DevelopmentWhat’s so great about digital marketing anyway?

What's so great about digital marketing anyway?

Do you work in digital marketing and do you love it? Are you new to the industry and feeling overwhelmed by it? Either way, all this constant change means people in this industry are always learning and sharing their ideas.

Do you work in digital marketing and do you love it? Are you new to the industry and feeling overwhelmed by it? Either way, all this constant change means people in this industry are always learning and sharing their ideas.

In case you hadn’t noticed, the digital world is all around us. For those people still trying to fend off the ‘future’ by disengaging from the digital world, the tide is turning. It’s now getting harder and harder to do everyday things like pay a gas bill, book a holiday or apply for a job without some kind of digital presence.

In some parts of the world – like China – you can’t even get a taxi these days unless you are connected to the internet.

In the words of Bill Heslop: “You can’t stop progress.” That quote might be lost on anyone who is not Australian, but in the two years since I attended my first ClickZ Live event, the digital landscape has changed phenomenally and there are no signs it’s going to slow down anytime soon.

How digital marketing today goes beyond goats screaming like humans

Have you ever Googled “goats screaming like humans”? This was a key theme of the opening keynote at ClickZ Live Hong Kong in 2014. It was delivered by Jason Oke who at the time was the regional managing director, Asia-Pacific, Red Fuse Communications.

ClickZLive_Goats screaming like humans_Google_600

I haven’t forgotten this presentation because essentially, Oke was saying that if you were a brand like Coca-Cola, your marketing competition was no longer Pepsi.

Your biggest worry as a marketer was thinking about how to engage the distracted consumer from the endless hours of content around cats that do all sorts of strange things, dogs that know when they are in trouble, and goats screaming like humans.

ClickZLive_Cats That_Google search_600

Here’s one of many YouTube videos devoted to the goats. This one has had more then 30 million views.

And it didn’t stop with the goats. The viral nature of these videos prompted a range of further uploads of goats interspersed in the music videos of Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and Whitney Houston.

Yes, in 2014, these goats had digital marketers staying awake at night.

Oke’s message was short and blunt. In 2014, the party had moved online, and a brand could either attend the party, or remain unnoticed in the shadows.

What’s the marketing value of a contact lens that can measure glucose levels?

At that same conference, ClickZ Asia contributor Mandeep Grover talked about the revolutionary opportunities for marketers around wearable technologies and the Internet of Things.

He talked about the capabilities of some of these new technologies where, for example, a contact lens could measure the blood sugar levels of a person from their tears. Was he talking about the ‘future’? No. This was technology right here already, in the now.

ClickZ Live_Google contact lens_600

*Source: Google

This sort of technology, alongside other health initiatives like fit bits, is a boon for marketers in terms of the additional data they can collect from individual consumers. Imagine the kind of personalized policies a health insurer can now market to individual consumers, based on that data. Yes, big data has been a key theme for some time now, but now that the industry has got better at collecting, and refining it, what should marketers be doing with it?

David v Goliath – staying relevant through digital partnerships

Finding clever ways to use this data to engage with consumers on a very personal level is every marketer’s dream. And those doing it well are startups. They are small and agile and can constantly evolve to meet changing consumer needs and purchase behaviors. Which is why clever businesses are working hard to partner with them. A keynote case study at our Hong Kong event in 2015 looked at AIA’s accelerator programme in Hong Kong.

The insurance industry is one of several sectors at particular risk of losing relevancy to disruptive technologies.

Alyssa Tam, director, AIA Edge, AIA Group, said a key objective of the AIA accelerator programme was to be able to learn and understand what was happening outside.

“Because at the end of the day, we want to stay relevant. We are a very successful company, and we want to continue to be that for the years to come,” she said.

Using data and mobile to ‘power moments that matter’

Which brings us to 2016. What do screaming goats, micro-chipped contact lenses and big business partnering with startups have to do with all of this? Digital marketing is constantly evolving. It means people in the industry, new or old to it, are always learning, exchanging ideas and sharing the challenges that so much constant change brings about. In 2016, key trends have gone beyond mobile being a point of engagement for brands, but how to use the device to enhance consumer experiences – and how to deliver a service in an ‘always on’ world.

At ClickZ Live Hong Kong this year, Brian Wong, the 25-year-old founder and CEO of Kiip will be discussing just that – how the connected consumer is changing the face of advertising. His startup helps connect brands with consumers at their most receptive – being rewarded in a moment of achievement.

His app is a great example of the integration of mobile, data personalization, and the disruptive force of the startup community.

Wong is one of more than 50 chief marketing officers, industry specialists and digital marketers from some of Asia’s biggest names in the industry joining us ClickZ Live Hong Kong on August 3&4 at the Mira Hotel.

Video marketing, digital disruption and transformation, B2B and B2C marketing, ecommerce, omnichannel strategies, digital communications, brand strategy and programmatic buying are just some of the other key themes you’ll learn more about at our amazing event.

Hope to see you there.

For more information on ClickZ Live Hong Kong, to download the agenda or buy tickets, visit our event website here.

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