Welcome Ramakrishnan Raja, Principal, Resonant sharing his insights on Marketing Technology, Audience Engagement, and AI-Driven Strategies as part of the MarTech Thoughts series.

How do you describe your job to a 5-year-old?

So, I help companies tell their stories to people who are most interested in listening to them so that they can sell their stuff and also build a nice friendship with them. It’s like making your lemonade stand the most awesome one around by making people in your neighbourhood know about it using some smart ways and making them super excited to buy lemonade from you every time they want one. 

What is the one marketing platform/app/solution you can’t live without? Why?

By last count, there are about 14,000 odd marketing technology solutions out there (check out the 2024 Marketing Technology Landscape Supergraphic) and you want me to pick THE ONE? No siree Bob!

I am a platform-agnostic marketing transformation consultant. My role is akin to a marketing surgeon diagnosing issues and implementing necessary changes for transformation and build immersive customer experiences. I rely on the tools that are used by my clients who vary across the data-maturity/tech spectrum. Some are mature Salesforce shops with data sophistication, and some are plain and simple Google Analytics Shops.

What is important for me is any solution that can help me discern actionable audience intelligence. It just boils down to that.

But I must mention Google’s ecosystem. Google’s full-funnel, omnichannel advertising ecosystem is frankly super powerful and will solve most of the reach, engagement and attribution needs that marketers have. Combine with any decent MarTech + CDP platform and you are frankly good to go.

Currently, what are you primarily looking for in your digital marketing efforts? Awareness, engagement, conversion, or retention? Why?

Engagement. Here’s why. Most of my work focuses on leveraging data to craft and drive effective audience engagement. This is super crucial in today’s complex marketing/media ecosystem. It provides the most fundamental insights into personalization and creative resonance, which intern drive both conversions and retention. Effective engagement or the lack there of, sends the clearest signals that can be analysed and acted upon. Reach is easy. The right Engagement is hard. Sustaining it harder. Engagement is where the magic lies, throughout the funnel. 

Please share with us one of the best campaigns you have seen recently or your all-time favourite campaign.

Personally, I found the ads by MNTN (mountain / the CTV ad network) to be very compelling. Leveraging their celebrity owner in a way that clearly cuts through the B2B clutter is super smart. Obviously, not everyone of us has Ryan Reynolds as an investor / owner. Notable mentions are CeraVe and Stanley Tumblers. My all-time fav? Boy, that’s hard to pin down. But from a pure performance perspective, I hold Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ and Old Spice’s ‘Man Your Man could smell like’ in very high esteem. Both rejuvenated staid verticals, started movements around conscious beauty and irreverent masculine fun, drove great sales figures and made it so sticky that their effects are still prevalent.

At your organization, what marketing tasks are suitable for automation, and which tasks still need a human touch? Is there any part of the marketing process that includes AI?

I run a pretty lean and agile op, bringing together experts to triage and solve marketing challenges. Many routine marketing tasks and data-driven reporting processes are automated. Recently, we executed our first fully AI-created YouTube & CTV campaign for a leading adult diaper brand in South Asia. From concept to launch, the entire process took just 24 hours, utilizing Chat GPT-4 for strategy, ideas, and copy, and Leonardo for creative production. I want to say that the strategic and creative aspects of the business need a human touch and for now they do. But the way things are going…it feels like us marketers will act as conductors in an automated orchestra.

What are some of the significant changes to your customer outreach and retention strategies? And how has it impacted the growth plan for upcoming years?

I feel that the significant change drivers are data /audience privacy and personalization. More and more clients are now open to understanding and implementing privacy-first data practices to drive their reach and retention. Some of my clients (who are large FMCG majors) are now starting to build their first party data stores. This has directly impacted how clients allocate their marketing and media budgets getting ready for a privacy-first, hyper-personalized marketing while balancing current needs.

Do you have any suggestions for preparing for digital advertising in a cookieless world?

Given that Google has recently decided not to deprecate the cookie but to make it an option, I don’t see us all getting to a fully-cookieless world soon. What is clear however is the need for brands to work towards building direct engagement capabilities with their audiences. Building a first-party data strategy is a must. That is where I would start. Build it now.

Also, I feel that we as advertisers should come together and solve this for ourselves instead of relying on Google or any big-tech mediator to fully be responsible for privacy. This is better and will avoid regulatory challenges in the future.

How do you see the skillsets needed for the marketing profession changing?

Marketing has now evolved into a tech-driven, creative profession. Data inference skills (beyond basic analysis) and understanding how to leverage AI at different funnel stages are key. However, I feel that the most crucial skill is the ability to connect the dots, devising a strategy and creative approach that integrates all elements seamlessly. Being uni-dimensional when it comes to skillsets might not be the best way forward.

What are the key challenges when implementing new technologies or platforms for the first time in your company, and do you have any suggestions for making the process smoother?

Integration into existing systems and workflows. I find this to be the top challenge. Second comes data migration (this is subjective and based on the level of data maturity). In my experience, working with a trained hand who has deep experience and understands how to bring all key stakeholders together goes a long way in mitigating risks and calming nerves.  

What’s the best approach or tools to understand customer pain points, and what are the best social listening tools and strategies?

The best approach is to listen more earnestly. Whether it’s through social media, customer service calls, or even directly picking up the phone and talk. Understanding customer pain points starts with genuine intent. I recall a client who launched a protein bar in India and would block out time on weekends to personally call customers who had bought his product on Amazon to gather their feedback. It’s not the tools that matter as much as the sincerity behind the effort.

When it comes to social listening tools, I have used both Sprout Social and Keyhole, and both are good. From a strategic point of view, focusing on hashtag/keyword intelligence, influencer impact, engagement metrics, and sentiment analysis is key.

What’s the best advice someone has ever given you?

Stick to the fundamentals, stay clear of shiny object syndrome and be brave enough to stand out. All three have helped in my personal and professional lives.

Any fun facts about yourself that you want to share?

I got my first break in advertising outside a Duane Reade on 28th and 7th in NYC. While waiting tables and dreaming of advertising, which my friends thought was crazy—being from India with no formal background etc. But NYC works its magic! A chance meeting with a stranger (now a friend) in that corner led to my first interview at Publicis. Always believe!

Are there any questions you’d like to ask to other MarTech enthusiasts?

Do you all think MarTech will ever get rid of our acronym obsession?

A big thank you to Ramakrishnan Raja, Principal, Resonant sharing his insights on Marketing Technology, Audience Engagement, and AI-Driven Strategies . If you want to connect with Ramakrishnan, feel free to reach out via LinkedIn!

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Last updated: August 2024