Tag: Advertising

Manila, Philippines – Despite the fact that a majority of marketers in Asia-Pacific recognise the use of advertising verification tools in their work, a new report from DoubleVerify notes that it is still not ‘always on’ across marketers in the region, with only 1 out of 3 stating they use it on an ad-hoc basis.

This is despite the fact that the report highlighted that 91% of APAC marketers agreeing that it is important to do so to drive performance in digital advertising, and 98% of marketers using ad verification tools in their campaigns.

It also noted that a significant portion of marketers surveyed failed to evaluate digital media buys against core quality metrics, with only 17% evaluating critical effectiveness indicators like brand suitability, viewability, fraud, or if the ad was served in the intended geography.

The report also highlighted the evolving role of social media and the rise of retail media. It noted that social media has evolved from being a platform for connection to a channel that reinforces integral touchpoints of the commerce journey – with Filipino users utilizing social media for brand and product discovery (43%), brand and product research (56%), and product purchase (13%). 

Moreover, it noted that social media has evolved from being a platform for connection to a channel that reinforces integral touchpoints of the commerce journey – with Filipino users utilizing social media for brand and product discovery (43%), brand and product research (56%), and product purchase (13%).

With this in mind, super-apps are also a big phenomenon at the moment, where local commerce marketplaces, such as Grab, Lazada, and Shopee, have grown in popularity as discovery channels, beating out traditional platforms like Google Search. Marketers agree with the rising significance of retail media with 99% of APAC marketers planning to increase retail media spend over the next 12 months. 

The report also noted that almost 70% of consumers in Southeast Asia spend more time consuming content online each day. As many as 98% of marketers surveyed said they use attention metrics measurement tools to evaluate digital media purchases; however, traditional metric measurements alone are not enough.

Lastly, technology continues to evolve, as does the advertising industry, marked by the presence of digital advertising (in the 2000s), programmatic (in the 2010s), and artificial intelligence (in the 2020s). At the same time, developments in AI will have a far-reaching impact on the advertising industry; in particular, the predictive capabilities of machine learning to optimise ad performance in various areas. 

Steph King, senior sales director for Southeast Asia at DoubleVerify said, “Effective digital advertising requires not only intent but also targeted action. The DoubleVerify study in Asia Pacific illuminates the critical need for marketers to align their goals with comprehensive media quality measurement practices, ensuring that every campaign resonates with integrity and impact. Amidst the vast opportunities for digital ad spending growth in Asia Pacific, advertisers, including those in the Philippines, face the critical task of safeguarding their investments through continuous verification across all channels. Media quality serves as the cornerstone of every campaign.” 

Meanwhile, Tinee Cruz, senior sales director for Philippines at DoubleVerify, commented, “The digital ecosystem in the Philippines is experiencing unprecedented growth, particularly in the evolving role of social media. With the proliferation of digital channels and platforms, advertisers are presented with unparalleled opportunities to connect with target audiences, yet they also face the challenge of navigating an increasingly fragmented digital landscape. Ensuring media quality, anchored on brand suitability and authenticity, is essential for aligning digital ads with the brand’s values and image, thereby enhancing credibility and trust. DoubleVerify’s APAC research report aims to provide the necessary data and insights to empower marketers in raising the standards of media quality.”

Australia – Eyeota, a Dun & Bradstreet company and a global data source for digital marketing, has announced a partnership with Vistar Media, a global provider of programmatic technology for digital out-of-home (DOOH). Buyers using the Vistar DSP will be able to use Eyeota audience data to create and target DOOH campaigns, increasing outreach and maximising media investments.

Advertisers may now improve campaign targeting across Vistar’s extensive network of outdoor digital inventory by integrating Eyeota audience segmentation into the Vistar DSP. This includes bus stops, airports, street furniture, billboards, and a host of other venues that allow advertisers to connect with consumers several times during their everyday lives.

Marketers working with Vistar Media and Eyeota audiences now have the opportunity to expand their audience-targeting efforts into a broader programmatic environment. Through this agreement, advertisers can effectively reach their target audience and maximise their DOOH investment through a holistic omnichannel digital marketing experience.

With the Vistar DSP, advertisers may leverage Eyeota’s vast audience data, which covers more than 30 verticals and seasonal events, to obtain insightful and practical targeting choices. By doing this, advertisers may align their DOOH campaigns with specific ownership, interest-based, behavioural, demographic, or employment sectors. This allows them to target the right audience with relevant messages at the right time.

