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CONTENTS
2 Executive Summary
3 Economic Signals and Total Media Ad Spending
5 Digital Ad Spending Trends
12 Spending Drivers
16 eMarketer Interviews
16 Related eMarketer Reports
17 Related Links
17 Editorial and Production Contributors
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Digital ad spending will account for roughly
one-third of total media ad investment in China in
2014. Over the next several years, that proportion
is set to climb even higher, eMarketer predicts, as
digital ad spending gains outpace China’s overall ad
spending growth throughout the forecast period.
Search, mobile and online video are important
contributors to the total growth of digital in China.
Meanwhile, social networks and social chat channels are
opening up new opportunities with huge audiences.
This report examines the state of digital advertising in
China, with a consideration of the impact of economic,
social and regulatory trends. In addition, the report looks
at some of the key drivers for digital ad spending growth.
KEY QUESTIONS
■■ How fast is digital ad spending in China growing
and what is driving the growth?
■■ How is China’s vibrant ecommerce marketplace
affecting digital advertising?
■■ How might slower economic growth affect digital
advertising in China?
billions and % change
Digital Ad Spending in China, 2012-2018
2012
$11.43
85.0%
2013
$15.54
36.0%
2014
$18.03
16.0%
2015
$20.20
12.0%
2016
$22.21
10.0%
2017
$24.21
9.0%
2018
$25.91
7.0%
Digital ad spending % change
Note: includes advertising that appears on desktop and laptop computers
as well as mobile phones and tablets, and includes all the various formats
of advertising on those platforms; excludes SMS, MMS and P2P
messaging-based advertising; excludes Hong Kong; converted at the
exchange rate of US$1=RMB6.19; CAGR (2013-2018)=10.8%
Source: eMarketer, March 2014
170910 www.eMarketer.com
3. CHINA DIGITAL AD TRENDS: MULTIPLE FORCES DRIVING GROWTH ©2014 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
ECONOMIC SIGNALS AND TOTAL
MEDIA AD SPENDING
Ad spending across all media in China will grow a
healthy 8.2% this year, according to eMarketer’s latest
estimates for the country.While that growth rate
represents a slight easing from the 8.4% increase in
2013, it will still outstrip China’s stated target growth
rate of 7.5% in 2014.
billions and % change
Total Media Ad Spending in China, 2012-2018
2012
$42.46
8.0%
2013
$46.03
8.4%
2014
$49.80
8.2%
2015
$53.84
8.1%
2016
$58.14
8.0%
2017
$62.74
7.9%
2018
$66.50
6.0%
Total media ad spending % change
Note: includes digital (online and mobile), directories, magazines, mobile,
newspapers, outdoor, radio and TV; excludes Hong Kong; converted at the
exchange rate of US$1=RMB6.19; CAGR (2013-2018)=7.6%
Source: eMarketer, March 2014
170809 www.eMarketer.com
Compared with their peers in nearby nations, marketers
in China will devote more toward paid media than those in
any other country in the Asia-Pacific. Ad spending in China
will total $49.80 billion this year, making up one-third of
Asia-Pacific’s ad market.
billions
Total Media Ad Spending in Asia-Pacific, by Country,
2012-2017
China*
Japan
Australia
Indonesia
South Korea
India
Other
Asia-Pacific
2012
$42.46
$47.20
$10.86
$7.62
$9.21
$5.26
$19.52
$142.14
2013
$46.03
$39.36
$11.11
$9.14
$9.41
$5.69
$22.25
$142.99
2014
$49.80
$40.47
$11.35
$11.16
$9.74
$6.08
$23.38
$151.99
2015
$53.84
$41.56
$11.59
$12.94
$9.99
$6.51
$24.55
$160.99
2016
$58.14
$42.09
$11.85
$15.01
$10.22
$6.93
$25.44
$169.68
2017
$62.74
$42.60
$12.08
$17.26
$10.42
$7.38
$26.19
$178.67
Note: includes digital (online and mobile), directories, magazines,
newspapers, outdoor, radio and TV; numbers may not add up to total due to
rounding; *excludes Hong Kong
Source: eMarketer, March 2014
170770 www.eMarketer.com
One reason for ad spending’s healthy growth outlook
is an ongoing effort by China’s government to reduce
the economy’s reliance on investment and exports and
instead increase domestic consumption.This is likely to
drive gains for advertising in sectors such as fast moving
consumer packaged goods (FMCG), travel, financial
services and luxury products, among others.
However, the overall economy has shown signs of
slowing growth, which has led some to wonder about the
outlook for advertising budgets.
Thus far, ad spending hasn’t felt the squeeze, said Eugene
Chew, chief digital officer at JWT Shanghai. “We still think
that overall advertising spending in China will still go up,
maybe by about 6% or 7% this year.”
Moreover, if slower economic growth does crimp ad
spending, digital ad investment may not necessarily feel
the pinch as leading marketers shift a larger portion of
their spending to digital channels. “When the economy
slows down, the first budget item that gets questioned is
marketing spend in general,” said Brent Cohen, managing
director and founder of Beijing-based Asia Media Services
Ltd., an advertising, marketing and public relations firm.
“[But] within that subset, the very first line item that gets
pared back is branding, with emphasis shifting [instead] to
performance marketing.”
That emphasis on performance is part of a confluence
of factors driving a swing in budget allocation away from
traditional media channels—TV and print in particular—
and toward digital advertising.
4. CHINA DIGITAL AD TRENDS: MULTIPLE FORCES DRIVING GROWTH ©2014 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 4
“We see more brands allocating their resources from
traditionalTV to digital media in their pursuit of more
integration,” said Andy Wang, North Region deputy
general manager at Neo@Ogilvy. “Very generally
speaking, a possible shakeout will mainly affect print and
TV media.”
