Use new media to engage more

Malaysia - The techsetters of Malaysia are definitely more engaged with technology-driven gadgetry than conventional media. It is imperative that marketers recognise and understand the influence of this new medium, Florence Oong, OMG director of communications insights in Asia, said.

For example, marketers need to leverage their brand websites for effective consumer targeting as 74% of the techsetters in Malaysia will visit the brand websites for information. Engagement with technology devices will become more prevalent and entrenched, Oong said.

A recent online survey by OMG revealed techsetters actively search and gather information online when they are planning to buy new IT products. Word-of-mouth, technology websites, blogs and print articles are the top most trusted sources.

The survey showed that more than 80% of the techsetters in Malaysia chatted online, enjoyed online entertainment (music, radio, podcasting) and read blogs. In comparison, only 57% of the techsetters in Australia do so. Whilst 64% of the Malaysians watched streaming video online and updated their social network sites only 31% in Korea engaged in these activities.

The OMG study compares 1,400 technology-savvy respondents from five Asia Pacific countries - Malaysia, India, Korea, China and Australia to study their involvement in computer, gaming and the internet and their attitudes towards technology. To qualify as techsetters, they need to own a PC at home and use at least three tech devices such as smart phone, TV game console, MP3 at least once a month.