IT&E dept looks to delve into potential of digital marketing

Kolkata: In a bid to tap the enormous employment potential in the sphere of digital marketing, the state Information Technology & Electronics (IT&E) department has adopted the same as a strategy, particularly

in Tier II and Tier III cities in the state.

"Business and commerce are heading to digital marketing or publicity tools and techniques, as they provide business owners the best chances for competition, survival and even business growth. So, we feel that this could be an area in which small groups, particularly the youths, could work upon," a senior official of the state IT department said.

State IT&E Additional Chief Secretary Debashis Sen, on Wednesday paid a visit to a digital ecosystem maker start-up at Ecospace in New Town. The private company has been working in the area of digital marketing and has developed a 360 degree strategy to capture the digital marketplace.

"We are planning to use a similar strategy for our visitors in Eco Park. The concept is to make people witness the suitable advertisement at the right time at the right place," a senior official of West Bengal Housing & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) said.

Elaborating on the idea, he said: "If a visitor is hungry and is looking for a restaurant at noon, we can advertise that a restaurant is near and guide him to a culinary treat."

It may be mentioned that Webel, on behalf of the state, has been conducting introductory workshops on start-ups throughout their 100-plus district units. "Places like Burdwan, Asansol, Durgapur and Purulia are some of the places where this digital marketing strategy can be adopted successfully," the IT department official added.

Officials of the state IT department, during their visit to IT parks across the state, have come across a good number of youths who have evinced interest in working in the digital marketing area.

"Most of the companies are adopting a focused and planned digital marketing strategy for capturing a growing and very lucrative online marketplace. They are changing their business models to the online mode as they feel it can attract targeted audiences online that spells the difference between a successfully thriving business and a failed one," the IT department official maintained.