ZenithOptimedia’s “Advertising Expenditure Forecasts”
report, released in June 2013, predicted a 4.1% gain
inTV ad spending in China in 2014, to $16.7 billion.
The ZenithOptimedia estimate suggested that only
newspaper investment will decline in 2014, while budgets
for all other traditional formats will grow, but at slower
rates than in 2013. InTV’s case, spending increases will
have slackened considerably from the double-digit gains
seen just a few years earlier.
millions and % change
Ad Spending in China, by Media, 2010-2015
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
TV $10,926 $14,431 $15,384 $16,046 $16,698
—% change 26.8% 32.1% 6.6% 4.3% 4.1%
Internet $5,162 $4,769 $7,001 $9,500 $12,359
—% change 54.9% -7.6% 46.8% 35.7% 30.1%
Newspapers $6,131 $7,545 $7,015 $6,622 $6,404
—% change 3.0% 23.1% -7.0% -5.6% -3.3%
Outdoor $4,398 $4,442 $5,204 $5,985 $6,793
—% change 42.4% 1.0% 17.1% 15.0% 13.5%
Radio $1,240 $1,462 $1,619 $1,755 $1,899
—% change 7.4% 17.9% 10.8% 8.4% 8.2%
Magazines $518 $837 $908 $973 $1,036
—% change 6.1% 61.6% 8.5% 7.2% 6.4%
Cinema $47 $55 $70 $85 $99
—% change 10.0% 17.0% 28.0% 20.7% 16.9%
Total $28,422 $33,540 $37,202 $40,966 $45,288
—% change 25.3% 18.0% 10.9% 10.1% 10.5%
2015
$17,325
3.8%
$15,869
28.4%
$6,192
-3.3%
$7,594
11.8%
$2,047
7.8%
$1,099
6.1%
$114
15.0%
$50,241
10.9%
Note: converted at the exchange rate of US$1=RMB6.22; numbers may not
add up to total due to rounding
Source: ZenithOptimedia, "Advertising Expenditure Forecasts," June 2013;
provided by Starcom MediaVest Group, June 2013
159924 www.eMarketer.com
There remain significant downside risks to China’s
economy going forward into the second half of 2014. As
the central government’s campaign to cool rapidly rising
property values takes effect, and both price growth and
sales have started to slow, policymakers face a difficult
balancing act to ensure property market weakness does
not undermine the broader economy.The same can
be said of government efforts to limit the availability of
credit as China seeks to stem the economy’s reliance on
infrastructure investment.
Advertisers must also be aware of regulatory risks. In
mid-March, the People’s Bank of China suspended the
use of QR code-based mobile payments and halted
the issuance of new virtual credit cards issued by the
tech titans Alibaba andTencent. In one stroke, the ruling
capped explosive growth in online and mobile payments,
purportedly in the name of consumer protection.
However, the rapid growth of online wealth management
products and mobile payments is deemed by some as a
key driver of exactly the kind of consumer spending the
government is keen to promote, and as such any cap on
transfers is likely to be temporary.
“They need to fuel the economy with proper access
to cash if they want to grow domestic demand, and
the likes of Alibaba andTencent can do that extremely
quickly because they’ve already got everybody on
their platforms,” said Vincent Digonnet, executive
chairman for Asia-Pacific at Razorfish. “They can assess
creditworthiness better than anybody because they’ve
got the buyers and the sellers on their platforms, and
they can do that much more cost-effectively than banks.
Banks will not be able to fuel that economy. Only the
ecommerce and social media platforms can, and my
belief is that in the year to come we’re going to see the
government relaxing restrictions on the level of spending
via QR code, and from mobile and social platforms.”
Elsewhere, a much publicized austerity drive launched
by President Xi Jinping in March 2013 aimed at reining
in the excesses of Communist Party officials has taken
its toll on China’s luxury market.The campaign is part of
an anti-corruption campaign set to run until 2017, and has
had a knock-on effect on sectors such as liquor, jewelry,
automobiles and tourism. A Bain & Company report noted
that China’s growth in luxury spending dropped to around
2% in 2013 from 7% in 2012.
However, as Neo@Ogilvy’s Wang noted, the majority of
China-focused luxury brands have yet to push strongly
into digital, meaning the fallout from the austerity drive is
landing more heavily on traditional media ad spending.
“For high-end ‘baiju,’ white spirits that dominate the
domestic luxury sector, the main media channels are
TV and outdoor,” Wang said. Luxury car marketers have
increased their digital ad spend, he said, but at the very
high end they are more focused on content marketing.
“At the moment, luxury brands are not the biggest digital
players in China.”
5. CHINA DIGITAL AD TRENDS: MULTIPLE FORCES DRIVING GROWTH ©2014 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 5
DIGITAL AD SPENDING TRENDS
According to eMarketer’s latest estimates, digital
ad expenditures in China will total $18.03 billion
in 2014, a figure more than $1 billion higher than
previously forecast.
billions and % change
Digital Ad Spending in China, 2012-2018
2012
$11.43
85.0%
2013
$15.54
36.0%
2014
$18.03
16.0%
2015
$20.20
12.0%
2016
$22.21
10.0%
2017
$24.21
9.0%
2018
$25.91
7.0%
Digital ad spending % change
Note: includes advertising that appears on desktop and laptop computers
as well as mobile phones and tablets, and includes all the various formats
of advertising on those platforms; excludes SMS, MMS and P2P
messaging-based advertising; excludes Hong Kong; converted at the
exchange rate of US$1=RMB6.19; CAGR (2013-2018)=10.8%
Source: eMarketer, March 2014
170910 www.eMarketer.com
eMarketer has increased its forecast for digital ad
spending in China from its December 2013 projections
in response to robust gains for digital video and
real-time bidding-based (RTB) ad investments, and
because of strong earnings for China’s leading digital
publishers. Digital ad spending in China is set to represent
36.2% of the total this year. Digital ad expenditures will
continue to grow strongly, eMarketer expects, and are on
target to reach $25.91 billion by 2018.
