Rethink ad spending, marketers told

Nilufar Fowler, managing director of Mindshare Thailand, said yesterday that the arrival of digital media had resulted in rapid changes in customers’ behaviour and how they consume information. All brands must be able to adapt in how they market their products and conduct their business. Importantly, such adaptation must be faster than any rival’s.

"Brands have to learn to adapt their communications continually and tailor [them] to their audience with meaningful message delivery, or risk becoming obsolete," Fowler said.

Normally, brand owners and marketers in the Kingdom prefer to spend most of their advertising budgets through traditional media, as they are used to them and believe that such media offer tangible guaranteed results in terms of return on investment.

However, in a market connected to the Internet, consumers now need a much faster response from brands than ever before. They also have more choices and can easily switch brands at any time. Meanwhile, customers also need brands that are able to take action immediately to meet their individual preferences and provide personalisation.

In the next five years, Mindshare predicts that broadband Internet will continue to grow in line with converged digital devices.

To respond to this trend, Fowler suggested that marketers diversify risk by advertising through new channels where customers prefer to be identified and recognised. Instead of pouring all of their advertising budgets into traditional media, they should allocate 20 per cent for marketing tests and 10 per cent on new media such as social media, mobile applications and blogs, where they can achieve a more efficient outcome.

Mindshare also offers services related to adaptive marketing. This approach is rapid and flexible in that it is able to integrate fast and slow data sources and draw insights to adapt all aspects of marketing. This allows the agency and its clients to respond quickly to consumers and the environment to create customised brand experiences.

Piyanuch Meemook, head of digital strategy, added that adaptive marketing was a new way of thinking and not limited to one aspect. It could come from all kinds of data sources including consumer trends and market innovations.

Pathamawan Sathaporn, head of business planning, said this new marketing approach allowed for creation of more personalised brands. Personalising a product for a customer increased its relevance and customer satisfaction, making it less likely they would want to switch brands.