The impact of AI is all-pervasive and the field of Marketing is no stranger to that, with the introduction of AI, the rules of the game have changed immensely. Those who have productively channelized AI into their marketing strategy are ruling the roost. Artificial Intelligence, slowly but steadily has taken over the sphere of advertising, it isn’t limited to only ad creation, but to all the other aspects, be it creative ad creation, testing variations, optimize spending and budget development, audience targeting, data analytics, etc.

Artificial intelligence means the development of brainy tools and devices which are efficient enough to think and react like humans. The term “Artificial Intelligence,” was devised by John McCarthy, he was one of the creators of the technique of AI, which enabled the multiple tasks to be done in a precise manner.

 (P.C.- Unsplash, @campaign_creators)

AI has been rightly termed as the next industrial change; people rightly believe that AI is a panacea to solve most of the problems and challenges prevalent on the planet. AI can also help in fixing the problems which could take place in the near future.

The impact of AI has been multifarious on Digital Marketing and Advertising, AI-powered tools are aptly able to read and comprehend text, visualize and identify images, help navigate around obstacles, listen to sounds and understand them, and perceive the outer environment for e.g. Smart Compose feature of Gmail and Google Docs is a good example of how AI uses to read our text and hence suggest relevant words before typing further; use of AI by FaceBook to suggest whom to tag in a picture or self-driving cars by Tesla or Siri, which uses AI to interpret and react as per our voice command.

Why AI is a natural fit for advertising, it is so because with the availability of right data, AI-enabled ad tools help in identifying and detecting patterns of scale in the requisite advertising data, as well as, predict what changes can be initiated in the existing campaigns that will help improve performance against a set specific KPI. All these actions can happen in a short-time frame of seconds, rather than stretching it over days and it is unlike what it might take a human to analyze, test, and implement the changes across various campaigns.

Advertising is a costly affair, especially if the product or service, in question, doesn’t yield an immediate return. AI tools for advertising have the ability to enhance the return on ad spend (revenue) and simultaneously lessen the amount of money spent on unproductive staff hours and ineffective ad budgeting.

Some areas where AI shall have undeniable impact:

1. Anticipative marketing- Anticipative marketing entails predictive success for advertising, AI can help marketers in predicting organization’s future precisely. Predictive analytics implies the use of data mining, machine learning, and combined use of AI based tools to analyze past data to predict future. For instance, when a user searches on the web every time, AI based tools help gather the details linked to user’s online habits and thereafter, analyzes that data, this can be mostly seen when we land on a totally un-related webpage after searching for something totally else and see those exact ads on the other webpage. This helps in configuring humongous information, like knowing the frequency and brand name preferences of the user.

AI helps in demarcating the audience as per their choices and preferences. AI based tools help the businesses in gaining clarity to understand customer preferences, especially those the business wants to target. Predictive analytics aids marketers to plan and implement their production plans systematically, more-so as it is based on demand and supply forecast. AI helps in making crucial marketing and advertising decisions and should be used to the hilt and we at Zivanta Analytics can help you do that precisely.

2. Creation of advertisements – AI-powered tools which are present in the market can create partial or comprehensive ads for your organization, based on your target audience. Some of the social media ad platforms, already provide this feature, they use intelligence based automation to suggest ads which shall be run by your firm to facilitate the links you shall be promoting. There are some other tools which employ intelligence-based algorithms to create ads for your target audience. These systems employ 2 most in-demand and powerful AI powered tools, which are natural language generation and natural language processing they enable writing and creating ad copies for you that perform better than those created and written by humans, that too in lesser time, scale and monetary cost.

3. Optimizing cost and performance – AI based tools are key in optimizing advertisement performance. Algorithms generated by machine learning (ML) are employed as practically available solutions to determine and track as to how ads are performing across various online platforms and resultantly offer targeted recommendations to improve performance and generate the targeted result. Many a times, these platforms employ AI to smartly automate actions that the organizations should take into consideration based on industry specific best practices, thus saving time and cost and enhancing efficiency. Many a times, certain performance related issues might be highlighted as a due process, which firms won’t be even aware of.