A survey of marketers by R3 Worldwide and Admaster
highlighted digital ad spending’s acceleration. It found the
percentage of marketers in China allocating more than
30% of their budgets to digital rose to 24% in 2013, up
from just 9% in 2012.
% of total
Percent of Marketing Budget Allocated to Digital Ads
According to Marketers in China, 2012 & 2013
2012 2013
<3% 6% 4%
3%-5% 13% 8%
6%-10% 31% 12%
11%-15% 28% 8%
16%-20% 13% 24%
21%-25% 0% 12%
26%-30% 0% 8%
30%+ 9% 24%
Note: n=280
Source: R3 and AdMaster Digital Consulting, "Winning in Digital 2013
Report," June 2013
164407 www.eMarketer.com
A February survey of digital marketers in China by Hylink
Advertising, comScore and Pacific Epoch found that
roughly three-quarters expected digital ad spending
at least 5%, and fully 20% projected growth of more
than 25%.
% of total
Expected Change in Digital Advertising Budget in
2014 According to Digital Marketers in China
Increase by more than 25%20%
Increase between 5%-24% 53%
Remain the same 17%
Unsure/did not respond10%
Note: n=30
Source: Hylink Advertising, comScore and Pacific Epoch, "2014 Digital
Media Marketing Report," March 31, 2014
174048 www.eMarketer.com
“I think we’re going to get about 20% year-on-year
growth at the current pace in digital,” said JWT’s Chew.
“In FMCG, it’s upwards of 25% of total ad spend. In
automotive, even higher.”
“China’s digital ad spend is growing steadily in spite of
shrinking marketing budgets,” said Neo@Ogilvy’s Wang.
“We see clients becoming more willing to spend their
budgets on ecommerce and building their brands through
social media. Budgets for mobile internet and online
videos have grown astronomically, while spending on
web portals has remained the same.”
6. CHINA DIGITAL AD TRENDS: MULTIPLE FORCES DRIVING GROWTH ©2014 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 6
DIGITALVIDEO GROWTH
Digital video ad investment has grown sharply in China
over the past five years. A February 2014 Analysys
International Enfodesk study showed video took share
from across the digital spectrum in 2013.The shares of
keyword [i.e., search], display and banner advertising, and
email, as well as other forms of digital advertising, all fell
in 2013, while video’s share rose to 20.8% from 19.2%
in 2012.
% of total
Digital Ad Spending Share in China, by Format,
2008-2013
Search Display/banner Online video Email Other
2008 42.8% 47.4% 3.7% 1.6% 4.5%
2009 45.8% 31.7% 5.5% 1.3% 15.6%
2010 42.1% 28.4% 7.9% 1.1% 20.5%
2011 38.1% 25.5% 18.1% 1.0% 17.3%
2012 39.4% 25.0% 19.2% 0.9% 15.5%
2013 39.3% 24.8% 20.8% 0.8% 14.2%
Note: numbers may not add up to 100% due to rounding
Source: Analysys International Enfodesk study as cited in company blog,
Feb 18, 2014
170093 www.eMarketer.com
As much as digital video spending has grown, there
appears to be room for further growth, based on marketer
attitudes.The Admaster report showed online video to
be the platform of choice for digital media marketing by
a large and widening margin, with just over one-third of
marketers opting for it as their primary platform in 2013.
% of respondents
Primary Digital Media Marketing Platforms According
to Marketers in China, 2012 & 2013
2012 2013
Video 23% 36%
Industry vertical 14% 20%
Microblogs 20% 16%
Search 15% 12%
Portal 10% 12%
Social networks 16% 4%
Mobile (tablet, mobile phone) 2% 0%
Ad alliance/networks 2% 0%
Note: n=280; numbers may not add up to 100% due to rounding
Source: R3 and AdMaster Digital Consulting, "Winning in Digital 2013
Report," June 2013
164410 www.eMarketer.com
A number of other estimates and forecasts reflect that
growing preference for digital video. Figures from the Data
Center of China Internet (DCCI) are at the higher end of the
spectrum, estimating digital video ad spending rose 77.1%
in 2013, to $1.86 billion. DCCI forecasts that spending will
continue to grow strongly to near $4.35 billion by 2015.
Analysys International put online video ad spending growth
at 37.3% in 2013 with $1.95 billion, but coming from a
higher base in previous years than the other estimates.
Moreover, Analysys’ projections continue through to a
high-end spend forecast of near $6 billion for 2016.
billions
Comparative Estimates: Digital Video Ad Spending
in China, 2012-2017
DCCI, Feb 2014
Analysys International*,
Jan 2014
iResearch Consulting Group,
Jan 2014 (2)
PwC**, June 2013
2012
$1.05
$1.42
$1.07
$0.29
2013
$1.86
$1.95
$1.55
$0.41
2014
$2.96
$2.75
$2.18
$0.54
2015
$4.35
$4.04
$2.91
$0.69
2016
-
$5.98
$3.70
$0.81
2017
-
-
$4.56
$0.90
Note: *converted at the exchange rate of US$1=RMB6.19; **excludes
mobile; converted at the exchange rate of US$1=RMB6.32
Source: various, as noted, 2013 & 2014
173852 www.eMarketer.com
There are a number of factors driving the migration
to online video. One is a 2012 move by the State
Administration of Radio, Film andTelevision (SARFT) to
implement a nationwide ban on advertising duringTV
dramas.This cut the number of available ad slots, leading
to higher premiums and a windfall for agencies, which
then redeployed the cash to digital efforts.
