Madison Avenue may be where modern advertising began, and where hundreds of ad agencies still remain, but it’s been a long time since they’ve had the monopoly on top-tier marketing. These days, top talent in branding and marketing can be found in just about any country, and that’s especially true in the developing world. Southeast Asia is particularly strong, with each of the region’s ten countries having their own agencies that routinely pump out creative work that sells a product while building strong connections with consumers.
Through a combination of international marketing experience and homegrown insight and creativity, locally-based agencies across Southeast Asia are doing some really unique things. They are not only selling products and building up brand value, they are being noticed for it internationally as well. With strong competition among local and regional brands, and the rush of foreign companies to enter these high-growth/high-potential markets, there is strong demand for quality marketing. With this, there is a corresponding jump in ad spending year-on-year. ASEAN marketing agencies are stepping up to help these companies earn a great ROI through creative and innovative campaigns.
Excellence in content marketing and event marketing
With all the creative talent around the region, it’s no surprise that ASEAN advertising firms have been at the front of both the event marketing and content marketing revolutions. They’ve had to do it in different ways than brands in other countries, particularly in the West. There are major differences, but also one big advantage to branding in ASEAN because the people are some of the most active social media users in the world. This is particularly true when it comes to event and content marketing as so much of it is driven by these platforms. But there are challenges as well. In nearly all of the region, content must be optimized for mobile as so many people have skipped the traditional desktop/notebook route and access the web via smartphone. Because of this, mobile marketing in Southeast Asia is a real strong suit of the region’s marketing professionals.
The sentimentality of ASEAN marketing campaigns
One common thread in a lot of the ad campaigns from Southeast Asian markets is a very strong emotional appeal. Some of these can seem cheesy or over the top to Western viewers, but they are extremely effective in the region here. They also get their share of international attention as well; it seems like every few months, without fail, an absolute tear-jerker of a video ad from Thailand goes viral and draws millions of views from around the world.
Another very common and super effective ad type is the appeal to, not quite nationalism, but national pride. This is pretty typical for campaigns in developing countries, as well as in commercials for pickup trucks in the United States. These sentimental spots are doubly important during times of national emergencies or crises. In the aftermath of a typhoon, flooding, or any other disaster, the smart companies run strong messages of pulling together and lending a helping hand. And of course they need to back that message up through actual contributions to the recovery efforts.
As more and more companies make their push into the region, or expand further into other ASEAN countries, they are inevitably confronted with the issue of whether to run one region-wide campaign, or different ones targeted to individual countries. While the former is not impossible to pull off, in practice very few brands can actually do it. The successes in these campaigns are much more the exception that the rule, and tend to be the likes of Pepsi’s global football superstars team, where huge sums are spent on sponsorships of international celebrities. And even these brands still run separate, country-specific campaigns.
The ten countries that make up ASEAN have much in common, in the same way that, say, France and Germany do. They also have huge differences between them, just like, well, France and Germany (not to mention complicated histories). The region is huge, spanning a good-sized chunk of mainland Asia, and well as tens of thousands of islands spread over millions of square kilometers of open sea. There are different languages, dialects, ethnicities, religions, and cultures not just between the ten countries, but within each as well. (For more on these differences and their impact on ad campaigns, see our post The Biggest Mistake Companies Make in Their ASEAN Marketing Strategy.) Trying to create a one-size-fits-all marketing campaign for the whole Southeast Asian Region is not typically a recipe for success.
A wealth of creative talent
Fortunately for companies, each of the region’s nations has its own advertising professionals capable of holding their own against the world’s best. They understand the fundamentals of marketing, and have creative and strategic teams ready to launch a campaign to win the hearts of consumers. Whether it’s the local office of one of the international giants, or a homegrown boutique firm, the marketing talent is absolutely there in Southeast Asia. A little due diligence is all that’s needed for companies to find it.