As we steam ever faster towards 2018, it seems there have never before been so many tools, technologies and platforms competing for our ad spend. Many of the CMOs that have today risen to their top of their profession can no doubt remember a time early on in their careers when it seemed like the only choice the corporate marketer had to make was what ad agency to hire and which editor to take out to lunch.
Now, as marketers put together their strategies for next year, things have got decidedly confusing and, at times, the options can appear overwhelming. Never mind the ‘Four Ps’ that were a mainstay of every traditional marketing education, now we have the ‘Four Es’ (Experience, Exchange, Everyplace, Evangelism) and the ‘Four Cs’ (Consumer, Cost, Convenience, Communication). We like the latter. The former’s a bit of a stretch of the imagination!
Perhaps the overriding thing for the CMO to consider today is that technologies that have hitherto been considered emerging are now beginning to peak as real, tangible options for any marketing budget. Think Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning and voice search. Our message is that CMOs should continue to keep their eye on such watchwords as they may indeed be peaking in the developed world, but they still have some time to go in South Africa. Learn about them at conferences, be inspired by what they mean for the future, but if there’s one thing you should prioritise in the local environment for 2018, it remains content!
Brands in South Africa are learning but they really need to double-down on creating smart, purposeful content to capture the eyeballs on screens that remain the holy grail of mobile marketing. Many of our clients have mastered their understanding of what mobile platforms are available to them. Now, the challenge needs to shift to populating those platforms for the kind of compelling mobile content that appeals to their current and potential customers. Marketers need to shift their focus in 2018 to content performance where the best gains can be had.
Specifically, if you focus on these four content hints for next year, your mobile marketing plan will be in good shape: content must be targeted to exactly what customers want and when they need it, it must be optimised to make it more visible and discoverable, it should be always on and available, and – finally – it should be integrated and activated across devices.
Ends
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