Malaysia – Media investment agency GroupM has held its third annual ad marketing conference in Malaysia, SourceCode, which brought in key leaders and brand decision-makers from top-value brands such as Unilever, Fonterra, Coca-Cola, and Oppo to discuss current trends and phenomena that are currently shaping the future of marketing.
Held virtually in November 2021, SourceCode was joined by key leaders from GroupM’s agencies such as Mindshare, MediaCom, and Xaxis as well as representatives from Unruly, Metamorfosa, and DoubleVerify for a series of roundtables where key main three themes of discussion emerged – the future of e-commerce, the role of talent in building a diverse workplace, and the stronger call for leadership responsibility in the fast-evolving market ecosystem.
During the event, the fresh concept of ‘E-joy’ was discussed, which refers to the wonderful feeling derived from the perks of e-commerce – its convenience, versatility, and the bouquet of brands and offerings such as online-only promotions and attractive bundles.
“The number of hours spent in a week by a highly engaged audience looking to discover and purchase, means e-commerce is all set to win, especially with the advent of online marketplaces,” said Tejas Kirodiwal, head of growth at Zalora, at SourceCode.
Moving forward, leaders agree that the future of e-commerce is ‘entertainment commerce’.
Another topic in focus at SourceCode is the issue of ‘The Great Resignation’ and how technology can help cultivate teams of the future that are inclusive and diversified.
“We need to see talents as our invested business partners. Therefore, they have to be managed using technology, the same way we manage our marketing investments,” said Rashi Kalucha, regional HR lead business partner for APAC at GroupM.
In the event, an open call was made to HR practitioners to better leverage technology to “track, measure, learn from and create solutions” that will boost employee retention and enhance their overall welfare.
Lastly, participants agreed at the conference that marketers need to assume leadership responsibility in resolving pertinent issues related to sustainability, brand safety, data privacy, as well as ensuring greater transparency across the value chain.
Senior representatives from Malaysia Airlines, Astro Radio, Rocketfuel Entertainment, GroupM, and Volvo Cars reached the consensus that as important as the crafted message is, marketers also need to carefully consider the consequence and impact on the receiver.
‘Responsibility’ was brought up frequently when it came to marketing in a multidimensional world that involved virtual reality, non-fungible tokens, cryptocurrency and decentralized finance that places the power back into the hands of the end-users, the creators, and the consumers.
Vishal Jacob, chief digital officer at Wavemaker India, commented, “Publishers and platforms are now more focused than ever in creating unique hybrid online experiences for consumers that focus on activating first-party data. Delivering high-engagement value exchanges has never been more critical [when navigating in a] metaverse. Brands [need to] figure out what works and what doesn’t in the virtual world – it is an open invitation to experiment – for brands to be brave.”
