Marketers in Southeast Asia admit that they need greater assistance from agencies understanding digital behaviour and creating content for online platforms, according to a new study.

The World Federation of Advertiser (WFA) surveyed 100 marketers operating in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and has released the results ahead of next week’s Global Marketer Week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Respondents claimed they felt broadly on top of areas such as design, brand positioning and shopper marketing, but admitted they require help from agency partners when it comes to media, creative and digital.

The report claims that ASEAN marketers are using on average five different tools to measure return on marketing investment, but these efforts are hampered by a lack of “robust” media audience data in the region. In fact, 36% of those surveyed claimed it was nigh on “impossible” to accurately measure ROI in ASEAN.

Marketers in Southeast Asia were also found to be “less bullish” than their counterparts in Latin America when it comes to generating actionable insights – partly due to the lack of homogeneity across the region.

“ASEAN is a fast-moving and fast-changing region with multiple markets and multiple ethnicities. Managing digital transformation in such a complex part of the world challenges even the very best marketers,” said Ranji David, marketing director, Asia, at WFA.

“The winners will be those that effectively deliver innovation, achieve data understanding and maintain brand relevance with diverse target groups while accessing regionally relevant experiences, insights and case studies.”