To save financial costs, which plays a huge role in marketing function of any organization, there exist some platforms which help in automatic money allocation, targeting the audience and across all channels, this enables the firms to focus on higher revenue generation strategic tasks, rather than wasting man-power on guess-work and unnecessary repetitive tasks.

4. A/B testing – A/B testing is bucket testing or split screening. A/B testing helps in creating strategy by splitting and comparing two different versions of same website to help identify consumer preference. This helps in testing, analyzing and understanding, which website variable of your site can help generate new leads and/or conversions. Artificial or synthetic intelligence-based tools help analyzing a bouquet of theories at once and most importantly enhance results way quicker and more efficiently than humans. AI has immensely helped to improve the effectiveness of Conversion rate.

5.  Voice – Search – With the increasing rate in the usage of voice based search tools, this form of technology has gained massive market in the recent years, be it Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri, the use of this technology has become all pervasive. Voice search enables a quicker and efficient way to search for information. Voice search has already impacted future marketing, especially SEO related decisions, thus, making it imperative for online marketers to sync and optimize their content with Voice pleasant keywords as well as optimizing the website for local search by using targeted keywords and phrases. It is a prudent idea to establish such websites which enable direct responses to the voice enabled queries, because Voice browsers always look for WH inquiries.

Artificial intelligence has brought sweeping changes across all the sectors; it has not only brought challenges but also driven up opportunities of achieving targets with a precision. Artificial intelligence aids digital marketers to make analyzed choices for much effective and efficient campaign results. Therefore, to stay in the game, it is essential to productively channelize the interpreted data results and target the audience in an effective and planned manner. This is where Zivanta Analytics can help you gain strides with our expert team to aid you in every step you take.

Content is the king, always stands true and there is no denying the fact especially post Covid-19. Content is what attracts the people to your website and makes them engaged with what you have to offer.

As per a report by the Content Marketing Institute (2019), there is some positive data regarding content marketing;

• Content marketing is used by 68% of top performers, their aim is at creating a database and 83% is for lead enhancing activities,
• 84% of the most productive and successful content marketing strategies are aimed at designing content to enhance customer loyalty towards the brand as well as strengthen the relationship they share with the public.

Due to the pandemic, it is for all to see how this crisis has impacted content marketing. The importance of using content marketing to its best as well as its relevance in situations like these becomes evident by just looking at the positive emerging witnessed in the first phase. The point to note here is that the campaigns which banked on content for their marketing activities grabbed the coveted spot.

The need to convince consumers doesn’t necessarily stem from advertisements created solely for selling and convincing. What matters here is how well the consumer is convinced regarding your offering and the content whether it justifies it or not. In today’s times since people are spending so much time more at home, this has led to success in the popularity and outreach of content marketing. Undoubtedly, this has emerged as an important way for companies to stay in touch with the people, at large.

You can reach out to your audience and convey your message to them. The best part about content marketing is that you can reach out to various target groups by designing content as per their requirements and taste. You can design your content which adds and carries value to the people, this way you can capitalize it as an asset to get closer to your customers. It should be remembered that whatever content you display, should not look opportunistic or aimed for profit, rather something that makes a difference or creates an impact in the lives of the people. For instance,

• A free online series on artificial ventilation was created by Harvard University made to prepare the medical staff towards tending for theCOVID-19 patients
• An Instagram series called as ‘Wanna talk about it’ was created by Netflix, focusing on self-care during the pandemic.
• A campaign was created by the Cookist, known as “#istayinthekitchen”, where ideas, tutorials and initiatives for the people to productively gain out of the lockdown were provided.

