10 Digital Advertising Trends Asia Must Watch For In 2018

Here is a deep and interesting insight into what will make the headline of 2018 when it comes to Asia’s digital media and advertising industry. The trends elaborated are a result of trend analysis over the years and also based on different data points collected through the customer journey.

Digital Advertising Trends For 2018

The Growth In Mobile And Smartphone Usage

In 2018, almost 68% of individuals in Asia will own a smartphone, up from 57% in 2017. The rapid expansion of smartphone ownership across the world, which has transformed the way that advertisers communicate with consumers, is growing with the adoption or inclusion of smartphones in everyday lives.

The spread of smartphones and other mobile devices in Asia is increasing the number of contacts between brands and consumers, by giving consumers new opportunities to connect to media content wherever they are, at any time in the day. Some of these contacts take the form of paid advertising in third-party content, but mobile technology is also enabling broader brand experiences, such as branded content and social media engagement.

Growth Of Data Based Intelligence

With 68% of the population using smartphones, the amount of data being generated is huge to drive an economic as well as futuristic value.

The next generation of advertising is here and is underpinned by incredible processing power, the ability to interpret consumer data at high velocity and scale, and the ability to apply that intelligence to advertising.

Data-driven intelligence enables brands to solve problems, by helping them to influence and understand the consumer path to conversion. We are now entering the age where scale, reach, and the ability to deploy algorithms can make companies more successful in engaging with prospective customers. It is no longer a luxury but a necessity to be technologically equipped (both in machine and talent). The end goal is the ability to deliver truly personalised advertising — where mass market messaging bows out to targeted and customised preferences that respond to signals from individuals across the web.

The Importance Of Personalisation

Personalisation has become the greatest asset in recent years. Brands that utilised personalisation methods have gained nearly an average of 20-25% in sales. Personalisation is so big that 97% of marketers agree that personalisation is critical to their marketing success.

65% of global consumers say they would be more inclined to use an online retailer if it offered a ‘good personalized experience’ and nearly 82% of consumers felt frustrated when presented with content such as ads, offers and other promotions that are irrelevant to the objectives of their visit or interests.

Integrating Marketing Activities Into The Customer Lifecycle

The renewed focus by marketers on prospect and customer engagement, conversion and retention has led to the appearance of a new phrase in the digital marketing: Customer lifecycle marketing

The activities of reaching out to customers via digital channel must be well supported as various steps of customer lifecycle from being a prospect to naming him as a customer. Even beyond being the customer, 2018 will be a year of continued relationship by bonding through relevancy of insights/offers/feedbacks shared with the consumers and making him a part of your journey.

The “Human” Angle

With the advent of technology, the human angle is diminishing when it comes to brand value. But this long-forgotten concept is the core if organisation wish to continue growth going 2018. At the heart of everything, it’s important to understand that every customer wants you to understand their needs so that they can relate to your brand easily

Video Advertising

The demand for video is growing at an incredible rate. In fact, 65% of marketing professionals across the globe feel that video is the type of content with the best ROI as the consumer can relate to your brand easily. Almost 58% of consumers said they want to see more video content from marketers.

With the younger demographic viewing more video on a wider range of devices than ever before, in 2018, video advertising will prove very fruitful for brands or businesses looking to market their products or services.

The Power of Location-Based Advertising

66% of marketers believe location-based advertising is the ‘most exciting’ mobile opportunity for 2018. One of the key strengths of location-based ads is that they are timely. Because location data is served in real time, there is an opportunity for brands to target people at precise moments.

Localised ads provide a natural opportunity for targeting because people in different geographical locations behave differently, or at least have their own unique quirks.

Micro Moments

In 2018, the most successful brands will be those that have the ability to correctly anticipate and address impulsive informational splurges, or micro-moments, by providing the right information at the right time to the customer in need.

With more people making on the spot decisions than ever before, in 2018 we expect to see a significant rise in micro-moments, and mobile-first websites will be pivotal in offering consumers instant information upon immediate request.

360 Integrated Strong Platform

The challenges of managing data, user info, content, technology to reach the audience, tracking and the need to bring intelligence into marketing, sales, and customer service platforms is very important when it comes to new “Digital” age.

Vendors that offer a 360-degree approach, coupled with a strong robust platform that can do everything in one system, will be able to provide their customers with better experiences and ensure customer retention and better ROI for the organisations in Asia.

Programmatic Is The Path To Future

Looking ahead to 2018, one can only assume that programmatic advertising will continue to grow alongside the widespread consumer shift toward mobile devices and connected TV. As people become more engaged with various touchpoints through mobile devices, publishers will open up even more inventory to programmatic buying and advanced digital measurement.

In 2018, digital advertising will hit its stride in a way never seen before. Almost 40% of advertisers plan to spend more than half their budget programmatically in any given channel. Better targeting, mix allocation and better control over the reach are the top benefits, the marketer eyes for going forward.

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This story is a part of our Predictions series where we bring to you the forecasts and predictions for the year 2018, hand-curated by the Inc42 editorial team and industry experts. You can read all the stories of Predictions 2018 series here.