“80% marketers expect to raise MarTech spends”: Mirum India

The 'India MarTech Report 2020' included input from over 500 marketers, with representation across company size, sectors and geographies, making it an authoritative barometer of the country's MarTech. The study was commissioned and executed by Mirum India, a WPP agency.

A key finding of the study is that 80 per cent of the marketers are expected to raise MarTech spends over the next few years. It adds that digital marketing is advancing rapidly, and the emphasis is shifting towards ROI (return on investment), rather than the flag-planting approach. The report also underlines some of the challenges and opportunities that brands face in their technology adoption journey.

Globally, digital marketing is in a state of constant change. As it evolves, technology will play an even greater role in consumer engagement. Over the next few years, the report says, brands and companies will equip themselves internally to optimise increasingly sophisticated MarTech tools and support digital campaigns.

The insights confirm the progression of brands and marketers towards new technologies like Blockchain, the internet of things, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, among others. Although, their impact has yet to be ascertained. The reports adds that, while consumer-facing firms are more bullish on new technology opportunities, B2B businesses are catching up.

The report lays out the dynamics supporting the evolution of MarTech in India:

• Customer engagement and personalisation of experiences are key drivers for MarTech spends.

• Investments follow a maturity curve – 87% of the marketers believe it takes at least three years to demonstrate ROI in MarTech.

• 64% of the marketers see a lack of internal skills, while 59% cite cross-organisation adoption as a hurdle to MarTech growth.

• B2C and B2B businesses are equally committed to adopting MarTech.

• Data and analytics skills will become a major hiring criterion for the marketers.

• 70% of the marketers say confluence of creativity and technology will be key to crafting successful digital campaigns across sectors.

While launching the report, Mark Read, CEO, WPP, said, “India is an exciting market for brands and marketers, especially with government initiatives like Digital India. There is huge scope for marketers to reach and engage with the audience via integrated marketing tools. Effective MarTech innovation enables brands to assimilate numerous touchpoints and data-driven solutions, enabling intelligent decision making and process automation. With increasing consumer demands, MarTech is the key to sustained consumer relationships and ROI.”

Hareesh Tibrewala, Joint CEO, Mirum India, added, “MarTech is significantly transforming India’s marketing landscape. It is generating curiosity and empowering marketers to create engaging campaigns for brand communication and consumer engagement. As part of this dynamic environment, we believe that MarTech, complimentary technological innovations and support from data and analytics have improved marketing strategies and results. The report has significantly mapped the present and projected the future. We hope that the insights will benefit the industry and decision makers to build robust strategies for optimal consumer engagement.”

Read the complete report here: