Big name brands increasingly sign up to rich media initiatives

Brands have been moving towards rich media initiatives, with the Health Promotion Board the first to launch a mobile rich media campaign in the Singapore market earlier this year.

But pundits now expect uptake to accelerate as brands increasingly look to deepen engagement with consumers.

Neil Hudspeth, chief digital officer at Leo Burnett Asia-Pacific, said 2012/13 will be a strong year for rich media/CRM as brands increasingly “see the penny drop” around the opportunities it offers.

“Brands are now strategising around how to play in rich media, the channels they want to pump It through and how build rich media framework that lead to smarter profiling, segmentation and much more relevant content,” he said. “Brands are all starting to have those conversations now.”

Samsung and P&G have become early advertisers on Affle’s newly launched rich media and video advertising network Ripple. A further 30 other top brands are also said to be engaged with the network. 

Amobee has also launched its Pulse Create platform to allow advertisers to create rich media and 3D mobile ad campaigns — a move it heralds as a “game changer” in the mobile advertising space.

The benefits have been widely publicised, with a recent study by digital advertising consultancy Mediamind suggesting that rich media plus video ads boost website visit rates sixfold.

Gilad Coppersmith, SVP of digital and innovation at IPG Mediabrands, said uptake of rich media initiatives varies across Asia, with efforts more commonplace in markets like Hong Kong and Singapore.

He said rich media offers “untold opportunity” for innovative campaigns, but warned it is also difficult to get right.

“I have seen a number of executions that have been done really badly and have been a complete waste of money,” he said. “You need people that really get it and know what you are trying to achieve in these formats.”

Ernest Kim, planning director at XM Asia, agrees, adding that it might be a few years before brands find a winning formula for rich media campaigns.

“It’s definitely very challenging,” he said. “Just because the technology is there it doesn’t mean it is easy to take advantage of it.”

While deeper engagement is a key driver for brands, Affle adds that the dropping price of smart devices, better and cheaper connectivity and increased emphasis on content are also influencing the rapid growth of rich media across Asia markets. 

It said marketers are finding that rich media content is able to keep consumers glued to their devices as well as break literacy barriers in some emerging markets.

“For brand marketers, it is very important to have a rich media feel to their advertising,” an Affle spokesperson said. “They are looking at more than performance driven advertising; they want greater engagement, higher association and correct positioning.”