About the Author

Mr. Afnan Bin Ashraf is currently working

as the Brand Manager for one of the
most iconic brands in the country at a
leading multinational company. He has
graduated from Institute of Business
Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka
three years back.

Besides his remarkable academic

performance, Mr. Afnan has won multiple
business competitions and gained a great
deal of knowledge across different
industries and brands in the process, both
locally and globally. Among the notable
achievements, he was the champion of
Unilever BizMaestros 2017 and
Brandwitz' 2017. He also represented
Bangladesh in Unilever Future Leaders’
Afnan Bin Ashraf League 2018 in London and became the
first runner-up.
Debrief the Topic

A big idea is the overarching key message that is the basis of your plans. It’s
the one thing that is essential that your audience go away knowing,
believing, or acting upon when they leave the presentation room. A
marketing campaign is essentially an organized course of action to promote
and sell a product or a service. And finally, the New Normal defines the
world during and post COVID-19 and is basically the new normal state the
economy or society is in right now following a crisis.

Guide to Approaching Cases with this Topic

Naturally, changing market dynamics are driving shifts in the world of

marketing. Though many of the shifts unfolding in marketing had already
begun before COVID-19 emerged, the pandemic has accelerated those
trends, and in many cases, left its unique imprint. The New Normal, as we
know it, has changed the ways of purchase and consumption. Retailers have
adopted new ways of selling to consumers, reaching out to them via
multiple platforms (for example digital mediums) and consumers are
adapting to the new ways of purchasing and consuming these products and
services, using e-commerce platforms and digital payment systems during
the consumer journey more than ever. This requires companies and their
brands to be available not just in physical stores with physical reach, but
also to improve their mental reach by being on top of the mind of
consumers when they search online. And hence, it is very important to
design a marketing campaign that will not only communicate physical
availability but also the mental availability of products and services in order
to improve on top-of-mind awareness. A few good examples include
allowing consumers to see the product in full and read about the product to
understand the use and benefits to eventually convince them to buy the
product. This can all be done via digital mediums like e-commerce, or a
website of the product, or even social media groups where people engage
to know more about the product to make informed choices about their
purchase.

Page 01
Some key trends have impacted the way marketing is done these days and
they are:

● COVID-19 has fundamentally changed customer journeys

● Marketing will rely even more heavily on data and analysis

The Customer Journey: Fundamental Shifts

The concept of the customer journey – how the customer identifies a need
or want, seeks solutions, evaluates options, and makes a purchase decision
– underpins marketing strategy. It is a marketer’s opportunity to influence
the customer experience and ultimately the purchase decision. In many
cases, COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the customer journey – what
customers need, how they shop, how products and services are delivered,
and how the customer experiences each step.

Not surprisingly, one of the most fundamental changes in the customer

journey is a shift to more remote shopping. This includes both more online
search and evaluation before purchase and even finishing a purchase online.
For some categories – think cars, clothing, appliances, health services – this
shift means that the customer must be reached, influenced, and served
much differently than in the past. Shifts in the customer journey may even
change the very priorities and preferences that drive the purchase decision.
Changes in the customer journey require corresponding adaptations in
marketing strategy and execution. As brick-and-mortar retail locations shut
their doors, there has been a clear need to recreate aspects of that process
virtually.

Far from unique to consumer-facing businesses, the changing customer

journey will impact business-to-business marketing as well. But the rush to
online channels creates a new set of challenges for marketing teams. These
spaces are growing increasingly crowded, and successful differentiation will
require not just the recreation of the mechanics of the shopping and
purchase process, but also the holistic experience customers are missing.
There remain opportunities in the new environment for personalized
experiential brand building, such as online digital experiences.
Page 02
Data: The Key to the Future

Marketing is now more evolved with the sophisticated use of data. Real-
time data will enable companies to offer, sell, and deliver more relevant
products, services, and experiences on a more granular level, and enable
more personalized and unique marketing execution, allowing companies
and brands to differentiate themselves from the other me-too brands,
thereby enabling higher chance of conversion among customers.

Winning in the New Normal

The use of digital mediums and data has

become extremely crucial to promote
products and services in the new
normal. To do that, companies and
brands must adopt digital marketing as
part of their survival kit. Digital
marketing, also known as online
marketing, is the promotion of brands
to connect with potential customers
using the internet, via mobile devices,
social media, search engines, display
advertising, etc. There are many types
of digital marketing, ranging from social
media marketing to even electronic
billboards. The other advantage of the
digital-first strategy is that cost per Courtesy: Infidigit
contact (cost to reach out to every
individual) can be low and sharpened
further since it is possible to provide
customized messages and content to
the consumer which has a higher rate of
success, as opposed to homogenous
content.

Page 03
 10 Marketing Trends and Predictions from Experts

Courtesy: Venngage
Read more: venngage.com/blog/marketing-trends Page 04