Marketing Election Watch #2

THE WATCHERS ARE BACK!

When we said we’d be watching, we meant it. And while on that watchtower we reached out to folk in the industry who must have been watching too, not just this time around but even on previous elections.

We’re looking at adspend in the coming days – at the whos and whys and the whats and hows of the  moneyflow. Where it’s going, where it’s coming from and who in the marketing fraternity are going to be the beneficiaries of this looming largesse.

So this time around, we shall listen, not watch, to those with “boots on the ground’ and have watched before.

One of the first respondents to MARKETING Magazine, Eileen Ooi, the CEO of the Omnicom Media Group Malaysia went: “Yup, definitely expecting an increase in adspend from the election this year.”

Eileen pointed out though, that she didn’t “think the spike would be at the same levels as it was in 2018 – as the government is cautious of spending, and cautious of the perception of the rakyat should they spend so much.”

Concurring was Jasmine Ng, Ogilvy Malaysia’s Director of PR and Influence who said: “I believe we’ll definitely see a spike in adspend in the campaign period. Social Media is definitely one of the main channels to directly reach out to and target voters and we also can’t escape out-of-home, especially with digital – now that it’s easy to execute.”

Chipped in Andrew Pinto, Head of Brand and Marketing, TM Group, “Historically market adspend goes up during an election period.”

Then wisdom was proferred, when Graham Drew offered this quote:”As well as all the policies and politics, elections are all about posturing and nothing does that like Outdoor.”

Graham, the Global Executive Creative Director and Chief Creative Officer of the Grey Group ASIAPAC said: “This is a quick turnaround and timings will push even more budgets into the agility and targeting benefits of digital and social.”

“Let the battle commence!” he enthused.

MARKETING Magazine aren’t the only ones watching, looks like. But we shall persevere and in the next edition we shall look at what the political parties get up to – once they name their candidates and inevitable chaos erupt when the poster wars begin.

An afternoon of conversations we never had, with leaders most of you never met.

Discover what’s possible from those who made it possible. Plus a preview of The HAM Agency Rankings REPORT 2024.

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