Another is increasing demand among advertisers for
improved audience targeting, at relatively lower cost.
“Media agencies are out there telling clients that online
[TV commercials] are half the cost of traditional, and you
can target better and frequency cap with onlineTV,” said
JWT’s Chew. “They’re saying, ‘Don’t buy traditionalTV, it’s
overpriced and seeing more inflation year after year. Go
digital, or do a multiscreen buy.’”
However, supply constraints and the high fragmentation
of China’s digital video market limit the reach and
effectiveness of video ads. Moreover, as higher demand
pushes up against limited inventory, digital video ad
costs are rising, noted Charlie Wang, digital director
at Mindshare.
7. CHINA DIGITAL AD TRENDS: MULTIPLE FORCES DRIVING GROWTH ©2014 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 7
Looking ahead, the market could be primed to experience
a sustained wave of consolidation and merger activity
among leading platforms, following up on the 2012
merger of market leadersYouku andTudou. Baidu paid
$370 million in June 2013 to buy PPS NetTV’s internet
video business, before merging it with IQIYI to create
China’s largest online video site by mobile users and
viewing time. In October 2013, PPTV received a
$420 million joint investment from Suning Commerce
Group and Hony Capital, allowing it to accelerate
spending on development. YoukuTudou pulled in 27.9%
of digital video ad revenue in China during Q3 2013,
according to November 2013 information from Analysys
International Enfodesk.
% of total
Digital Video Ad Revenue Share in China, by Company,
Q3 2013
Youku Tudou 27.9%
iQIYI 16.5%
Sohu Video 10.3%
Tencent Video 8.6%
LeTV 7.9%
PPTV 6.7%
Funshion 4.5%
Xunlei Kankan4.2%
Phoenix Video2.9%
Sina Video2.5%
Other 8.1%
Note: includes PC and mobile; numbers may not add up to 100% due to
rounding
Source: Analysys International Enfodesk, "China Digital Video Q3 2013
Market Report" as city in company blog, Nov 11, 2013
168172 www.eMarketer.com
WhileYoukuTudou is the overall leader, other players
are nipping at its heels. “Right now, IQIYI is the leader
in mobile video ad spend,” said Neo@Ogilvy’s Wang. “If
Sohu andTencent partner in online video service, I think
that could be a winner.”
SEARCH RETAINS ITS LEAD
Search remains the largest generator of digital advertising
revenue in China, and will continue to outpace display
spending for the foreseeable future, according to
eMarketer’s estimates.
billions
Digital Ad Spending in China, by Format, 2012-2018
2012
$5.71
$5.71
$11.43
2013
$7.93
$7.51
$15.54
2014
$9.56
$8.47
$18.03
2015
$11.05
$9.15
$20.20
2016
$12.44
$9.77
$22.21
2017
$13.80
$10.41
$24.21
2018
$15.03
$10.88
$25.91
Search and directories* Display**
Note: includes advertising that appears on desktop and laptop computers
as well as mobile phones and tablets on all formats mentioned; numbers
may not add up to total due to rounding; converted at the exchange rate of
US$1=RMB6.19; excludes Hong Kong; *paid listings, contextual text links
and paid inclusion; **banners (static display), rich media, sponsorships and
video (in-stream, in-banner, in-text)
Source: eMarketer, March 2014
170918 www.eMarketer.com
iResearch Consulting Group projects that search engine
ad revenue (counting both online and mobile) will grow by
32.5% this year, reaching RMB45.73 billion ($7.39 billion)—
and growth is projected to continue at a very healthy
double-digit clip for the foreseeable future.
billions of Chinese yuan renminbi and % change
Search Ad Spending in China, 2008-2017
2008
4.9
2009
6.6
36.2%
2010
10.3
55.6%
2011
17.2
67.1%
2012
25.5
48.2%
2013
34.5
35.5%
2014
45.7
32.5%
2015
58.5
28.0%
2016
71.6
22.3%
2017
84.3
17.8%
Search ad sending % change
Note: includes mobile and PC
Source: iResearch Consulting Group, "2014 China Online Advertising
Report," May 13, 2014
174059 www.eMarketer.com
Search advertising generated RMB11.16 billion ($1.8 billion)
in Q1 2014, contracting slightly from a Q4 2013 peak of
RMB11.42 billion ($1.84 billion), according to Analysys
International figures.
8. CHINA DIGITAL AD TRENDS: MULTIPLE FORCES DRIVING GROWTH ©2014 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 8
In 2013, Baidu received 78.5% of China’s search ad
spending. Google China garnered 14.0% and Sogou,
a relative newcomer to the market, took 5.1%,
Analysys found.
% of total
Search Ad Spending Share in China, by Company, 2013
Baidu
78.5%
Google China
14.0%
New Sogou*
5.1%
Other
2.4%
Note: excludes spending on all other channels; *collaboration between
Sogou and Tencent Soso
Source: Analysys International Enfodesk study as cited in company blog,
Feb 18, 2014
170096 www.eMarketer.com
Sogou, which is owned by internet behemoth Sohu,
has emerged as a stronger draw sinceTencent
invested $448 million in the company for a 36.5%
stake in September 2013.The move enabledTencent
to merge Sogou with its own search operation, Soso,
and push search traffic through its QQ services and
mobile browser. It is also part of the wider competition
between China’s three internet giants—Baidu, Alibaba
andTencent—across the full spectrum of online and
mobile services.
