Digital Marketing Skills Gap in Asia: how to close the gap?

1. DIGITAL SKILLS GAP IN ASIA:
HOW TO CLOSE THE GAP?
JOHN SINKE
3RD JULY 2013
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE MINE AND NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF RESORTS WORLD AT SENTOSA PTE LTD

2. Is there really a Digital Skills Gap in Asia?

3. Are companies really investing in Digital Talent?

4. But research points at a Digital Skills Gap…
Source: State of Digital Marketing in Asia 2013 (preliminary results)
5%
26%
45%
19%
5%
1%
25%
48%
21%
5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Excellent Good Okay Poor Very poor
How would you describe the level of digital knowledge
within your organisations / clients' organisations?
Client-side Supply-side

5. Senior Managers are still getting to grips….
Source: State of Digital Marketing in Asia 2013 (preliminary results)
6%
30%
48%
8% 8%
4%
25%
48%
15%
7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Excellent Good Okay Poor Very poor
How would you describe the understanding of your (or
your clients’) senior managers about the potential of
digital channels (email, search, social media, etc.) to
help grow your/their business?
Client-side Supply-side

6. Clients’ Challenges: Digital Marketing Silver Bullet
• Difficult to maintain all-round knowledge of digital
• Large reliance on traditional offline channels
• Fragmented nature of digital maturity
• Lack of knowledge of marketing/business purposes
• Looking for “Silver Bullet” to internal problems around
Digital Marketing

7. Source: State of Digital Marketing in Asia 2012
• Lack of client understanding (complexity)
• Rushing into marketplace with poor strategy
• Bottom up: leadership is failing to understand digital
• Shortage of digital employees who understand strategy and channel
• Offline marketers in digital using traditional strategies
Agencies’ Challenges: senior clients don’t get it?

8. Observations from a Digital Marketer…. (Part 1)
• Brand Marketers with
limited knowledge of
digital
• In Display, Email
Marketing and Paid
Search
“Even the younger generation of marketers – although heavy users
of digital and social media in their private lives – have a very limited
understanding of digital marketing.”

9. Observations from a Digital Marketer…. (Part 2)
Senior Managers/Decision Makers with limited digital
marketing knowledge and a lack of understanding of how digital
should be integrated into the mix
Cartoon by SocMedSean.com

10. Observations from a Digital Marketer…. (Part 3)
• Digital marketers with good digital knowledge/skills
• But with poor understanding of:
– Offline channels
– Bigger marketing picture
– Bigger business picture: the bottom line!
• Look down upon those “poor bastards” in Offline
Marketing…
• “The younger digital marketers at the same time have a
very good understanding of digital marketing but they
sit in their own little silos, entirely convinced that
"digital" can solve any marketing problem.”
• Including world peace…

11. Why is Digital Excellence important?
“Digirati”
are 26% more
profitable…

12. Digital Excellence creates competitive advantage
Digital Marketing Benefits:
• 93%: creates competitive advantage
• 52%: crucial in forming customer-centric/responsive
organisation
• 51%: boosts effectiveness/efficiency of overall
marketing programme
Source: APAC Digital Marketing Performance Dashboard 2012, Adobe

13. Solutions on the client-side?
External
Training
In-house
Training
Outsource to
Agency
Poach from
Agency
Internships/
GraduatesUniversity
Programmes
Poach from
Competition
Hire from
abroad

14. Hiring more Digital Specialists is not the solution
You will never be able to hire enough,
good & experienced Digital Marketers…
Solution is to strive for
“Digital Excellence”!

15. What is Digital Excellence?
Digital Excellence
Marketing leadership in the strategic
deployment of digital channels and
business processes
It is not about making everyone
in the company a digital guru.
It's about giving everyone a degree of
digital literacy.

16. Digital Marketing is Digital Business
Business that does digital
Digital Business

17. Six Hotels
Adventure
Cove
Waterpark
S.E.A.
Aquarium
Meetings &
Events
Shows &
Concerts
ESPA Luxury Spa
50 F&B
Outlets
Luxury
Retail
Weddings
Casino

18. First phase: educational approach…
• Growing Digital Marketing & e-Commerce Team
• Educating the Marketing Team in Digital Marketing
• Fast Track Digital Marketing
• Display 101, Paid Search 101, Email Marketing 101 etc.
• Pulling in Sales and Communications Teams
• Digital Emersion Programme for Senior Management

19. Second phase: moving to a Digital Business….
• Digital Marketing to Digital Business
• e-Tickets
• m-Tickets
• Self-service Kiosk
• Google Indoor
Disney Wristbands

20. Moving to an Integrated Approach
Educating and training all Offline Marketers
(and Senior Managers) in Digital Marketing....
Educating Digital Marketers in Offline Marketing....
Marketing Silos  Integrated Marketing
Turning your Marketing Department
into a high-performing
INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
Team...

21. Citibank: eliminate the Digital Marketing Dept!

22. 
State of Digital
Marketing in Asia
in association with
Campaign Asia-Pacific
Yes, there is a Digital Skills Gap in Asia
Training & Development alone
is not going to close the gap…
Outsourcing to agencies
is not a structural solution.
Don’t eliminate the
Digital Marketing Department (yet)…
Digital Marketing needs to be
fully integrated into Brand Marketing
Every Marketer needs to be digitally savvy
Oh, and your boss too!
Conclusions

23. @johnsinke
linkedin.com/in/johnsinke
john.sinke@yahoo.com
slideshare.net/jpsinke