Today's Pick (30/05/13/93/1018) MDeC calls for more SMEs to go into digital marketing

MDeC calls for more SMEs to go into digital marketing

KUALA LUMPUR: Multimedia Development Corp (MDeC) hopes that more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will engage in and benefit from digital marketing, moving forward, as the growth in digital technology makes the move to adopt such technology possible.

Chief executive officer Datuk Badlisham Ghazali pointed out that large organisations such as AirAsia Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd have leveraged on the digital platform.

He said the agency would assist and support more SMEs that want to utilise digital technology, as not many organisations were aware of the digital marketing value and opportunity.

Speaking at the Digital Malaysia The Future of Digital Marketing 2013 conference, he said that through digital technology utilisation, new sources of income would be created; Government, business and citizens' productivity would be enhanced and innovation would be encouraged, and this would enable them to expand into the global market.

“Digital technologies from smart objects and mobile technology is causing a seismic shift in marketing, forcing marketers to rebuild on how brands must go to market in every dimension,” he said.

Badlisham expects the ICT industry to contribute 17% or RM294bil to the country's gross national income by 2020.

Keynote speaker Gerd Leonhard, a media futurist who has a diverse client list which includes YouTube, Nokia, The Guardian, Google, Sony-BMG, Telkom Indonesia, Siemens, the BBC, The Financial Times, Ogilvy and the European Commission, compared data to oil.

In his presentation on The Reset of Marketing, Branding and Media the next 5 years, he said data would be more powerful than oil. “The future of the economy is data,” Leonhard opined.

He added that the future of marketing lay in recurring data identifying consumer behaviour, but this would need a human interface to humanise the data so that it became meaningful information.

“I call it humanrithm. We in the creative business use big data in a meaningful way and use it for marketing strategy,” he said.

On another note, he also shared that consumer behaviour is influenced by technology.

We have this transformation from digitalisation, the transition of consumers that is moving from product to service to experience.

“All brands have a problem with this, as they want to sell a product such as a publisher wanting to sell a book,” he said.

Econsultant director of research and education Jake Hird said consumers these days wanted to feel special and unique. They want to be seen as individuals instead of “just another customer”.

“We no longer have control on our brand, now it is the consumer's choice,” he said.

In his presentation on The New Customer Journey, he said companies needed to deliver an outstanding and seamless customer experience across all channels and touch points, and it must be personalised.

Source : The Star
Date : 29 May 2013
Today's Pick (30/05/13/93/1018)