The implications of the rapid technological changes and technology-empowered and savvy consumers are profoundly altering the market dynamics, forcing companies to not only review how they communicate with consumers but also how they are structured. An instant poll of the 174 delegates at PHD’s first ever BrainScape conference has shown that 44% of marketing and media professionals are concerned about what the future holds. One of their biggest challenges is to manage consumers’ ability to make or break their brands.

With trends, statistics and case studies, the BrainScape conference demonstrated the sea-changing role of social media and the rapid shift in the balance of powers between companies and consumers. Another salient point was that data is the new game, not only for brand owners but also agencies who will find in it their key asset, in terms of what they hold, trade and deliver.

Mark Holden, managing partner of PHD Australia and co-author of PHD’s two books “2014” and “Fluid”, explained how the market, where a third of investments will be in digital media by 2015 (about 15% in MENA), will be dominated by automated systems. “By 2015, up to 50% of all media will be bought using digital platforms and messages delivered through ad-serving across most media,” he commented. “Communications are already evolving from “one ad-many channels” to “many ads-many channels”, with messages more and more micro-tailored to suit their exact audience. Agencies are developing the systems to manage this.”

Holden illustrated how people no longer moan with their mouth, but with their mouse. “In 2007, 40% of disgruntled customers emailed the company. In 2009, it’s 13%. Where did the complaints go? In social media sites, where they have a bigger echo,” he said. His solution is for companies to educate and then empower their consumers. This means that marketing will increasingly be out-sourced to consumers themselves and always be on. “This is what we call a fluid world.”

du Media Lab’s Fadi Khater illustrated how companies need to evolve internally and externally as a result. He argued that they must put consumers at the center of their operation. From giving them tangible authority levels and making their products ‘social’, e.g. having the products ‘report back’ on how they’re being used, to selling directly to them, including through marketing channels, his advice was to forget ‘test and try’. “Today it’s about trying first, testing and trying again,” Khater recommended.

Presenting the lessons Vodafone learned over the years, Ian Rotherham, global account director at Omnicom Media Group, illustrated the global telco’s new approach to unlock the media eco-system. As consumers are the new advertising, with 70% of consumers trusting online peer reviews against only 14% trusting advertising, brands must adopt communication techniques rather than just adapting to new touchpoints. “If advertising is increasingly designed to start a story, it is the consumer experience that makes it credible and compelling,” Rotherham explained. “For connected consumers, the experience of others is the strongest media message of all, an experience that prompts conversations.”

The panel discussion analyzed the audience’s concerns on how to manage the transition between today’s realities and tomorrow’s future. These included the potential overload from the quantity of messages, the need for restraint and the relationships between all parties, especially the growing competition between advertising and media agencies in terms of offering.

“In BrainScape, PHD’s thoughtleadership has found a platform to empower and stimulate all its stakeholders,” commented Elie Khouri, CEO of Omnicom Media Group MENA, the holding of PHD. “Events like this allow us to explore all opportunities to make the difference and contribute to our collective growth.”

“With the introduction of BrainScape, PHD is ensuring our clients and teams are ready for the challenges of a rapidly evolving industry,” said Elda Choucair, general manager of PHD Dubai. “The feedback we’ve received from clients, teams and media owners showed that while there are concerns, there is also a great deal of excitement about what’s ahead of us.”

PHD’s BrainScape was produced with the support of ArabianBusiness.com and Yahoo! Maktoob.