Points to take care of for your content strategy post Covid-19

1. Being authentic and honest is the key- Post-Covid, people have become wary of any promises made by an organization, definitely because unlike in the past, the one-to-one interaction is missing, which did lend credibility to any transaction. Nowadays, only those brands or companies are successful who take efforts to maintain and carry transparency and most importantly win the trust of the people. Therefore, when you develop new content, you should make sure that not only it is engaging, sensible, authentic, and relevant to the users. What matters, in the long run, is that you should be able to carry on the promises made by you, because if the consumers feel that you won’t be delivered as promised, then they might shift to your competitor. Therefore, whatever it is, it boils down to the old adage, ‘Honesty is the best policy.
2. Work upon your content calendar- It is time to rework your content calendar, nowadays, anywhere and everywhere you go, it’s all about the virus. It’s true as the situation is just like that, but undoubtedly it has become overwhelming for all. Therefore, all that people need is a dose of creativity and positivity; hence, you can share pictures or snippets showcasing happy stories or anecdotes from work from home schedules of the people, or any such thing which infuses joy and optimism in the current times. It is best to remove those posts or pictures which might create backlash or generate negativity against your organization…so go ahead and revamp if not done that yet.
3. Request for surveys and genuine feedback- For any business entity it is very important to stay in regular touch with their audience and get to know their pulse on a timely basis. This is what acts as a foundation stone for their success and growth. Not only should the organizations rely on analytics to understand the behavior of the audience but getting responses on a personalized level shall not only bring them closer to the needs of the audience but also help them understand to how to cater to those needs. Surveys, feedback, questionnaires, etc. shall be shared on a regular basis as this will give the organizations an idea of whether their content is hitting the right note with their audience or not. If not, then it can be tweaked as per the requirements on a timely basis.

The pandemic has put a spotlight on the way content marketing was perceived. Nowadays, it has not only become relevant but also one of the most effective tools to get in touch with your customers and convey to them your message in the most effective and engaging manner. If used properly, it can act as a bridge between the customers and you, enhance your protect your reputation and deliver the best results in a limited budget.

In facing COVID-19, companies are looking for ways to help, and through that work create a connect with consumers. Consumers hold brands responsible for taking a stand. Surveys show that, 62% of consumers believe that the nation will require help from corporates to tide over the current COVID crisis (Edelman’s COVID-19 Brand Trust Report).

Ventilator Challenge, UK

A collective of  UK’s industrial, technology and engineering businesses have responded to the national emergency for ventilators for COVID 19 patients. They have come together to produce medical ventilators for the UK. The VentilatorChallengeUK partners have put in their collective expertise and resources to expedite ventilator production and have managed within weeks to design, prototype, receive approvals  and set up production facilities within weeks which in normal circumstances would take years to achieve. More than 60 companies and organizations are associated with this initiative , some of them include  Airbus, Dell, Microsoft, Unilever, Renault amongst others.

Takumi support for WHO #SafeHands Campaign

Takumi has launched it’s multimarket pro-bono campaign across TikTok and Instagram during the outbreak of COVID-19 to attempt to protect public health. It is using its network of influencers to create and spread trustworthy and useful information about the pandemic at a time when misinformation has become something of an issue, as well as maintaining positivity. Made up of two separate executions, ‘#SafeHands’ and ‘Protect your mental health’, it runs in the UK, US, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. #SafeHands will raise awareness of the World Health Organisations protection measures against covid-19 and highlight what influencers can do for 20 seconds whilst washing their hands – whether that’s playing keep-ups with a football or singing a song.’Protect your mental health’ is intended to ensure that anyone following social distancing measures are kept in the loop with the latest coronavirus updates and given the best tips to protect their mental health.

KFC collaborates with Blessings in a Backpack to provide food bags for children in need

*KFC is working with Blessings in a Backpack to provide bags of food for children in need. The brand donated at total of $400,000. This donation will help feed 100,000 children who depend on the federal fee and reduced meal programs at their schools, bridging a critical gap during this global pandemic. To best serve children who are facing school closures, these meals will be distributed through existing Blessings in a Backpack programs at local feeding sites throughout the country.

