Marketing trends in 2011

Thanzyl Thajudeen

Marketing is evolving throughout the globe. The transformation from IMCs to brand building programs, traditional to digital and social, from quantity to quality of engagement, from PR to crisis and reputational management, and a lot more to talk about!

In Sri Lanka, it is noticeable that grounds are changing but yet the traditional remains . It takes time for them to fade off or change. I always continue to study the context in Sri Lanka; it’s very interesting and insightful. I trust you know what Im trying to say. I have listed out eleven marketing trends which I am pretty sure will be happening in this year throughout many Sri Lankan organizations.

1. Marketeers will move into the North and East markets of Sri Lanka

It is a known fact that after the 30 year old civil war, finally peace is in the air of the Northern and Eastern parts of the country which calls for economic prosperity in these regions.

Many retailers as well as educational institutions have started operations, and I predict that much more will consider and move from hospitality and entertainment sector, medicals and clinics through to advertising agencies, and clothing and consumer electronics retailers.

Particularly, the educational system will again rise up in these regions that is only if initiatives are taken by the public sector. Yet I predict that private schools and educational institutions will trigger the system.

Many organizations in Sri Lanka will have North and East opportunity with market studies and entry on their quarterly reports or meetings or operational and strategic plans.

I could say that as there are many advertising and marketing communications agencies in Colombo and anywhere else; these agencies will move to North and East with specialized personnel that adhere to their attitude, behaviour and other socio-cultural norms as traditional is falling off; traditional brand building programs might well be worked in these regions!

2. Traditional media will still remain

Traditional media in Sri Lanka such as print of newspapers and magazines through to radio and interactive will still remain, and will still continue to be profitable but not sustainable if we look at a ten year period.

I predict that the main income for agencies will still be newspapers with publishers trying to go out for specialized supplements and free advert inserts. It’s visible especially if you take the Sunday papers in the week.

I predict that outdoor and vehicle branding will be profitable in rural as well as the Northern and Eastern regions of the country as there is no newspaper circulation or TV and Radio access throughout many households. But yet, it can be said that publishers and stations are also considering to move onto these areas where massive opportunities lie.

3. Agencies will venture into the digital sector but slowly

You may be aware that all global agencies have a digital sector in their organization which is very critical in todays digital and social world.

Sri Lankan agencies as well as multinational agencies with local presence will stop and think, and even consider of setting up a digital unit to balance off the risk.

Yet, this will just be the sake of just having a so called digital unit. I predict that months later, these agencies will work in partnership with others in the ecosystem to survive together which I kind of also highly doubt when it comes to the style that is implemented throughout many agencies here.

More than the usage of social media, agencies will consider digital media especially when it comes to giving their client an interactive social media website of their own, integrated with other social and micro-blogging tools that are available freely.

4. Clients will demand for digital media

Organizations, mainly the consumer-savvy ones, will use their own social site whereby creating a community that suits the organizations interest.

Marketing managers and executives will try to cut down budgets, especially the larger organizations will leverage having their own social site. For the upcoming small and medium enterprises I predict that they will leverage and take the opportunity.

The social media gives out as these organizations will not have huge budgets to create interactive sites through to maintenance and other costs.

For example, KIK Cola, a product from Sri Lanka’s very own Ceylon Cold Stores, have their very own social site.

Pictures, movies, gossips, and much more. I predict that agencies will increasingly use this tool for their clients.

5. Meet unmet needs throughout the rural customers that hold potential

Increasingly much is spoken about capturing the rural needs that are untapped. I only hear these from those lecturers at business institutions. Where is the corporate gossip about this? Well, I predict that many organizations will consider and explore the under-served, unmet needs of customers in these areas.

It is said that many rural areas also hold a wealth of profitable customers who have higher income levels but live in these rural or un-developed areas mainly the retired, or the ones that need a peaceful life.

I predict that organizations mainly educational institutions through to restaurants and retailers (mainly being clothing, FMCG as well as consumer electronics) will move into these locations and explore different lifestyles, behaviour, attitudes and other demo-psychographic factors.

