Page 34 - Gulf Marketing Review

C O V E R S T O R Y

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AR AND VR ARE MOVING BEYOND GAMING

Selda Payat, Consumer Marketing Manager for MEA, Lenovo

The year 2017 was a competitive on indeed on through the clutter and getting end-user’s positive responses from the target audiences
multiple fronts. For example, we have been trying uninterrupted attention will be the biggest as well as creating engagement.
to find creative ways to work in a challenging challenge of 2018. - Campaigns and sub-brands focusing on
industry that experienced a decline over the - Increased focus on customer experience Generation Z, even though millennials are still
past period, as well as local challenges. – brands of today have no chance but to put the biggest spenders and major focus, we see
The key focus was on improving proficiency customers first to ensure brands are embraced many activities and campaigns targeted towards
to maximise return on investment – and this by the target audiences. We see this trend Generation Z. Major brands are even creating
with limited budgets. It is of utmost importance strongly continue for next year as well. sub-brands to better align their communication
to be quick and adapt to the situation. Major expectations of 2017 were mostly strategy and brand positioning.
I list the hottest marketing trends below and about seeing how worldwide trends in - Personalisation to be the key as today’s
I expect these to grow with more complexity marketing are taking place in our region, globalised consumers’ preference. Consumers
in 2018: and how quickly and efficiently we could appreciate a service that has a personal touch
- Multichannel communication and experiences adapt to them. We have seen very strong with tailor made messages or solutions, which
becoming a norm in digital marketing. responses from some brands in the region. make them feel special.
- AR and VR moving beyond gaming – hence I list a few examples below: - Complicated buyer journeys getting further
new opportunities for marketers to explore - The increase of video content on social confused with a growing choice of products
- Rise of micro-influencers – we expect this media. We see less static posts and more and channels.
trend to continue next year as well. videos from almost all brands. We should continue to invest in training and
- More and more live content will be seen - With the boom of online Arabic speakers, development of new skills. This is required to
from brands as consumers wants to access we see more locally relevant campaigns keep up with all of the changes, since the region
everything here and now. Hence, cutting working with local talents trying to attract we work in is known for being very dynamic.

34 I GULF MARKETING REVIEW I DECEMBER 2017/FEBRUARY 2018