In terms of search page views, Sogou and Qihoo 360
attracted a combined 37.7% of page views in April 2014,
compared with Baidu’s 60.0%.
% of total
Share of Page Views and Unique Visitors Among
Search Engines in China, April 2014
Page views Unique visitors
Baidu 60.0% 58.1%
Qihoo 360 26.0% 26.0%
New Sogou* 11.7% 13.4%
Google 1.2% 1.1%
Bing 0.6% 0.9%
Youdao 0.1% 0.2%
Yahoo 0.1% 0.1%
Other 0.2% 0.3%
Note: includes mobile and PC; numbers may not add up to 100% due to
rounding; *formed by joint venture between Sogou and Tencent Soso
Source: CNZZ as cited in company blog, May 1, 2014
174192 www.eMarketer.com
This competition has prompted Baidu to improve its
offering by investing in new search algorithms that
weed out content from so-called link farms and paid
article-trading platforms, as well as offer more complex
offerings than simple keyword search to attract
larger advertisers.
MOBILE GAINS GROUND
Despite the rapid growth of mobile usage in China,
mobile internet ad spending as a proportion of digital ad
spending remains limited at 7.8% in 2014, according to
eMarketer estimates.That is projected to grow to account
for one-fifth of total digital spend by 2018, placing China
very solidly at the head of emerging markets such as
India and Brazil, but lagging developed markets such as
Europe, Japan and North America.
billions
Mobile Ad Spending in China, by Format, 2012-2018
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Mobile messaging* $0.61 $0.98 $1.41 $1.98 $2.47 $2.69
Mobile internet** $0.29 $0.78 $1.40 $2.39 $3.34 $4.51
Total $0.90 $1.76 $2.82 $4.37 $5.81 $7.21
2018
$3.52
$5.42
$8.94
Note: includes ad spending on tablets; excludes Hong Kong; converted at
the exchange rate of US$1=RMB6.19; numbers may not add up to total due
to rounding; *includes SMS, MMS and P2P messaging-based advertising;
**includes display (banners, video and rich media) and search
Source: eMarketer, March 2014
171073 www.eMarketer.com
eMarketer estimates that mobile ad spending (including
spending on tablet ads) in China reached $2.82 billion
in 2014, and is forecast to reach $8.94 billion by
2018. Mobile messaging makes up an unusually high
percentage of mobile ad spend compared with other
countries, reflecting the widespread use of messaging
in China (by both consumers and marketers) and the
popularity of messaging and chat services such as QQ
and WeChat.
China’s mobile audience is primed and willing to engage
with mobile advertising, according to InMobi’s “2014
China Mobile Internet Users Behavior Report.” In-app
ads lead the way as of November 2013, with 45% of
users ages 15 and older willing to pay attention to them,
followed by 40% of respondents saying the same for
mobile ads encountered via search and one-third of users
willing to heed mobile ads on video sites.
9. CHINA DIGITAL AD TRENDS: MULTIPLE FORCES DRIVING GROWTH ©2014 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 9
% of respondents
Mobile Internet Users in China Who Pay Attention to
Mobile Ads, by Channel, Nov 2013
In-app 45%
Search engine 40%
Video site 34%
Retail site 24%
Other 11%
Note: ages 15+ living in tier 1-4 cities; based on InMobi's network
Source: InMobi, "2014 China Mobile Internet Users Behavior Insight
Report," Jan 9, 2014
168784 www.eMarketer.com
According to data from Admaster, mobile has been
attracting a rapidly growing share of China’s digital
video viewers. In a study that was the first of its kind to
combine data from all of the country’s major video sites,
Admaster said that by the end of December 2013, some
9.2% of total digital video ads viewed in China were
displayed on mobile, an increase of nearly 10 times the
level in January 2013.
In a separate analysis of the state of mobile ad network
development in China in 2013, mobile ad exchange and
supply-side platform AdsMOGO also noted important
developments in the nature of mobile ads.The report
said that while banner ads have long been the preferred
mobile ad format, and that they accounted for 94% of the
220.7 billion ads served by AdsMOGO in 2013, the desire
of advertisers and developers to experiment has pushed
growing use of interstitial ads—those that appear before
or after an expected content page.The report noted that
while banners’ clickthrough rate was just 0.75% in 2013,
interstitial ads achieved a 4.1% clickthrough rate. Games
were the most successful hosts of ads, with a 3.23%
overall clickthrough, AdsMOGO found.
“There’s lots of money being spent by venture capitalists
and other investors, as well as by advertisers in the
mobile landscape, but I don’t think anybody has figured
out how to deliver effective mobile advertising, how to
monetize that in a strong ROI [return on investment] way,”
said Asia Media Services’ Cohen.
AdsMOGO’s report also noted the advent of
programmatic mobile ad buying in 2013. It found that
by December 2013, programmatically purchased ads
represented 10.7% of mobile ad inventory served,
including both real-time bidding (RTB) and non-RTB,
providing 100 million impressions per day, having rapidly
risen through the second half of that year.
