VIDEO: ZenithOptimedia global digital officer Fred Joseph on trends in Asia

One of the most interesting and fascinating trends about Asia that struck Fred Joseph, the global digital director for Zenith Optimedia, is how fast the Asian markets are catching up with the digital platform.

"I can see this happening not just in terms of volume of audience but also in terms of technology," he said. However he was also cautious in mentioning that it was not possible to have a universal global strategy as the digital practices prevalent in Asia vary from those in the West as well as within Asia.

"This is because some markets are more mature than others in terms of penetration and usage, though three key trends run across the board," Joseph remarked. 

Online video in particular is booming and China is forging ahead. With 270 million users, it supersedes the population of the US and continues to add 430 million internet users every month. "So in terms of volume of consumption, China is already ahead of the curve," said Joseph. 

"Social media engagement is another trend which has truly taken off, and will enable us to explore the possibilities of digital content even more," he added.  

While on one hand, the internet behaviour enables vast opportunities, it is also a challenge for media agencies and require them to reconfigure their organisations to address these changes from traditional TV platform to the online video usage.

"Social media are unpaid environments and the culture and history of media agencies is around paid media. So we as a media agency need to make a switch from those paid media environments within the realm of social content which are owned and ‘one’s own’," said Joseph. 

The third trend which Joseph indicated was buying media technology and use of exchange platforms.

"We are switching from buying inventories to building relationships with the publishers of such inventories to enable us to buy space and database. We are seeing a huge trend in the western markets for this form of behaviourial targeting and what we do is capture data or profiles through cookies and develop a repository of inventories of information," informs Joseph.

He goes on to add that while this runs contrary to the traditional ways of buying inventories on the TV or other media this practice is slated for the digital medium of purchase. "This is a much more of an analytical technology way of buying and the big challenge is to buy at scale. This is new to clients too as they are interested and at the same time, lost," he says. 

And while Joseph is amazed at the pace of the online behaviour, he is also baffled to the correlation of why there is so much of internet consumption and such little ad spend.

"It intrigues me as I don’t know why we are so far behind consumer habits; the consumers are much ahead of us already. It is not really a question of research. There is plenty of research that indicates to the fact that digital content is widely accepted. I feel that the real way to prove to client is to learn by experience and get real case studies so that the clients become confident to switch monies from traditional methods to the new media." 

Mobile ads is another area which Joseph spoke about. "Is staged to take off," he states defiantly. "Yes, we have been saying this for quite a while now, but I believe that we have reached a tipping point and I don’t see why it shouldn’t take off. The mobile penetration speaks for itself and if there is one mass media, it is mobile," he states.

He said that the smartphones have furthermore enhanced the connectivity and interactions, and he believes that the apps are the gateway to an increased ad spend.

"It is not about banner ads instead apps that make sense to the consumers or adds value and advertising will have to follow this route. The second approach is the geo-localisation for consumers on the move which will enable us to push information that is relevant to them via ads," Joseph said. 

To wrap-up, Joseph believes that the real 'ad value' can only come by adding value to consumer experiences. "This is really the key when it comes to advertising. The idea is to have less intrusive ads but more that truly fit the person’s needs and requirements," he concludes.