The great advertising reset: Mobile paves the way in the post-pandemic era

At the end of last year, when the novel coronavirus was still barely a blip on the radar, I published a series of 2020 predictions for the Asia-Pacific region, with a rather ominous forecast topping the list:

“Asia Pacific could be hit with its first massive global-scale data breach – possibly coming from a unicorn or decacorn. This will be too big to sweep under the rug that companies will finally take privacy and security seriously. Governments will take action.”

Photo credit: Pixabay

Even though data breaches are still a troubling issue, I might as well have been referring to a global pandemic: It’s massive in scale, it can’t be ignored, and governments are taking action to address it.

We are dealing with what is seen as one of the worst economic downturns in history, which has brought substantial uncertainty to people’s lives and livelihoods.

For those of us in marketing technology, we are entering “the Great Reset.”

With sales mostly flat and stocks oscillating, companies are opening war rooms with only one agenda written on the whiteboard: To conserve cash. Realistically, it is not uncommon for marketers to have minimal authority in this setting; I would even wager that they seldom get invited into the room in the first place.

Still, marketers are instinctively primed to solve problems just as they are to spend budgets. There needs to be a recalibration of annual marketing plans but also a forging of a new strategic construct. I believe that from here on out, if it wasn’t already clear, the solution lies in the realm of mobile.

Less focus on traditional media

Major Asian governments have aggressively upgraded their infrastructures over the years, and as countries are currently in lockdown, people are spending a majority of their time on their digital devices.

Data from Statista forecast that by 2021, China’s use of digital platforms will far outstrip its consumption of traditional media, with daily average use predicted to clock in at 4.5 hours vs. 2.6 hours, respectively.

Not surprisingly, in the age of Covid-19, this usage behavior has become glaringly reflective of trends around marketing spend. Budgets have been drastically cut, with traditional advertising campaigns and ad agencies expected to bear the brunt.

There needs to be less of a discussion around this now, as practically all reports and studies point to a clear future: Traditional media will survive, but in a post-pandemic world, it should occupy only a thin line item budget.

Beware of “instant gratification” budget cuts

Having said that, companies should not take the easy way out and simply cut their marketing budgets, as this would only be a short-term fix.

Make no mistake about it: A recession is looming and consumers are reluctant to dig into their pockets any deeper than they should. But this must not discourage marketers.

APAC driving seismic shifts in global marketing spend and tech innovation