B&T spoke to ten of the movers and shakers on the Australian digital landscape to get their views on what's in store for the digital industry.
Danny Bass, chief digital officer, GroupM
Are marketers embracing digital media fully?
There'd be very few marketers who now don't recognise the importance of digital on a media plan. As with everything though there are leaders and followers. For some brands, digital is at the heart of everything they do, with others less so.
The share of spend going to digital continues to grow at a healthy pace, but as an industry we can't assume this will continue organically. For what is the most transparent medium available, in the eyes of most marketers we're also the most complicated. The launch of the new Nielsen measurement panel was a big win for the industry last year and a focus on transparency and education needs to be property on all sides of digital.
Is there still lack of digital talent in Australia?
Lack of digital talent is not a uniquely Australian issue. All markets are suffering from a significant shortage in digital talent. The changes to LAHFA may drive a few of my fellow countrymen home but unless the economies of Europe and North America improve dramatically Australia will remain an attractive destination.
The past 12 months has seen the emergence of new skill sets required at media owner, agency and client level. The emergence of creative technologists, those that can understand the great amounts of data now at our disposal and use that information to seed the ideation process will be highly sought after.
What will be the 'next big thing' in digital?
The pace of change of the next few years will be greater than anything we've seen over the last 10 however we will see more evolution than revolution.
Existing platforms will evolve or die. The flipboard style experience we are familiar with through the use of tablets and apps will become much more common place across the websites we use today. As media owners begin to know more and more about their audience, the user experience will be more personalised allowing brands to deliver the right message at the right time in the right environment. Ads will compliment the user experience not interrupt it.
What is the future for social media?
Facebook is and will remain the giant in the social space for some time, however the next 12 months will be very interesting to watch, and their play in the mobile space could be the game changer.
Google+ is still trying to find its place and it's a reflection on the potential of social media when 50 million global members is seen as unsuccessful. The biggest change will come from the new kids on the block. We've seen forward thinking brands already begin to use apps like Instagram, Pinterest and Shazam in their marketing plans and this trend will explode in 2012.
Matt Griffin chief executive, Deepend
Are marketers embracing digital media fully?
We've worked with some incredibly switched on clients over the past year who have really known what they are after and are incredibly savvy when it comes to digital. As an industry however, we still have a long way to go to educate them; to see digital as a provider of value as opposed to simply a cost. The key to this is agencies clearly demonstrating value with solid reporting and analytics on their work and clients realising that many digital assets can live out their lives on a balance sheet rather than the company's thirsty P&L.
Is there still lack of digital talent in Australia?
Absolutely, everyone I've talked to is finding it tough getting good people. As a result it is driving salaries through the roof and the costs of services have to follow. The difficult thing still is that there is this divide between clients; most are now getting it (it's 2012 after all), but some still think digital is a website with banners. That mentality will never be able to afford the wages that the experienced digital professional here in Australia is commanding.
What is the future for social media?
It has become increasingly difficult to sway consumer sentiment simply by having a creative approach to your communication message. Real change in consumer sentiment is increasingly led by the opinions of the masses themselves, so having a voice in the medium is essential to have some control over the way the conversations take place.
The future of social media is simply ensuring that your brand is in there communicating and having real conversation. Community management, currently left up to the 23-year-old communications graduate will increase in importance as this will become the centre of all customer support enquiries, management of brand health and the place where consumer insight is challenged.
What will be the 'next big thing' in digital?
I believe the next big thing in digital marketing is extending the conversation beyond marketing. When others use the phase "digital is all pervasive", most mean that it is in every part of the marketing mix. The truth is that digital being all pervasive to me means that it's in every facet of the business and is core to business success, not simply a channel of to be used to sell a message.
The conversations are now being had around a table with the full C suite of executives because digital is being used in all areas of the business including logistics, HR, product development, internal comms and others. Over the last 18 months we have found ourselves creating value across the entire business structure to help businesses be more successful using human interface design and technology. Marketing can no longer be thought of in a silo, and digital can no longer be thought of as a channel.
Ben Hourahine Head of Strategy, Amnesia Razorfish
Are marketers embracing digital media fully?
It really depends on the individual, but that question has now gone way beyond marketing, which, as a whole, seems to have come full circle and is now excited about the opportunities.
How much the CEO embraces digital, as well as the head of IT and customer service, is critically important to what we can achieve now. Beyond helping with education and benchmarking, you can't argue with brutal economics and many brands were shocked into digital last year through loss of sales to online.
The biggest opportunity, however, is also the biggest problem for businesses, because digital ultimately impacts every facet of an organisation. It is not discreet. Digital is breaking down boundaries inside organisations, in much the same way it has done so in society.
Is there still lack of digital talent in Australia?
The key difference is between technical understanding and talent. Finding both is hard, but if you can manage that trade-off you can find great people here.
There are a couple of rules I use when I recruit strategists. I have a neverending lead time; I always meet planners whether there is an open role or not because it can take such a long time to find great planners. I always look abroad and getting people straight off the boat means you have to attract talent that will find you, when they are looking, rather than the other way around.
What is the future for social media?
Seamless social applications will gradually replace brand pages and brand channels, which will focus us back on brand interactions and not just 'like' metrics.
Social media and the internet are not separate things; so many changes are true for both: more mobile, more video and more contextual (tap to interact). In the short term, the questions now are less about the consumer-facing side of social and rather how we create social businesses and social within businesses.
What will be the 'next big thing' in digital?
I've already mentioned social business and analytics, tap to interact and contextual mobile. The other biggie is the cloud. The cloud will accelerate all of the above and change almost every aspect of marketing.
Imagine you could do anything anywhere without any hardware requirements (the flashing lights under your desk, the whirring hard drive and those servers in the cupboard). It is more of a philosophical question really for us at the moment; it's about freedom from all previous machine limitations and ultimately presents endless possibilities for marketing interactions.
Adam Quirk Managing Director, MassMedia Studios
Are marketers embracing digital media fully?
Not yet, we use it, but it often seems reluctantly or as an expected inclusion. There certainly are exceptions however, and we see some excellent work produced locally, usually this is where the client has vision, realistic objectives, budget and most importantly organisational support teamed with a smart, capable agency.
The lag influences here include the fear of failure due to budget constraints, the keenness of replicating global campaigns for efficiency or predictability and the temptation to fall back on the comfort of old formats.
The shift in acceptance, understanding and critically real participation is happening, and with it is the growing demand for accurate and intelligible metrics, valid business results and ROI.
Is there still lack of digital talent in Australia?
There is a slow build of good talent in Australia. The challenge here is that there is a lack of real digital natives, that is, people who really get how the channel operates creatively, technically and commercially.
There are lots of potentials out there, but the pace is fast and training people up on the job is cumbersome. This means there is a real need for investment in the education path for digital talent and with it we will see the gap narrow, just as we have in previous specialisations.
What is the future for social media?
We will see us establishing usage through more natural integrations into user journeys and their related activity both online and offline. We have already seen that social tools are the real gateway from offline to online and this will continue to become more fully integrated.
As location driven interaction couples with analogue activity like watching TV, shopping, socialising we'll start seeing more interesting real-time social influence. For individuals this will be a relevant way to share their life and explore alternate directions and for media it represents a potentially ubiquitous personal point of sale opportunity. Hopefully this will in turn lead to more easily reportable and attributable interactions.
What will be the 'next big thing' in digital?
We'll see time driven, location aware, coupon sites - I'm calling them "minute mobs" trying to squeeze the next layer of revenue out of group buying. This will be further supported by the continued rapid growth of mobile platform use both on phones and tablets as more devices hit the market and consumers lose the home PC.
I believe we'll also see a move towards engagement metrics rather than the old format analogy of impressions which is essentially, circulation or viewership and doesn't really reflect the true performance of digital.
