Top nine marketing trends for 2019 selected by Asian fraternity

The report aims to synthesise the professional foresight and consolidated wisdom of the Asian marketing fraternity. 
Below are the top nine trends of marketing in Asia for 2019, as identified by AMF and MAT.
l Retail banking streamlining, digital payment platforms and fintech. We are seeing more adaptation of digital technology, especially within the banking sector in the area of customer service, payment and rating credit worthiness. There is a need to embrace analytics driven marketing. 
l OMNI channel – increased popularity and accelerated adoption by retailers. The move of e-commerce giants to acquire brick-and-mortar retailers has highlighted the importance of OMNI marketing, the seamless integration of online and online marketing. This, in turn, has influenced smaller e-commerce players and brick-and-mortar retailers to incorporate OMNI marketing in their business strategy. 
l Rise in utilisation of digital payment and disruption of traditional currency business with digital currency. With the improvement to the digital experience of e-commerce players and the facilitation of mobile transactions, digital payment platforms are starting to take on a new role. 
l The increased usage of artificial intelligence and its transition towards hybrid intelligence (HyIntelligence). In the corporate world, the use of AI has started to help companies to personalise with their customers. By using AI tools, companies with a very large number of customers can collect and compile customer data and use it to improve the customer experience and build stronger relationships. 
l Increased popularity of the “intrapreneur”. Many professionals from companies across the region are taking the plunge to launch their own companies. However, the percentage of successful startup companies remains very low and most fail to scale up. This has resulted in both the professionals, and the companies they work, for losing the opportunity to create value. To avoid such a situation, many companies are starting to encourage their professionals to become intrapreneurs. The professionals are encouraged to take bigger risks, and in return they are offered various benefits of intrapreneurship including shared ownership in a newly created company, houses or other non-monetary incentives for a win-win partnership.
l Drone technology as a marketing tool and advertising medium. More drones being used as a marketing tool. In the past, to capture stunning aerial shots we needed to deploy expensive cranes, scaffolds and fixtures, and even helicopters. 
l Impact of retail disruption by unmanned 24/7 vending machines. An ever-increasing number of vending machines with cash and non-cash options are dotting the Singapore landscape. They offer items from simple freshly squeezed orange juice, to convenience goods and vacuum packed fresh salmon. 
l The growing popularity of business with social impact. The always-connected customers, who are constantly updated 24/7 with the happenings around them, tend to make decisions influenced by emotional judgement. On the other hand, the growing commoditisation by businesses have hindered their ability to engage emotionally with customers.
To differentiate themselves from competitors, more businesses are adopting social responsibility as one of the many ways to engage their customers. These include fundraising for social programmes, lending support to a social cause, and embracing causes such as environmental responsibility and sustainability. 
l Understanding and leveraging “smart home” technology. Grocery shopping at traditional outlets may be disrupted by enhanced smart-home technology where devices (including home appliances such as refrigerators) with AI technology will monitor consumption behaviour. It will then automatically send a reminder message to a homeowner to pick up a low inventory item. With an integrated network link directly to suppliers, digital payment and delivery infrastructure in place, the landscape of grocery shopping is expected to change.
With the smart home becoming more common, AI with face recognition and other AI technology will monitor individual behaviour and provide personalisation in the home-living lifestyle. This could range from setting temperatures to ambient lighting and entertainment programming for personalised music and television selections.
Marketers will need to understand the emerging smart home technology and learn how to harness it to market their products. Marketers will need to leverage the power of personalisation as, combined with customer intimacy, it is becoming the new standard in marketing.
The Asia Marketing Federation is the networking body of marketing associations in Asia. AMF has a critical mission as the premier regional body to effectively promote the interests of marketing in Asia and strengthen the Asian marketing fraternity. 
Its member countries include Thailand, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Vietnam.