Deepa Sayal, Co-Founder & Managing Director of ADG Online Solutions, is a seasoned digital marketing consultant and social media evangelist, who is also an avid corporate speaker and mentor. She holds expertise in directing and heading the digital marketing concepts, strategies and social media metrics for a wide array of blue chip brands in the IT, tech and FMCG industry.

Sayal has recently been recognised amongst the‘50 Best Digital Marketing Professionals’ for brand excellence in digital marketing by CMO Council & World Marketing Congress in its 3rd edition, at the‘Mobile & Digital Marketing Summit 2014.’

In this exclusive interview with Ratnika Swami for India Digital Review, Sayal talks about the evolving online marketing space in India, how brands can leverage social media and the challenges faced by companies in making the most of digital. Excerpts: 

Q. Could you briefly take us through your journey, so far? And what hurdles did you have to overcome to reach where you are today?

I am a digital and social media evangelist and have 17 years of work experience, specializing in the fields of IT and tech.Since my dad was in the army, I have studied at different places in India during my school and college days.

I did my Master's in International Business from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) and donned the hat of an entrepreneur in 2007 and that’s when ADG came into being. Driven by an inner conviction and a never-say-die attitude, I rose from the rungs of the management ladder, from a trainee to an entrepreneur. The journey has been challenging as well as rewarding and most of all a great learning curve. The challenges that one faces are part and parcel on this road and I believe that they chisel you out to be a better individual. 

Q. Since you launched ADG Online in 2007, how has your company evolved in the online marketing space?

Well in terms of career contentment, digital has been the most creatively inclined and far more satiating field than any other. Every day is another day with new ideas and innovations being baked using new tools and technologies.We started the company ADG Online Solutions in 2007. We started off with a paid up capital of 1 lakh rupees and till today, ADG Online is completely bootstrapped. Since then we have come a long way. The company now boasts of many renowned national and international accounts with numerous affluent B2B and B2C clients in India and abroad.

We have recently won an award from the World Marketing Congress for being among the Top 50 agencies for Digital Excellence. As a creative agency, we constantly ideate across newer platforms providing brand-makeovers, creating viral campaigns and creative content like digital apps. However, our forte is digital demand generation for a large number of accounts spread across all major metropolis including Delhi, Chandigarh, Mumbai, among others.

Q. What are the main challenges you face, especially in being able to optimally tap into the digital medium?  

a) Well for us, conversion led campaigns occupy the center stage and ROI driven matrix is a prima facie objective. The competition is fiercely based on newly evolved technologies, and we should strive to stay one step ahead of our competitors. 

b) With social media evolving, word of mouth plays a significant role and hence, the quality of service and product would have to be of utmost importance. ORM would be hygiene for all brand practitioners.

Q. With most content consumption and a large chunk of population, especially professionals and knowledge workers, going digital, how is it affecting the way brands approach the right target audience? 

The biggest advantage of going digital is that it is apparently the most advanced and vastly proliferated medium. We can easily sieve, filter and target audience and drive them to call to action with the appropriate mix of content. All it needs is a well thought out and strategy led campaign. What’s more interesting is that everyday there is a new technology and a new tool that can help the companies achieve its objectives.

Q. How important is it for brands today to have a significant presence on social media? And how does ADG Online help the brands in leveraging social media?

We all have witnessed the voluminous penetration that social media has in our day to day routine, with things coming in like BYOD, this impact multiplies and it becomes important to leverage this medium to cater to the right target group. At ADG Online, we identify, communicate, engage and nurture these social communities for the Brand. We don’t follow the number game ideology, but yes, engagement and the virality is an important component. I am glad to share that ADG has bagged the title of Best Social Media agency 2012 by Aegis. 

Q. Please share in brief a couple of digital marketing campaigns that your company has done recently? 

ADG has graduated now as a Demand Gen Specialist specifically in the B2B and IT as a domain. We have worked on extensive campaigns for brands like Cisco, NEC, Trend Micro, Sanovi etc.  Building a community led funnel and channelizing this towards ROI driven campaign is the journey we weave for the brands we work for!