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Nadim Khoury, the former CEO of Grey Group MENA, discusses new ways of harnessing the power of modern marketing

Let’s look around us. There are smartphones, tablets, and even wearables that allow us to stay informed and connected. Not to mention the future of the internet that seems to be moving into the metaverse world with significant impact on the way we live and interact.

Just right at this very moment, you are probably reading these words on a screen and scrolling rather than flipping. You are here because you clicked on a link or decided to check out a specific social feed.

This is to say that the world is changing rapidly and drastically. And with every change comes new and exciting opportunities for brands to further engage with their audience.

It is a fact, that the marketing industry is undergoing a huge facelift with most brands looking to re-enforce acquisition of new consumers. We can clearly feel the buying cycle picking up after a year of many budgets being freezed. But how’s all the money going to be spent? What are the tactics to be used and what kind of approach are we going to see?

These questions might sound funny, rhetorical, painful, or alarming depending on which generation you belong to, what part of the world you live in, or what your perception of technology is.

Whilst the top performance indicators will still focus on customer retention, lead generation and customer lifetime value, brands with purpose will more than ever continue to lead and to a certain extend change the nature of the business.

According to a study published by Deloitte, many consumers today make decisions based on how brands manage their people, how they treat the environment and how they support the communities in which they operate. When brands align their purpose with doing good, they can build deeper connections with their audience and, in turn, amplify the brand’s relevance in their stakeholders’ lives.  At the end of the day, purpose means something to all people and is a major differentiator.

The technology provided by your DMPs (Data Management Platforms) will have to be leveraged to influence the strategies and data-driven content. With the insights provided using real-time behavior data and cross-platform tracking analysis, marketers will have the ability to effectively understand and design the audience shopping intent and tailor the experience.

As a matter of fact, this same experience will have to be unique and personalized to thrive against competitors. Brands will also need to consider the use of technology such as AI and AR to make the experience smarter, faster and more efficient. It is particularly fascinating how engaging it could be - fully automated and 100% measurable. 

How we engage with the audience and more specifically how we leverage the conversation is going to be key.  The challenge will remain how to convert the audience into real advocates and as a result rely more than ever on the importance of User Generated Content, which is seen as authentic and trustworthy coming directly from the consumer personal experience.

The reality is that modern marketing is becoming more conversational than ever. Very often consumers have questions… and most of the time they want immediate answers. This explains the importance of integrating apps such as WhatsApp, Messenger and even Chatbot across touchpoints. According to recent statistics, over 56% of global messaging app users say they have messaged brands to get more information across the different stages of their buying journey … and this will unquestionably open more opportunities to fuel the conversation.

The focus on getting consumers to make a repeat purchase will need to be as important as the effort put behind the first purchase.  It is a fact that the biggest drop off in consumers occurs between the first and second purchase. So, if you can get to the second purchase onward, you'll score on the brand lifetime value scale. 

New media techniques will need to be considered to help brands reach larger audiences in a more targeted and efficient way. In fact, the industry numbers indicate that most of digital display ads will be programmatic in the next year. The results are higher conversions and lower acquisition costs.

Whilst the way we do marketing continue to evolve with technology, it would be important to remember that it is not about what technology can do for us, but rather what we can do to make it worth our while. After all, technology must be creative in order to engage better with consumers, whilst creativity needs to be innovative in order to resonate with its audience.

There’s no denying that the new way of doing marketing will not only transform the way we experience brands, but also how we do everything under the sun.