As the industry increasingly adopts audience targeting strategies, Eyeota and Vistar Media lead the way, enabling advertisers to capitalise on the potency of data-driven insights and execute more effective and impactful DOOH campaigns. This partnership represents a significant milestone in the evolution of programmatic DOOH advertising, allowing advertisers to seamlessly activate Eyeota audience segments within the Vistar DSP.

Speaking about the partnership, Trent Lloyd, head of APAC at Eyeota, said, “Brands can now easily streamline audience targeting efforts, delivering personalised messages aligned with specific demographics and behaviours. It’s truly a game changer for advertisers to make the most out of their DOOH ads and drive engagement with the right customers in today’s fast-changing world of outdoor digital advertising.” 

Meanwhile, Ben Baker, Vistar’s APAC managing director, expressed, “We are thrilled to partner with Eyeota to provide our clients with best-in-class audience data for their DOOH campaigns. With Eyeota’s comprehensive audience targeting capabilities, advertisers can now optimise their programmatic DOOH campaigns, driving greater engagement and ensuring their messages resonate with their intended audiences.” 

Singapore – Global media measurement and optimization platform Integral Ad Science (IAS), has announced that its AI-driven ‘Total Media Quality (TMQ)’ brand safety and suitability measurement product is now generally available across Facebook, Instagram, and Reels. 

Through this partnership, IAS’s new post-bid brand safety and suitability measurement expansion with Meta gives advertisers increased transparency into whether their campaigns are appearing next to safe and suitable content.

Going into detail, IAS brand safety and suitability measurement product expansion to Meta gives advertisers the ability to measure adjacent posts to an advertiser’s campaign using IAS’s multimedia technology to provide unique insight into video content, providing advertisers with third-party validation with trusted and transparent industry metrics, and providing third-party validation for advertisers to understand and optimise their Meta inventory filters.

Additionally, advertisers can now leverage IAS Signal, its unified reporting platform that delivers the data and insights advertisers need to easily manage their digital campaigns.

Talking about this expansion, Lisa Utzschneider, CEO of IAS, said, “IAS is steadfast in delivering solutions to help marketers measure and optimise performance in dynamic, user-generated social environments like Facebook and Instagram. This expansion allows brands to identify higher-quality media and scale across these platforms, signifying another important milestone in helping brands enhance brand equity across the entire digital ecosystem.”

Meanwhile, Samantha Stetson, vice president of client council and industry trades at Meta, said, “IAS’s release of Brand Safety and Suitability Measurement across Facebook and Instagram is a meaningful step forward in our continued work to provide transparency and trust across our advertising ecosystem. Responsible marketing is a top priority at Meta – and we are pleased with our continued partnership to bring this important solution to our advertisers.”

APAC – Aleph, an ecosystem of global digital experts and technology-driven solutions that enable the development of digital marketing, is expanding its partnership with Reddit to support the growth of advertisers and agencies in Cambodia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

Through the expanded partnership, Aleph will be in charge of developing and growing markets for platforms in the digital advertising space. With dedicated sales and support teams who are actively working in many areas, Aleph enables big platforms to expand into new markets and establish connections with regional advertisers. 

The move into the Asia-Pacific (APAC) comes a little over a year after Aleph’s original partnership with Reddit. This focus on the APAC strengthens Aleph and Reddit’s partnership and supports Reddit’s growing global sales staff. 

The partnership includes an Australian team and uses the platform to connect local advertisers in 13 European countries and seven Central Asian countries. 

Speaking about the partnership, Harold Klaje, Reddit chief revenue officer, said, “As Reddit continues to scale internationally, it’s imperative we have the right teams on-the-ground in countries all over the world, who can connect local advertisers with our local audience and drive long term business success. Our Aleph partners are extensions of our Reddit Sales team and our work together strengthens our global footprint, allowing us to reach a more diverse set of advertisers across key regions like Europe, the Middle East and now APAC.”

Meanwhile, Sunny Nagpal, Aleph APAC managing director, expressed, “We are delighted to further expand our partnership with Reddit. Our reputation in the market has enabled the growth of such partnerships and for that, we are grateful. Expanding our work with Reddit into APAC will see our local teams bring decades of experience to drive opportunities for local advertisers and brands across all industries, connecting them with Reddit users in their local market and beyond.” 

Singapore – Self-serve programmatic advertising platform StackAdapt has recently announced the appointment of Liam McCarten as VP of sales, APAC.