Ross Raeburn managing director, Soap
Are marketers embracing digital media fully?
Locally it is still a mixed bag. The passion and thirst to do interesting digital is consistent, however the commitment required to achieve this varies. Old habits die-hard and we still spend far too long debating levels of investment between media channels, even when the role and relevance is irrefutable.
Part of digital's secret sauce is the cost-effective way in which an idea can be brought to life in multiple ways, targeted and delivered to multiple people, making the experience far more engaging and effective. We find marketers whole-heartedly see the benefit of such an approach however still cling on to the old 'one big idea' when push comes to shove. We've banned the use of 'bite sized pieces of content' in all our recommendations.
Is there still lack of digital talent in Australia?
Circumstances make it appear there may be a lack of local talent. Size of population, types of courses and availability, poor student perception of what a career in digital may look like… This is something we as industry debate, however more needs to be done to better communicate and sell a career in digital marketing.
For example, you have to ask yourself why are so many design graduates still focusing on a career in print, packaging or graphic design. Also, where do all the smart female design students go, as it's clearly not into digital?
What is the future for social media?
It doesn't have one, not at least under that specific label. All media is social so let's move on from calling it out in isolation. Marketers that focus on asking the 'why questions' such as, 'seriously why will anyone care, why will anyone use it, why will this develop a community' vs 'how can we use Twitter, Facebook, 'insert new shiny social media platform here', will create far more effective results.
What will be the 'next big thing' in digital?
I'm not sure about the idea of a 'next big thing', I prefer to look at it as 'ongoing multiple interesting things' but that doesn't sound as catchy.
Significant developments in hardware (consoles, tablets, mobiles, TV, web enabled fridges…) coupled with greater insights around location and consumer preferences give us a fantastic opportunity to be far more relevant entertaining and dare I say it, useful.
Marketers should be investigating and supporting small 'test and learns' across emerging digital technologies. There is immense value in adopting and implementing a focused approach to test and learn, and in many cases doesn't require large budgets. You could even contemplate taking 1% from your existing TV media budgets to fund your future digital test-and-learn plan.
Charles Rallings chief operating officer, DDB Sydney
Are marketers embracing digital media fully?
In simple terms, if the threefold increase in Tribal's business over the past four years is anything to go by, then yes they are.
At a deeper level, the connection and integration most brands and their campaigns now have into the digital space is vast compared with just five years ago. Most campaigns now include digital media, website, mobile and social components, with many brands also having significant 'always on' strategies in the social space.
Is there still lack of digital talent in Australia?
In some pockets yes, however, it has vastly improved from three to four years ago. Speaking from recent personal experiences, we have significantly increased our digital team over the past couple of years and this has become easier as time has gone on.
Very senior, experienced digital talent in the strategy and planning can be hard to find, but not impossible. The skill of people coming into the digital industry as grads or juniors has also improved, with some courses now preparing candidates more specifically for digital roles.
What is the future for social media?
If digital is still thought of as a new media, which still seems to be the case, then social media is fledgling. That said, in just a few short years the way brands use social media has come along in leaps and bounds.
From viewing it initially as a media channel where messages can be pushed to consumers (sometimes covertly resulting in a storm of bad PR when 'found out'), brands now better understand the role social media plays influencing rather than selling and leveraging the value of the 'recommendation economy'.
However, to marketers, the real value is increasingly the rich, real-time intelligence brands gather on consumers and their products, and the operational efficiencies many are discovering by fulfilling their customer service obligations via social media channels.
What will be the 'next big thing' in digital?
About five years ago we all thought the next big thing was mobile. It was, it's just we didn't have the phones or the network to support it. Now we do, mobile, or more accurately 'mobility' is really coming of age.
The ability to have anything, anywhere, on any device is both an exceptional opportunity for brands and a challenge to keep up with. It makes us have to consider all the possibilities for all the various platforms, so consumers can engage with us anywhere, anytime. Difficult at times, but rewarding for brands and engaging for consumers when we get it right.
