APAC Marketers Grab The Micro-Moment

In moments of curiosity, impulse, and inspiration, consumers are increasingly reaching for their smartphones for quick answers. But make no mistake about it: These brief, “bite-sized” mobile moments are often rich in intent, where preferences are shaped and decisions are made.

In moments of curiosity, impulse, and inspiration, consumers are increasingly reaching for their smartphones for quick answers. In 2018, more than 61% of Web page views in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region were generated via mobile devices—a stat no marketer can afford to ignore.

But make no mistake about it: These brief, “bite-sized” mobile moments are often rich in intent, where preferences are shaped and decisions are made, particularly when it comes to shopping. From intent to purchase, mobile is exactly the kind of environment that provides fertile ground for marketers to engage consumers.

“Consumers are learning to expect immediacy, relevancy, and utility,” wrote Brian Solis, principal analyst at Altimeter Group, in an article for CMOcom. “They’re increasingly looking to brands to engage them faster, without friction or cumbersome steps, and with personalized and useful information.”

In The Moment

So how can marketers leverage micro-moments effectively, reach consumers in ways that speak to them, and not take up too much of their time?

Adara, a global travel services company, did so by incorporating micro-targeting into its ads, personalising search results, and supplying customers with information relevant to their searches.

“Travel companies are recognising that these moments take place within the plan, shop, book, experience and relive stages for travellers,” said Jonathan Hardy, Adara’s managing director, APAC. “These micro-moments offer an opportunity for companies to engage with a traveller to offer ancillary services or to provide information.”

To be at the ready, Adara has data partnerships in place with 200 travel organisations in order to harvest real-time search and booking data, Hardy told CMO.com. This detailed intelligence provides insight into travellers’ behaviours, intentions, and propensities, which then allows the company to enhance the customer experience with direct campaigns and personalisation. Done correctly, these interactions boost brand engagement and revenue.

“At Adara, we tested different data sources head-to-head and used contextual targeting for this particular campaign for a major international hotel chain in Dubai, whose objective was to drive hotel bookings,” Hardy said. “In the end, we achieved 12x ROI on the campaign and significantly outperformed third-party data sources.”

Out And About

Indeed, data is critical for companies that want to engage in the micro-moment. In addition to a person’s preferences, location data can be harnessed to understand what a consumer is doing at the exact time they are interacting with the company.

One company, banking giant Citibank, built location technology into its banking app. With around 30% of all Citibank banking conducted on mobile, according to the company, the use of location data to offer more relevant services became clear. For example, if a customer is searching for local branch, it recommends not only where to go, but also relevant services available at that branch.

Similarly, Australian insurance company AAMI partnered with Spotify for a driver safety campaign that uses location data to warn motorists about upcoming traffic hazards. The “Warning Spots” is a clever initiative by a brand looking to engage its audience during a micro-moment–in this case, while the driver is listening to music on the road.

“Utilising data about recent Victorian road accidents, dangerous hotspots on some of Australia’s busiest roads were identified,” said Toby Gill, AAMI’s marketing manager, in an article by Mumbrella. “By using sophisticated geo-targeting capabilities, AMMI was able to serve bespoke ads to Spotify listeners in precise locations, warning them of the specific dangers ahead.”

Seize The Moment

Snacking on content is the new normal for APAC consumers. Micro-moments can be key times to reach mobile customers with content that is relevant, personalised, and of value. Of course, the onus is on marketers to be at consumers’ ready. Don’t miss a single moment.