The rise of smartphones over the last decade has dramatically changed the lives of people worldwide, especially in Asean, which is one of the world's most mobile-connected regions. A new wave of change is now gaining momentum as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) become mainstream.
As the behaviour and lifestyles of the region's hyper-connected consumers change, so too must marketing approaches, according to Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living Asean (HILL Asean), an in-house think tank of Hakuhodo Inc, Japan's second largest advertising and communication agency.
Companies and brands need to prepare for the hyper-connected future by emphasising real-time marketing based on consumer data that is all-encompassing in every aspect, not only shopping behaviour but also health history, interests, preferences, purchase history and so on.
The world after the smartphone era will be the world of IoT and Intelligence of Things, according to a new HILL Asean research report entitled "Think Future-Forward: How Asean Lives Evolve as Technology Gets Smarter". Devices will be equipped with self-analytical and self-operating capabilities thanks to advanced technology and AI, eliminating the need for smartphones or mobile applications to operate them.
The number of IoT devices will soon exceed the number of mobile phones worldwide, so IT companies are competing fiercely to develop innovations for connected devices of all kinds.
The world's tech superpowers -- the likes of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft in the US and Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent and Xiaomi in China -- are all working on smart assistant systems that are more intelligent and interact with users more effectively.
BEYOND THE SCREEN
Goro Hokari, managing director of HILL Asean, said the popularisation of IoT devices will bring about three changes:
The "Beyond the Screen" age: Digitisation that has been occurring on screens will expand to home appliances, cars, cities and social infrastructure.
Accumulation of "Me Data": With the spread of the IoT, all kinds of information about us -- be it our behaviour history, purchase history, preferences, health data and more -- will be accumulated on various devices that are connected and managed centrally with one ID.
Predictive Recommendations: The richer Me Data becomes, the more optimised recommendations provided by AI will become. The more AI learns our Me Data, the more it will be able to predict our behaviour and provide what we need, when we need it, through various devices.
The spread of IoT and AI will give rise to a new form of media that HILL Asean has dubbed "assistive media", which is capable of analysing Me Data and instantly making recommendations in terms of information, products or services that the person probably needs at that time.
The research forecasts two emerging new behaviours among Asean consumers.
One is "Bye-Bye Boring Routines", which means certain kinds of everyday routines will decrease as they can be streamlined, simplified, automated -- or even made more fun -- by IoT and AI technology. When it comes to shopping, regular purchases and items that consumers have no particular preferences about may no longer be selected by the consumers themselves.
The other trend is the "Match-Me Journey". Instead of researching, selecting and making decisions about the best product or service themselves, consumers will receive best-buy recommendations suggested by AI and buy things that have been matched to their personal preferences.
HOW BRANDS CAN RESPOND
Based on these projections, HILL Asean recommends business operators and brands prepare by focusing on three strategic areas:
Purpose Branding: Redefine brand value according to purpose and situation. With assistive media playing a greater role in suggesting the "No.1" brand (top of mind, top search result, top in sales, lowest priced, etc), searches for specific products or brand names will decline. Brands will need to clearly identify how and when their products will benefit consumers, with a clear purpose relevant to everyday life experiences, in order to become what consumers need most.
Life Solutions: To be selected by consumers and assistive media, brands cannot simply manufacture products and sell them. They will need to offer "life solutions" or services tailored to consumers' needs.
Companies might choose to work together to create huge online ecosystems that provide life solutions. Aside from products, it will become essential for companies to develop solutions by thinking about what problems their brands can solve.
Real-time Marketing: This approach seeks to personalise and customise communication content and timing for each consumer's circumstances. By combining brands' own data and Me Data, discerning the relationship between the target and the brand will become possible. Planning moments and communication content will optimise engagement between brands and consumers.
Accordingly, acquiring Me Data and building and utilising their own data are urgent tasks for companies.
To download the research, visit www.hillAsean.com/forum_2019/en/
