Why digital channels are key for emerging economies
According to a recent report in Business Week, developing nations are catching up fast in terms of “tech readiness” – meaning that international marketing agencies need to keep up-to-date with evolving digital trends if their campaigns are to succeed in key country markets.
The World Economic Forum (WEF)’s annual ranking of the best-networked countries is still dominated by Europe, but this is unlikely to remain the case for much longer. Take China, for example. According to the International Telecommunications Union, it had an estimated 641 million mobile subscribers at the end of 2008 – twice the number recorded five years earlier. And China isn’t alone. India, Malaysia and Vietnam are all amongst the fastest growing centres for IT anywhere in the world.
In Vietnam, local policy makers have prioritised IT education and spent billions upgrading the country’s broadband and mobile phone infrastructure. As a result, Vietnam jumped 16 spots in this year’s WEF ranking.
The declining cost of technology, such as mobile phones, means that more and more consumers in developing markets are using such devices in their day-to-day lives. Such access to the latest technology, according to the Business Week report, means that local companies such as Chinese search-engine giant Baidu “can now compete with larger foreign busineses, which are desperate to break into fast-growing developing economies.”
International marketers would be wise to note such developments and to take them into consideration during the marketing planning process. Global campaign efficiency cannot be acheived unless the implementation of marketing strategies is fully in tune with the developments in your target markets.
Tags: Global Brand
