By Karthik Srinivasan
Head of Digital Strategy - Edelman India
We had legacy media (print and TV) ruling the roost in terms of reach, influence and the power to change perceptions. They still do. We had brands using the reach of legacy media to be visible among the masses. They still do.
Brands chose to place themselves in front of people, via legacy media, through paid spots (advertising) and earned spots (public relations). They still do.
And then the internet happened. It subsequently led to people talking among themselves in massively networked ways. These networks are clustered, distributed and just all over the place. So, they don’t challenge legacy media individually. Collectively, it is a different story altogether.
Social media allows brands to put a face to that individual and not treat him/her as a cluster or just a demographic. The key is ‘allows’; and that does not mean brands are doing it, will do it or need to do it. If they do it, it can work wonders. Postscript: But again, ‘scaling’ is a question that closely trails ‘allows’ – so, ‘can it be scaled at all?’, seems to be the topical question.
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