What will the media mix for GSK look like in 2020?
The GSK marketing plan is a healthy mix of reach-driving mediums where we focus on reaching the right people at the right place at the right frequency and at the right cost. Therefore, key mediums like TV, Digital and Print will play a prominent role in our mix. The mix changes significantly across brands as there is a growing family of digital-first brands in our portfolio and we align the spends accordingly.
With ATL & BTL both playing an important role in your marketing mix, how are you using omnichannel measurement systems to get a clearer ROI?
In absence of a single source of data, a clearer or an accurate ROI across channels is right now not possible. However, we do use surrogates in conjunction with our internal insights and analytics team, our media partners and publishing partners to get as close to an omnichannel measurement as possible.
In terms of digital spends, how large is your dependence on the top 3 giants – Google, Facebook and Amazon?
As you know, GSK globally is one of the first companies in consumer healthcare space to own the tech stack, in partnership with Google. Therefore our programmatic spends get routed via the same. The top 3 gather a fair share of spends but having said that, the fair share itself is quite significant.
What are your main focus areas for marketing in 2020?
Our focus would be on data driven marketing rooted in deep consumer insights and ably supported by analytics all along. There will be continued unwavering focus on ensuring the creatives are endearing and effective.
You’ve spoken extensively about your tech stack and dynamic creatives. Do you feel tech today is eating into an unfair portion of the media dollars of a brand or does it add enough value to make it worth it?
I see tech as an enabler and a definite friend in the evolving consumer world. It does come at a cost but to your question, my personal view is that it is worth it. For eg. simple intelligent tech enabled interventions like sharper targeting and a contextually relevant message generate enough return to justify for the costs.
What is your take on Brand Score? Is it still a relevant metric to pursue today?
Brands remain the biggest asset that differentiates and therefore it is important to keep evaluating its health and relevance. However, the metrics chosen need to fit the context of the category, the brand and its environment.
