Nick Seckold is the head of digital for Mindshare Asia Pacific. For a few years, he worked at a London based specialist digital agency as managing director and then joined Mindshare in London in 2006 where he was played an important role in developing the company?s digital and search propositions and worked on brands such as Unilever, Ford, Nestle, HSBC, etc.
Seckold was in India recently to talk to his India team about how they can leverage one of the fastest growing mediums in the country ? the mobile phone. In a chat with FE’s Payal Khandelwal, he talks about the growth in digital in Apac, about social media growth, challenges for traditional media planners and the unique features of the Indian digital space. Edited excerpts.
What are the things in the digital landscape that are specific to the APAC region?
What is interesting is that I see both good and not so good things in the Apac region. The UK market, in terms of investment in digital, is behind traditional media. I think it is the same trend around the world. Probably Asia is even more behind. However, that will change for sure.
Having said that, there are pockets of really innovative work in Apac. In India, Mindshare has been doing some augmented reality work for Nike and interesting work for app development for HSBC and a number of other clients. While in general, the investment level is not where it could be, the innovations in some markets are interesting. If not ahead than other markets, then, at least at par. One of the reasons I am here is to talk to the team about the mobile phone because Indian mobile operations is a shining star in our global network. We want to talk to the guys about how we can leverage that for our clients all across the world, not just India.
In the last one year, how has the perspective of clients in the Apac region changed with regard to digital?
The good news for the digital industry is that clients are no longer asking ‘why digital’.
In terms of investment, it is changing. The great example would be Unilever as they are internally driving a digital agenda as well. The way we talk to clients about PC versus tablet versus TV versus mobile is by telling them that it is a three screen effect.
The growth acceleration is not where we would like it to be, but that comes down to a bit of market dynamics such as the willingness of clients to invest in new areas. Marketers in Asia need to trust their instincts more. Brand marketers are empowered enough to try new things.
What are the challenges for traditional planners who are trying to understand the digital medium?
The challenge for traditional planners is to educate themselves on digital. We need to equip them with a language so that they are able to spot opportunities with clients. For example, they should be able to say that rather than just a traditional media plan, it is about linking all different touch points, digital and non-digital, to activate that particular message.
How has social media grown in the Apac region?
Social media is an interesting area right now. Clients are all saying that they need to do social and start a Facebook page but we tell them that there is more to social media than Facebook. However, the reality is that Facebook has become the de facto social media platform on a global basis.
Some clients are using it only for CRM (customer relationship management) which is great. Some examples of brands that are really leveraging the power of Facebook and harnessing their community are Starbucks, Oreo and Unilever Axe.
Also, in a medium such as Facebook, the user base is connected through six degrees of separation. There was a recent analysis that one person on Facebook can influence 250 other people, through friends and friends of friends.
What are the unique things in the Indian digital landscape?
Willingness of clients in India to try out new things is more than that of their counterparts in some other markets. The good news is that India has all the global players, along with some local players too. It allows us to tap into some innovations.
What I really like about India is that Mindshare has a management team which is aggressively pushing clients to think differently. The leadership of any agency or client is the catalyst to drive any innovation.
Also, what is unique to India in the mobile space is having to navigate the 2G network. There is a huge chunk of population which uses 2G. A lot of developed markets are focusing on smartphones but if you guys did that, you would cut out three-quarters of the population here. What is interesting about this dynamic is that they are having to keep pace with yesterday versus being on the cutting edge of technology. That is a very unique thing that is putting these guys in a strong position and clearly clients are recognising that.