In his new role, McCarten will be leading operations in the region as it embarks on its next phase of growth, and will have the remit to manage APAC with an initial focus on Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and Japan.

McCarten joins StackAdapt with the experience of having worked at Meta for the past nine years, holding sales leadership roles in New York, London and Singapore. Previously he held the role of director for Global Business Group APAC, leading the health, beauty, luxury and technology verticals, where he supported the largest brands and agencies across the region.

Speaking on his appointment, McCarten said that he joined StackAdapt due to the company’s strong growth prospects, innovative technology, and commitment to client and agency centricity.

“StackAdapt has strong momentum and is on track to be a valuable marketing technology partner in the digital media buying market across APAC. We have industry-leading machine learning and AI capabilities, a patented contextual solution, first-party data integration capabilities, and multi-channel marketing offerings, enabling our clients to thrive,” he added.

Meanwhile, Vitaly Pecherskiy, CEO and co-founder of StackAdapt, commented, “As a growing global technology company, we see tremendous opportunity in the APAC market and are excited to welcome Liam to the team to help us scale in the region. The diverse nature of the APAC market calls for a tailored, precise approach to create value, and we are excited to power marketers throughout the region with the performance-driven capabilities of our product.”

Singapore – The Singaporean arm of multinational advertising and public relations company Publicis Groupe has recently announced the acquisition of Singaporean integrated communications agency AKA Asia.

The acquisition marks a significant step in expanding and diversifying Publicis Groupe’s capabilities in the Southeast Asian market, with AKA Asia bolstering the group’s strategic communications, PR and influence offering in the region.

Speaking on the acquisition, Amrita Randhawa, chief executive officer for Publicis Groupe Singapore and Southeast Asia, said, “We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of AKA Asia, which has a stellar reputation in Singapore and will complement our existing agency capabilities to deliver exceptional solutions for our clients.”

“The AKA founders, Kate O’Shea and Amy Wright, have built an incredible operation with a solid track record for conceptualising and delivering fearless creative communications campaigns to a broad range of consumer and corporate clients. We are excited to welcome them and the team into our family,” she added.

Meanwhile, Leya Teo, CEO of AKA Asia, also commented, “This is an exciting time for our agency, our growing team and our clients. Together we have worked tirelessly to build an agency dedicated to putting its people first, empowering them to deliver innovative work that’s fearlessly creative and anchored in an earned-first approach. We look forward to leveraging Publicis’s Power of One philosophy and its diverse ecosystem for clients across Asia, and the opportunities this provides our talented team.”

AKA Asia will also be joining Publicis Groupe’s regional Influence practice, led by Margaret Key, alongside full-service PR consultancy MSL Asia Pacific.

“We are both excited and proud to partner with AKA Asia. Kate and Amy have built an enviable workplace culture, evidenced by talent they have nurtured from within over the last 15 years. This union will enable us to offer more value to our clients in Singapore and across our global network”, mentioned Margaret Key, chief executive officer at MSL Asia Pacific.

Singapore – A new report from PubMatic has revealed that around 70% of APAC marketers are spending on in-app advertising, with 8 in 10 marketers seeing improved brand awareness and are paying off for brands.

At 88%, Singaporean buyers are most likely to buy in-app, while Japanese buyers are doing far less in-app buying, at just 47%. Across countries, performance-focused buyers are more likely to advertise in-app than brand buyers, at 77% and 60% respectively. 

Despite this discrepancy, marketers across regions say that brand awareness is the leading benefit of in-app advertising, regardless of their primary advertising objectives.

In terms of mobile game advertising, the study shows slightly over half of marketers that currently incorporate in-app ads in their marketing strategies also invest in mobile gaming ads. Of the APAC marketers surveyed, 52% have an in-game marketing strategy, with a wide variance of adoption across countries: only 15% of Japanese marketers are spending on in-game ads, versus 77% of marketers in Singapore. 

Moreover, most advertisers who are reluctant to invest in mobile gaming ads cited their primary reason as misalignment with company or brand values, or misalignment with target audiences.

Meanwhile, programmatic was the preferred in-app buying option for 62% of advertisers – reflecting the need for agility through data-driven precision, adaptability, and cost-efficiency – while the remainder transacts directly with publishers. Direct buyers cited “audience targeting precision” as the top reason for how they purchase, followed by “more control over ad placement” and “customisable solutions tailored to specific goals of our brand”.

