Although the above content often featured crossovers between several different narrative structures and media types, there was always a method to our madness. Modern stories have the unprecedented ability to break through the limitations of their formats. Articles can have movie trailers; infographics can be interactive, and news reports can break the fourth wall. The interplay between creativity and narrative expectation adds entertainment through variety – a valuable dimension to any comprehensive marketing campaign – while also serving to illustrate the vast potential of our digital subject matter.

We certainly had fun creating this stuff, but the themes we explored also have serious implications for marketers.

Covering a lot of ground

While there’s no substitute for reading the actual blogs, we’ll briefly summarize all 20,000+ words of this series here, including links to each digital marketing article in our series:

We began by putting this historical moment in the widest possible perspective, observing how the rise of our digital planet mirrors global economic progress in the current era. Despite the turbulence of our global civilization, 4.5 billion of the world’s 7.8 billion people now regularly use the internet, with billions more set to join the online community in the coming years.

Next, we examined how smartphones, social media, and fast internet connections are leaving a permanent imprint on our global culture by pushing public consciousness into the virtual space. This shift has major implications for online marketing efforts across every industry, as people spend even more time online than ever before.

Our third piece in the series focused on the difference between apps and ordinary webpages, from a modern marketing perspective. Brands have to make sure that all their content comes across equally well on all devices and channels. These and other digital trends suggest the wisdom of implementing an omnichannel marketing approach, which allows companies to standardize various touchpoints for a seamless and consistent customer experience.

Part 4 put Thailand itself under the microscope, looking beyond social media to find out what else Thai people do with the nine hours they spend online every day. Our story went deep into the Thai psyche, examined people’s unmet need for real connection, and concluded that brand marketing in Thailand works best when it provides the right mix of attention and emotional engagement.

From there, we moved on to e-commerce. Although it had something of a delayed start, e-commerce in Thailand has since grown by leaps and bounds. With plenty of competition, however, this sector offers no guarantees of success for any individual player. Brands will sink or swim in this unforgiving ‘survival of the fittest’-themed sector, making it all the more necessary to choose the right e-commerce setup, drive traffic to it, and ensure that it offers real convenience to the user.

Our next piece put the spotlight on the extraordinary potential for digital marketing across Southeast Asia over the coming years – and why companies should already be trying to get in on the ground floor of new markets. Developing countries throughout the region are quickly catching up in terms of connectivity, but in the meantime there is a great demand for content that can speak to people sensitively and directly. Companies whose brand storytelling appeals to potential customers will be able to build a loyal grassroots audience, with Southeast Asian countries offering particularly fertile ground for growth in this area.

With all this focus on finding your audience and gaining their trust, our next article gives some valuable marketing ideas. Employee advocacy can build your reputation, while private and personalized messaging helps your customers feel valued. From there, an ability to simplify the user experience can go a long way toward holding onto each potential sale. The right mix of age-old storytelling ability and modern technical expertise is required to succeed here.

Diving deeper into the world of brand storytelling and PR, our next article argued that special care is needed in an age where disinformation, fake news, cynicism, and distrust of the media are at an all-time high. Only the brands that offer compelling stories, real connection, and an actual sense of belonging will be able to win the trust and loyalty of the digital crowd.

We then turned our attention to the world of advertising in video games. From an exploration of static vs dynamic ads, and the possibility of designing entire branded games for users to enjoy, we noted that despite the popularity of video games in Thailand, very few brands have taken advantage of the advertising opportunities on offer. Those who get in the game can level-up their marketing efforts and beat the competition.

Finally, we noted that in this new decade, online audiences everywhere will seek greater substance in their content diet. Social media marketing may well be omnipresent, but the superficial aspects of it are losing their novelty. Influencers will still be an excellent way to get attention in the coming years, but customers won’t be as easily fooled by star power and simple gimmicks. Once brands have a customer’s attention, they’ll have to work hard to keep it. Employee advocacy, support for important causes, and community building are all excellent ways for brands to demonstrate their worth.

Okay … that was the entire series in a nutshell. Now, it’s time to address the elephant in the room.

COVID-19 has entered the chat

Hootsuite and We Are Social released the Digital 2020 Report in early February, and all of their research was done prior to that. Naturally, the Report doesn’t anticipate the spread of the novel coronavirus and all of its related impacts on society and the economy.

For the most part, the pandemic and its related economic consequences will only accelerate the trends detailed in the Report. E-commerce, online gaming, streaming content, social media use – these are becoming even more popular, ingraining themselves into society’s daily habits as people stayed in their homes for months during the crisis.

Even now, as many societies are starting to open up again, people are reluctant to visit brick-and-mortar stores. Those who have discovered the convenience of ordering products online during the lockdown may continue doing so in from now on.

And by the same token, who knows when the movie theaters will open again? Netflix – already an industry titan before the pandemic – is dominating the market now. Never one to rest on its laurels, Netflix has always paid close attention to consumer research. Even as far back as 2014, 98% of millennials watched content on their smartphones. In response to this finding, the company crafted a better user interface for its app, building smoother animation while optimizing for battery efficiency and download space.