Digital Marketing Final Essay

The ever evolving digital age has its fair share of advantages and disadvantages when it comes to utilizing online media for the marketing of products and services. More and more brands are focusing towards online media to advertise their product be it to a specific market or opt for mass marketing. With the inclusion of such mediums, brands are allowed to pursue new promotional approaches that are more cost effective and time efficient. The previous generalities of promoting a product or service were to mass market a product, these traditional ways are slowly becoming obsolete as they do not target the right market and it is inconvenient in terms of acquiring relevant data for future promotions and new product development (Diez, Blanco and Prado, 2019). Keeping in consideration the aforementioned, Kingsnorth (2019) contradicts the usage of online social media tools as it has both its pros and cons that need to be considered by companies of different industries.

Jackson and Ahuja, (2016) had previously mentioned in their research that with the contradictions regarding the previous ways of marketing, social media has taken a modernized approach in terms of targeting the right audience. With the involvement of the right social media tools, analytics can be acquired through buyers and online visitor’s activities on websites and social media pages a brand is present on. It is bound to be beneficial for FMCG products and global brands where messages can be tailored to a country or region’s needs and demands. Additionally, with the involvement of social media, the messages can be tailored and customized, fit for the target audience’s needs so as to attract them and influence their buying power and purchasing decision. Through the same approach, potential customers can also be acquired.

Aslam and Srivastav, (2018) negate that with the marketing and promotional approach leading towards digitization, brands are able to constantly keep changing and adapting to what will work and eradicate what would not. The perceptions, consumer’s behavior patterns along with their buying decision and purchasing power can all be influenced online if the right messages are sent at the right time. Keeping in consideration Fanta’s Relaunch, with its new look and new flavors, they targeted the youth consisting of influencers and celebrities that had an impact on Fanta’s target audience. They systematically catered to a large audience with the inclusion of digital platforms, however it is very important that the right mediums are being used that complement the brand. 

Machiels, Yarar and Orth, (2019) recalled Fanta’s relaunch, that was focused on producing high impact through YouTube influencers which had generated buzz marketing, there was still a wide gap where they could get the conversation going and reach better engagement in terms of virality of posts, they failed to do the same on each platform they had opted for in order to get the message across. Machiels, Yarar and Orth, (2019) further discuss this by mentioning that online platforms may have become easier to use for businesses and brands alike but careful consideration needs to be given on the message being sent across and also decide the relevant platforms for the promotion of products, in Fanta’s case they were re-branding their fizzy drinks with a new look and focusing towards low calorie alternative. Another approach to get the content recognized was that Fanta reached out to graphic designers to create visuals for the new launch, this created little to no buzz amongst the targeted as well as potential audience. Twitter is acknowledged for its hashtags, especially when there are new campaigns being introduced, Fanta failed to create the word of mouth it wanted to and decided to opt for a mass marketing approach through digital mediums. Where it may have created acknowledgement amongst publishers, the soft drink industry and the audience through influencers, it failed to cater as a global brand when it came to the relaunch. 

As per the current trends, Social media has been bridging the gap between brands and customers in terms of communication. Serving as a cost effective medium to promote services and products being offered by a company, brands are to focus on the messages they need to publish. This will be vital in creating brand image and potential audience’s perception and attitudes towards the brand itself (Ashley and Tuten, 2015). Ali, Ahmad, Rehman, et-al, (2018) mentioned that Fanta’s relaunch maintained its quirky brand personality, being featured on different social media platforms. However, increased brand awareness can itself be harmful for the brand when it comes to too many messages being promoted at the same time, creating a mixture of thoughts that could come out as being vague. This will diminish the chances of brand recall and recognition in the minds of both target and potential audiences. Hence, there’s an avid need of prioritizing the right platforms and focusing on an online media strategy that is a best fit for the brand. Fanta may have focused on one platform more than other social media platforms such as Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook. The overall campaign may have made rounds in online articles and followers of chosen influencers but as a Global brand it could definitely have done better with the inclusion of the right social media strategies. 

It is evident that social media has both its pros and cons, brands need to cater to both its targeted and potential audiences and social media has made it easier to do so. However, making the mistake of overlooking important factors such as choosing the right platform, the right messages at the right time can lead towards tarnishing the brand name. It is important to consider all aspects of online media to be able to successfully fulfill advertising goals. Brands need to focus more towards tailored messages when it comes to their campaigns rather than bombarding their audience with irrelevant content. This will not only attract the right audience but influence their perceptions, buying decisions and create a prominent brand image online which is considered to be very vital in today’s digitized age.