Lastly, around 86% of in-game advertisers in Singapore and 80% in South Korea plan to increase, or maintain, the same budget for in-game advertising – meaning brand buyers are the biggest revenue opportunities for gaming publishers. Only Japanese marketers are hesitant to go all-in on in-game advertising right now, due to the aforementioned concerns around audience alignment. Marketers also reported the biggest appeal of in-game advertising to be the ability to create positive associations of their brand with mobile gamers.

Lashanne Phang, vice president for mobile at PubMatic, said, “The findings show there are more chances than ever for in-app publishers to attract ad spend from brand buyers looking to invest in mobile gaming. But, in today’s increasingly complex and dynamic landscape, it will be vital to work with a tech partner that can provide transparency, control, flexibility and guidance if they are to unlock the full potential of in-app and in-game advertising and capture incremental dollars from diverse channels and geographies in 2024.”

She added, “When choosing a tech partner, app publishers should look for a company that provides unique demand and effective measurement tools, while offering customised, curated packaging to ensure control over audiences, inventory and data.”

Singapore – Yahoo has announced first-to-market testing capabilities for its identity suite, ‘Yahoo Identity Solutions,’ directly in the Yahoo DSP. The move aims to have advertisers gain valuable media insights and prepare their businesses today to properly optimise and measure campaigns amid third-party cookie deprecation. 

Through this new identity suite, advertisers can test their campaign’s future-proofing strategies in a simulated environment directly within the Yahoo DSP across all web browsers and in-app inventory. The test also enables advertisers to remove cookies across all identity-related use cases such as frequency capping, targeting, conversion attribution, and reach metrics to understand how Yahoo Identity Solutions can support their programmatic media. 

Through a simple A/B test, advertisers can view a control line running on the web and in-app inventory as it exists today – inclusive of all third-party cookies and identifiers – and a test line that runs across the same environments without third-party cookies and device IDs, which leverages Yahoo Identity Solutions for targeting and buying. 

Moreover, by juxtaposing control and test campaigns, advertisers can get a better sense of future advertising trends, thereby optimising campaigns and enhancing overall outcomes. Identity testing can be run using a variety of audiences, including demographic, income, interest, lookalike, and predictive.

Elizabeth Herbst-Brady, chief revenue officer at Yahoo, said, “As cookie deprecation quickly approaches, advertisers are looking to easily and accurately test solutions without having to change the way they buy or introduce friction into their campaigns. These new testing capabilities and our continued enhancement of Yahoo Identity Solutions reflect our unwavering dedication to providing advertisers with accurate insights and measurable business outcomes.”

Meanwhile, Dan Richardson, director of data and insights for AUSEA at Yahoo, emphasises the significance of identity testing, saying, “These new testing features move Identity from back end to front and centre, right there in your campaign setup, giving advertisers more control and a bigger impact. This underscores Yahoo’s dedication to a privacy-centric and results-driven ecosystem in the APAC region, ensuring advertisers achieve their business objectives with precision and adaptability.”

New Zealand – Artemis Communications, an independent communications agency, has been appointed by security service provider First Security to oversee their social media marketing and Google advertising with immediate effect. Artemis will also begin supporting First Security’s public relations and communications activities in the new year.

Apart from being appointed recently to supervise the Google Ads campaigns for the global fitness chain Anytime Fitness, where it will manage campaigns for both the central team and 12 franchises throughout Aotearoa, the agency is also commemorating its partnerships with florist Flowers After Hours and Omana Luxury Villas located in Waiheke Island. Since its introduction earlier this year, Artemis Communications continues to pick up growth under the direction of group CEO Isobel Kerr-Newell.

Speaking about the appointment, Scott La Franchie, general manager, marketing & product of First Security, said, “First Security has a long-existing and positive relationship with the team at VideoTaxi, so we are delighted to put our various digital marketing and PR needs into the capable hands of Artemis Communications – who have demonstrated how they can be a compelling one-stop shop for all our communications needs. With exciting projects coming up in 2024 for First Security, we look forward to extending how we work with Artemis as we continue to collaboratively drive content for our business.”

Meanwhile, Isobel Kerr-Newell, group CEO of Artemis Communications, said, “When we launched Artemis Communications, our intention was always to take a holistic approach to solving a client’s communications challenges and to seamlessly integrate a range of disciplines to create a full turn-key solution. It’s exciting to see this vision come to life with the growth of our digital marketing offering and these incredible clients come on board as we continue to evolve and grow.” 

While there’s no shortage of uncertainty as we countdown to 2024, the crystal ball seems to have a few things in focus for the next trip around the sun. From the long-anticipated shift from third-party cookies to first-party data to the harnessing of AI and the evolution of e-commerce, here are five key tech trends set to shape how brands connect with customers. 

