Unleashing the Power of Social MISFITs

In India, the second-largest and fastest-growing internet market1, brands are increasingly leveraging influencer marketing on short-form video platforms like Facebook, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts to create impactful content that resonates with local audiences. Collectively reaching over 600 million users in the country2, these platforms present a massive opportunity for advertisers. Short videos are the most engaging format, with average Indian users spending 45-50 minutes per day3 consuming this snackable content. 

Ipsos' Global report on effective social advertising highlights four key strategies for effective short-form video ads: 

1. Embrace audience-first creativity by blending unique, surprising entertainment with relatable content that reflects the audience's world. In India, this means tapping into popular culture, festivals, music, and humour that Indian consumers connect with.
2. Collaborate with creators to significantly boost ad memorability and drive behaviour change. India has a vibrant creator ecosystem on short-video apps. By partnering with the right micro and macro influencers, brands can amplify reach and trust.
3. Dial up visually unique creative, as distinctive ads are 1.5x more effective than generic, brand-centric ones. Bold colours, dynamic transitions, and an authentic homemade style tend to stop the scroll in India.
4. Adapt ads to the platform's context and recommendation algorithms that serve hyper-relevant content to users. Aligning branded content with popular genres and trends on Indian short-video feeds is critical. 

However, repurposing traditional ads in a shorter duration doesn't work. Brands need platform-native strategies, an agile test-and-learn approach, and seamless collaboration with creators to unlock success. This is where social MISFITs come in. 

The MISFIT narrative is about embracing what makes us different and using our unique qualities to drive behavior change. In advertising, social MISFITs are short-form videos that break conventions and capture attention by blending creative entertainment with audience-centric experiences. With the right playbook for creating thumb-stopping social MISFIT creatives, brands can drive unparalleled scale, engagement, and conversion. 

This solution empowers Indian brands with data-driven insights and best practices to create winning short-video campaigns. From leveraging top influencers and trending music/effects to optimizing ad structure for completion rates, it enables marketers to stay on the pulse of India's dynamic creator ecosystem and changing consumer behaviours. 

As short videos eat into time spent on competing platforms and even TV, effective advertising on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Reels and Shorts will be pivotal for business growth. Embracing this exciting shift in a nuanced, localized way could make all the difference in conquering the hearts, minds and wallets of India's next billion internet users. 

References: 

1. India to have 900 million active internet users by 2025 (The Economic Times, 2021) https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/india-to-have-900-million-active-internet-users-by-2025-says-report/articleshow/83200683.cms
2. Instagram Reels' daily active users grows to 19 crore in India (The Indian Express, 2021) https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/social/instagram-reels-daily-active-users-grows-to-19-crore-in-india-facebook-says-7501999/
3. YouTube Shorts surpasses 3.5 billion daily views in India (The Economic Times, 2021) https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/youtube-shorts-surpasses-3-5-billion-daily-views-in-india/articleshow/81143124.cms
4. Short-form video sees massive growth in India (Mint, 2021) https://www.livemint.com/industry/media/shortform-video-sees-massive-growth-in-india-11624960636090.html
5. Dive into our latest POV to see how you can ignite short form video ad effectiveness with our Creative|Spark AI solution (See this Ipsos post if we want to do something similar in India - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ipsos_ipsos-views-short-form-social-misfits-activity-7338545557755363330-msBg?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAAAfuiAQB7QlJO-QYmMrV_dJ2yGY5XVpeFOA)