Facebook Grant to Small Businesses

Facebook is offering $100 million in cash grants and credits to up to 30,000 eligible small businesses in 20 countries. It’s also offering another $100 million in grants and advertising credits for journalists.

Senior Hour Encouragement

Dollar General has earmarked  first hour of operations at its store exclusively for  senior customers, who are amongst the groups most vulnerable to the COVID-19 . This would ensure that the at risk customers avoid crowded shopping hours.

Emergency Support for Workers in the Creative Community

Netfix has created a  $100 million fund to help film and television crews and support staff rendered jobless due to COVID. They  include electricians, carpenters, drivers, hair and makeup artists among others who generally work on a contractual basis.

Frontline stays for COVID-19 responders from Airbnb

Airbnb has launched a global intiative to provide free/subsidized housing to 100,000 frontline health workers and first responders battling the COVID pandemic. Hosts can opt in through the Airbnb’s Open Home platform and offer their properties free of cost.

There are many more such examples of cause marketing during these COVID times. Such gestures help humanize the brand and portray it as a responsible corporate citizen.

A report on Artificial Intelligence (AI) shared by Accenture recently found that over 40% of consumers switched brands due to lack of trust and poor personalization, in 2017. 43% of the surveyed people are more likely to make purchases from companies that offer a personalized customer experience.

Personalization

Hence, the importance of AI can’t be less emphasized; Consumers are more likely to go ahead with a personalized content experience, because in today’s times when everything has become impersonal and formal, creating an only-for-you experience, shall create wonders for you and make your brand a niche’ entity; we at Zivanta Marketing can help create that Improved personalized experience for your users with our expertise in Artificial Intelligence, by using state-of-the-art AI techniques. Today, AI in Digital Marketing is transforming the digital marketing space by helping brands increase productivity and garner visibility, and we at Zivanta Marketing can help you increase your revenue and cut costs through task automation, once that required human labor and intelligence.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

With the growth of mobile internet usage and smart home devices, there has been a boom in the market of voice-controlled devices and this shall go up and beyond; for your business this shall be an untapped business opportunity, waiting to bloom and Zivanta Marketing can be your partner in this un-explored territory. With the help of AI, we can help you to interpret complicated speech patterns and understand meanings from spoken search queries, which are way different from the traditional on-going practice of typed searches. As marketers, Zivanta Marketing can help you use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to optimize your content for voice based search, not only to boost your SEO and site-wide traffic but also sky-rocket your online presence, dovetailed vividly into a voice based digital sphere.

Using predictive analytics has been found to give continuous desired results across a number of important metrics. For businesses using predictive analytics, both the average profit margin per customer and customer lifetime value is twice as high.

Experian’s data shows that emails are 26% more likely to be opened when they have personalized subject lines. As per a global study conducted by Marketo, 79% of consumers said that they would only show interest in brand promotions, only if they are specifically tailored to past interactions.

Ad Optimization 

Tapping a customer’s interest is a start of the customer’s journey with your brand, and we at Zivanta Marketing realize the importance of that relationship. Zivanta Marketing shall help you in productively engaging with the customer, by putting across most useful and updated information to them, whereby, ensuring the highest probability of them responding to your efforts.

Today we see digital platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, etc. using AI based ad optimization, to track and analyze the user behavior and show relevant content based on their interest; thereby, we at Zivanta Marketing can provide you with a curated and a targeted consumer experience for your customers as well as ensuring better Rol for you, by cutting on unnecessary expenditures, thereby ensuring to show only direct ads, to engage the target market effectively and efficiently and create a positive image for your brand in the digital marketing sphere.

Data Optimization

The spurt in digital marketing has opened up a plethora of options to cater to the targeted audience, but the flip side is that of managing content and how to reach across these channels to the wider audience. It has to be kept in mind that, not all channels shall prove to be fruitful for all the leads. This process shall take experimentation and is time-consuming, in here AI removes the unpredictability and guesswork, thereby streamlining the process and increasing the impact of targeted lead generation. Therefore, Zivanta marketing’s unparalleled expertise shall smoothen the entire process for you and deliver the optimal desired results to you and making you a champion!!

