Global Marketing News –29th March 2016
Apple may face challenges in Indian mobile market
Apple is launching its new iPhone SE smartphone, but analysts are predicting it may struggle in the Indian market.
The iPhone SE has a 4 inch screen, the same quality processor and camera as is found in the iPhone 6, Apple Pay and Live Photos support, 16GB worth of storage and a touch ID fingerprint sensor. It does not have 3D Touch capabilities.
The smartphone is cheaper than a typical iPhone, costing just 450 US dollars, implying that it is aimed at emerging developing markets with a strong desire for cheap smartphones.
Analysts think that it may struggle in the Indian market, however, due to two factors.
The first is its 4 inch screen. Large screened smartphones, or “phablets”, are extremely popular in India, meaning that buying a smartphone with a much smaller than average screen may be an unappealing prospect for many Indians.
The second problem is that there are many similarly-priced but better quality and larger-screened smartphones in the Indian market. The iPhone 6 is available for a similar price on Indian ecommerce sites, and Samsung, Sony and Nexus smartphones are also available in the same price range.
China spends big on online adverts
China spends more on online adverts than most other countries in the world, both in terms of the amount of money actually spent and the proportion of advertising spend going online.
According to predictions by GroupM, 49% of advertising money spent in China will be on internet advertising this year, up from less than 15% just five years ago.
With the global average for online advertising spend as a proportion of total advertising being 31%, this means that China is a clear frontrunner in the world of online advertising.
Looking at the actual numbers, China’s advertising market is expected to be worth around 86 billion US dollars this year, meaning we can expect to see around 40 billion US dollars spent on Chinese online advertising this year.
Video pre-roll adverts and ecommerce search are two areas of internet advertising that are expected to see even further growth in the future.
In related news, the Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba just announced that in the year ending in March 2016, it saw record-breaking sales of 3 trillion yuan.
Top challenges for digital marketers in Australia and New Zealand
Research by Squiz has revealed the top challenges facing digital marketers in Australia and New Zealand.
The top three challenges cited were low levels of platform integration, tight budgets and lack of knowledge about specific parts of digital marketing.
Looking at platform integration, 55% said they had either not started integrating marketing technology platforms yet or had only just started to synch their systems.
Looking at the cost, almost half of respondents cited tight budgets as their top challenge.
Regarding lack of knowledge, marketing automation was the top topic that marketers said they wished they knew more about. Customer experience and content marketing came in second and third place respectively.
Professional ratings site RecomN raises $1 million in funding
The professional online marketplace company RecomN has raised 1 million US dollars in funding.
RecomN currently operates in Malaysia and Indonesia and allows users to list their professional skills and have past clients review them.
It has said that it will use the money to improve its existing services and expand to other countries.
It has not yet announced which countries they will be, but has confirmed that they will be other South East Asian countries.
South East Asia has a rapidly rising mobile internet population.
Cherry blossom apps have launched in Japan
And finally, various apps are popping up in Japan as the cherry blossom season approaches.
The blooming of cherry blossom is eagerly anticipated in Japan, as the delicate flowers mark the end of winter and hold cultural significance.
Various apps have been tapping into this event, such as SakuraCh, Yahoo Chizu and Joshi Chizu, with the apps offering valuable information for cherry blossom fans, like when the flowers are expected to bloom in each area, how congested each area is, mosquito warnings and information on where the nearest toilet is.
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