Pity the poor digital marketer. Just when she thinks she’s located the hottest platform, the world shifts, the platforms change, and/or consumers migrate elsewhere.
That’s life — or, “c’est la vie” — according to Grégory Pouy, a French marketer, in a recent CMO commentary.
Pouy, who graduated from Euromed and Aston Business School, founded the NYC-based consulting firm LaMercatique in 2012 to assist companies — mainly those peddling luxury brands — in understanding and integrating the digital world.
What does Pouy see on the horizon? A number of things, including the fact that messaging apps are growing in use and effectiveness, social media is a must, and digital wallets are the wave of the near future.
It may go without saying, but Pouy may have also penned the first obit for desktop.
“Desktop will soon be dead (except for in the office and for specific use) and mobile will be first,” Pouy insists. “In fact, both places and tools have changed, which leads us to a new era of marketing platforms.”
Pouy believes he knows what’s just over the horizon.
“Looking at this evolution, it is easy to imagine how messenger apps and digital wallets will revolutionize the customer experience and therefore marketing,” he explains. “If you believe that messenger apps are made to only have private conversations, or that digital wallets only enable you to pay, think again!”
Pouy also thinks messenger apps are “the new face of social.” In part, it’s a natural evolution: Facebook, though still a big deal, gets less and less organic reach from users who are increasingly gravitating elsewhere for a lot of their daily digital activity.
“Back in July 2014, Forrester published a report “Messenger apps: the new face of social,” notes Pouy. “As pointed out by Forrester expert Thomas Husson, “Messaging platforms deliver the three things that determine digital platform power: frequent interactions, emotional connection, and convenience”. Facebook has proven them right with its announcements about Messenger at the F8 conference.”
What does it mean to marketers and brands?
“A messenger app is not only a free way to communicate, it is mobile’s Trojan horse,” he insists. “It serves as a content portal and provides one-to-one interaction with friends and “fans.”
The entire piece is a must-read for digital marketers. It’s chock full of interesting observations and forward-looking ideas.
“Right now, it seems that brands will have to work with messenger apps for online sales and digital wallets for offline sales,” Pouy concludes. “But as we all know, this frontier between off- and online is a total blur. We still don’t know who is going to win the battle. But marketers need to get ready, and try to offer an always improved experience to the user.”