“2008 will be about getting people to welcome advertising,” says Maggie Choi, MD of Omnicom Media Group Greater China. Whether it’s in-game advertising subsidising the high production costs of a new shoot ’em up or online films for brands by top Hollywood directors, advertising will be busy in the new year proving that it can enhance an experience rather than disrupt it. This will not be an easy year, but those who invest the time and energy in connecting relevant brands with the right groups of consumers will reap the rewards.
1 Advertisements for expensive holidays, luxury goods and brand-led events such as The Fair in Shanghai next October will shamelessly target China’s empty-nesters, the aging offspring of the country’s one-child policy. These brand-savvy consumers have considerable amounts of disposable income burning holes in their designer back-pockets. Global Demographics predicts that there will be over 270 million Chinese aged 40 to 64 with no dependent children in 2008, and that number will rise to 320 million by 2017. Appealing to the more insecure empty-nesters will be self-help and religious-themed books which will fly off the shelves and be serialised in the press.
2 More brands will do a ‘Project Red’ in terms of tapping into a wealthy audience who want to feel they are doing good. Bono unveiled Red in 2006 to create a fund for Africa to help treat aids, tuberculosis and malaria. With so many Asian economies in the ascendancy, an increasingly rich middle class will want to be seen to share its wealth. As Y&R regional creative planning director Rob Cambell puts it: “Champagne socialism is going to grow.”
3 Those brave enough to wear video goggles in public will look like extras from Back to the future. But, as portable devices which can deliver video content become more commonplace, be-goggled video buffs will become an all-too familiar sight. James Chadwick, MindShare’s head of strategy in Asia, observes: “Early adopters will rave about the sleek designs, the ‘big screen’ cinema effect, wide-angle 3D experience and unique audio experience.”
4 Hollywood will come to Asia, particularly around the time of the Olympics: Steven Spielberg has been enlisted to help with the opening and closing ceremonies. Online, sites that were once dubbed ‘user-generated content’ are now eschewing content from amateurs in favour of material from more experienced writers and producers, knowing that they can attract advertising dollars. MySpace recently debuted the series Quarterlife from the team which produced the television show My so-called life, while Bebo has opened its networks to top media companies.
5 Big mass events - particularly the Olympics - will go hand in hand with a rise in the number of one-to-one marketing efforts. Starcom South Asia’s CEO of specialist solutions, Ravi Kirwan, looks into his crystal ball: “I see a far greater emphasis by marketers on experiential marketing, attempting to strike a one-to-one conversation with consumers through sports, music and street-level activation.”
6 Smart brands will have a mantra which they’ll use to encourage consumers to engage in an activity. Nike has built up a reputation for helping people to discover the joys of running and is now drilling deeper into that association with events like Nike Women’s Fitness Festival in Sacramento. Bank of America has also encouraged its customers to save by rounding up purchases to the nearest dollar and putting the extra into a savings account. These gestures automatically bestow a sense of purpose into marketing communications and build goodwill with consumers.
7 The web will take on specific marketing functions as more websites offer niche services. For instance, Indian match-making sites such as www.indianmatchmaker.com which help singletons to find someone attractive online so their parents can introduce them in person with an arranged marriage in mind. Clients will also want to do more search engine optimisation and text advertising. Vibrant Media, an in-text advertising specialist, estimates that the number of web users who click on in-text ads has risen from three to 10 per cent in the last year.
What it means for…
Advertisers
- The battle of the brands will become even bloodier as more marques jostle for increasingly smaller fragments of consumers’ attention.
- Those advertisers which aren’t already adopting an engagement model will get left behind.
- The Olympics will shine a spotlight on a handful of Chinese brands and make them household names.
Agencies
- In 2008 and beyond, agencies will have to work harder than ever to keep up with new ways of communicating.
- They will also need to stay on top of Asia’s fast-changing cultural and socio-economic landscapes.
-Those agencies which continue to offer advertising-based solutions will start looking really dated.
