iProspect’s Future Focus 2021 study explores intersection of consumer attention, commerce and data

iProspect has launched the sixth edition of the ‘Future Focus 2021: Brands Accelerated’ report. The study aims to guide marketers looking to explore the latest consumer and industry advancements for brand growth, aiming to dive deep at the intersection of consumer attention, commerce and data. The 2021 edition carries responses from over 200 brand marketers across 29 countries.  

 

The report states how convenience and relevancy of media to the consumer is key, as 61% of marketers suggest that building a highly convenient experience for the consumer is the most powerful lever to generate business growth.

 

The findings reveal that approximately 42% of marketers believe that the linear path to purchase is still as relevant today, despite the rise of digital, whereas 32% of marketers feel that expanding commerce capabilities is important for the 2021 roadmap. However, 26% of respondents see this as one of the most difficult challenges to face this year.

 

The report also found that only 9% of marketers believe that helping a company improve products or services is an incentive for consumers to share their data, while 44% of consumers believe it is a good enough reason to release personal identifiable information (PII) to the brand.

 

Amanda Morrissey, global president, iProspect, says, “Despite the challenging times we live in, I believe there have never been so many opportunities in media. With our new and unique approach to performance-driven brand building, we are firmly optimistic about the future and resolved to make it happen, today.  With Future Focus 2021: Brands Accelerated as their guidebook, I hope all marketers will be able to leverage the growth potential afforded at these significant intersections of media, data, commerce and culture.”

 

The study highlights the relevancy and opportunity for brands, regardless of the sector, and pens down some practical advice for marketers: 

 

1. Commerce is everywhere: Organisations should strive to build and maintain an accurate picture of their commerce capabilities across five key dimensions: desirability, availability, findability, buyability, and repeatability. This will help them define the most profitable commerce model for their brand, better integrate their e-commerce and stores into an actionable omnichannel strategy, explore new growth channels, and turn media opportunities into transaction opportunities.

 

2. The battle for attention: Brands should consider factoring attention into their media optimisation and measurement efforts to elevate the impact and efficiency of their investment. To maximise audience attention, they should ensure the content and experiences they design truly align with consumer intent, and that the campaigns they develop do not relegate diversity and inclusivity as afterthoughts.

 

3. The new data playbook: On the data front, organisations should embrace the new privacy-conscious world by re-evaluating the value exchange they offer to their audiences and anticipate technological changes to minimise business disruption. This is the occasion to explore opportunities for automation, evaluate the quality of the data they collect and process, and more broadly reflect upon how data is effectively used to inform decisions.

 

Said Prerna Mehrotra, CEO, media, dentsu APAC and MD, Media Group, dentsu Singapore, “Our aim is to guide marketers to explore these intersections at the new connection points for business and brand growth. By leveraging these trends where culture, technology, commerce, data and content converge, we can help them design experiences that are meaningful and valuable to consumers. The future focus at iProspect in APAC will be on working with clients to deliver on the promise of 'Brands Accelerated'.”

 

Added Rubeena Singh, CEO, iProspect India, "The report is a detailed guide for marketers to help them with future-ready solutions specially in the current uncertain times. It helps understand how consumers behave in the digital world, and how this learning can be applied to real-world scenarios via a highly connected and creative use of media. As a digital-first, end to end agency, our perspective allows us to rapidly optimise the work and adapt to ever-evolving human intent at the pivotal intersections in life when culture, content, data, and technology meet."