Brands switch ads to online in Asia
March 10, 2016
AOL has released research exploring the growth and potential of video advertising in Southeast Asia.
The study found three quarters of all buyers and sellers currently involved with video advertising increased their video budget in 2015. Respondents said they had shifted budgets from a variety of other channels to fund the increase, in particular television, search and display. Even so, for the majority of buyers the cut to television budgets was less than 10 per cent. Only one in seven said they’d cut more than 15 per cent of their TV budget to fund digital video.
The report highlights two significant trends for the region. First, the preponderance of OTT video and connected TV as an advertising medium. It accounts for 25 per cent of the advertising budget of those surveyed, compared to just 16 per cent in the US and only 5 per cent in Australia.
Southeast Asia is also experiencing a rapid increase in the use of mobile video. In 2015, most publishers said their video sales had increased, with over a quarter saying sales were up by more than 25 per cent. The medium faces some challenges however, with buyers indicating demographic targeting, cross-device campaigns, and attribution were issues facing mobile advertising.
The report also highlights the increasing adoption of programmatic technology. More than 50 per cent of publishers surveyed said they were using programmatic to sell their premium video inventory.
Alex Khan, Managing Director AOL Asia, said the industry had a healthy attitude to programmatic. “In some parts of the world the early days of programmatic was seen as little more than a platform for real-time bidding. The respondents in Southeast Asia recognise the technology is capable of so much more, with a large proportion saying its key capability is for data-led audience buying and selling. It demonstrates the understanding this region has of the opportunity programmatic provides. That should make the next few years very positive for publishers with video inventory”.
The research was conducted in partnership with Hall & Partners, with fieldwork and data collection from Southeast Asian brands, agencies and publishers across Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. The interviews were conducted online in Q4 2015 and represent responses from industry stakeholders who are involved in the buying and selling of digital video advertising (mobile, desktop or OTT/Connected TV).