Ad:Tech 2012 at Suntec Convention Centre (13 – 14 June 2012)

After a long hiatus in blogging, I was pleasantly surprised to still be invited to the Ad:Tech Singapore 2012 conference to cover the event as a blogger. While my schedule did not permit me to stay for the entire conference, I managed to attend the press conference.

But before we go into that, I feel this year’s conference lineup is exciting! The theme of the event is about Driving Asia’s Digital Development and there were tracks of breakout sessions covering from Fundamentals of Digital Marketing, Digital Trends, Tools and Technologies, and Digital Adoption And Execution Trends of Emerging and Developed Markets, as well as an Exhibition Seminar Theatre in the Expo Hall.

The topics which the speakers are covering are really close to the ground. With breakout sessions like “Integrating Mobile Marketing Into Your Overall Business Strategy”, and interactive workshops like “Optimising Your Social Media Marketing”, I really see how the attendees can walk away with actionable insights that can be applied immediately in their digital marketing.

Ad Tech Press Conference

The press conference this morning featured a panel of 6 speakers to share their insights. Here are my insights!

  1. Enrique Baizas – Digital Marketing Champion, Zone AOA for Nestle touched on the idea that the strategy for marketing in social media needs to be different from one for the regular traditional media. The key difference in that, even when brands stop advertising or promoting online, conversation will still continue on the various platforms. It is therefore important for companies not only to have their content grid and marketing plan, but also be flexible enough to adapt, remix and engage with the responses they get from the different social platforms.
  2. Michael Lazerow, CEO and Founder of Buddy Media emphasised that it is the content that powers the connections, and it is in the human networks where the power lies. With right idea and great story to tell, digital marketing need not be complicated.
  3. Greg Dale, COO of Comscore Inc talked about the the trends and evolutions in Digital Advertising. Mobile is big, especially in Singapore. In fact, Singapore leads the world in terms of non-computer traffic! E-commerce, while slower to pick up in Singapore, are also still seeing positive trends.
  4. Jeffery Cole, Director, Centre for the Digital Future, USC Annenberg School touched on a point that is near and dear to almost everyone connected to the Internet – that nobody really wants to give up the Internet! But, many of us are tired of having it define our lives. The lines between and work and personal time have blurred and even though the Internet is supposed to make us more productive, we end up working more hours, working late at night and on weekends. There is a need to find a balance.
  5. Ranji David, Executive Director for Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), Singapore told us how IAB has been doing to educate, enable, inspire and elevate digital marketing in Singapore. She also touched on some very important statistics – that as of the 1st half of 2011, only 8% of the advertising budget is spent online in Singapore, comparatively, the mature markets like US and the UK are seeing figures in the 30-odd percentile. More talents are hired today than ever, and Singapore is also getting a lot of support from the government in this industry
  6. Loren I. Shuster, Country Director, Singapore and Emerging Markets at Google spoke about the acceleration of everything! Soon everyone and everything can and will be online, and with the availability of the Internet on mobile and other platforms, consumers are becoming hyper-informed and they do a lot of their research online before they make purchasing decisions.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to drop in for some sessions tomorrow so I’ll be able to provide you with more insights!

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