KUALA LUMPUR: Digital media will account for 43.5 per cent of investments, according to eMarketer’s latest report on digital media spend, thanks to rising global ecommerce spending, and shifting viewership from traditional TV to digital channels.
“By 2020, digital’s share of total advertising expenditure will near 50 per cent. With digital advertising expenditure experiencing double-digit growth, media agencies have expanded to offer digital marketing services,” Accenture Interactive principal director Ramesh Rajandran told NST Business.
Ramesh said more chief marketing officers are recognising that reaching the online consumer is not about simply moving advertising spend from traditional media to digital.
“Brands are now built by creating end-to-end experiences for their consumers,” said Ramesh.
Accenture released Fjord Trends 2018, its 11th annual report on seven emergent trends expected to impact business, technology and design in the year ahead.
Fjord Trends 2018 draws upon the collective thinking of more than 1,000 of Fjord’s designers and developers worldwide, and is based on first-hand observations, evidenced-based research, and client work.
"Of those seven trends, I believe three are particularly applicable in Malaysia.
"These are the return of relevance to digital brands; the rise of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in marketing; and employing design thinking outside the lines,” he added.
Ramesh notes that a major shift has been happening in technology, enabled by lower costs and the embedding of tech components cameras, microphones, speakers and screens different environments, especially in the home.
“We are seeing more companies making an effort to ensure they have a physical presence too, while leveraging their digital and data assets to improve end-users’ experiences. This will have implications for brands and organisations — both in terms of how their teams are structured, and how they develop products, services and experiences.”
The rise of a new marketing environment, neither online retail nor bricks-and-mortar, sees algorithms performing the role of gatekeeper between consumers and brands. AIs are used in messaging apps, chatbots, and many other customer interaction channels.
“Brands will need to learn to navigate and engage with these AI gatekeepers, exploring which aspects of their brand architecture to play up or play down,” Ramesh points out.
He also notes that a key consideration will be whether the AI benefits the user or the platform.
“Alexa, for example, works for Amazon, often prioritising Amazon Prime products.”
Ramesh also believes that creative design approaches remains key. “We see too many prescriptive approaches leading to lookalike design.
Design is an important problem-solving tool, capable of ensuring powerful market differentiation.
To harness the potential of design craft, companies need to focus on three core pillars: depth in design craft; design processes, tools and team structures; and breadth of design skills.”
Ramesh cautions that the new landscape require a different approach from traditional media.
“We see a great many companies still stuck with merely adapting their advertising campaigns for digital channels. Those efforts are not targeted to individual consumers who are now demanding personalisation. Companies need a more sophisticated approach to the capture, management and use of data – going beyond what customers choose to an understanding of why they make those choices.”
Accenture Interactive has been named world’s largest global digital agency network by Ad Age.
It has also been recognised as the leader in Gartner’s 2018 Magic Quadrant for Global Digital Marketing Agencies.
“Accenture Interactive not only design customer experiences and architect them through technology, processes and systems. We also manage them. It’s not just about creating then leaving it with the client, but to continue iterating it in response to the changing market and technology innovations,” said Ramesh.
In Malaysia, Accenture Interactive had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MIMOS to help accelerate the adoption of home-grown technologies earlier this year.
“It is hoped that this will stimulate development of business and entrepreneurship opportunities in the country. We are also keeping a close watch on the innovation scene in Malaysia. Last year, we produced the Malaysia Digital Performance Index, where we analysed top companies in Malaysia across several industries to gauge their digital readiness and capabilities.”
According to Ramesh, the Accenture Interactive team has expertise in customer experience, digital commerce and content.
“Accenture Interactive helps clients create the best customer experiences, across the entire customer journey,” said Ramesh.
“By combining a human-centred approach with robust methodology, we make complex systems simple and elegant, making brands easily recognisable.
"We expect to see a continued rise for our services as more Malaysian companies recognise the imperative to redesign their customer experiences.”