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Technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), is revolutionising the ways brands engage with consumers, while marketing psychology is expected to play a more significant role in shaping buyer decisions, say digital agencies and marketing technology and data analysts. Effective strategies are key for marketers to meaningfully connect with consumers in a challenging economic climate as companies' marketing budgets shrink. "Marketing psychology seeks to understand human behaviour and the decision-making process, applying these insights to create marketing strategies," said Manita Chinda, founder and managing director of Digital Tip Academy.
The exposure effect is one tactic of the psychology, positing the more you see, the more you like. One example is the viral popularity of the young pygmy hippo Moo Deng. Children and animals can easily tug at people's heartstrings, she said.
Another tactic is the goal gradient effect, motivating people by how much is left before they reach their targets, not how far they've come, said Ms Manita. "It's like when runners see the finish line -- they will go faster from that point," she said. Another strategy involves reciprocity marketing, which offers consumers a free product sample, while financial reciprocity includes the concept of buy now, pay later.
An example of emotional reciprocity is giving the consumer a compliment, said Ms Manita. Tech-driven marketing Sitthinunt Pholvisutsak, chief executive of marketing content website Content Shifu, said there are various kinds of social media platforms marketers can leverage. Meta's Facebook and Instagram still hold the largest share of marketing spending, while other platforms post stagnant growth.
TikTok, which offers an e-commerce and affiliate marketing option, is still growing at a double-digit rate, he said. Mr Sitthinunt said consumers change behaviour by looking beyond search engines when hunting for products. According to a YouGov survey, they also search via social media platforms, particularly members of Gen Z, who toggle their searches between search engines and social media platforms.
However, baby boomers and Gen X still mostly search for items using search engines, according to the survey. Marketers can recapture their targets by using marketing and ad technology aligned with consumer preferences, he said. Marketers should deploy AI to automate their workflow.
Generative AI (GenAI) can help write articles and generate video and images that make content creation more varied, said Mr Sitthinunt. "I see a trend of using AI-embedded tools to automate work processes, analyse large datasets, and provide actionable insights," he said. Another interesting use case for marketing is augmented and virtual reality technologies, said Mr Sitthinunt.
GenAI Priya Narula, head of customer success at Lead Insider, said marketers can use technologies to develop personalised marketing and cross-channel management. GenAI can make customer management faster, while marketers can use GenAI to create campaign content, said Ms Priya. GenAI can also optimise engagement performance by predicting what will be the best channels to reach customers, she said.
Moreover, marketers should not saturate their advertising, fine-tuning it to the right time for the right target, showing the customer what is most relevant to them, said Ms Priya. Emerging technology Rajsak Asawasupachai, transformation director of IPG Mediabrands-UM/ Kinesso, said one trend is using AI to achieve a marketing outcome. Another trend is a method measurement specialists have created to predict the brand impact of an ad.
A third trend is how to become a GenAI prompt master, said Mr Rajsak. AI prompts refer to the instructions given to an AI system guiding it to generate a specific output or perform a particular task. He said he estimates around 10% of all local marketers possess AI prompt skills, which is low.
Anan Teerabruranapong, data and innovation director of Data First, said AI and data in advertising can help snag consumers by combining science with the art of communications. Marketers can utilise AI to gain customer insights, such as conducting market research. Marketers can start with design thinking, applying data flow through automated data collection, analysing the data, and making product recommendations.
They should blend online and offline strategies to drive sales growth, said Mr Anan. Rise of sustainability Chanchai Pongsanan, managing director of Amplifi Thailand-Dentsu, said brands are focusing more on sustainability, but marketers still generate CO2 emissions from programmatic advertising and AI. Programmatic advertising is automating media buying or creating digital ads via marketing technology.
Programmatic ad displays generate 3.8 million metric tonnes of carbon emissions globally per year, equivalent to driving 17.2 billion kilometres in an average car, said Mr Chanchai.
Marketing agencies should optimise their websites and set a new key performance index for media buying that prioritises sustainability, he said. The industry needs to balance sustainability with effective marketing practices, said Mr Chanchai. Paruj Daorai, president of the Digital Advertising Association (Thailand) or DAAT, said brands still need a "human connection" to meaningfully resonate with people.
AI can help marketers learn consumer patterns, but marketers still need to use art, science and intuition to produce meaningful ads, he said. The DAAT is holding DAAT Day 2024 "Advolution – Reimaging Advertising, Clashing Art and Science' at Bitec on Oct 30. Marketers can utilise AI to gain customer insights, such as conducting market research.
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