Marketers advised to adapt to convergence of digital, real worlds
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MARKETERS AND brands should adapt their communication strategy to the new reality of the digital and real worlds converging seamlessly with more tech-savvy consumers, according to MRM//McCann.
“The physical and digital worlds are seamlessly intertwined. What brands should be digitally focusing on in the upcoming year is seamless experiences,” Varidda Voraakom, Thailand head of digital strategy and social at MRM//McCann, a digital media agency under McCann Worldgroup, said yesterday.
Consumers have changed their behaviour after connecting with the digital world, while digital innovation has transformed the way they live and communicate.
“Although consumers are living in different countries, speaking different languages or engaging in different purchasing patterns, now they are interacting with digital media with almost the same pattern, such as using emoji, buy buttons, ephemera and motion detection,” she said.
In terms of privacy, consumers have also changed their perceptions. They are now keen on trading off their privacy for better experiences or rewards from brands online. With this change, brands and marketers can collect personal data from customers.
“Data analytics is key for brands and marketers to design the right engagement with consumers through online media,” said Rattakorn Potharam, general manager and executive creative director of MRM//McCann in Thailand.
Virtual-reality technology will play a key role next year, which will mark VR’s commercial peak with a product line-up including the Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive, Microsoft HoloLens and Sony PlayStation VR.
These new connected devices will broaden customers’ experience and bring them to another level of communications, allowing brands to create deeper engagement.
E-commerce businesses should also rethink their communications with target consumers. After getting familiar with Google Search since 1997, today’s consumers need a more customised search engine for their specific needs.
“Google is now no longer dominating the search-engine market,” Rattakorn said.
Social search on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat is becoming more important, so e-commerce businesses should put more focus on this new opportunity, he said.
As online and offline are now integrated, those key implications would be useful for brands and marketers in gaining a better understanding of the transformation in the media ecosystem.
