Study: Marketers Remain Slow To Adopt Tech Advances

A global survey conducted by Rakuten Marketing has revealed that advancing technologies are not central to successful marketing tactics in 2018.

Despite the introduction of bots and artificial intelligence to simplify and improve the digital customer experience, Australian marketers have no immediate plans to adopt these technologies. You can read the study in full here.

The research shows that despite popular thought, new innovations are losing out to tried and tested methods. New technology is not top of mind for today’s marketers and there’s a clear disconnect between what is available and what is being implemented. Only 19 per cent of marketers plan to invest in virtual reality and 13 per cent of marketers plan to invest in augmented reality this year.

Compared to higher interest in these technologies from marketers in the US and UK, Australian marketers may find themselves behind global counterparts. Further, only 19 per cent of Australian marketers fear redundancy through automation and a mere 27 per cent are concerned about their competitors adopting artificial intelligence.

By contrast, 61 per cent of marketers believe video is king and will be investing in this space in 2018. Other areas of content investment include image-led (48 per cent) and audio (33 per cent). Digital is receiving a great amount of attention, but marketers are only willing to be so adventurous in the tech they’re adopting.

Easy does it

At present, new technologies may not be integral to marketing campaigns, nor central to a business structure, but statistics reveal there is an appetite for it. 44 per cent of marketers believe the number one skill they should bring to their team in 2018 is experience working with various tech platforms. As marketers expand their repertoire and become more digitally-savvy, there is greater opportunity to zero in on what consumers want and grow that relationship through more targeted and efficient measures.

High on the priority list for marketers is also collaboration, with 32 per cent wanting to educate their teams on how to work more effectively with other departments across the organisation. In the past, difficulties in modernising have arisen out of a failure for different sectors to successfully branch out of their silos. Working cohesively is a key point of focus for 2018, especially as different sectors deal with customers at different touchpoints, so unifying this process is key. Digital holds the answer to making this process happen more efficiently, so even though we’re not there yet, the future is in sight.

Anthony Capano, managing director for Rakuten Marketing Asia-Pacific says, “The role of the marketer continues to evolve becoming more varied and more complex. As a company committed to driving innovation within the industry, we intend to use the findings from this research to inform how we work alongside our clients and ensure that we’re providing them with the guidance and technology they need to run their businesses effectively.”

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