By Jani Pasha

It’s that time of year again when love is in the air and everyone, including brands, are gearing up to celebrate Valentine’s Day. From digital advertising to augmented reality experiences, brands have left no stone unturned. But the real question is- This Valentine’s Day will your brand appeal to the next billion users? The two crucial pivot points to engage with this set of audience are by being disruptive and reaching them on the right platforms.

We are living in an attention economy where brands have to go above and beyond to create their space in the minds of the consumer. A hyperlocal approach can be a game-changer for companies that aim to tap the niche segments. To elucidate further, let’s deep dive into 3 reasons why this Valentine’s Day brands should go the hyperlocal way to charm their customers.

Connect, Build and Grow – Picture the festival of Makar Sakranti which is also celebrated as Bihu in Assam, Lohri in Punjab and Haryana, Pongal in Kerala and Khichdi in Bihar. Now imagine the one-size-fits-all approach that brands usually take while designing campaigns for each of these festivals to reach all these consumers at once. For a long time, brands have generalised consumers in boxes.

As the internet penetrates in the layers of Bharat, brands also need to breathe into the idea of an inclusive internet and branding exercise. Remember that time when we were under lockdown and a local grocery delivery service helped us to get our daily requirements. We would never forget that grocery store and become loyal customers. Similarly, if you tailor-make your campaigns to address the needs of niche customers, it will provide an edge to the overall customer experience.

Brands today are increasingly shifting their focus from urban millennials to consumers from tier 2 and 3 Bharat. As masses in remote regions have limited access to information and resources, hyperlocal apps become their go-to platforms for daily updates. Companies should recognise this power of community mapping and an unconscious trust factor that they can leverage by routing their marketing activities through hyperlocal platforms.
So this year on the festival of love, go for depth and not breadth, go local.

Pyaar ki apni Bhasha – As rightly pointed out by Nelson Mandela, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”. Language is a boon for India, we are a country with 121 languages and 270 mother tongues. Interestingly, English-speaking Indians account for less than ten percent of the population however majority of brand campaigns run in English or are bilingual. Empathy is a powerful tool that can work well if implemented precisely. People empathise with compelling, human stories that are narrated in their native language.

A recent Google research claims that 90 percent of Indian internet users prefer to consume information in their language, it’s clear that brands can tap into a massive growth opportunity if they target this non-English speaking demographic.

Besides the data, our languages represent our roots, they are a conversation starter and an immediate icebreaker. There is a feeling of comfort, credibility and emotional attachment when the message is delivered in one’s native language. A hyperlocal platform can play a crucial role in even guiding the marketers with the right use of regional lingos and local updates to engage users at a personal level.

The magical unicorn of marketing: Return on Investment– ROI is the magical creature all organisations are looking for but only a few find it. As we go towards a more digital environment, consumer behaviour will increasingly be dictated by search and aggregation apps. To begin with, those who use ‘near me’ queries are more likely to make a purchase than casual browsers. It’s good news in terms of ROI.

Campaigns targeted through the hyperlocal platforms target a specific population that is well-suited to the brand’s goals, resulting in lower expenses across all platforms of outreach. It is less expensive and provides you with quality leads. We have observed that businesses that have experimented with their campaign delivery in different languages through hyperlocal avenues have witnessed 3X outcomes than traditional marketing tactics.

With the pace of digital penetration, it is only going to be increasingly challenging to build impactful relationships with end-users of tier 2 and 3 geographies. Well, take my advice and skip the chaos, take the hyperlocal direction to your consumer’s heart and win a golden chance of everlasting consumer loyalty.

-The author is co-founder and CEO, Lokal. Views expressed are personal.

Conceptualised and executed by BBH India, the campaign aims to make Valentine’s Day enjoyable, irrespective of whether one hates or loves it…