THE SHIFTING SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
Spending on social media advertising in China is set to
maintain the strong growth seen since 2010, exceeding
$1 billion in 2014, according to eMarketer estimates.
millions, % change and % of digital ad spending
Social Network Ad Spending in China, 2012-2015
2012
$644.7
131.3%
5.8%
2013
$947.4
47.0%
6.5%
2014
$1,183.6
24.9%
7.0%
2015
$1,420.3
20.0%
7.5%
Social network ad spending
% change % of digital ad spending
Note: includes display, search, video and other forms of paid advertising
appearing within social networks, social games and social applications;
excludes spending by marketers that goes toward developing or
maintaining social network profile pages or branded applications
Source: eMarketer, Jan 2014
167631 www.eMarketer.com
eMarketer’s forecast for future growth is more
conservative than those of Analysys’, which projects
52.4% growth in 2014 to RMB8.73 billion ($1.41 billion).
billions of Chinese yuan renminbi and % change
Social Media Ad Spending in China, 2010-2016
2010
1.45
2011
1.98
37.1%
2012
3.24
63.6%
2013*
5.73
76.9%
2014
8.73
52.4%
2015
12.46
42.7%
2016
16.79
34.8%
Social media ad spending % change
Note: includes PC and mobile; *forecast
Source: Analysys International Enfodesk study as cited in press release,
Jan 27, 2014
170054 www.eMarketer.com
10. CHINA DIGITAL AD TRENDS: MULTIPLE FORCES DRIVING GROWTH ©2014 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 10
Analysys projects social ad spending will reach $2.71 billion
by 2016, but how that spending is deployed is heavily
dependent on how the predominant social platforms open
up to advertisers.
“After online video, I would say social media is another
huge priority for clients,” said JWT’s Chew. “A lot of them
have launched weibo and now want to launch WeChat
this year. And as social requires being always on, they’re
creating in-house teams, as well as partnering with
agencies, to meet that kind of always-on demand.”
But China’s social web is changing rapidly, making it
difficult to gauge how social advertising will develop. Chief
among these is the emergence ofTencent’s WeChat as a
platform that blends mobile, social networking and social
commerce.Tencent said in its Q4 2013 earnings release
that the number of monthly active users on WeChat had
swelled to 355 million, up from 271.9 million in Q3.
Meanwhile, Sina, which operates the most popular weibo
microblogging platform in China, said in late May that its
daily active users climbed 37% in Q1 2014 to reach
66.6 million, arresting five consecutive quarters of
user losses.
Despite Sina’s encouraging user growth numbers,
microblogging as an activity is losing popularity in China
to mobile instant messaging apps, according to data
from the China Internet Network Information Center
(CNNIC). It revealed in January 2014 that the number of
microblog users in China fell to 280.8 million in 2013 from
308.6 million the previous year.
millions and % of internet users**
Microblogging* Users in China, 2012 & 2013
2012
308.6
54.7%
2013
280.8
45.5%
Microblogging* users % of internet users**
Note: ages 6+; includes PC and mobile; *known as weibos in China; **who
accessed the internet in the past 6 months
Source: China Internet Networks Information Center (CNNIC), "33rd
Statistical Report on Internet Development in China," Jan 2014
169454 www.eMarketer.com
By contrast, the CNNIC reported the number of mobile
instant messaging users grew to 430.8 million, fully 86.1%
of mobile internet users, in 2013, up nearly 80 million
from 2012.
millions and % of mobile internet users*
Mobile Instant Messaging Users in China, 2012 & 2013
2012
352.2
83.9%
2013
430.8
86.1%
Mobile instant messaging users % of mobile internet users*
Note: ages 6+; *who accessed the internet via a mobile device in the past
6 months
Source: China Internet Networks Information Center (CNNIC), "33rd
Statistical Report on Internet Development in China," Jan 2014
169508 www.eMarketer.com
WeChat is the social and mobile instant messaging app
of choice in China, but it remains difficult for advertisers
to engage with potential consumers using the platform.
In an attempt to focus on user growth and utility, and to
limit spam, it still restricts the number of messages that
can be sent to corporate account subscribers. However,
WeChat remains an important place for brands to engage
with and provide services to their fans and customers,
more than one-third of whom use the service many times
during a single day, according to a Sootoo.com survey.
“I think most brands are still trying to work out how
WeChat could help them—I think it’s more of a service
channel,” said Chew. “So, rather than just pushing out
content, they’re thinking about how they can use it for
loyalty programs or for building some functionality or
new service.”
Attempting to retain WeChat customers can pose
problems, he pointed out. “They’re less about acquiring
new customers and more about keeping current
customers and engaging them,” said Chew. “I don’t think
it’s a great environment for advertising because it’s a
place where you go to have intimate conversations with
friends, and so display advertising in particular would be
very intrusive.”
11. CHINA DIGITAL AD TRENDS: MULTIPLE FORCES DRIVING GROWTH ©2014 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 11
However, in early May 2014,Tencent announced the
creation of a WeChat business group as part of an internal
restructuring that will see the business unit incorporate
Tencent’s WeChat Pay third-party payment service. As
such, there may be more opportunities for advertisers
to engage with WeChat asTencent seeks to monetize
its services.
“I expect that will start to solidify their thinking and they’ll
approach the market with a more unified approach,” said
Asia Media Services’ Cohen. “But you look at the US,
and the likes ofTwitter, which is still trying to figure out
their way with regard to advertisers and how to engage
sponsors with content, and monetize what is already a
pretty large user base. So you’ve got to cut the guys at
Tencent and WeChat a little bit of slack.”