Damon Scarr commercial director, Yahoo!7
Are marketers embracing digital media fully?
While online advertising still has some way to go in catching up with its share of media consumption, smart marketers are on board. Most are realising they have more options to reach their audience and are tackling the attribution of success models to weight their campaigns as appropriate.
Marketers who were previously lagging with new media have come to the realisation that they can no longer stall. We are seeing that it's no longer just the top 50 advertisers pushing hard in this space, as evidenced in the increasing diversity of the digital finalists during the awards season.
Is there still a lack of digital talent in Australia?
There is definitely not a lack of digital talent in Australia. What the continued move to digital has exposed however is a lack of analytical talent that possess the varied skill sets required to analyse, interpret and translate the mammoth amount of data being generated. Today you can't just be a data analyst, you need to be a sociologist, an anthropologist, a strategist and a developer - a veritable digital jack of all trades.
What is the future for social media?
This year should be the year social media (and communications) finds its home. To date, it seems as though most organisations are still trying to work out where their social strategy sits for both media and communications. Is it the strategy agency, media agency, social agency or creative agency? Is it actually a strategy? Or does it need to be an always on communications channel such as PR? If it is both, how do we work them together to the benefit of all?
On the media side, the big challenge social marketers will continue to tackle is the measurement of success and how they can use/find hard metrics to gauge social media marketing's ROI. We've gone through a period of tough market conditions, and social media needs to transition from an experimental tactical strategy to the nirvana - always on strategy.
What will be the 'next big thing' in digital?
It's hard to put it down to 'one'. This will be a year where we continue to see diversity and fragmentation as the audience herd moves around new technologies, platforms and experiences.
However, one way we will keep it all together is through data. Everyone is talking about it. We'll continue to see great results from existing targeting products such as behavioural targeting, but as publishers source more data, both online and offline and begin to utilise advertisers' data, results will continue to improve for both efficiency and performance across web and other platforms.
James Simmons director, Match Media
Are marketers embracing digital media fully?
There has been a huge shift in marketers' perceptions of digital and the way they now embrace digital. The majority of clients are pushing their agency partners to provide unique and engaging strategies rather than vice versa. It is now more incumbent on agencies to translate clients' digital needs into real world and actionable campaigns and solutions.
One triggers for these shifts is the speed of growth in social media that has, or will affect every part of a clients' business, this means digital media is not only on the agenda of every marketer, but now every CEO. The transparency of reporting has always been there, but now the industry is getting smarter in understanding and attributing media towards sales, plus marketers have always craved word-of-mouth and viral campaigns (free media) and social media has given us a platform to analyse this earned media. Also, there is growing consumer time spent on digital devices with the expediential growth of tablets and smartphones.
Is there still lack of digital talent in Australia?
In short yes. The speed of growth in digital means there is still a big talent vacuum. With the fragmentation of digital platforms and channels it now means more talent is required to do the same work. I believe that will be an issue for the industry for the next two or three years.
With regard to solutions, as an industry, we obviously import talent and I am sure that will continue We need to look at how we train and up-skill staff. We need to ensure that we offer the right environment and culture to become a desirable place to work, minimising churn.
What is the future for social media?
The future of social media is about utilsing the data that exists in these platforms and enhancing a personalised experience for everyone including users and brands. These networks now know everything about you.
With mobile devices enabled they know where you are, and when social commerce is in full flight they will also know what you are shopping for. That data, and how to leverage it, will then be crucial - the elephant in the room is the possible consumer privacy backlash.
What will be the 'next big thing' in digital?
Mobile. I know that people have been saying this for years however it still only takes a tiny fraction of ad spend.
I believe the stars are aligning with mobile as it has done with other forms of digital media. Technology and consumer usage are changing at a rapid rate, meaning marketers and agencies must think about it as both a platform and media. It's not just about building "another bloody app".