6. Mobile will play a major role in marketing

With intense competition from five operators; marking 17.3 million mobile subscribers as of September 2010 according to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka; many using mobile internet; smartphones fuelling up the market; increasing Chinese and Indian handsets that are much more affordable; and operators opening up distribution channels and signal towers towards other parts of the country, I predict that mobile will be a highly effective tool that many organizations, research as well as advertising agencies will consider from SMS advertising through to m-ticketing.

Mobile handsets will turn to being media vehicles in Sri Lanka but not so quickly though. I predict that organizations even without formal partnership models with operators will use their own database to send out SMS, MMS and others.

I personally experience this where business institutes text out notifications to their relevant student database or the so called budget three wheeler service that sends out information about the three wheeler that is sent out to the customer.

I predict that this trend will continue but eventually I believe that organizations will work together with operators to leverage on this opportunity and medium as I stated in my earlier written Mobile Advertising articles.

7. Agencies will consider to shift from awards and trophies based to value creation

As we all know many of Sri Lanka’s advertising agencies, particularly the industry as a whole is run by those big awards and trophies, and pictorial publicity in all the media this is not going to be the case anymore.

I still know that it would still be running on awards based but its somewhat predictable that brand value creation is replacing this attitude.

Hence, agencies will pitch in and fight out and plan out brand building programs as opposed to the traditional IMC programs for the worst in Sri Lanka. It is still called advertising agencies and not Integrated Marketing Communications agencies.

I also predict that there might be a body that will set up local laws and policies, or even the globally practised laws might apply to all promotional or communicational materials that are carried out. This is why there is no healthy competition currently among the many agencies.

8. Sponsorships, endorsements and events will continue

From cricket sports through to rugby and others, I predict that sponsorships will still remain big in picture and will continue to be mostly used by the local organizations.

Endorsements as we can see through the traditional fixed line operators and the famous jewellery stores will also just continue like sponsorships.

Events by far will be even huger with the tourism and international considerations towards the country many organizations will use events to trigger interest, product launches, or even just as a CSR activity.

As sustainability has hit Sri Lankan organizations, many will practice events on a CSR basis and increasingly many NGOs as well as clubs and associations will use educational or entertainment based events to fund the poor or decrease cancer or other diseases throughout the country.

9. Marketing education will increase

With increasing efforts from professional marketing bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Marketing and SLIM, as well as the upcoming foreign affiliated university degrees specializing or majoring in marketing, I predict that education in marketing will increase and that employees will continue to seek value and recognition of these qualifications.

As through my experience, many corporates here run in the experience category, we all know what this exactly is. This is the main reason why you find so many old school executives in many corporates still hanging onto their positions. This is said to break out.

I also predict that there will be many forums and educational workshops on new grounds in marketing such as brand value creation, digital and social media, crisis management, and much more that is trending in todays global world.

10. Marketing will rock the board-room

With the increasing importance of marketing and how it evolves around businesses, it can be conclusive that marketeers will take over the board room.

Historically, it has always been the finance and accounting guys who dominated the Sri Lankan board rooms.

This is not the case anymore with executives and investors increasing understanding and feeling what marketing is really about. They will give high priority to marketeers.

With all the above stated predictions and trends, it’s obvious to state that there is more demand for marketeers throughout many organizations.

Marketeers are not just sales anymore (this is exactly what the Sri Lankan context is)

Marketeers are more of an architect and strategic planner through to brand builders and turnaround executives. I predict that marketing ROI will rule out the whole board in these organizations with the above stated trends and increasingly executives will understand that these new ROI are todays tools and are the ones that promise sustainability this means marketing accountability.

As MTI Consulting CEO, Hilmy Cader whom I consider as an evolving strategist stated; If the argument is that it is difficult to measure, there are many new scientific approaches in which you can find answers to these hard questions. It’s time for marketing accountability!

11. Reputation management will be increasingly considered

It’s visible that there are forums and programs coming up in the whole reputational management platform.

You may also well read my previous articles on organization reputing and online reputing and crisis management.

Organizations are now eventhough more focused on just getting the PR presence.

A few of them are now realizing the value and benefits of maintaining and developing a good reputation by practising ethical, good policies throughout each and every level, every function of an organization.

I predict that the advertising agencies and consulting or research agencies will increasingly also deliver a reputational management plan or a crisis management plan for their clients. This will be a whole new addition and revenue gainer.