One balmy morning, I stood in front of the Zivanta Analytics office. With one year of the MBA course behind me, I was at Zivanta Analytics for my internship interview.  Professors had cautioned that this was the real thing, much removed from the presentations at the business school in familiar surroundings.  I was forewarned that at the internship interview I was to be quizzed by battle-hardened professionals who over the years have honed their skills on separating the wheat from the chaff.  In business school professors help you to add value to yourself, but as an intern I was to position myself on how I was to add value to the company and in the bargain learn something in the real world situation.

For comfort I had this brilliant piece of advice which does rounds at my business school during the internship and placement seasons “do not feel bad when interviewer rejects u, people usually reject expensive things because they cannot afford them”. With these lines in my head,  written by one of the greatest (albeit anonymous) philosopher of all times, it gave me  a momentary sense of false confidence, As I entered the Zivanta Analytics office,  I felt like David, out to slay the Goliath.

At the interview table I was certainly the David, but where were the Goliaths. The two-member team who interviewed me did not appear at all intimidating. They asked the usual questions- about academics, my future plans and about me as a person. What impressed me was that the interviewers at Zivanta Analytics went at length to explain the pick of projects which I could choose from if I were to be selected, and how such experience will help in my career in the long run. The entire process was interviewee centric and was about my benefits and gains.

The mail next day followed with a telephone call informed me of my selection. It felt good to have cracked the interview. I looked forward to attending office; the interviewers had certainly left a very positive impression on my mind.

First day I was introduced to my mentor for the internship period at Zivanta Analytics.  My mentor,  who has a string of impressive degrees including those from abroad and a formidable work experience, spoke to me as a colleague and not as a supervisor of a boot camp.  My colleagues in the business analytics team at Zivanta Analytics were a cheerful lot, always helpful and very humane.

The sense of humour even during the toughest of delivery schedule was impressive. When tight deadline would come up, the refrain from the supervisor would be “guys let’s get into the pressure cooker and blow the client up”.

My first assignment was to assist the team lead in one of the projects which involved developing an algorithm to rank credit cards. That was my first hands-on experience in data analytics, which I could never have learned from only studying books. I eventually got involved in many subsequent projects for Zivanta Analytics. Even though I was an intern, my opinions and suggestions were always taken. I was always included in crucial business meetings and my supervisors encouraged me to come up with new ideas.

The responsibility and flexibility during my internship days in Zivanta Analytics helped me find my bearings and helped transition from business school to work life seamlessly.

In a nutshell, I was the David who never had to slay a Goliath, for there are no Goliaths at Zivanta Analytics.

Today I work as a full-time staff at Zivanta Analytics and the learning curve for me remains steep as ever.

A brand is all about what people say about you when you are not in the room. The million dollar question here is “Can we in any way influence and shape the conversation that takes place in our absence?”

Michael William Krzyzewski is an American basketball player and coach at Duke University. He is regarded as America’s most successful basketball coach of all times. He interestingly was able to link his stakeholders comprising of recruiters, players, and fans to the brand promise. Michael William was able to deliver on his promise of a path to a career in basketball and even winning championships with the help of his website and adhering to techniques of digital marketing.

In today’s technology driven era, digital channels provide a positive environment to building a brand. One of the very basic activity associated with digital marketing is helping to ‘bring a brand to life’. As dependency on technology is increasing globally, digital marketing tools are gaining immense popularity as a fantastic tool for brand building. A basketball, baseball or rugby coach in order to have a solid brand has to first focus on enhancing customer experience through the help of digital marketing.

