Many companies are already making plans for how to survive for another year with the pandemic that may still remain.
With this in mind, the OpenAcademy team decided, "What if we could bring 100 industry experts together and get them to share business and marketing insights for 2021 to help companies?"
After brainstorming and contacting industry experts, they created a free guide containing tips, advice, insights and lessons from 100 seasoned marketers, entrepreneurs and business owners, mainly from Southeast Asia.
Marketing at its core
OpenAcademy is a data-driven martech consulting company (Marketing + Technology) based in Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Dictionary time: The difference between martech and digital marketing is that martech is the technology – hardware, software, and platform – that is behind what someone uses to market, while digital marketing is online marketing. In other words, you can use Martech for digital marketing.
ClickLaboratory
It's an extension of their parent company OpenMinds, a digital marketing consulting startup. It was started by Jan Wong, who made it onto the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list in 2017.
The OpenMinds / Image Credit: OpenMinds team
When the company turned 7 in 2019, it was expanded to include the training it offered. According to BeamStart, this is how the OpenAcademy came about.
On their website, you can find educational courses such as digital marketing, creative, technical skills and analysis. From now on only digital marketing and creatives are available. The other two courses will follow shortly.
What to expect from the guide
In this guide, readers will find tips and advice from local big names like myBurgerLab, Fave, the Biji-Biji Initiative, Munchy & # 39; s, and the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU), to name a few.
In addition to these local big names, readers can also expect tips from international big names like Sephora, Baskin Robbins, Techstars, and Carousell, as well as brands like Piktochart, Fuhla, and BloomThis, which we have already written about.
Since the focus of this guide has been on quick and helpful tips, they are not too long and some are more general than others. Here are some examples you can find:
"Brands should be on the lookout for opportunities to work with companies that can creatively leverage each other's strengths," said Andy Ng, CEO of FourbyFORE by FOREFRONT, a creative digital agency. We know this works as brands like Pestle & Mortar Clothing are actively working to grow their brand.
"When a brand's target market is focused on teens and young adults, the esports and gaming market is one of the fastest growing markets worth investing in in Southeast Asia," said Constance Lim, founder of MEGPLAY, a eSports Community Hub.
"Social businesses should also focus on empowering the already existing community to turn them into brand ambassadors who can further spread the messages they have shared," said Rashvin Pal Singh, Group CEO of the Biji-Biji Initiative, a social enterprise for sustainable living .
“It is important for brands to examine the humanization of the brand, especially in this robot world. People love to buy from people, ”said Khushboo Nangalia, founder of Beyond99, a digital marketing agency.
"Brands should start investing ad spend in micro-influencers. They may be small for now. The best bet is that one day they will grow bigger with more followers. We want to develop the relationship when they start," said Andrew Lee, CMO of the influencer marketing company Komaci Network Sdn Bhd.
“The“ one-size-fits-all ”products and solutions are becoming increasingly obsolete. Hyper-personalization / customization for customers will become even more important as digital adoption accelerates in 2020, ”said Dinesh Ratnam, Country Manager (Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei) of iQIYI, an online video platform.
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The majority of those who contributed to these findings largely emphasized the importance of the digitization of companies.
This is arguably the most important linchpin most offline businesses have to make for the year. So now is a good time for many of us to continue our education or to invest in digitization.
If you'd like access to the full guide, you can request a free copy by registering here.
And if you want to learn more about OpenAcademy, you can download the app and get more insights into business on the go from there.
- You can read about OpenAcademy here and about OpenMinds here.
- You can get more tips to keep your business alive in 2021 Here.
Selected image source: Freda Liu, presenter and author / Kimberly Wan, Otomate Me / Rashvin Pal Singh, Biji-Biji-Initiative