Asia and Digital Marketing – Thomas Crampton

Thomas Crampton is the Asia-Pacific director at 360 Digital Influence for Ogilvy where he leads a team across 23 cities in 15 Asian territories.

Willis Wee met Mr.Crampton at the GMIC in Beijing where he had a short discussion about mobile usage in Asia and Middle-east together with Steven Goh, founder of Mig33.

There were several questions which Willis wanted to ask Thomas at GMIC but unfortunately time didn’t permit him to do so. Instead, he (Willis) sent them via email, Thomas was gracious enough to oblige. His insightful answers are posted below.

Why do you take interest in Asia?

Asia offers amazing opportunities. I have long loved the wide range of cultures and geographies of Asia. I have lived nearly 15 years in Asia, including stints in Bangkok, Hong Kong and Beijing. In terms of digital, Asia has the most interesting and varied social media ecosystems in the world.

Asia’s digital culture is diverse. In general, how can businesses do well in this continent?

Perhaps the most important key to success in Asia is attitude. Do not hold preconceived notions. Go in with the humble understanding that things will likely be turned on their head by the end of the meeting. While working as a journalist in Thailand, I realized that the more I knew about Thai politics, the less I understood it. I have found that true of Asia in general.

Facebook adoption rate in India could overtake Indonesia soon. Do you have any thoughts on this?

The number of people on Facebook in India may be catching up to Indonesia, but the portion of the population on Facebook remains relatively modest in India. In addition to the large number of people joining Facebook in these two countries, they are both positioned to lead the world for innovation in mobile Internet.

Indonesia already has US$20 phones that allow people to access Facebook. This may be due to a shortcoming of infrastructure (the lack of broadband cables laid), but it will push these nations to the forefront of Internet innovation.

For Full article -Click here