"Businesses don't just have target markets, but also target moments": Parminder Singh, Twitter

Parminder Singh, managing director, Twitter - SEA, India and MENA, addressed the International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter's Silver Jubilee Summit in Kochi on the second day. Singh presented insights on how technology can act as a disruptor for brands, helping them connect with their consumers in real time.

Disruption, he said, is real, relevant and coming up rapidly, and will affect each and every industry. "Disruption increases exponentially because that's how technology advances," he said.

The first disruptor being 'Algorithms'; Singh believes that this technology quietly works at the background, bringing results to the fore for brands. He spoke about how hashtags filter tweets from around the world about a single topic through algorithms. He suggests that brands can use the power of algorithms to not just discover their TG, but also connect with them effectively.

"We see our clients using data analytics on tweets and drawing meaningful insights about their products and customers. A tweet could be only 140 characters, but it has 65 data elements including user's location, bio, file name etc. When put together, these give interesting insights about one's product, market and customers," he explained.

The second digital disruptor supercharger he listed was 'Communities'. He recounted how, last year, scores of people volunteered on the digital platform to support and help Kashmir's flood victims. People were relentlessly tweeting about relief work and helping rescue organisations reach victims. Realising the digital mass movement, Twitter created a hashtag (#JKFloodRelief) and a microsite (JKFloodRelief.org) to further build on the small digital community which was supporting the cause.

From a brand's perspective, Singh hailed Unilever as a champion of the concept of communities. For its beauty brand Dove, the company uses digital and social media platforms to create dialogues and conversations around the concept of real beauty.

One of the most talked about campaigns by the brand, in association with Twitter, was #SpeakBeautiful where the brand targetted consumers who had body issues and urged them to go beyond physical attributes and feel beautiful from inside. Dove started Twitter conversations with women who tweeted about imperfections and was able to create a larger conversation with many other Twitter users who spoke on real beauty.

Terming 'Engagement' as the third digital disruptor, Singh said that the concept of 'now' or 'real-time engagement' is extremely crucial for brands today. He believes that brands must become a part of the online conversation, smartly tweaking their messaging around it.

He exemplifies his point with #TheDress which was trending a couple of months back and brands like Sephora, McDonalds and Snapple became a part of the digital conversation by smartly tweaking their brand messages around the ongoing fight between netizens on the colour of the said dress.

"People are so busy looking at their mobile devices that they have no time to look at billboards, and brands must understand that. They must become a part of their consumers' online conversations," he advised.

Singh concluded his session by stating that businesses don't just have target markets, but also 'target moments'. Brands just need to identify those target moments which are relevant to their ethos and place themselves right at the centre of those moments.

The International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter kick-started the three-day summit on September 3, in Le Meridian, Kochi, to mark 25 years of its existence. The IAA, headquartered in New York, is an integrated advertising trade association with membership representing advertising agencies and the media. The IAA comprises corporate members, organisational members and educational affiliates, as well as 56 chapters with individual members and young professionals from 76 countries.