mind recall of the brand, fostering a positive perception and encouraging long-term business relationships.
Breaking Commoditization & Charging a Premium:
In the cutthroat logistics industry with low entry barriers and fly-by-night operators, PR is instrumental in achieving a business edge. PR acts as a shield against commoditization, elevating firms beyond price-based competition, and positioning them as trusted industry leaders. With strategic PR implementation, logistics businesses gain market visibility, secure lucrative contracts, and establish a competitive advantage essential for sustained growth.
Building the Desirable Employer Brand:
In the fiercely competitive talent landscape, attracting top-notch professionals is crucial for the success of a service-based logistics industry where people are its biggest assets. Public Relations (PR) enables you to build a desirable employer brand and draw talent from both within and beyond the sector. With PR, logistics companies can rise above the competition and become magnets for exceptional talent, propelling them toward unparalleled success.
Amid transformative changes driven by tech-enabled start-ups, effective communication plays a pivotal role in the logistics industry. However, with limited resources at their disposal, these companies often lack the internal expertise to navigate the intricacies of brand communication. That's where PR partners come in as invaluable extensions of their marketing teams.
By leveraging PR strategies and tactics, these start-ups can enhance their visibility, establish credibility, and effectively convey their unique value proposition to stakeholders. Furthermore, by effectively communicating their brand narrative, these companies have the opportunity to attract and retain investor interest, build confidence, and foster long-term partnerships. By tapping into the expertise of PR partners, new-age logistics and supply chain companies have the power to amplify their brand presence, attract critical investments, and unlock pathways for sustainable growth, thus paving the way for long-term prosperity.
PR Success Story: FlexiBees - A Game Changer for Start-ups
Introduction
In the dynamic world of entrepreneurship, the right marketing strategy can make all the difference. This article explores the remarkable success story of FlexiBees, a pioneering talent-matching and vetting start-up founded by Shreya Prakash, Rashmi Rammohan, and Deepa N Swamy, distinguished alumnae of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. Their journey from inception to being featured in The Economic Times is a testament to the power of strategic PR.
The Birth of FlexiBees: A Visionary Concept
Empowering Women Professionals
FlexiBees emerged from a vision to empower women professionals seeking flexible work options. It aimed to bridge the gap between talented women and organizations in need of specialized skills.
Innovative Talent-Matching Algorithm
The founders recognized the need for a cutting-edge algorithm to match the right talent with the right opportunities. This unique approach set FlexiBees apart in the competitive talent acquisition landscape.
Navigating the PR Landscape
Targeted Outreach
FlexiBees' PR journey began with a targeted outreach strategy. The team identified key media outlets and influencers in the entrepreneurship and women empowerment spheres.
Crafting Compelling Narratives
The founders understood the importance of storytelling in PR. They focused on creating narratives that highlighted the impact of FlexiBees on both women professionals and the companies they collaborated with.
The Economic Times Feature: A Milestone Achievement
Gaining Traction in Mainstream Media
Being featured in The Economic Times was a pivotal moment for FlexiBees. It not only validated their unique approach but also catapulted them into the spotlight of the start-up ecosystem.
Beyond Digital: Diversifying Marketing Channels
The success with The Economic Times demonstrated that start-ups like FlexiBees can break through traditional barriers. It emphasized that large media brands are now accessible to companies doing remarkable work, irrespective of size.
Conclusion: Redefining Possibilities for Start-ups
FlexiBees' journey from a visionary start-up to a recognized name in the industry showcases the potential for innovation in the PR landscape. It proves that with the right strategy and a compelling narrative, even relatively smaller brands can make a significant mark.
