Page 26 - Gulf Marketing Review

C O V E R S T O R Y

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BUILDING ENGAGING CONTENT WILL NOT BE ADEQUATE

Mukesh Dua, Country Marketing & Communications Lead, Accenture UAE

Advanced technology is enabling marketers to The increasing use of VR and the focus on
get closer to consumers, creating the possibility instantaneous connection through influencers on
of building and targeting the right audience. Instagram and other messaging platforms gained
AI, VR and AR and of course, social media, momentum in 2017. But, as the accelerated pace This means that, amongst all this technology
are now centre stage in martech. of technology change blurs industry boundaries change, it would be important for marketers to
These technologies, especially VR – which I and causes disruption, it is challenging to forecast build content meant for a narrower audience
consider the hottest technology for marketers in how marketing will develop next year. segment through specific channels, rather
2017 and beyond – will help marketing design Technology is evolving so fast and so are than creating generic content for multiple
the hyper-personalised experiences audiences consumer preferences. However, it would be channels. Account-based marketing will be
now expect. In the past two years, customer safe to say that AI, chatbots, micro-influencers, made powerful by new technology. Success in
segmentation and targeting based on analytics and live videos will likely continue grow in the digital world requires more than applying
helped marketing define consumption patterns 2018 alongside a rise in “growth hacking”, also new technology to old products, processes
and audiences for personalised content. known as growth driven tactics. and experiences.
Now, it is possible to capture attention at In the Middle East, the growing use of It is about creating new experiences.
various points along the consumer journey with mobile text messaging apps is the reflection However, marketers will increasingly face the
content that is real-time and instant. Connecting of the growing demand for real-time connect. challenge of getting ROI on marketing spend.
to audiences across multiple channels at the Businesses need to be part of these interactions Just focusing on building engaging content
right time is important and can be done with without being salesy. Marketing should be and on the number of clicks and shares will
the right technology. part of people’s daily lives. not be adequate.

26 I GULF MARKETING REVIEW I DECEMBER 2017/FEBRUARY 2018