Step 1. Audit your current media presence (if there is any)
Before planning the future, you need to understand the present:
- Where do people already know about you (social media, TV, outdoor advertising)?
- Which channels actually work for awareness? How often is your brand recalled without a prompt?
An important point: according to the research company Nielsen, 59% of consumers are willing to pay more for a familiar brand. If you are not remembered, you are losing sales even with a good product.
Step 2. Move from tactics to strategy
Take the example of Catch Spices (DS Group, India), which showed notable growth thanks to a long-term and systematic media strategy. Since 2022 Catch has been actively investing in brand communications, including television campaigns, digital promotion and celebrity participation, such as Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar. It is specifically noted that the consistency of communications, the integration of TV and digital, and work with emotional connection to the consumer allowed the brand to strengthen its position in a saturated market.
In other words, they:
- Bet on long-term brand development.
- Used an integrated approach: TV + digital + celebrity marketing.
- Created an emotional connection instead of simply offering discounts.
Result: in two years — entry into the top five of the Indian spice market with a turnover of $120 million.
Step 3. Create an integrated communication strategy
The key rule: one channel means a weak effect.
What is needed is a synergetic approach: TV + digital + outdoor advertising (for Nescafé this combination delivered +30% to awareness). Adaptation of content for different platforms. A single message at all contact points.
Step 4. Choose the right metrics
Instead of fixating on short-term sales, track:
- growth of spontaneous awareness (which three yoghurts do you usually buy — can you recall?);
- customer loyalty level;
- market share dynamics;
- repeat purchase frequency.
Important: 89% of consumers tend to buy familiar brands again (study "A Study on the Consumer Behaviour and Repeat Purchases with Reference to Selected FMCG Brands", Dipesh P. Patel, Assistant Professor, Smt. Z.S. Patel College of Business Management, 2018).
Step 5. Start small, but think big
You do not need to invest millions right away. You can start with:
- test campaigns in two or three new channels;
- localised promotions;
- work with micro-influencers.
The main thing is to analyse results and scale successful practices.
The golden rule: 60/40.
Research shows an optimal ratio:
- 60% of the budget for long-term brand development;
- 40% for tactical promotions.
Example: the Always "Like a Girl" campaign increased loyalty rather than simply driving one-off sales. It produced a long-term effect.
What to do right now?
- Choose one or two items from the list.
- Adapt them to your capabilities.
- Run a test.
- Analyse the results.
- Scale the successful solutions.
It is important to remember that the choice of specific communication tools must rest on an analysis of the brand's situation, the specifics of the target audience and the marketing goals set. There are no universal recipes — an effective solution requires understanding which touchpoints are most relevant for your audience and which task they should solve.