The advantages of utilizing digital marketing as a tool for brand building are:

• Get targeted results:
  Online marketing can help in focusing on the important issues like zeroing on the right market and right consumer. A dedicated approach aimed at the targeted consumer can help make things easy. A regular update on social media, web content, SEO can be profitably used to reach out to specific demographics and particular geographic regions.
• Increase of digital footprint:
  The use of technology has greatly increased over the past few decades. People are accessing more content digitally using their laptops, mobile phones, tablets etc. A brand can be easily brought to live by using the proper content, user experience and engaging with the audience through social media to name a few.
• Delivering on promise and purpose:
  For a coach, the target audience should feel connected to the common dream of winning championships, a path to an NBA career and riches to name a few. They should be able to relate that a brand connection is the doorway to their individual’s goals of landing with top colleges, top recruiters, or becoming a great player. Proper digital branding can create an environment that will help bridge the gap.
• Enhancing Brand Loyalty:
  Digital marketing helps in building brand loyalty. It makes stakeholders aware of the reason behind accepting and sticking to the brand. In order to build brand loyalty reaching out to the hearts, minds and lives of the stakeholders is necessary. Creating more exciting ways to engage with target audience should be a priority.

Digital brand building is a tool that helps garner faith right from the first visit to the website, to email newsletter to the Facebook or LinkedIn page. A brand is far more important than just a logo or an image. It is something which creates an imprint in the mind of customers.

Digital marketing has become an essential part in today’s world. With both competitors and potential customers constantly online, digital marketing is the only way to proceed ahead. When you’re a small business owner the online world can seem intimidating. Here is a list of five simple digital marketing strategies that any business owner can implement to help their business grow.

1.Setting a Goal:You’re looking for ways to help your small business grow. You might want more customers, more recognition or maybe you’re looking to get ahead of the competition. Whatever the case may be, starting with a solid goal in mind greatly increases your chances of success. Digital marketing is a great way for small businesses to prosper, but going into the process blindly can leave you with a jumbled mess. A lot of strategy and precision goes into digital marketing and having a goal helps you know what to focus on.

2.Creating a Marketing Funnel:The most successful businesses have an effective marketing funnel in place. A marketing funnel is when you map out a customer’s journey from when a customer is a complete stranger to when they become a lead, and then put certain strategies in place that will encourage them to move through this funnel. Things like lead magnets, calls to action, opt-ins and offers are all effective pieces of a funnel.

Having an effective marketing funnel won’t just get you more leads, it can also help you turn leads into repeat buyers. If the customer has a good experience they might return to purchase from you again or even tell others they know about your business. The elements of a marketing funnel can seem like a lot to put together, but they’re simple concepts when broken down. You’ll see that numbers 3,4 and 5 help to break down and explain the different aspects of having a marketing funnel in place on your site and how to put together some of the most important pieces of it.

3.Developing a call-to-action:We talked about using a call-to-action in the second step as a part of your marketing funnel, but what is a call-to-action exactly? A call-to-action (CTA) is an image or text that prompts visitors to take action, such as subscribe to a newsletter, view a webinar or request a product demo. CTAs should direct people to landing pages, where you can collect visitors’ contact information in exchange for a valuable marketing offer. In that sense, an effective CTA results in more leads and conversions for your website. This path, from a click on a CTA to a landing page, illustrates the much desired process of lead generation. In order to increase visitor-to-lead conversion opportunities, you need to create a lot of calls-to-action, distribute them across your web presence and optimize them. A good CTA should be attention grabbing and help lead a potential customer further into your marketing funnel.

4.Creating an Effective Lead Magnet:A lead magnet can be used alone or along with a CTA. This will also be used either within your marketing funnel or as a way to drive potential customers into your funnel. Supply them with something relevant to your product or service that they want. Use your offers as a way to gather more information about a potential buyer while driving them further into your funnel at the same time. This brings them closer to becoming an actual quality lead who will spend money on your product or service. The idea behind a lead magnet is to trade information. You supply something like a free download of a white paper, but in order to complete the download the individual has to fill out a form that will provide you with more information about them. You’ll use the information you gather to interact with them more as they progress through your funnel.

