The DATE (Discover Advanced Trends in E-economy) Summit 2019 gathers global leaders across eight countries to discuss six key trends around digital commerce today. Covering topics around 5G, blockchain, digital entertainment & social media, retail and AI, the conference brings key insights across the technology landscape.
Held in Taipei, Taiwan, DATE Summit 2019 was organized by Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade and Taiwan External Trade Development Council.
Kosuke Sogo, CEO and co-founder of AnyMind Group started the day with a keynote about digital entertainment and how influencer marketing is changing the game.
A report by Business Insider estimates that influencer marketing will become a US$15 billion industry in 2022, whilst online video is fast becoming one of the most sought after formats for media consumption. It is with this context that Sogo urged conference attendees to take notice of the shifts that influencer marketing will bring to digital commerce.
Social media influencer marketing is evolving to extend into the celebrity realm, chimed Sogo, as he gave the example of Hollywood actor, Will Smith, growing his YouTube following to over 6,000,000 subscribers. He also brought up the example of a collaboration between Smith and popular Japanese “idol” YamaP – with their collaborative short-form videos on social media going globally viral. To put things into context, YamaP started his Instagram account in May 2019, and three months later, has over 3,000,000 followers on the platform.
Another trend happening is the shift from blogs to vlogs, again denoting how video will shape consumption habits across the world. The rise in accessibility and connectivity has resulted in an evolution of how video entertainment is consumed, with television, mobile, desktop devices having access to both online video and broadcast programming and content.
Another key shift is how idol groups are taking to social media, with Sogo bringing up the example of the Indonesian idol group, JKT48. One key facet for this shift is the direct connection between celebrities and personalities, with their fans.
“Even athletes are taking to social media,” said Sogo, sharing that Keisuke Honda, who is most well-known as a professional football player, but also an entrepreneur and investor, is able to show a new side of himself on social media – allowing fans insight into his personality and beliefs.
However, there is still a gap – Influencers and content creators are faced with difficulties such as connecting with brands, personal brand positioning, and understanding how they can further grow their social media presence.
On the flip side, marketers from both brands and agencies are faced with certain pain points today, including the ability to forecast influencer marketing campaign performance, ROI measurement and perform heavily analysis when choosing influencers or reviewing campaign performance.
This is why it’s essential for marketers to better understand influencer marketing – from data-driven insights of influencer audience base and potential performance, to how this form of marketing can impact business results.
Sogo then shared with audiences about how we’ve already seen this shift of influencers in Asia as media, but the next shift would be in how individuals are creating a new economy. This new economy is created by brands signing up influencers for a campaign, with audience conversion happening on the influencer’s end (instead of just the brand).
Once again, thank you to DATE Summit 2019, Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade and Taiwan External Trade Development Council for having us share with a fully-packed room on how influencer marketing is evolving, and how marketers in Taiwan can leverage on this second wave of influencer marketing.
