10 Key Insights on Thailand Digital Marketing 2024 from The Secret Sauce Summit 2023

For marketers, staying ahead of the upcoming changes is crucial, especially in the rapidly evolving world of digital marketing. Today, I had the opportunity to attend The Secret Sauce Summit 2023, a grand marketing conference organized by The Standard. One of the most interesting sessions was “Digital Marketing 2024” presented by Adul Witayarnukul, the founder and CEO of Adapter Digital Group.

This session was packed with insights on the trends that marketers should not miss in 2024. Here, I have summarized the top 10 takeaways from the session, so you can catch up on what you might have missed. If you’re ready, let’s dive into these valuable insights together.

1. New Spending Behaviors Arising from Inflation Rates

Trend: Decreased spending on out-of-home entertainment and international travel, but increased spending on domestic travel, such as one-day trips and visits to local attractions. Self-investment: People are willing to spend on activities that bring joy to their lives, such as dining at expensive restaurants, buying premium skincare products, and investing in beauty clinics and sex and relationship growth. Class polarization: There is no middle ground for consumers. Some seek cost-saving options, while others prefer premium products, as evidenced by the simultaneous searches for loan sources and BMW cars.

2. The Year of Brandformance with a Focus on Real Impact Marketing

This year, companies that grew by more than 60.7% were those that invested in long-term marketing strategies, rather than just focusing on short-term sales. Companies should adapt by utilizing real impact marketing, which goes beyond driving sales and focuses on earned growth. Brand equity should collaborate with financial impact for a holistic approach.

F R M U Framework: This framework includes:

• Familiarity: Creating a sense of familiarity with the product.
• Regard: Building a sense of trust in the product.
• Meaning: Ensuring that the product holds significance in people’s lives.
• Uniqueness: Highlighting the distinctive qualities of the product or brand.

Sales require branding, and branding requires sales.

3. Attention Matters: Creating Emotions and Engaging Customers

With the rising cost of media, we are getting less reach for the same budget. The solution lies in capturing attention. When customers pay attention to our campaigns, they create lasting memories, which leads to better brand recall and influences their purchasing decisions. To adapt, marketers should incorporate attention metrics into their marketing plans and modify their content formats based on the digital platform. Each channel has different attention values. For example, Instagram has high engagement but low attention, while YouTube has high attention but low engagement.

4. The Era Driven by Creators: The Creative Content Generators of the Future

Currently, 41% of Gen Z identifies themselves as creators, distinguishing themselves from influencers by focusing on original content creation, utilizing creativity, and providing knowledge and value. Collaborating with creators can add value to products and foster long-term brand growth. The challenge lies in measuring the effectiveness of working with creators.

The 4R model is recommended: Reach, Relevance, Resonance, and Return.

5. Level Up: Investing in Long-Term Branding

In 2024, it is essential to invest in long-term branding strategies for the sustainability of brands and companies. It is recommended to shift to a more suitable measurement method aligned with the digital era, such as ROAS (Return on Ad Spend). Incrementality can also be considered, which involves investing more in advertising campaigns that show future growth potential. In a broader sense, companies can list social groups or platforms they have invested in, and use the data to visualize growth trends and allocate future investments accordingly.

6. Embracing AI and Adopting an AI Mindset

AI is a technology accessible to everyone, even those without expertise. It has become a significant factor in the marketing industry. The biggest impact of AI is on new graduates, who risk being replaced by AI as it can perform tasks without the need for learning curves. Marketers should collaborate with AI, embracing an AI mindset that views AI as a team member, leveraging its capabilities to enhance campaign efficiency. The 4 Pillars of AI Strategy include Vision, Value, Adoption, and Risks.

7. The Business of Emotion: Creating Memorable Experiences

Emotions and experiences are stronger than a brand’s slogan. Incorporating emotions into campaigns is essential, ensuring that the brand resonates with customers and is not seen as a mere tool for transactions. Marketers must adapt by building affinity and incorporating emotions into their campaigns. Each business must select the appropriate emotions that align with their products and services. The three key dimensions in creating emotions are:

• Identify: Choosing which emotions to evoke in customers.
• Audit: Examining the customer journey from the perspective of emotions.
• Create Experience Flows: Increasing the brand’s connection with customers.

8. Social Quick E-commerce and the Growth of TikTok Shop

While e-commerce growth has slowed down, TikTok Shop continues to experience rapid growth compared to other platforms. TikTok Shop stands out because consumers do not search for products but are influenced to purchase through content. Key advantages of TikTok Shop for marketers include:

1. Natural Traffic: No need for ads; there are already users browsing.
2. Recommendation-Based: Users are influenced by content that they are already interested in.
3. Content-Driven: Content is created by creators, ensuring its creativity.
4. No Payment & Fulfillment Infrastructure: No additional fees are incurred.

9. Unifying Offline and Online into Omni-Channel by Understanding Customer Lifestyles

In the future, content cannot be separated into offline and online; it must be seen as part of customer behavior. Marketers must understand the customer’s journey and determine what message each touchpoint requires. For example, a call-to-action might be appropriate in a convenience store, while awareness is important on a highway billboard.

10. Mastering Social Vibes and Utilizing Platforms Effectively

Each social media platform has its own identity. Marketers should view social media as “people” with different emotions and moods across each platform. Rather than focusing on media, marketers should focus on people’s behaviors and adapt their marketing strategies accordingly. The approach should shift from “Always on” to “Always There” by being responsive, creative, and consistent in marketing efforts.

By understanding these insights and trends, marketers can stay ahead of the game in the ever-changing digital marketing landscape. Incorporating these strategies into their campaigns will help them reach their target audience effectively and drive growth for their brands and businesses in 2024 and beyond.

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