5.Driving Traffic:In order for there to be people to drive into your marketing funnel, there first has to be traffic on your website. There a variety of ways you can drive traffic to your website. Here are a few of the recommendations:

• Quality Content: Use content such as blog posts, press releases and articles on authority websites. Insert links to various places on your website within this content to build your brand name through exposure and drive traffic to your website.
• Keyword Strategy: Inserting related keywords into content will help your content and website show up in more search results, this leads to higher volumes of web traffic.
• Website Optimization: Ensuring that your website is optimized and functioning at it’s best is essential. People don’t want to visit a website that doesn’t work properly.
• Social Media: Use engaging social media posts to attract more traffic to your site. Using pictures, video, and other relevant media will help your posts get more engagement.

A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research have  examined how credit access affects the way Americans look for new jobs. It turns out that credit can often help job seekers in a marked way especially those with lower income and fewer savings.

The study found that when workers lose their jobs, a higher limit on their existing card allows them to take longer to find a new one. The study linked up an employment database with millions of Trans Union credit reports from 2001 to 2008. It showed that a credit limit increase equal to 10 percent of a person’s prior annual salary can translate into their spending as many as three weeks more looking for a job.This situation is ideal for people who do not have any debt burden on their shoulder. Moreover you have to use your credit card sensibly in such situations.

Longer unemployment might sound like a serious situation as people are anxious about their finances and future. But it’s also a mistake to jump at the first job opportunity that comes your way because you’re desperate for money. It is observed that when unemployed people have access to more credit they become choosier regarding jobs. Most often they end up with better jobs a year later, both higher-paying and at larger, more productive companies.

The study found that it’s not really credit-card spending that makes people to be pickier. It’s the fact that they knew that cash was available if they needed it, which gives them confidence to hold out longer for better opportunities.

For the unemployed a credit card with a generous limit can work much as unemployment insurance or emergency savings. These extra resources give them the ability to apply for jobs, network, get retrained, or even move to cities with more promising job markets.

The problem, however, with relying on credit-card debt after a job loss is that banks are notorious for cutting off credit just when customers need it most. In 2009, the average credit-card limit dipped about 40 percent. So when lots of people lose their jobs, that credit-card cushion can vanish.

In other words, job seekers and government policymakers have similar, difficult choices to make during a recovery: If people rush out to find any old job as quickly as possible, they can hurt their finances and productivity in the long run. But if they have the opportunity to wait for the right job to come along their way it can surely help them avail the right job at the right time.

HHI (Herfindhal – Hirschman Index) is an accepted measure of market concentration. It approaches zero when a market is occupied by a large number of firms of relatively equal size and reaches 10000 (max) when a market is controlled by a single firm. E.g. the search engine market with three players Google (64%), Yahoo(18%) and Microsoft(13.6%) has an HHI index of 4624 indicating a very concentrated market. In a similar vein the Title Insurance Market has an HHI index of around 3000.

Typically, an HHI below 1,000 indicates an un-concentrated index, an HHI between 1,000 and 1,800 indicates moderate concentration and an HHI above 1,800 indicates high concentration. The market is concentrated with four large companies namely Fidelity National, First American, Stewart Title, Old Republic.

Zivanta Analytics prepared a market penetration strategy report for a large Title Insurance subsidiary. As a part of the exercise, Zivanta team used an innovative methodology to build a case wherein market concentration (HHI) in the Title Insurance industry in the various States, presented a unique market penetration opportunity.

The suggested methodology is demonstrated in this paper using the publicly available data ( ALTA) for Fidelity National, by far the largest Title Insurance underwriter in the United States.

The market was segmented into four quadrants wherein HHI index of each of the States in the United States is plotted on x axis and the market share of Fidelity in each of the states in (on y axis). Plotting the States by its aggregate HHI and Fidelity market share brings out four interesting scenarios.