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Martech Future of Media Retail Media

3 reasons retail media should be part of your south-east Asian marketing strategy in 2022

By James Sampson, vice president and general manager of Asia Pacific

April 13, 2022 | 6 min read

As brands and marketers continue to face the conundrum of striking the right balance between brand building and performance marketing dollars, ​James Sampson of GrabAds (ride-sharing platform Grab’s advertising arm) writes that super apps will become increasingly interesting to watch in the retail media arena.

Grab

Super apps will become an increasingly interesting sector to watch in the retail media arena / Grab

With the sheer size of the world’s retail media market standing at $17bn today and projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 22% to reach $32bn in 2024, the retail media landscape has huge potential to change the overall media landscape in the years ahead.

In a mobile-first region like south-east Asia, super apps that offer a one-stop platform for consumers to purchase goods on-demand and complete transactions across a variety of services – such as transport, grocery and finance – have become a key part of the retail media landscape, in part due to changing consumer behaviors.

As brands and marketers continue to look for new ways to drive measurable impact and accelerate consumer journeys by investing their advertising dollars closer to the point where the consumer makes the transaction, the shift of advertising dollars towards retail media – including super apps – will only continue to grow.

Here are three reasons why retail media should be an integral part of your south-east Asian marketing strategy in 2022.

1. Growth of e-commerce

The inclusion of retail media into the marketing mix is primarily driven by the booming e-commerce industry. E-tailers, such as Amazon, Alibaba and Flipkart, are highly sought after by advertisers in North America, China and India for their ability to turn consumer insights into the ability to drive the last click to the last mile. With consumer adoption accelerating, south-east Asia’s e-commerce industry is set to double to $234bn in value by 2025, which will only accelerate the shift of advertising dollars towards retail media in this part of the world as well.

In a geographically and culturally diverse south-east Asia region, the growth of retail media is taking shape differently. Here, super apps are making waves alongside e-commerce players in the retail media space.

As brands and marketers continue to face the conundrum of striking the right balance between brand building and performance marketing dollars, super apps will become an increasingly interesting sector to watch in the retail media arena.

2. Importance of omnichannel

Amid the continued rise of digital, brands are realizing that offline channels remain highly important to their marketing mix. As brands navigate their way towards their ideal omnichannel formula to drive awareness, engagement and conversions with their target consumers, driving attributable conversions – even with their offline advertising channels – will become increasingly important as part of the marketing budget conversation.

Over in China, L’Occitane launched its first WeChat mini-program, which focused on driving online to offline traffic among domestic travelers to the brand’s duty-free stores. The mini-program took on a unique and creative approach that included gamification, personalized recommendations and geo-targeted store maps, intending to drive in-store traffic and conversions as well as foster customer loyalty.

With super apps’ ability to drive attributable online to offline, offline to online, online to online traffic and conversions via a single platform, retail media’s role in the marketing mix will only continue to grow.

3. The shift towards moment-based advertising

With the impending removal of third-party identifiers and cookies, advertisers are future-proofing their media buying strategies by looking toward platforms with the capability to provide rich insights from first-party data. According to Accenture, personalization will be the key to connecting with consumers globally as they are likely to purchase from brands that provide relevant offers and recommendations in a personal manner.

The rise of super apps, which see consumers coming on to the apps at different moments through the day to complete transactions for everyday essential services, has given rise to the proliferation of real-time signals from consumers that can empower brands with the ability to meet their needs with the right product and services throughout the day.

For example, data signals tell whether a user is in the discovery phase, is hungry, needs a caffeine boost, looking for groceries delivered or wants to make payment at a merchant, among other daily activities. This showcases how super apps allow brands to find the right moments to engage with their consumers at the point when they are most receptive, to drive meaningful outcomes during the consumer journey.

So, what’s Next?

Retail media, when harnessed to its full potential, can help advertisers compress the marketing funnel and drive awareness, engagement and conversions more efficiently. It also can provide native advertising experiences with clear attribution.

As digital acceleration continues, it pays for brands and marketers to look into incorporating retail media as part of their marketing strategy. While there are some similarities with western markets, new playbooks must be developed to leverage super apps, as their unique capabilities and wide consumer adoption are causing the retail media ecosystem to develop differently here in south-east Asia.

James Sampson is the regional head of strategy and partnerships at GrabAds.

Martech Future of Media Retail Media

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