Richard Spencer director, TWO Social
Are marketers embracing digital media fully?
If a marketer or marketing strategy still refers to 'new media' then no, but most are using digital channels to the limits of their understanding.
The current rush to online retailing shows that Australia is not pushing the boundaries of the medium, but much of that may well be due to our demography and geography. Not many marketers are looking to push the boundaries and many seem to see digital channels as just an extension of traditional media.
Is there still a lack of digital talent in Australia?
No, but a lot of the talent currently employed in digital roles in Australia is expatriate, which in itself is not a problem unless it bleeds experience overseas as expats return home.
The malaise in agencyland regarding the potential loss of the LAFHA benefit demonstrates how important imported talent is to the current status quo. I guess, along with anything else, the challenge is to upskill Australians working alongside expatriates or to attract home roving Aussies who have honed skills in larger overseas markets.
What is the future for social media?
In the late 1990s there was a corporate rush to the internet with most organisations creating web sites on a kneejerk basis, spending more than they needed to in the process. Board level discussions went from "why do we need a website?" to "good grief, we must get a www right now!", driven by the fear of being left behind in the .com gold rush.
Then about 12 months later, following a collective deep breath, the same boards asked themselves why they had spent those sums and what their web strategy should be?
Social media usage has followed a similar, if less extreme pattern and the next most immediate step for most organisations will be to create a genuine strategy for engagement through social platforms.
What will be the next big thing in digital?
The digital revolution promised us more time and less paper. Arguably we do use less paper, but we are becoming as people-less as we are paper-less. The impact of digital has made our lives more remote, more complex and has completely done away with the concept of downtime. At every point in which we have to wait for more than 30 seconds for anything, you will see people reaching for a digital device of some form.
Leaving aside online retailing, which cannot be the next big thing, I would like to see digital media be used more to transfer people and connections from the virtual to the physical, the concept of continuing to use digital to create real world engagement. There are some great examples which extend this principal and combine it with greater peer to peer sharing, which might not be new but should be bigger.
Carly Yanco Head of Digital, Burson-Marsteller Australia
Are marketers embracing digital media fully?
There's certainly been a surge in digital marketing over the past few years, which has shifted digital from being a new trend to the new way of marketing - and this is definitely a sign that it's being embraced. However, many companies are still dipping their toes in the water rather than investing in the resources required to make their digital efforts successful.
Is there still lack of digital talent in Australia?
There are several schools of thought on this and it certainly differs between disciplines within the industry - advertising, digital media buyers, digital PR strategy, developers, etc. My feeling is that it's a case of waiting for experience levels to catch up with demand.
We all want that person who has the right level of digital expertise as well as the impetus to keep one step ahead of what is a rapidly changing market. Demand is also particularly high as we hit the peak of the digital hype cycle. The industry needs to catch up to itself. Right now we expect talent to specialise in digital as well as be able to integrate with traditional tactics when instead we should look at training our traditional experts on what they must be able to do to embrace the digital marketing world.
What is the future for social media?
The future of social media will see the evolution of digital citizenship. More and more, social media platforms are pushing for identity authenticity online (for example Google+, which only lets you sign up with a "real name"). This won't mean anonymous commentators will suddenly disappear into their anonymous worlds, but we'll start to see more accountability online.
For years, schools have been pushing for an established code of ethics for young people who often use their social networks as an online, night-time continuation of playground gossip and bullying. We'll see a shift towards personal responsibility for what is said online and the often large disconnect between online persona and offline identity will become smaller.
What will be the 'next big thing' in digital?
The next big thing in digital marketing won't be one platform or tool, it will be the evolution of the digital ecosystem. Our devices will seamlessly talk to each other, we'll be constantly connected, the internet will invade our living rooms through our TVs and our kitchens through our fridges. We'll be able to access files from our mobile phones and then bring them up on our home computers without wires and our attention will become even more fragmented. Digital marketers will have multiple touch points and our strategies will need to adapt accordingly.
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