Marketing in Moments that Matter: Three Trends Shaping APAC

APAC has gone from “Catch Up” to “Catch Us”. Once known as a fast follower of global trends, the region has become a leader in innovation and the epicenter of all things digital. Despite APAC’s progress, climate change, widening societal divides, and waning consumer trust are posing serious challenges to the region’s growth. Meeting these challenges will require technology to deliver value in moments that matter, with marketing playing a key role by connecting users with solutions that resonate and designing trusted experiences.?

Unlock Technology’s Positive Potential?

Nearly 80% of all the people affected by natural disasters and the pandemic last year were from APAC. Over the next decade, rising sea levels will threaten thousands of coastal communities, impacting millions across the region. In these moments of crises, technology can deliver early flood warnings , surface authoritative public healthcare information , and help us stay connected to loved ones . As marketers, we play a crucial role in helping users discover these solutions and connecting the dots in a way that makes sense, in context, for them. This begins with knowing our users and seeing their needs as they truly are. In a region where English is a second or even third language for many, we found that typing can be difficult and present a significant hurdle to accessing the web, especially for new internet users. Recognizing this, we launched campaigns like #BolneSeSabHoga (“speaking will get things done”), helping non-native English speakers discover the potential of Voice as a way to interact with their devices and unlock the potential of the web.

Bridge Gaps and Deliver Equitable Outcomes??

Last year, we saw the power of technology to inspire social change. What started as a national protest against discrimination in the United States has since become a global movement forcing many to confront what equality and inclusion mean in their own communities. This has been particularly complex in APAC due to its diversity but it’s all the more imperative for us as marketers to tell stories that reflect the markets we live in. These stories can have a ripple effect in advancing the visibility of underrepresented communities. Today, only one in five people in APAC feel represented in the ads they see. We’re committed to highlighting the stories of real people from all walks of life–one event, ad, and campaign at a time. To do this, we’ve partnered with like-minded organizations to tell stories that reflect the diversity of users we serve, empower communities to unlock the benefits of technology for themselves through programs such as #WomenWill , and are working with the advertising industry through initiatives like RARE , a creative fellowship for diverse talent, and All In , a toolkit for more inclusive marketing.

Build and Deepen User Trust

While technology presents immense potential, it can only be as helpful as it is trusted. As digital becomes more central to daily life, concerns around privacy and security have spiked. Searches for “online privacy” have grown by more than 50% globally and 9 in 10 consumers today care about data privacy. In APAC, consumers ranked the misuse of data as the number one source of distrust of the tech industry. Like every relationship, trust must be earned. This requires organizations to listen more and build open dialogues or risk being left behind. As marketers, we need to meet the changing expectations of privacy with openness and transparency. Through initiatives like Safer with Google , we’re making it easier to understand the controls users have to manage their information and are working closely with the industry to figure out how to make privacy work for everyone through our open source Privacy Sandbox , while addressing responsible data use through our first-party data Playbook for marketing.

By doing what marketers do best–telling resonant stories and designing experiences that connect the magic of our products with users–we can deliver impactful solutions in moments of crisis, build equitable outcomes for all, and restore confidence amongst users

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