From Conception to Innovation: MIQ's Journey to Marketing Mastery

From its inception in India to global expansion, MIQ's journey epitomizes marketing mastery. With a robust presence in key markets like the UK, US, and Europe, MIQ's approach blends data prowess with industry experience. By aggregating diverse datasets and integrating them into a centralized platform, MIQ empowers brands to target audiences with unprecedented precision. As MIQ continues to innovate and expand, its commitment to excellence remains steadfast, promising transformative partnerships and groundbreaking achievements on a global scale.

During a conversation with Siddharth Dabhade, Managing Director for South Asia & China at MiQ, we gained valuable insights into MiQ's trajectory and current market footprint. We explored MiQ's distinctive selling points (USP) and examined their utilization of data and technology to elevate customer experiences. Our dialogue also addressed their rigorous protocols for safeguarding data integrity throughout their operations. With an unwavering dedication to innovation and client satisfaction, MiQ is primed for an exhilarating journey ahead.

Tell us about MiQ's journey in India.

MIQ's expansion trajectory included entering the UK, US, Canadian, European, Australian, and Singaporean markets. In India, operations commenced with the establishment of the Center of Excellence. By 2020, the company secured its inaugural campaign and client, rapidly scaling up to serve over 300 clients and accumulating nearly 60 case studies within the Indian market.

The company's success can be attributed to its unique approach. Drawing from experience at Google and as the head of Critio's Indian operations, it became evident that while existing platforms were proficient, brands sought greater customization and deeper insights coupled with media integration. MIQ emerged as a standout in this space due to its global data lake and extensive data partnerships exceeding 150.

MIQ aggregates diverse datasets into a centralized data studio, integrating them using common identifiers such as cookies, device IDs, and geocontextual signals. This comprehensive dataset includes demographic information, app usage patterns, browsing behavior, affinities, footfall signals, and device-level data, all collected in a privacy-safe and GDPR-compliant manner.

For instance, MIQ can assist luxury car brands in targeting potential buyers by identifying individuals who visited luxury car showrooms, possess the requisite economic status, and exhibit family-related signals indicative of purchasing intent. Leveraging this data, MIQ empowers brands to precisely target their audience and extract maximum value from their media investments, thereby achieving rapid success within a short timeframe.

Can you provide an overview of MiQ's presence and operations in India?

Currently, we have a presence in North America, Europe, and the MENA region. Additionally, we have expanded our operations to include Australia, Singapore, Southeast Asia, India, and China. Furthermore, we are in the process of expanding into Japan and Latin America. This brings our total presence to over ten locations.

What sets MiQ apart from other companies in the digital marketing and advertising industry?

We operate in the media industry, leveraging exceptionally robust data and data science capabilities. As the sole company in this niche in India and across many regions, we excel in integrating data and analytics to derive valuable consumer and brand insights. These insights are then utilized to drive actionable strategies in our marketing campaigns. While data companies specialize in handling data and marketing companies excel in media, we uniquely combine both competencies.

How does MiQ leverage data and technology to deliver value to its clients?

We have a very interesting case study involving the Luminesce Inverter. Luminesce Inverter is a brand that might not be easily remembered; it's not exactly an aspirational brand, per se. However, it's undoubtedly a great product, especially noticeable when there's a power outage. So, what we did was, we engaged with them through their agency. They aimed to connect with consumers precisely when they needed the product the most.

We leveraged this insight and identified a government website that provides data on scheduled power cuts. Our engineering team developed a crawler to extract this data and integrated it into a programmatic environment. Consequently, automatic campaign triggers were set up.

For example, in Jaipur, there's a scheduled power cut on Sundays from 2 to 6 p.m. At 2 p.m., an automatic notification is sent to your mobile device when the power goes out, suggesting the use of a Luminous Power Inverter. Furthermore, the message is tailored to be geocontextually relevant; for instance, it would be in Hindi in Jaipur and in Tamil in Chennai. Additionally, it displays the nearest dealer location where the Luminous inverter can be purchased.

Can you discuss any recent successful campaigns or projects that MiQ has executed in India?

The way we ensure data security is by strictly adhering to our policy of not collecting any private data. If someone sends us private consumer information, we do not retain it. We utilize an MIQ onboarding solution, where users can upload mobile numbers or email IDs for targeting purposes.

However, when this data reaches us through the platform, we are unable to access the email IDs directly as they are encrypted. We then transfer them into a programmatic environment for use. In our systems, we take meticulous care to never store any private data such as email addresses, phone numbers, or names; all data is anonymized and encrypted. This practice ensures compliance with GDPR and India's privacy laws.

Additionally, we employ a global privacy officer to oversee our policies. When we receive consumer data, it is received in encrypted format, and then enriched with our data before being used for campaigns. These processes strictly adhere to established guidelines. Furthermore, we have agreements in place with clients and agencies stipulating that their data will only be used for their intended purposes and will not be utilized to enhance our products. Once the work is completed, we promptly delete the data from our systems.

Is there any successful campaign that was successfully projected by MIQ? 

We have over 50 case studies in the Indian market. The Luminous inverter campaign stands out as particularly interesting, as our agency partner, WaveMaker, won several awards, including MVs. Another notable campaign was for L'Oreal, which also received recognition. We integrated numerous innovations into these campaigns.

For instance, we targeted consumers who frequently visited salons, based on their footfall behavior. Additionally, they showed interest in hair care, beauty care, and related keywords while browsing, and using apps like Nykaa or Glam, indicating their interest in these products and services. This campaign also received multiple awards. We incorporated further innovations, such as utilizing technology to repurpose social media posts or ads into a programmatic environment.

For example, an Instagram ad would be displayed on NDTV, complete with the Instagram logo. This unconventional approach attracted consumer attention, as it's not common to see Instagram content on NDTV. Furthermore, clicking on the ad directed users to L'Oreal's WhatsApp business account, where they could inquire about beauty and hair care, obtain coupon codes, and locate the nearest salon.

What are some key partnerships or collaborations that MiQ has established in India?

We have partnerships with Google, Amazon, and TradeDesk. Additionally, we have numerous data partnerships. For instance, one of our significant data partnerships is with LifeSite in the Indian market. Furthermore, we maintain strong partnerships with all of our agency partners.

We collaborate with GroupM, OMD, and Havas among other media agencies. Therefore, we provide tech and data solutions to these agencies across platforms such as Google and Amazon. By integrating our data with these platforms, our solutions are delivered to the clients of the agencies. For example, if Havas has Tata Motors as a client, our solution, facilitated by our partnerships and data, will be conveyed to Tata Motors through Havas.

What are the expansion plans for MIQ and what we can expect from you in the future?

I believe our focus now is on expanding into all three regions. Geographically, we're scaling up in the northern region. We have a team expanding there, and we also have an office in Horizon 2. Additionally, both our Mumbai and Bangalore offices are expanding, and we have plans to establish agency partnerships in every state across the country.

One noteworthy partnership I failed to mention earlier is our collaboration with Pixability, a global YouTube measurement partner for Google. Through this partnership, we gain access to comprehensive log-level data, which greatly enhances our ability to analyze brand presence on YouTube. Take Oreo, for example, a biscuit brand. We can now provide insights into Oreo's share of voice on YouTube compared to its competitors, both organically and through paid channels. This exclusive data has been well received in the market, particularly among FMCG brands eager to track their performance against competitors and within their category. As a share of voice directly impacts financial performance, brands are keen on monitoring it closely.

In addition to this, we've developed a YouTube recommender technology that helps brands identify channels they may be overlooking. By optimizing their presence on these channels, brands can effectively increase their share of voice in a cost-efficient manner, thus improving their competitive positioning.

Furthermore, with our extensive data and geocontextual signals, we're well-positioned to assist brands in navigating the cookie-less future. As cookies become obsolete, many brands are focusing on collecting and enriching first-party data. We've been offering cookieless solutions for some time now, particularly in Western markets where desktop and laptop browsing is more prevalent. Leveraging our wealth of geocontextual data, we're equipped to help brands tackle cookie-less challenges effectively."