PROGRAMMATIC BUYING
Programmatic buying is in its infancy in China, but
is projected to grow rapidly from a small base going
forward. In 2013, spending on programmatic digital display
advertising in China grew 179.5% to RMB1.53 billion
($247.17 million), according to forecast data from iResearch
Consulting Group.That spend is projected to more than
double in 2014 to RMB3.30 billion ($533.12 million), and
maintain strong growth to reach RMB17.22 billion
($2.78 billion) by 2017.
billions of Chinese yuan renminbi and % change
Programmatic Digital Display Ad Spending in China,
2012-2017
2012
0.55
2013
1.53
179.5%
2014
3.30
116.0%
2015
6.37
92.7%
2016
11.23
76.4%
2017
17.22
53.2%
Programmatic digital display ad spending % change
Note: includes mobile and PC
Source: iResearch Consulting Group, "2013 China DSP Market Trend
Report," Oct 22, 2013
172856 www.eMarketer.com
RTB accounted for the lion’s share, fully 95.4% in 2013,
with mobile taking just 1.0% and non-RTB programmatic
spending the remainder. RTB’s share is projected to
fall steadily with each passing year as both mobile and
non-RTB programmatic spending gain share, but will still
account for more than 80% in 2017, iResearch reported in
October 2013.
% of total
Programmatic Digital Display Ad Spending Share
in China, by Type, 2012-2017
Real-time bidding (RTB)
Non-real-time bidding (Non-RTB)
Mobile
2012
100.0%
-
-
2013
95.4%
3.6%
1.0%
2014
92.6%
5.5%
1.9%
2015
89.3%
8.3%
2.4%
2016
85.3%
10.5%
4.2%
2017
81.4%
13.3%
5.4%
Note: numbers may not add up to 100% due to rounding
Source: iResearch Consulting Group, "2013 China DSP Market Trend
Report," Oct 22, 2013
172857 www.eMarketer.com
China’s leading internet firms are driving this growth in
spend by developing ad exchanges and demand-side
platforms (DSPs). At the start of 2013,Tencent launched
its own ad exchange and DSP, quickly followed by the
release of Sina’s own private ad exchange platform.
Alibaba, Baidu and JD.com all subsequently launched
their own exchange services or DSPs, with JD.com’s also
being an exclusive offering.
Ad spending on DSPs increased sharply as ad tech
vendors received significant financing and their offerings
improved, and advertisers switched from ad networks
to DSPs.
However, there remains substantial work to be done in
terms of convincing publishers to allow access to
third-party DSPs, or even their own ad exchanges.
The closed nature of some of their platforms also has
important consequences for the way programmatic
buying will develop, especially as there is still a dearth
of data management platforms (DMPs) that allow
advertisers to tally underlying data.
“Not every publisher has a published API or an ad
exchange that you can tie into. So a company like
iClick, which I think is probably the market leader in
programmatic buying here in China, is not reaching
everybody,” said Asia Media Services’ Cohen.
12. CHINA DIGITAL AD TRENDS: MULTIPLE FORCES DRIVING GROWTH ©2014 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 12
iResearch suggests that this is likely to change as the
market matures and publishers realize the profit incentive
to open their platforms so they can shift higher-quality
inventory at higher prices. iResearch forecasts that by 2017
more than half of programmatic ad placements through
DSPs will come via third-party ad buying, as opposed to
those privately operated by larger agencies or publishers.
As of mid-2014, publishers and portals in China are using
RTB primarily to clear unsold or low-quality inventory,
and have yet to make the transition to audience buy or
premium programmatic.
“I think the publishers want to sell the high-quality
inventory at the highest CPM possible.There’s still a lot
of traditional media buying going on where they want
to buy the above-the-fold banners on the index pages,
and what goes into RTB is a lot of run-of-site, which
is the below-the-fold or the smaller size banners,” said
JWT’s Chew. “There are sites that have a lot of remnant
or unsold inventory, so they turn to RTB as a way to
monetize it. But it tends to be the long tail.”
International Data Corp.’s (IDC) estimates for spending
in the so-called “premium programmatic” segment only
starts in 2014 and with a paltry $4.6 million spending
expectation. But its growth projections are noteworthy,
with premium programmatic forecast to grow 652.1%
to $34.3 million in 2015, and close in on $500 million
by 2018.
millions and % change
Premium Programmatic* Digital Display Ad Spending
in Select Countries/Regions in Asia-Pacific, 2013-2018
Japan
—% change
Australia
—% change
China
—% change
Rest of Asia-Pacific
—% change
2013
$7.0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2014
$42.4
506.7%
$2.5
-
$4.6
-
$3.9
-
2015
$118.3
178.8%
$16.1
535.7%
$34.3
652.1%
$27.4
607.3%
2016
$251.7
112.8%
$44.7
177.7%
$107.9
214.8%
$86.6
216.0%
2017
$453.6
80.2%
$91.0
103.8%
$252.9
134.3%
$199.9
130.8%
2018
$734.1
61.9%
$152.8
67.9%
$484.5
91.6%
$382.8
91.5%
Note: includes digital display ads, digital video ads and mobile display ads,
including video; *includes all digital display ad spending on upfront,
programmatic direct deals secured using pre-existing, real-time bidding
(RTB) technology infrastructure
Source: International Data Corporation (IDC), "Forward Markets 2013-2018:
Moving Direct Display Ad Sales onto the RTB Platform" sponsored by The
Trade Desk, March 2014
172287 www.eMarketer.com
“The main growth is not going to come from RTB,”
agreed Mindscape’s Wang. “It will come from
publisher-ran [ads], like programmatic guaranteed and
programmatic direct.”
