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Friday, 5 December 2014 00:57 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Sarah Hannan
The latest trends in digital marketing were decrypted at ‘Circuit Colombo,’ the debut digital forum organised by GroupM yesterday at Park Street Mews, Colombo. Speakers from digital powerhouses such as Google, Facebook, Xaxis and GroupM congregated on a single platform to discuss the future of digital marketing.
GroupM Sri Lanka COO Sabry Haniz touching base on what inspired them to host a digital forum of this nature noted that Sri Lanka was yet to fully embrace the spirit and signs behind digital media and tap into its innate potentials.
“No longer can an ad-hoc digital edition to a media plan suffice, this is what inspired Circuit – to bridge the knowledge gap between Sri Lanka marketers and the digital world. GroupM hopes to connect the media circuit from its roots from BTL ventures to press, radio, TV and now digital. What will the future hold? How can we best strategies the brands growth and success? Circuit will be an annual event to help guide you. You, including GroupM’s media arsenal, will be poised to take whatever developments in technology that is in store for us.”
So where does Sri Lanka stand in terms of digital marketing? Sharing some industry insights GroupM Sri Lanka Associate Director Safwaan Husain noted that telco companies in Sri Lanka such as Dialog Axiata, Etisalat has provided with infrastructure that are best in the region.
“The experience we have online is a pleasant one with and it has quickened the growth of internet usage in Sri Lanka. Standing at 21.9%, Sri Lanka has an active audience and is in the top three countries of the South Asian region. The total ad spend for digital has grown more than 100% and in fact between 2013-2014 it has reached 154% and our ad spend in total has crossed the one billion mark in 2014. In four to five years’ time, we will be at the market level of Singapore where everyone is connected and mobile devices become part of our lifestyles.”
The digital future
The opening keynote focusing on the ‘Digital future’ was delivered by Google India Director Ecommerce and Online Classifieds Nitin Bawankule. Being his first visit to Sri Lanka Bawankule had looked up the digital trends in Sri Lanka and where it stands as a country.
“I was amazed to see that Sri Lanka is digitally ahead of India with an internet penetration of 22%, whereas India stands at just over 16%. Sri Lanka is at the cusp of digital revolution and where you should aim to take your future and convert it to digital.”
Consumer, product and platforms, businesses and brands are the three pillars of digital marketing and giving boost to them is the infrastructure. The behaviour of a consumer who is digital and a consumer who depends on traditional media is different. Digital consumers connect through multiple screens using laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc.
For any technology to be successful in future, it has to reach over a billion users within the coming five years. The PC industry is plummeting while the number of consumers using internet facilities has grown from one billion to three billion.
Elaborating further on the growth of internet users, Bawankule pointed out: “Every month more than five million smartphones are sold in India, in fact in one year 95% of the internet users came only through from mobile phones. If you are thinking digital, think mobile first. If you are creating any asset, it should be mobile friendly.”
Two or three industries have seen a significant shift of the consumption pattern; the first being the music industry – the sale of music through physical formats has been dropping every year and by 2017 the entire music industry will shift its balance in favour of digital. Digital can be used as a medium to engage with the audience, to express yourself as well as the consumer to express their interests and scale the experience.
Wrapping up his keynote address, Bawankule stated: “Digital advertising is not about passing on a message anymore; it is about getting the consumer to act now and buy now, making it a very engaging medium. A very good example of a digital platform is YouTube, which delivers brand consideration and brand association. Google is globally taking initiatives to change many lives one being the Loon Project, which is balloon-powered internet allowing people to connect to the world wide web at a low cost.”
Panel discussions
An insightful panel discussion on ‘Multi screen planning – is it relevant to Sri Lanka?’ was moderated by Mindshare CEO Ravi Rao. The panel comprised of Facebook Global Marketing Solutions Agency Head Vidyadhar Kale, GroupM Managing Partner South Asia Tushar Vyas, Unilever Sri Lanka Country Marketing Director Siddharth Banarjee and, Janashakthi Insurance Plc GM Sales and Marketing Shehara de Silva.
Xaxis India Director Atique Kazi spoke on ‘Programmatic that works – The Basics, The Opportunities and The Pitfalls!’ Atique shed light on the basics of the subject while explaining how to leverage programmatic advertising, demystify programmatic, dispel misconceptions, and provided pointers to making programmatic work.
A panel discussion on ‘Comparing ROI of Digital Media to Traditional Media’ moderated by GroupM Sri Lanka Associate Director Safwaan Husain followed. The panellists are Xaxis India Director Atique Kazi, Google Agency Relationship Manager for Emerging markets Ben King, Innovation and digital services Senior General Manager Dialog Telekom Sidath Chandrasena and Commercial Bank Sri Lanka DGM Marketing Hasrath Munasinghe.
Despite digital media being a buzzword within the industry for a number of years, only a handful of brands have tapped its inherent potential; too often, it is a last minute add-on to a media plan. This discussion plumbed the depths of this topic, comparing the ROI between traditional media and its digital counterparts.
GroupM India Social Practice Head Karthik Nagarajan addressed the topic: ‘Can Social have a Strategy?’ While going viral is the marketer’s dream, the internet is a graveyard of many such initiatives. This session analysed the success of some of the most socially-active brands globally and delved into their strategies through case studies.
His session was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Daily FT Editor Nisthar Cassim on ‘The Value of an Online Influencer’. The panellists were GroupM India Social Media Practice Head Karthick Nagarajan, Unilever Sri Lanka Marketing Director Ramani Samarasundara, Anything.lk Co-Founder Jeggan Rajendram, SocialRoo, Turner Investments (USA) Country Director Rohantha Athukorala and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Director Marketing Ravi de Coonghe.
Trends in data suggest that the modern consumer is increasingly wary of an advertiser’s promise, relying more on external recommendations, which are perceived to be unbiased. The discussion explored the value of an online influencer to a brand, and how best to leverage a positive review, and manage negative sentiments.
Facebook Global Marketing Solutions Agency Head Vidyadhar Kale discussed ‘From Mobile Marketing to Marketing in a Mobile World’. He explored mobility and how it will be the driving force for Facebook, and digital media overall. The address included data on Sri Lankans and mobile trends.
Smart Future Forum Founder and Economist Anushka Wijesinha moderated the panel discussion ‘What’s Next in Digital?’ The panellists Kapruka.com Chairman/Founder Dulith Herath, Etisalat Sri Lanka Chief Commercial Officer Janaka Jayalath, Maxus Head of Digital – South Asia Unny Radakrishnan, MAS Holdings Director, Insight and Innovation Irfan Ahmed and HSBC Sri Lanka Head of Marketing and Communication Tharanga Gunasekara evaluated the receptiveness of the relatively conservative Sri Lankan audience and explored both, a forecast for digital media in Sri Lanka, as well as how communications teams can best exploit these trends.
This was followed by the keynote panel discussion moderated by GroupM South Asia CEO CVL Srinivas on ‘Marketing in the Digital Age,’ and spoke to leading marketers across brands in Sri Lanka – Dirk Perera, CEO of Union Assurance; Rajendra Theagarajah, Director/CEO, National Development Bank, Hiran Cooray Chairman Jetwing Hotels and Shaziya Syed, Chairperson, Unilever Sri Lanka on their experience with digital media and advertising.
The GroupM Circuit Colombo also featured an interactive ‘Experiential Zone’ by Crossworks Digital Experiential Lab showcasing state-of-the-art technology for participants to experience firsthand. The inspiring collection included a holobox display unit, a directional speaker; marker based AR on brochures and magazines, a digital sampling tray, an oculus rift, a virtual wardrobe, a recipe vending machine, and a magic screen.
