With 2018 right around the corner you're probably on a vacation or trying to finalise your business plan for next year.
It's never too late to adjust your marketing plan to incorporate next year's biggest marketing trends. Here are seven digital marketing trends you'll want to watch out for:
Augmented reality with social media
Pokemon Go was a pioneer of this idea when it launched last year. But we can expect to see more of it. Augmented reality (AR) solution studios, such as Holition in London, are working on providing such concepts to their retail clients. What this means is that as social media becomes more integrated with AR software, more brands will be using it to integrate with customers. For instance, if you will be at a certain location, then brand X's content will only be accessible there. The content will differ depending on the location.
Influencer marketing
One thing I constantly hear from my clients is how investing in influencer marketing results in more brand awareness. From a personal business perspective, I am seeing businesses invest more in a few selected social influencers, even if they have to pay them more versus middle-tier social influencers. I believe we will see more of that across the market, and businesses will invest more in organic grass-root advertising campaigns.
This takes us to the next important point.
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Targeted advertisements
People have shorter attention spans for sure, and we are bombarded by various advertisements on desktop and mobile, and in order to have an effective message and to be heard amid the noise, brands will need to ensure their message is tailored to a device or platform. We are seeing more of this across social media platforms. In addition, since more people are relying on their mobile devices to receive information, we will see more ads designed with mobile in mind. For 2018, the majority of my clients are depending solely on mobile advertisements whether they're using SnapChat, Instagram, or Twitter.
Video is king
As my agency creates and produces different forms of content, video is the most preferable and effective medium to receive information for our customers. I believe we will be seeing more sophisticated and professionally produced video content in 2018 not only by brands and businesses but also by social media influencers. The Kuwaiti fashion influencer Ascia Al Faraj, one of the leading influencers in the GCC, has taken her video content to the next level by sharing professionally shot video content on her social media platforms. I believe that we will be seeing less-shaky videos by influencers and more professional curated content.
Live video viewership
Live video is nothing new, but it's growing exponentially. Different social media platforms from Instagram to Facebook provide it, and it's increasingly popular. This is also a popular marketing tool for businesses as they work with influencers to take their viewers live through an event, or behind the scenes. For the Victoria's Secret fashion show that took place in China last month, the brand worked with social influencers from across the world, including a couple from Dubai who took their viewers behind the scenes where they interviewed the models and talked about fashion trends. Travel social media influencers also use the tool to show their viewers the destination or the hotel property they are staying in.
Focus on algorithms
It's not enough to just get the message out there, but you want to measure who has seen it when and who is currently live on your page, and what are their preferences, likes and dislikes. Google provides those metric tools, as well as Facebook and Instagram. More and more businesses are demanding such algorithms for measurement especially when investing in social influencers.
‘New’ TV advertising
As Hulu, YouTube, Amazon, Apple TV, and Netflix are becoming the go-to TV for viewers worldwide with their exclusive shows and content, this means that more and more brands will be considering those outlets for advertisements as opposed to old school local television show commercials.
This will mean that platforms like Netflix which have no commercials, will be seeing more and product placements embedded.
As it stands now, marketing is likely to become more analytical, more targeted, entering new mediums, incorporating new technologies and focused on organic growth.
Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer who manages her branding and marketing consultancy in Abu Dhabi
The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Brief scores:
Liverpool 3
Mane 24', Shaqiri 73', 80'
Manchester United 1
Lingard 33'
Man of the Match: Fabinho (Liverpool)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