The race for first-party data

2024 is set to be the year of first-party data with Chrome deprecating third-party tracking cookies over 2024, following the lead of other browsers having already implemented similar changes. Brands will be focused on strategies to build their own valuable first-party data, built up from purchasing signals tracked via loyalty programs, registered users, CRM and so on. 

Brands will be turning to publishers to harness their vast contextual and enriched datasets from either registered users or gleaned from the type of content being consumed in real-time. Combinations of both publisher and advertiser data via data cleanrooms have been a topic of interest and will be interesting to see how this is picked up over the year.

The shift promises contextual interest targeting, enabling a more precisely tailored match for brands between creative and audiences. The focus on sharper targeting translates into reaching the right audience with specific intent, ultimately, leading to increased conversion rates and effectiveness.

Focus on innovative advertising

The ongoing adoption of more premium and effective ad solutions is a growing trend, which is only set to continue from an effectiveness and a user experience perspective. Clients are reporting that campaign budgets can be extended up to seven times more just by using more effective formats. 

Brands are demanding more premium sponsorship opportunities and publishers are accommodating via a range of high-impact and bespoke formats. This means more curated and higher quality ad experiences on-site, resulting in a longer-lasting impact from awareness to engagement through to conversion. We’re seeing a further development toward solutions overlaying first-party data or contextual insights with premium ad formats. This delivers more personalised and relevant experiences, which are particularly effective for eCommerce.

And as smartphone users worldwide reach an estimated 4.6 billion, with expectations of surpassing 5.1 billion by 2028, mobile internet traffic already claims nearly 60 per cent of total web traffic. In response to this unprecedented growth, there’s the need for a more expansive, premium mobile ad format that would not only extend the in-ad experience via a seamless, scrolling user experience; it would also drive brand awareness and communicate additional product information in an unobtrusive, impactful way.

Innovative new ad formats like BrandStory outshines competitors with triple the ad space and 2.8 times greater time in view than single scroll ad formats. This addresses the surging demand from brands worldwide for more real estate to drive real results by seamlessly intertwining awareness, exploration and action within one comprehensive solution.

e-commerce to continue upward trajectory

We’re witnessing the takeoff of e-commerce across the board, supercharged from the shift during lockdown as businesses of all sizes realised the value of having a direct relationship with their consumers. On top of the sale, e-commerce is allowing advertisers to own the data relating to the customer and the sale, which is a huge factor in the boom. 

e-commerce will see sustained growth as brands demonstrate a willingness to invest in channels that streamline the conversion process and build that direct line to their customers. We’re seeing a take-up of in-banner transactions, shoppable video, contextual targeting and dynamic e-commerce ads already playing a pivotal role in the transformation.

Harnessing AI

AI is quickly moving from a novelty to being embedded within a multitude of platforms to increase effectiveness and revolutionising the landscape, both on the overall marketing function and the specific ways we engage with technology. This includes from a generative perspective of creating content and messaging to getting a better handle on insights and planning, particularly with the abundance of first-party data. The wealth of information from this data will serve as a fertile ground for extensive learning and the development of models tailored to audience insights.

Surge in digital outdoor and connected TV channels

In the coming year, brace for a significant expansion in alternative advertising channels, particularly digital outdoor and connected TV. We anticipate substantial growth and innovative strategies as these channels evolve to become pivotal players in the advertising landscape. We have even been seeing clients connecting their digital out-of-home and digital display campaigns with live data, meaning interactions with the digital campaign can be relayed to the digital out-of-home screens – another space to watch.

The future of consumer-driven digital experiences

As we step into 2024, the world of advertising is gearing up for some exciting opportunities for publishers, advertisers and consumers alike. The strong focus on first-party data, the use of AI, the evolution of online shopping, the rise of different advertising channels and the march toward new ad formats are all painting a picture of innovation, integration and adaptability. It’s a call for advertisers and publishers to work together, align their strategies with what consumers are looking for and create a landscape where creativity, data insights and modern technology come together for a more engaging advertising experience.

This article is written by Harley Ramien, Director for Asia Pacific at Bonzai

The insight is published as part of MARKETECH APAC’s thought leadership series under What’s NEXT 2023-2024. What’s NEXT 2023-2024 is a multi-platform industry initiative which features marketing and industry leaders in APAC sharing their marketing insights and predictions for the upcoming year.