New Year, New You: Marketing in 2019

Marketers in the UAE face some major shifts in the challenges they face as 2019 gets into full swing. Marketing is a profession in constant flux and there no cookie cutter approach or Holy Grail to market a product or service. What we are good at, has a very short shelf life. Future proofing yourself by upskilling with the latest trends and best practices helps you to get ahead of the curve.

Some of the key trends in 2019 as we see it.

Omnichannel

In 2019, omnichannel marketing will be of increasing importance as marketers look to build fully integrated customer experiences, and nurture better relationships with their audience. E-commerce growth is set to add more money into advertising, so there is a huge opportunity for platform growth and new ways for brands to build and integrate digital and print.

Collaboration

Companies need to break down the traditional silos and get sales teams and marketing specialists to take a more integrated approach to reaching customers. Companies are looking at how social platforms can be used to create ecosystems of marketing, social and e-commerce into one.

SVOD (Streaming Video on Demand)

Netflix has been at the forefront of colonising global living rooms and the competition will heat up with advertising funded video on demand. This means the ability for marketers for pinpoint targeting. This will create many new channels to engage on a one to one basis and greater potential to deliver a greater experience.

The rise of social ecommerce

Instagram will drive more user growth based on far more engagement .The engagement levels on Instagram are far higher due to the quality of engagement with smaller communities. So now we can book a holiday by simply clicking on the photo or use stories to reach your customer.

Marketing effectiveness

Marketers are now more accountable for communication spend and this means ensuring developing meaningful dashboards which reflect not only the efficiency side, but also the effectiveness side. ROI is not an indicator of effectiveness, but efficiency. Marketers need to build brand equity and this will contribute to the overall health and far higher ROI.

Ultimately, your success is derived from your ability be confident, flexible and bold. It’s about absorbing new ideas that may come from differing stakeholders and being brave in trying them out. If you are able foster these values you will thrive in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world.

Ensure you're ahead of the newest marketing developments in 2019 and sign up to start your CIM @ PwC’s Academy and gain access to the latest insight and content.