Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
The regional conference of media trends SEMPL attracted more than 1,000 attendees from the Adriatic region within two days at the Grand Hotel Bernardin in Portorož. At the conference organised by Media Pool for the nineteenth time, delegates had the chance to listen to more than 20 international and regional speakers and found out what are the trends in the world of marketing and media and predictions for the future of all those who work in the media and communications industry.
Non-linear marketing is a strategy and not a tactic
The SEMPL conference, hosted by a British actor and producer Julian Rhind–Tutt, began with the presentation of US marketing expert Jamie Turner, who explained the notion of non-linear marketing: “It is how brands like Red Bull, Airbnb and Starbucks, and others connect with consumers in the post-advertising era.” Brands use non-linear marketing to weave themselves into the fabric of consumers’ life and create deeper, longer lasting and genuine relationships with them, he says, adding that this is a strategy, not just a marketing tactic.
How out-of-home advertising benefited from digitalisation
Ben Maher, sales and partnership director at JCDecaux UK, has illustrated how out-of-home advertising has only gained through digitalisation – both in terms of efficiency in delivering marketing messages and in the performance of advertising campaigns, especially in connection with mobile technologies. “Digitalisation has increased the messaging capabilities of OOH, its agility, flexibility and ability for contextual relevance,” says Maher.
A world based on data
“The gap between technology and humans is closing,” says Sneha Nagesh, Global Search Business Director at PHD Global Business UK. We are now in a period that will last to app. 2025 when the introduction of machine learning leads to dramatic improvements in the extraction of information – from advanced operating systems and semantic web through to virtual assistants. “For marketers, it means that you will have to create a data strategy and invest in knowledge management. In marketing, there will be even more marketing technologists, data analysts and cognitive consultants,” she outlined.
The copycats and generating new ideas
On the SEMPL’s stage, the attendees had the opportunity to see the masked agency creative Joe La Pompe from France, whose mission is to expose copycats in advertising. Similar ideas in advertising agencies occur most often because of the human nature itself, as we are inclined to cheat and seek quick solutions, but also because of amnesia and lack of time. “Do not follow trends blindly, stop the denial that you have never encountered a similar idea, and take time to develop original creative solutions,” is his advice to creatives.
Dave Birss, energetic Scotsman, who has been a creative director in advertising agencies for years, also talked about creativity and broke up some myths about generating new ideas. You can never come up with good ideas when brainstorming, because generating ideas is a process. In addition, creativity is not only one skill, but a set of skills, among which are the ability to connect, gather, integrate, organise, evaluate and understand.
Even media agencies should use artificial intelligence
“Media agency of the future is not an agency as we know today,” claims Andreas Schwabe, CEO of Blackwood Seven from Germany, which is one of the most advanced media agencies in Europe as it brings machine learning and artificial intelligence into media planning. He is certain that media agencies will have to be a lot more data-driven and tech-oriented. The artificial intelligence will contribute especially in optimizing channel mix, timing and targeting.
Influencer marketing, which advertisers increasingly use, is also becoming automated. Justin Rezvani, founder and director of the US agency for influencer marketing theAmplify, said that the new content creation world excludes intermediaries – agencies, production houses and the media. Technology allows brands to communicate with content creators more easily and establish relationships with their audience through them. But the human factor is still extremely important, especially in improving content, identifying trends and creative thinking.
You should take words seriously
The words we choose in communication are extremely important, according to Susie Dent, TV-presenter and lexicographer from UK. The language is power, she says, and emphasizes that in marketing, positive words should be used, because people will remember a certain passion in their lives, so advertisers will connect to them more easily. “Do not be afraid to experiment with grammar,” says Dent, pointing to two extremely influential advertising slogans – Apple’s “Think Different” and McDonald’s “I’m Loving It” that broke the grammatical rules but managed to enthuse people to the extent that they were accepted into their everyday speech.
Six riders of the media apocalypse
Jon Watts, managing partner and co-founder of the MTM UK, talked about digital transformation of the media market, which is increasingly competitive, open and globalized. According to him, there are of six “riders of apocalypse” for the media market: slowing growth of mature markets, rapid technological change, growing demand for premium rights, shift to digital media and online activities, changing consumer expectations and lower barriers to entry the market, which means more competition.
Welcome to the future of frameless media
Nick Bicanic, the founder of RVLVR from Silicon Valley, is convinced that any industry that relies on a screen – laptop, desktop, tablet, smartphone – could fundamentally change because all screens are likely to disappear. “Not in the immediate timeframe, e.g. one to three years, but in 5 years it will start and by 7 to 10 years it will become widespread and extremely cost effective,” thinks Bicanic, who is also a director of 360 video and VR films. “In 360, virtual reality and augmented reality the viewer can look anywhere – that simple fact fundamentally changes the mechanics by which the stories are constructed. However, what it doesn’t change is that stories are still stories. They are about eliciting an emotion in the viewer,” he stressed.
Workshops about digital marketing and creativity
The SEMPL’s participants could also attend eight workshops in the parallel programme. Igor Pauletič, founder and CEO of FrodX, and Matija Jamnik, co-founder of JK Group, have addressed the EU data protection regulation GDPR. Slavoljub Stanković, creative director at Mercator-S Serbia, gave his philosophical view on brands, while Vasja Grabnar, art director at AV studio, questioned the originality and creativity of advertising. Ivan Nosić, founder and director of Stem Digital and Fibseq from Croatia, focused on tech disruptors, which are changing marketing, and Jamie Turner conducted a workshop on how to use digital marketing to increase sales and revenue. Igor Mali, COO at iPROM, and Dragoslav Radin, director of Beenius Slovenia, talked about the programmatic future of television, dr. Marko Majer, founder and director of Mayer McCann, gave attention to the generation of Y in advertising, and certified trainers of DIMAQ program by Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) presented the key challenges in online marketing.