Flipkart and Snapdeal want top brands to run campaigns

There is a shortage of funds in leading e-commerce marketplaces and this is driving new ideas to come to the fore. Leading e-commerce marketplaces, Flipkart and Snapdeal, have asked their top brands to run advertising and marketing campaigns for them to promote deals and products. They have also asked to be doled out the same treatment as large brick and mortar chains.

Many experts believe that the strategy will help e-commerce companies to comply with rules that bar them from predatory pricing. Till now, all e-commerce companies ran all advertising campaigns to drive sales except those for exclusively online products which were mostly joint spending. Now the e-commerce companies have been forced to take action because investors are tightening their belts and scrutinising marketing spends.

The products pitched for such campaigns include consumer electronics, mobile phone and apparel brands. These are the top selling categories online and account for 85-90 per cent of their business. But brands are not too sure about this offer. After all, they wouldn’t want to antagonise the offline channels which account for 97 per cent of their sales.

Since Diwali, many e-commerce companies have cut down on the spend on campaigns. Now, most of their advertising focuses on promoting the platform rather than deals and brands.