Decoding the Art of Effective Content Creation with Proshanjit Dey

Explore the insights of thought leader Proshanjit Dey as he unveils the secrets behind impactful content creation and the challenges faced in today's digital world. In this enlightening conversation, Dey delves into the hurdles marketers tackle, including ROI, tech advancements, and skills gaps. Addressing these issues head-on, he offers valuable perspectives on adapting to the dynamic landscape. Dey's insightful explanation about aligning brand experiences with consumer needs, establishing meaningful KPIs, and grasping diverse communication channels reveals the strategic aspect of content creation.

Prateek Kalra, Associate Director of Sales at Pepper Content, talks to Proshanjit Dey, Marketing Head of Nutrition Business at Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, about all this and more.

1. Can you please tell us about your journey?

I've been working in sales and marketing for almost twenty years. I've been lucky to work with big companies like Nestle, Kellogg, and Columbia during this time. I've focused on helping people who care about their health and lifestyle, especially in sports and performance. I also joined Dr. Eddie's, where we entered the nutrition field.

Over these years, I've primarily worked in nutrition and healthcare. I've been responsible for important things like baby food, cereals, and snacks. I've also been part of making sports nutrition supplements. Right now, my role is all about building up the nutrition side of the business. We're finding essential areas where we can make a difference. Our goal is to improve people's lives, whether in India or other growing markets.

If you want to expose your brand across multiple areas, then there is a huge marketing investment that needs to happen. There are fundamentals around launching a new brand and thinking about ROI. This is a dilemma that a marketer needs to deal with.

2. How do you view the evolution of challenges from the pre-digital era to today's digital-dominated landscape, and what are the current significant challenges faced by marketers?

The way marketing works has changed a lot, especially in the last ten years, and it's changing even faster now with digital stuff. We now have devices like helpful assistants, giving us more control over our choices. This has also changed how people like to buy things, especially when it comes to health.

Being part of these changes in the marketing world is fascinating. Now, let's talk about how marketing has changed before and after the pandemic. The pandemic has completely changed how people buy things. People are now more careful about their choices and want companies to be honest about their products. People also care more about their health and want to buy things that are good for them. Another thing is happening because of the pandemic – more people are working from home and living a different lifestyle. This is also affecting marketing a lot.

The second thing I want to discuss is giving customers a more personal experience. This means making shopping easier and faster for them. Brands are spending more on digital ways to give customers a unique experience. This is important because people want their interaction with a brand to be good.

In short, two big things are shaping how marketing works now. First, the pandemic has changed how people think about buying something and the rise of health-related products. Second, brands are working on making shopping personalized and better, which is becoming critical. These changes are going to decide how marketing will be in the future.

Great content is, once again, about creating brand experiences, meaningful brand experiences or services that resonate with your consumer.

3. How would you describe the perfect content for a brand, considering transparency, ethics, personalization, and the balance between time-to-value and time-to-market?

In thinking about the perfect content for a brand, I believe it's crucial to view it from a consumer's perspective. As marketers, two principles should guide our approach to creating marketing content. As you rightly noted, the first is keeping the consumer at the core of everything we do. I recall Bill Gates calling content king and Gary Vaynerchuk adding that if content is king, context is like a higher power. Context, when fueled by data, becomes relevant. It requires insights into what drives consumers and their needs, paving the way for solving real challenges and seizing opportunities.

In this ever-changing consumer-centric world, several key elements come into play. Data analytics emerges as a powerful tool, helping us gauge the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and messages. Advertising and promotion tap into micro-targeting through platforms like Google AdWords and Facebook pixels, bringing us closer to our audience.

Sales automation steps in to streamline the process from lead acquisition to conversion. Building a holistic consumer experience takes center stage, fostering a strong connection between consumers and brands. This involves employing various tools like video marketing and email platforms to ensure a well-structured, content-rich campaign.

Customer relationships and social engagement take precedence, with automation tools aiding in managing repeated tasks. Online reputation and relationship building gain significance, calling for effective social media, event management, and influencer marketing strategies. Creating ideal marketing content is a multi-faceted endeavor. It involves placing consumers at the heart of our efforts, embracing context, leveraging data, and employing diverse tools to craft meaningful experiences.

4. What are your thoughts on AI in recent years, whether you've embraced it or not, and how do you currently perceive its role?

In many ways, AI has posed a significant puzzle for me as a marketer, making me ponder its true essence. Recently, I delved into an enlightening AI marketing study from 2020 that caught my attention. This research covered 27 marketing agencies, brands, and professionals, revealing a staggering statistic: over 60% of marketers were actively harnessing AI in their strategies.

To address your question, I'm firmly convinced that AI will revolutionize account-based marketing solutions. It will employ vast data sets and insightful analysis to craft intelligent online campaigns and specific, focused ads. This technology will process data unimaginably, enhancing targeted advertising and refining search results.

AI's most profound impact lies in personalization, fundamentally transforming marketing. Another compelling aspect is AI's ability to generate natural language, empowering marketers to effortlessly compose product descriptions, tweets, reports, and news articles. This level of accessibility is unprecedented and could redefine how content is produced.

AI's influence extends to creating tailored content for social media. This shift could reshape interactions with agencies, elevating social media content creation and extending beyond demographics to understand customer behavior and sentiments.

Lastly, AI's role in curating high-quality user-generated content for social media endeavors holds immense promise. As AI evolves, its imprint on marketing is poised to be transformative and far-reaching.

Create a powerful content workflow and calendar with the whole management process behind it to ensure that you can measure success and then track it in a rightful way.

5. If given a chance to design your own content marketing stack, how would you structure it to address critical aspects, challenges, and priorities regarding brainstorming, problem-solving, and focus areas?

I will address the pain points when shaping a successful content marketing approach. Before crafting an effective content stack, we must acknowledge the challenges that come our way. I'm confident that fellow marketers share my belief that beyond the consumer-brand dynamics, a vast business world is driven by numbers and results. Ultimately, the hard metrics - revenue and profitability - that matter, even if we're not always fond of admitting it.

Launching new brands can be a rollercoaster of excitement and disappointment. Pain points often arise from shifting consumer preferences and emerging trends, navigating various promotion platforms, and reconciling traditional and tech-driven approaches. The influx of technology, including AI and machine learning, introduces opportunities and complexities. The ever-evolving digital landscape demands honesty about how brands communicate within this context.

Recognizing and addressing the knowledge and skill gap is vital. Continuous learning and adapting to the changing scene are crucial to staying relevant. Success isn't formulaic; it's about being inspired, educated, and adapting rapidly in the face of change.

Moving on to crafting a content marketing strategy, there are vital steps I'd adhere to. It starts by truly understanding the target audience and assigning a face and personality to them. Clear objectives aligned with missions and goals form the foundation, accompanied by well-defined KPIs to track progress. Evaluating the brand's current position and charting the course forward is pivotal. Identifying the most effective communication channels and content types is essential. This is where content tailored to context plays a significant role.

Allocating resources smartly, partnering with the proper agencies, and creating a well-structured content workflow and calendar come next. This comprehensive approach ensures that not only is success measured, but it's also tracked in a meaningful way. Building an impactful content strategy involves understanding the audience deeply, setting clear goals, choosing the proper channels, and aligning resources efficiently. This approach is driven by the belief that crafting content is about creating brand experiences that resonate with consumers and yield meaningful results.