The digital shift

When I first came to Malaysia three years ago from Australia, I was incredibly excited about the opportunities within the digital media space. Coming from a relatively mature online market, I felt that the digital space within the ASEAN region was about to take off.

There’s little doubt that the ASEAN region has become a hot spot of digital adoption. In Malaysia, the internet and mobile technologies are eagerly adopted as illustrated by its high internet penetration rate of over 60%, smart phone penetration rate of 80% and tablet penetration of 42% (source: Nielsen).

What surprises me is that in a country where these technologies have fundamentally transformed how people consume information, communicate and even conduct business - advertising spend on these platforms still lag far behind traditional forms of media such as TV, radio and print. Amazingly, on regular advertising expenditure reports in Malaysia, advertising spend on digital/online media is still missing as a major category.

Even with an increasingly online savvy population—where Malaysians spend an average of 40.5 hours per week online, versus 4.3 hours reading the newspapers or 10 hours watching television—expenditure on the digital front remains alarmingly low, below 5% of total advertising expenditure. In comparison, the digital spend in Australia takes up approximately 25% of total advertising expenditure with our neighbour Singapore at nearly 10%.

The question remains, why are marketers and advertisers in Malaysia still shunning this incredibly powerful platform?

In the automotive industry for example, our recently released Digital Shift Study done in conjunction with Frost & Sullivan, on the consumer behaviour towards a car purchase decision shows that 95% of Malaysians car buyers start by visiting websites, checking out reviews, going through social media, and then looking for the best prices online before stepping foot into a dealership.

Perhaps even more telling is the fact that the Study indicates that buyers place greater trust and credibility in online research compared to just relying on the brochures and sales pitches of automotive dealers. In addition, we found that consumers are drawn to independently generated content and social network for information that directly influences the purchase decision.

With the growing digital impact, the trend of consumers devouring information online as and when they want means that digital realm becomes the place to provide up to date content that is always available. This allows customer to research and inform themselves on what is right for them, share with their friends who help them make the purchase decision and contact the seller when they are ready.

From a marketer’s perspective, this serves as a massive opportunity to specifically target a receptive audience with an immersive and interactive experience; something which traditional media options are incapable of. In addition, the ability to target and retarget relevant consumers coupled with the ability to measure every ringgit you spend ensures that you are getting return on investment, thus ensuring your marketing budget goes further and your business results improved.

Given the rapidly growing penetration of the Internet, smart phones and tablets, the opportunities are by no means restricted to businesses engaged directly on the Internet. It’s there for all with the vision and the drive to understand how digitisation is affecting patterns of demand and supply everywhere.

Business owners and marketers who understand this clearly, and align their marketing strategy in order to maximise the opportunity that’s readily available will definitely gain greater results and be ahead of the curve versus their competitors.

Are you and your company leading the Digital Shift?

Damon Rielly is the chief executive officer of online automotive site iCar Asia.