Marketers in APAC are now responding and embracing consumer technology and mining the available data, says Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) head of talent management, Southeast Asia, Seok Hian Tang.

Ahead of this month’s Festival of Media Asia, at which she is speaking, Tang discussed with M&M Global some of the key trends in the industry, especially in the APAC region.

“Technology that changes consumer behaviour, for example Uber and Airbnb, will disrupt business models and media – for better or for worse,” said Tang.

She also highlighted the challenges of finding the right kind of talent in the region, defining the word “talent” as the “right people with the relevant skill sets and attributes” rather than representing the generic workforce.

“Asia will house one of the youngest and largest workforces. By 2050, this number will be around three billion and represent 52% of the global workforce – so Asia will not be short of labour but finding the right talent will remain a key challenge in the years to come,” said Tang.

She added that the education systems in the region will take time to mature and diversify out to the new skill sets that the media industry requires. She said that to “future-proof” the media business, we are now into the data and technology centric arena where the industry is increasingly requiring the delicate skill-set balance between technical and integration.

She also believes it is critical for the existing talent pool to constantly upgrade its skill-set and for agencies like SMG to diversify their talent pool.

“Critical thinking and strategic thinking skills are in severe shortage,” she added.

Talking about what to expect at the Festival of Media Asia, Tang said that she is looking forward to “great works that shift paradigms” and meeting “inspiring people.”

The Festival of Media Asia will take place at the Capella Singapore from 22-24 March.