Shanghai, China – New data suggest that net buying cost inflation of leading advertisers in China to be under 3% in 2023, with this year seeing a 10% to 15% cut in media budgets by advertisers, according to the latest report from media investment management company Ebiquity.

According to the data, traditional net media inflation will range from 0% to 2.5% while print media buying cost will witness a 4.2% decrease. Meanwhile, Chinese digital media net cost inflation will hover in the range of 3% to 3.5%.

The data also notes that 2022 has been a tough year for the Chinese advertising industry due to a restricted GDP growth of 3%. This was largely because of the Chinese government’s imposition of ‘Zero-Covid’ policy, where several key cities have experienced extended lockdowns.

Commenting on the forecast, Stewart Li, managing director for Ebiquity China said, “Several global economic institutions have lowered China’s 2023 GDP forecast from 5.3% to 4.5% in September. This has led Ebiquity China to predict another soft year for the advertising industry. Our recommendation for advertisers is to implement a proper media cost management program with their media agencies so that they can negotiate for a tough 2023 media buying cost and KPI.”

He added, “While the budget cuts from leading advertisers have had a significant impact on multinational media agency groups with some forced to announce layoffs in 2022, the impact has been severe for local agencies too. The top 8 locally listed advertising companies’ first half 2022 financial reports show that their revenues experienced negative or soft growth year-on-year.”

London, United Kingdom – Media investment analysis company Ebiquity has announced that it has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire MediaPath Network and a definitive agreement to acquire Media Management Inc (MMi).

MediaPath is a leading global media consulting company specialising in agency selection processes, media performance measurement, and media benchmarking; while Media Management is a US-focused media audit services firm providing clients with transparency and accountability across all media channels for national and local media, and agency performance validation.

Speaking about the acquisitions, Nick Waters, global CEO at Ebiquity, said, “These moves mark a major milestone for Ebiquity. MediaPath and MMi are both highly respected companies operating in our space. Susanne and Thomas share our values and our vision for what the media industry can be and how we can serve it. Both businesses bring great teams, fantastic clients, and high-quality technology enablement.”

Meanwhile, Susanne Elias, founder of MediaPath, commented, “Using technology for innovation and delivery of our services to our clients has been a key driver for us and that now combined with Ebiquity’s global reach, broad service offerings as well as highly skilled team of media specialists creates stellar opportunities for our combined businesses, clients and teams all over the world.”

Lastly, Thomas Bridge, founder at MMi, stated, “MMi is excited to join the Ebiquity family, expanding our coverage domestically and internationally for our clients. This step further reinforces MMi’s commitment to our team and our clients in continuing our work in driving third-party media accountability.”

Both deals were signed on 29 March 2022. MMi is expected to complete on or around 4 April 2022, while MediaPath is expected to complete on or around 22 April 2022.