Precision marketing poised to take one fifth of APAC spend

APAC marketers are anticipating growth in data-driven marketing or precision marketing given the increasing base of two billion online users and the expected rise of advertising budgets in the next five to ten years, according to the latest report by global measurement company Nielsen.Nielsen has released its “A Digital Giant Awakens” report which surveyed marketing leaders across APAC markets on their next level strategies and implementation road-maps.It revealed investments in precision marketing are likely to increase in the next twelve months from 14% of marketing budgets to about one-fifth of spend (19%) going beyond social, search, and mobile toward newer applications. The survey found precision marketing is enabling advertisers to understand consumer purchase journeys, personalised communications, and consumer profiling. Key factors accelerating the progress of precision marketing include better data quality and reliability, clear demonstrations of ROI for advertisers, and further education to stay ahead in the game. According to the report, investments in advanced applications are increasingly gaining pace, particularly for data-science/modelling (36%), high-quality third-party data (32%), and analytics to measure ROI (28%). Nielsen predicts that in the next six months the top three platforms where advertisers across APAC will be allocating marketing spend will be Facebook/Instagram (60%), Google/Youtube (43%) and mobile (42%).“With advancements in technology and popularity of digital media there is tremendous headroom for growth in precision marketing across APAC,” said Ranjeet Laungani, managing director, media, North Asia, Nielsen.He added, “Precision marketing is capable of driving marketing applications out of predictive analytics and forecasting results and it is strongly recommended for advertisers to consider in their repertoire of new-age tools.”The report states that it is crucial for advertisers to leverage Data Management Platforms (DMPs) when implementing precision marketing in their overall strategies. Such platforms manage and unify multiple streams of disparate consumer data and assist in consumer profiling and targeted messaging, thereby limiting wasted spends on media. The challenge for advertisers remains for them to show quick wins during the early stages of DMP engagement. Data science and analytic prowess are the top attributes advertisers in APAC look for when evaluating a data management platform.“Currently the space is under-invested, however, broadening expert ecosystems, presence of higher quality datasets, and presenting more success stories will drive up confidence and adoption in the industry. The void in awareness and education can be filled by agencies, media owners and advertisers by maintaining an eye on the long-term and short-term potential of precision marketing,” Laungani concluded.