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Digital media way of future [Khaleej Times (United Arab Emirates)](Khaleej Times (United Arab Emirates) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Mena brands take advantage of digital media consumption patterns Digital media, over the next two years, will contribute to growing the overall media market as new brands will enter the scene, top officials at Maxus have revealed. "The digital media consumption is growing fast in the Mena region, and clients, to a certain extent, are trying to ride the wave and employ this space to their brands' advantage. However, the digital ad spend hasn't reached its critical mass stage that allows more investment in research and technology - the key driver to utilising digital media to its optimal levels," Bijan White, EMEA head of digital, at Maxus, told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of an event. "Having said that, our key endeavor at Maxus, is to introduce new technologies and techniques that empower our clients' business and enable them to reach their audiences more efficiently by delivering precise and tailored messages," he added. White, who recently visited BPG Maxus as part of the BPG Group's annual off-site work shop in Abu Dhabi, noted that the Mena region is a very crucial platform for Maxus. The company revealed that it is investing in the region in the form of talent up gradation and the latest tools. As part of the workshop, White highlighted some of the best case studies around Maxus' offices worldwide; while the BPG Maxus team came out with a few digital ideas centered around the retail sector, which will soon be shared with BPG Maxus' clients. Asked about how advertisers should get the most out of new digital media platforms, White said that advertisers and the broader marketing community can take advantage of new digital media by truly understanding the role of digital marketing along the path to purchase. "Smart marketers are using consumer journey analysis such as McKinsey's New Consumer Decision Journey, or developing their own bespoke models to map consumers' conversions and identifying the role of each specific digital channel during the different phases of purchase behavior," explained White. "In the consideration phase for example, relevant digital channels include, Display, Programmatic and Mobile. For the research evaluation phase, Search Engine Marketing and Social are impactful channels. To drive transactions in the purchase stage, Mobile can drive both footfall and sales, whilst Display and Video advertising formats can themselves be engaging retail opportunities," he further elaborated. Highlighting the mix of media platforms in the Mena region, White said: "When it comes to the digital media mix it's mainly Display, Search, Social, YouTube and other emerging media like Mobile. In the Mena region, premium display advertising takes the biggest share and then global media like Google, Facebook and video such as YouTube takes the balance share. Real time bidding and programmatic buying is new to the region and is currently being established by global players such as GroupM's world leading programmaic buying unit known as Xaxis." Asked if there were any significant differences compared to the European region, White explained that digital media in Europe takes a 26 per cent share of media budgets, while 'search' is almost 40 per cent of this total. This is a much greater share compared to the Mena region, and highlights the huge potential for growth that exists across the region. "Advertisers must adapt to the change," stressed White. "To thrive in a hyper-connected global economy a brand's ability to adapt at a pace at least equal to the changes in society and technology is critical. According to Cisco, there are currently over 13.2 billion things connected to the Internet and this is currently increasing at over 100 connections per second. Consumers are addicted to technology and digital media. Advertisers who do not respond with products and communications that are digital will increasingly lose market share and become extinct like Kodak!" — [email protected] (c) 2014 Khaleej Times. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |