Tag: Report

Singapore – Baidu’s subscription video on-demand over-the-top (OTT) streaming service, iQIYI, has surpassed the $3b milestone in terms of consumer spending across Apple’s App Store and Google Play, according to the latest estimate reports from data.ai.

According to the data, iQIYI generated a total of $180 million in gross revenue globally during the first half of 2023, securing the sixth spot among the world’s top-grossing OTT entertainment platforms, standing tall among giants like Disney+, which secured the first spot, and Max from Warner Bros. at second.

The data further shows that exclusive content plays have driven adoption. Recorded data identifies August 2021 as a standout month for iQIYI, as the OTT streaming service garnered a combined total of 12.5 million installs across both the iOS and Google Play stores globally.

Top markets for iQIYI are concentrated in the APAC region, and the surge in downloads coincided with iQIYI’s strategic move to cater to a broader viewership base by producing and streaming Southeast Asian shows as exclusive iQIYI originals.

Singapore – Around 6 to 10 Southeast Asians are said to currently have debts or loans, according to a survey conducted by market research firm Milieu Insight in 2023. 

The study found that 62% of the Southeast Asian population are currently holding debts or loans, with Malaysia and Vietnam emerging as the nations grappling with the highest amount of people who currently have loans or debt.

The main factor as to why debt and loans have grown in Southeast Asia vary for each country. In Singapore, 49% of Singaporeans choose to take on debt in order to purchase property. On the other hand, 48% of Indonesians and 41% of Vietnamese and Filipinos stated that they took out loans and had debts due to an urgent need for immediate funds.

‍Regionally, there is a growing concern about indebtedness, with 14% of respondents stating that they aren’t able to save after deducting expenses and debt/loan repayment. This is even more alarming in Thailand, with 24% of respondents being unable to save after covering essential expenses and loans. However, there is a stark contrast in Singapore, where 14% of respondents are still saving more than 50% of their income.

Furthermore, the study revealed that 1 in 4 of Southeast Asians lacked personal finance education, with 39% of respondents attributing their financial literacy to the Internet.

In a press release regarding this, Milieu Insight commented, “Understanding the debt landscape and personal finance dynamics in Southeast Asia has never been more critical. Financial education is thus crucial and should be viewed as a lifelong learning process, with continuous efforts to update and adapt programs to align with evolving economic conditions. By fostering a culture of learning and financial awareness, we can equip our communities with the tools to make sound financial decisions and achieve financial security.”

Singapore – Global adtech firm Quantcast released its ‘Asia Pacific 2023 Advertising State of Play Report’, which discussed the future of digital advertising, the challenges and opportunities lie ahead for advertisers and agencies, where brands are planning ad spend this financial year, and what barriers stand in the way of programmatic video adoption.

In the report, Quantcast found out that key challenges and barriers were the need to prove return of investment (ROI)/performance and effectiveness, while personalising ads and finding new audiences amidst the global economic downturn.

APAC marketers and agencies identified and are looking to invest in several opportunities including performance-led advertising, business growth, and investing in easy-to-use tools, with programmatic video and search expected to grow significantly in APAC over the next year, particularly as social channels remain critical in countries including Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

With this, data suggests that OTT investment in APAC is expected to grow from US$4.3 billion to US$7.2 billion between 2020 and 2026 – a 67% increase within six years. Linear TV and radio are likely to see the largest decline in media investment, as advertisers lean towards digital experiences. 

Preparing for a cookie-less world is also a priority, with nearly 60% of agencies and just under 43% of brand-side marketers naming it as their top priority for FY 23/24, focusing on cookie-less advertising solutions and getting audience insights through first-party data over the next 12 months.

Sonal Patel, vice president of Quantcast, APAC, said, “In the coming months, we’re expecting to see advertisers continually asked to deliver more value, navigate more technological changes, and get on top of changing consumer behaviour to maximise advertising outcomes. To get ahead, APAC marketers will need to seize the opportunities to build their brands now. Businesses that increase advertising activities during downturns can snag market share from more conservative brands.

India – With Meta’s new microblogging social app Threads reaching an all-time high of more than 150 million downloads in total during its first week, India is said to be the leading force in contributing to the success of Threads, accounting for approximately 32% of its total downloads globally, according to data revealed by data science agency data.ai Intelligence. 

Until now, the origin of Threads installations has been limited to a single global figure. The app has established the largest footprint in India, which has accounted for about 32% of its downloads.

Indian consumers have been known to flock first to new social platforms in the past, with ByteDance’s TikTok becoming a cultural phenomenon there before it ceased operating in the country. At the same time, India is also Twitter’s second-largest market in terms of both lifetime downloads and monthly active users.

The report also found that besides India with 32% of global downloads, other major contributors to Threads downloads hail from Brazil with 22%, the United States with 16%, Mexico with 8%, and Japan with 5%.

Singapore – With brands nowadays catering more and more to the trend of digital ads, digital ad spend waste in the April to June quarter is down more than $30m on the first quarter of 2023, but advertisers still continue wasting nearly half of their advertising dollars each quarter, according to data revealed by independent digital media agency Next & Co.

Last quarter, advertisers threw away $77.1m from their ad spend budgets, which represents an average of 40% wastage across total audited media spend, compared to more than $104 million between January and March 2023.

The report found that retail brands were responsible for wasting the most in digital ad expenditure, with a figure of $25.4m. It was followed by finance at $22.3m, insurance at $12.3m and health at $7.7m. Education and real estate brands had the least waste at $5.3m and $3.8m respectively.

Across digital media channels over the last quarter, most digital ad spend was wasted on Google at $33.9m, followed by Facebook at $31m, LinkedIn at $7.7m and Bing at $3.8m.

John Vlasakakis, co-founder at Next&Co, said, “As we enter the new financial year, many brands will be taking stock of their advertising budgets, particularly amid ever-increasing economic and inflationary pressures. The latest data shows there is still plenty of room for improvement in terms of how brands are spending their advertising dollars. As we head into campaign planning for the biggest retail events of the year, with Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas, businesses need to get a sound understanding of the efficacy of their digital ad spend, and a better measure of return on investment.”

He added, “An independent audit of overall planned spend and past spend can reveal insights into where wastage is occurring, how to get better campaign optimisation and results, and how dollars can be best spent. The new financial year will be about businesses working smarter, not harder, particularly as budgets come under pressure, making every ad dollar count in the coming months.” 

Singapore – Mobile advertising technology company InMobi unveiled through its Ramadan 2023 at a glance report that consumer sentiment in Indonesia maintains an upward trend as consumers embrace the gradual return to normalcy.

According to the report, 60% of respondents plan to spend at least IDR 3 million for Ramadan, a 4% boost from 2022. Results also showed that one in three app downloads during Ramadan are shopping apps, with downloads peaking two months before the celebration.

Moreover, 98% of respondents choose to explore deals, products, and brands for Ramadan on mobile while 56% prefer mobile as their primary purchasing channel.

The report likewise revealed that 72% of the respondents are category explorers who spend time planning and researching their online purchases, with 31% starting research one month before Ramadan.

“Every year, the festive month of Ramadan triggers a massive wave of spending activity in Indonesia, and we expect a rebound this year after modest celebrations in the last two years. Interestingly, mobile remains dominant as a preferred channel for shopping, entertainment, and even religious activities among consumers despite relaxed restrictions on travel and physical gatherings,” said Rishi Bedi, managing director for Asia-Pacific at InMobi.

He also added that because of the increase in spending activity amongst consumers, brands must continue to maximise their visibility and reachability to target consumer segments on mobile and other digital platforms.

Ramadan 2023 at a glance analyses expectations and habits of Indonesian consumers around the holiday and provides insight to brands seeking to refine their mobile marketing strategies during the nation’s holy month.

Last September, InMobi also released its report on mobile gaming ads amongst advertisers in Southeast Asia, where it was found that 98% of advertisers have increased their mobile gaming spend since the pandemic.

Singapore – Google’s year-end rankings in Search for Singapore in 2022 have revealed that Singaporean consumers are seeking to be in control of their identities, lifestyles, and what they value. 

The report has identified three key consumer trends based on search behaviours by Singaporeans that marketers can leverage to optimise their marketing strategies. These are ‘soul searching’, ‘value hunting’, and ‘finding joy’.

According to the report, Singaporeans sought more information on the well-loved travel destination Japan, as search interest in ‘Japan culture’ rose by 20%. The report also showed that the search interest in ‘gender inequality’ grew by 50%, signifying Singaporeans’ support of diverse identities.

In terms of value hunting, the search interest for ‘inflation’ grew by 160% as Singaporeans increasingly reassess what they consider to be of value and give attention to economic trends. Keywords like ‘recommendations’ and ‘top rated’ were also amongst the top searches, as consumers consider trust in brands even more.

Moreover, the report found that Singaporeans are looking for more ways to treat themselves and endeavour in post-pandemic revenge travel, with keyword ‘flight tickets’ gaining a 430% increase in search interest. 

It was also unveiled that Singaporeans are looking more into convenience, with the virtual clinic ‘doctor anywhere’ gaining a 260% search interest.

Singapore – Online travel agency Booking.com was revealed as the best-perceived travel brand amongst responsible travellers in Singapore with 21.3 scores, according to market research company YouGov.

The report also found that the fellow travel booking platforms Agoda with 18.7 scores, Expedia with 17.6 scores, and Klook with 17.6 scores were closely behind the top spot.

Meanwhile, hospitality companies Shangri-La and Marriott ranked fifth and sixth, with consideration scores of 17.0 and 15.3 respectively. This was followed by online travel agency Trip.com with 14.2 scores, accommodation booking platform Hotels.com with 14.0 scores, and Airbnb with 13.5 scores. And lastly, the Luxury hotel Grand Hyatt rounded off the top ten with a consideration score of 12.8.

“The YouGov Travel Brand Rankings 2022 is aimed at understanding how travel brands differentiate in the eyes of responsible travellers – defined as those who self-identify as being wellness-focused, culturally minded, and caring about environmental impact. The rankings spotlight the brands that score higher in terms of consideration amongst this audience group, based on YouGov BrandIndex Consideration scores from July 2021 to June 2022,” said YouGov.

Singapore – A sharp uptick in the adoption of mobile gaming ads since the pandemic began, and about six in 10 advertisers only started to leverage mobile in-game advertising in the last two years, but 90% of respondents have now advertised for at least a year or longer, according to a report by independent marketing cloud company InMobi.

The report also found that as much as 98% of advertisers reported increasing their spends on mobile gaming in the past year – double last year’s figure year-on-year – underscoring the potential of mobile games as an emerging marketing channel.

Additionally, the same report revealed that the unique ad formats in mobile game advertising enable higher audience attention and engagement, thus drawing strong interest from advertisers. The most explored mobile gaming ad formats are rewarded video, playables, and interstitials. But blended in-game ads are also increasing in popularity as advertisers seek to explore advanced native experiences. 

InMobi said that the report also indicates differences in success parameters between respondents at varying stages of the adoption of gaming advertising. Mature advertisers tend to view brand awareness and attention as the primary success metric for their campaigns. On the other hand, relative newcomers that have adopted gaming advertising for less than a year tend to often evaluate multiple aspects including reach, brand safety, and sales lift. 

Rishi Bedi, managing director at InMobi, shared that with rapid smartphone adoption and increased internet connectivity further contributing to the mobile gaming growth in SEA, there is no surprise that advertisers have increasingly integrated digital advertising with mobile games to tap into the region’s vast market potential.

“We look forward to helping this space grow as it creates more opportunities for brands to capitalise and expand how they engage their audiences,” said Bedi.

The report also shared that over 50% of respondents label programmatic buying as their most preferred mode of media buying on mobile gaming apps, and the top three mobile gaming app formats listed by respondents are ‘rewarded videos’, ‘playable ads’, and ‘interstitials’.

Moreover, almost 90% of respondents deem the suitability of game content to their brands’ values as a major factor when adopting mobile gaming ads, and about 70% of respondents who are mature advertisers label higher audience attention and engagement as the most important drive for their gaming ad investments. And lastly, over 50% of respondents leverage brand awareness levels as a benchmark parameter for campaign success of gaming ads.

Singapore – For the first half of 2022, SMRT Trains has ranked first in the top 20 advertisers/groups with high percentage of ad spend in Singapore, while services, such as airlines, banks, and beauty, amongst others, has topped first in the top 20 industries in Singapore with an estimated $262.9m ad spend, according to global information, data and market measurement firm Nielsen.

The report also found that Lazada was second, and the Ministry of Communications and Information was third on the list of top 20 advertisers/groups in Singapore.

Meanwhile, agricultural/industrial and commercial have secured the second spot in the top 20 industries in Singapore with an estimated $78.16m ad spend, while retail was in the third spot with an estimated $54.95m ad spend.

Arnaud Frade, Nielsen’s head of commercial growth for APAC, said that in today’s complex and crowded media landscape, audiences have access to more content across more platforms than ever before, and to stay ahead, businesses need reliable advertising intelligence to develop efficient media strategies and differentiate themselves from their competitors.

“According to Nielsen’s ROI Report, media spend needs to be between 1% and 9% of revenue to stay competitive. It is crucial for marketers to continue to turn to Nielsen Ad Intel for quality intelligence, to differentiate themselves from the competition and to carve out the best path forward for their brand or media property,“ Frade added.

The insights released are to provide a glimpse into the Nielsen Ad Intel solution available to help boost marketers’ ad strategies. In this release, Nielsen highlights the biggest 20 advertisers and industry spenders in ten APAC markets, including Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, and South Korea, as well Taiwan, and Thailand.

Nielsen Ad Intel reveals that while spending varies according to each market, the biggest advertisers are within consumer goods, retail, communications and food across the reported markets during the first half of 2022. In industry rankings, governments across the region boosted ad spending during the first half of 2022.