Community and a consciousness: SEA’s marketing trends in 2022

In a post-pandemic advertising landscape, privacy, transparency and bringing fractured society back together will be at the top of the agenda.

2021 was another year of irreversible transformation across Southeast Asia as the region’s internet community reached 440 million. Digital advertising has become the norm and the e-commerce boom continues to see exponential growth. Critically, consumers have raised their expectations around the value of personal data and their relationships with brands. With these shifting expectations, here is what marketers can expect this year.

A privacy rethink

2022 will be crunch time for marketers’ digital privacy initiatives. Last year, Apple unveiled its App Tracking Transparency tool, while Google prepares to retire its third-party cookie next year. On a compliance front, China has now implemented a new and comprehensive data protection law that places more onus on tech giants to securely store user data.

There has also been a profound shift in the consumer-brand relationship. According to a study conducted by Perion, three-quarters of consumers would like digital ads that contain visible seals guaranteeing that brands are not tracking them.

With these technological shifts and compliance regulations, brands will need to rethink their historic tactics of web tracking and start acting more consciously with their consumers’ data privacy.

These restrictions will be no doubt a major concern given that marketers have become accustomed to leveraging data for their strategies and investments. Finding new ways to collect first-party data, such as surveys and newsletter subscriptions, will be key. Brands that strike the right balance between data usage and protection will stand out for putting their consumers’ interests first.

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