C2 NATIVE, the data-driven marketing and communication lab, hosted a workshop on ‘Design Thinking for Modern Marketers’ on February 27th. As per the agency, “This was the first of its kind with the presence of the UAE’s top automotive heavy weights, Ali & Sons LLC Porsche Abu Dhabi, Daimler, Maserati,Galadari Automobiles, Al Tayer Motors, Al Futtaim Motors and General Electric, gathered together at one event.”
C2 NATIVE in partnership with Oracle hosted this interactive workshop which touched on the potential of data unification across automotive business units, and converting this into actionable data that helps sustain and grow businesses. The core focus was on accelerating customer’s experience using a modern, data-driven approach with these three strategic accelerators: orchestration, targeting and acquisition.
This workshop comes at a time when mobile devices and video content drive the auto shopper’s journey and digital interactions. According to Autotrader, 71% of auto shoppers’ digital interactions occur on mobiles and a Kantar TNS study commissioned by Google, revealed that 44% of UAE car buyers begin their research on a search engine. This means that marketers need to invest in digital content and services that enhance the user journey seamlessly.
The attendees at the Design Thinking for Modern Marketers were put into four fruit-flavored teams- apple, orange, strawberry and cherry. The winning team was team apple with members from Galadari Automobiles, Naseba and Emirates Driving Institute.
The teams were guided through a typical shopper’s journey where the customer ended up frustrated and angry. Thereafter, the three strategic accelerators were implemented to convert the customer’s negative sentiments into positive ones. This enhanced the customer’s experience from when they were in market for a new vehicle to the after-sales services.
Rohit Pinto do Rosario, Senior Media Technologist at C2 NATIVE explains, “The workshop demonstrated the importance of a seamless and well-orchestrated digital experience (DX) strategy. A well designed ‘DX’ is what shifts preferences and increases brand recall and loyalty within the consumer base. With 68% of UAE auto shoppers in the market for only 2 months, it is vital to possess the right strategic accelerators to ensure a strong digital brand presence, especially in an oversaturated market. The message we want to convey to marketers is that this workshop aims to enhance the customer’s experience during their journey by actively transforming negative sentiments into positive ones.”
Antonio E. Mara, Senior Account Officer at C2 NATIVE, expressed that, the workshop was an opportunity for automotive marketers to “experience and not just passively learn how to improve and tackle issues in the automotive customer’s experience.” He further adds that “‘ad-democratisation’ allows the target audience to be very selective and handpick the content and ads that they want to see. Being relevant is the only chance we have as a brand to standout in an increasingly crowded landscape.”
From a business perspective, Roy Aftimos, Executive Director of C2 NATIVE, added, “The automotive sector has undergone a highly accelerated paradigm shift in the last few years catalyzed by changes in consumer behavior. Auto shopping is increasingly becoming a more digital process rather than a solely “showroom visit” process. Therefore, it is astute from a business point of view, to allocate marketing spend on directly tracking and targeting potential consumers through online channels with tailored communication. This is more profitable than generic footfall-driving campaigns that lack measurability. Simply put, marketers now have a way to put their money where the worth is.”
The workshop is a step in C2 NATIVE’s growth as a business enabler in the field of data-driven marketing and communication.
