WHICH MARKETS ARE MOST INTERESTING TO YOU, AND WHY?
Saudi is of particular interest to us because it is undergoing a tourism boom for the first time in its history. This large influx of tourists for the 11 (and growing) ‘seasons’ that Saudi has to offer, packed with entertainment, natural wonders tours and activities, is going to require a whole ecosystem around it. This will mostly be digital, where fresh visitors to the land of Saudi Arabia will explore, learn, interact and book their experiences based on a mix of awareness and performance-driven communication. Supporting that journey with a digital ecosystem sits at the core of what we do, and our ability to serve that on global and Chinese platforms puts us in a unique, advantageous position.
WHICH SECTORS WILL SHOW THE MOST GROWTH FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
Most growth this year has been in digital campaigns that are increasingly driven by ROI. The clients range from government to private-sector automotive and consumer goods, who are laser-focused on growth targets for 2020 onwards in the region.
HOW SHOULD CLIENTS CHOOSE BETWEEN AGENCIES?
It’s a delicate balance. Good content gets clicks and bad media choices on a campaign don’t, so if you really want your campaign to reach the right audience you have to be focused as a marketer on talking to your strategic target when and where your message or service is relevant.
WHAT ARE THE COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES OF NETWORK AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES, AND HOW IS THIS CHANGING?
You’ll go into a major project briefing in the UAE and see independent and network agencies vying for the same project. The lines have blurred and boutique approaches can render more focus and better quality at times. The challenge is always applying a process to every client and every brief so that the output meets the standard of excellence expected.
WHAT SKILLSETS ARE BECOMING MORE AND LESS IMPORTANT IN THE AGENCY?
Data scientists are infiltrating clients and agencies at an increasing pace. Equally, strategists that can make sense of all that data extracted from multiple points. It needs to be made sense of. That’s another specialisation that agencies are seeing the value of, and they are recruiting profiles close to what you see in consultancies. Less and less are agencies interested in traditional creative expertise. Maybe because storytelling is so average in this region.
WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE THAT YOU DIDN’T FIVE YEARS AGO?
The biggest challenge that digital agencies face is that the consumer conversion funnel remains at many of its touch points traditional and truncated. It’s a big challenge to thread that story together to result in a purchase. We have invested on the right ad tech tools to maximise the ROI of our clients.
WHAT HAVE CLIENTS STARTED ASKING FOR IN THE PAST YEAR?
Clients have upped their KPIs and included ROI parameters in their briefings.
HOW ARE CONSUMERS CHANGING, AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR YOUR WORK?
Consumers are increasingly seeking convenience and falling into rituals for all their digital product experience (for example, buying groceries on Instacart and choosing Noon for electronics) so it’s a big challenge for e-retailers to get you to try new portals, providers and untested companies. It has a big impact on our work in terms of connecting brands to the right consumers, in a digital-driven way, through e-commerce.
WHAT EFFECT IS TECHNOLOGY HAVING ON YOUR BUSINESS?
The biggest change from the introduction of new tech will be on first-party data and CDPs, with every major brand setting up silos to hold profiles of customers that have affinity or intention to buy their brand.
