Page 8 - Trends 2013

SOCIAL MEDIA

solutions for core groups of employees who can demon- other types of group-based buying such as group pur-
strate an absolute need for them. Free and freemium chasing via social communities, event-driven online
services will therefore capture a lot of the market in bargain sales and, ultimately, SoLoMo (Social Local
2013 and eventually undermine the market for premium Mobile).
Unified Communications and Communications solu-
tions. Prediction 9 - In-apps advertising will emerge as
the “next wave” of mobile advertising
Prediction 5 - Sales impact will replace “likes” and
followers Although mobile advertising is still in its early stages in
the region, it is expected to become a US$ 3 billion
As marketers are gaining experience with using Face- market in 2013. Even so, there are many unanswered
book and other online platforms for their marketing cam- concerns surrounding mobile advertising, including the
paigns, IDC expects them to become gradually more efficacy of ads on small screen sizes and the reaction
demanding with the ROI of the campaigns they run in of consumers to mobile ads. Despite promising early
2013. IDC expects the value of "likes", fans and follow- click-through rates, IDC expects the short comings of
ers to be seriously questioned in 2013 and for market- mobile as a platform for display ads to drive to focus of
ers to focus on out-come based ROI for future cam- advertisers towards mobile apps by the end of 2013.
paigns.
Prediction 10 - OTT players will woo the telcos – up
Prediction 6 - Visual social will be the next wave in to a point
social
Telecommunications operators and Over-The-Top
As the appeal and relative efficiency of visual cam- (OTT) content providers have historically had a strained
paigns to text based campaigns becomes increasingly relationship. But OTT providers are now moving into
obvious to marketers, IDC expects social networks to areas that mobile service providers in particular have
follow suit and increase their focus on visual social net- seen as their future domain - one of which is mobile
working in 2013. advertising.

Prediction 7 - Social (networking) platforms will be Many mobile operators have been relying on their ex-
the next shop front tensive mobile customer data to secure their space in
mobile advertising, but today's ad networks already
As companies around the region are moving towards have very effective targeting technology in place, leav-
multi-channel environments for their sales, marketing ing OTT players very little incentive to cooperate with
and customer care organizations, social networking will mobile service providers.
move beyond just being a platform for PR and market-
ing activities to becoming true social business platforms. But as the mobile platform is becoming increasingly
important for bandwidth heavy, media rich content pro-
IDC expects major social networks to at least experi- visioning, IDC believes that this may change in 2013
ment with B2C shopping solutions in 2013. and that OTT players will start seeking more alliances
with mobile operators in the region.
Prediction 8 - The Groupon model will fade away but
group buying will prevail Right now the new business world first of all has to be
fully understood to become a winner – so read about all
things digital in the region and stay tuned with Asian e-
As the US company Groupon continues to struggle and Marketing ◊
face competition from countless similar local services in
the region, IDC expects this group-buying business
model to fade away in 2013, as the demand moves to By Daniela La Marca

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8 Trends 2013 - Asian e-Marketing 2013 in retrospect