MarkPlus Conference: Incorporating META marketing, innovations for post-pandemic business revival

Marketing consultant MarkPlus, Inc held its 16th MarkPlus Conference on 8-9 December 2021. It is known as the biggest marketing event in Asia. This year, the conference was held in a hybrid format, both online and offline. 

MarkPlus, Inc founder and Chairman Hermawan Kartajaya began the Industry Outlook 2022 session by sharing a presentation about the importance of “going META” as a part of the post-pandemic or endemic marketing strategy. He emphasised that endemic does not necessarily mean free from COVID-19, but about living side by side with it.

Hermawan also mentioned the strategic and tactical characters that each individual has. However, we should not get caught up only in tactical aspects, especially in META marketing where both online and offline activities are fused into one. 

As the author of the book “Marketing 5.0” which was named as one of the Best 30 Business Books by Soundview, Hermawan mentioned how everything has turned digital. "Marketing is digital anyway. [All sectors from] the government, consumer goods, healthcare, must be digital. Otherwise, the digital industry will be shocked and eventually die,” he stated. 

He explained that humanity is also an important aspect a marketer should have in this digital era. “Only humanity [could] differentiate you from other marketers. Because without humanity, technology becomes useless - it is just a mere commodity.”. 

It resonates with what Tencent Indonesia Head of Marketing and Communications Yuanita Agata said in the Creativity-Innovation Sessions. She shared the importance of innovation and its role in supporting businesses in the pandemic era moving towards the endemics. 

In this session, CEO of BitHealth Agus Wismoyo mentioned the importance of innovation in digital security. 

In the Trend Sessions which discusses the possible new marketing strategies for the upcoming year, co-founder and Head of influencer marketing platform Partipost Benyamin Ramli talked about the preeminence of influencer marketing in Indonesia. 

In the Entrepreneurship Sessions, Archipelago International VP of Business Development Zita Hanna Mariska talked about how business actors should adapt to digitalisation, especially during the pandemic

“Embracing customers by utilising digital acceleration, innovation and investing in digital technology, as well as providing personal protective equipment are important strategies to keep businesses running,” she explained.