SPENDING DRIVERS
A number of forces are driving increased digital ad
spending in China.This section of the report will look
at three of them:
■■ The growth of ecommerce
■■ Mergers and acquisitions
■■ A new focus on ROI
THE GROWTH OF ECOMMERCE
Ecommerce in China is booming. eMarketer forecasts
that retail ecommerce sales will grow 76.1% in 2014
to $249.38 billion. By 2015 they will have reached
$369.67 billion, outstripping even the $347.3 billion
predicted for the US the same year, and will have doubled
China’s 2014 total by 2016.
billions and % change
Retail Ecommerce Sales in China, 2012-2017
2012
$70.88
138.2%
2013
$141.64
99.8%
2014
$249.38
76.1%
2015
$369.67
48.2%
2016
$506.31
37.0%
2017
$665.07
31.4%
Retail ecommerce sales % change
Note: includes products or services ordered using the internet via any
device, regardless of the method of payment or fulfillment; excludes travel
and event tickets; excludes Hong Kong; includes sales from businesses that
occur over C2C platforms; converted at exchange rate of US$1=RMB6.19
Source: eMarketer, Jan 2014
167761 www.eMarketer.com
In addition, China’s retail ecommerce market will be more
than three times larger than Japan’s this year, and more
than four times bigger in 2015. China’s retail sales are
already higher as a proportion of total retail sales than in
the US, accounting for 7.9% in 2013 according to CNNIC,
against eMarketer’s estimate for 5.8% in the US the
same year.
13. CHINA DIGITAL AD TRENDS: MULTIPLE FORCES DRIVING GROWTH ©2014 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 13
Meanwhile, mobile commerce took off in a big way in
2013, expanding 707% to RMB1.22 trillion ($197.09 billion),
according to data from iResearch. Growth this year is
projected to be 141.1%, pushing up sales volume to
RMB2.94 trillion ($474.96 billion), with the vast majority
of payments (96.5% in 2014) occurring via mobile web.
But proximity payments are expected to grow only
incrementally, representing just 3.6% of the total by
2017, while the share taken by SMS payments will fall to
just 0.6%.
The explosive growth of ecommerce and mcommerce
has obvious implications for digital advertising spend.
FMCG brands are adapting to China’s slowing
macroeconomy by investing heavily in ecommerce
advertising channels, according to Neo@Ogilvy’s Wang.
“Digital ad spend of FMCG brands in China has doubled
from previous years. Mobile internet (online video and
social media) make up half of their digital ad spend.These
are phenomena that would have been inconceivable just a
year ago,” he said.
These campaigns are heavily promotion-driven and are
increasingly funded from traditional marketing budgets.
This, in turn, has driven sites likeTaobao to open up their
platforms, allowing marketers to build campaign sites and
minisites directly on ecommerce channels, according to
Mindscape’s Charlie Wang.
“You can actually host a brand video right on yourTaobao
shop now,” he said. “You can host sort of interactive
activity, like a mini game, just like we do with marketing
campaigns.Then once you win the mini game, you get a
coupon for 20% off.”
Social Commerce
There is also a massive social media aspect to the
ecommerce revolution. Digital buyers in China source
an overwhelming majority of their product information
from the internet. User reviews on WeChat and Sina
Weibo were the leading source of information for 39% of
China’s digital buyers, according to a recent KPMG study.
Moreover, some 36% said they studied user reviews on
ecommerce sites themselves, with brands’ official sites
and other online media platforms accounting for 35% and
33%, respectively.
% of respondents
Top 10 Information Channels Among Digital Buyers in
China, Oct 2013
1. User reviews on social media (e.g. WeChat, SINA Weibo) 39%
2. Friends/word-of-mouth 38%
3. Ecommerce websites like Taobao Marketplace 36%
4. Brand's official sites 35%
5. Online media platform 33%
6. Official brand news 27%
7. Online display ads 21%
8. Traditional media 20%
9. Celebrities 20%
10. Key opinion leaders 17%
Note: ages 18-50 who have purchased luxury items via PC or mobile
devices in the past 12 months and live in tier 1-4 cities
Source: KPMG, Glamour Sales and Mogujie, "China's Connected
Consumers," Feb 25, 2014
171166 www.eMarketer.com
“Taobao, to a certain extent, is advanced in social media
in the sense that inTmall inTaobao, the amount of
consumer-oriented content and ability for consumers
to share views on their platform is quite enormous, so
there’s a lot of chat going on,” said Razorfish’s Digonnet.
China is significantly ahead of the rest of the world
in terms of the interaction between social media and
ecommerce, according to Digonnet. He attributed part
of that to a higher overlap between older, and therefore
relatively wealthier, users of social media than in
developed markets. Sina Weibo reported some 37.0%
of its users in 2013 were ages 25 to 34, providing a
significant wealth base for advertisers to leverage. Sina
Weibo users also tend to be extremely well educated,
with more than 70% holding a bachelor’s degree or
higher, and thus more likely to hold high-paying jobs with
more disposable income.
14. CHINA DIGITAL AD TRENDS: MULTIPLE FORCES DRIVING GROWTH ©2014 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 14
% of total
Demographic Profile of Sina Weibo Users in China,
2013
Gender
Male
50.1%
Female
49.9%
Age
<24
53.0%
25-34
37.0%
35-44
8.0%
45+
2.0%
Education
Elementary school
2.8%
Technical/vocational school
5.0%
Junior high school
9.1%
High school
12.3%
Bachelor's degree or higher
70.8%
Note: n=80,000+
Source: Sina, "2013 Sina Weibo Users Development Report," Dec 6, 2013
172523 www.eMarketer.com
“[China’s social and ecommerce sites] are active
platforms on which people gather together to make sure
that they’ve got the right information before buying,
and therefore they’re extremely consumer-oriented in
the design of the social media communication, but at
the same time they do not accept direct advertising on
social media,” Digonnet said. “On top of that, the very
reason why China embraces social media is very much
for consumers to create a sort of captive power against
[state-controlled] media institutions.”
Digonnet also said that social commerce is opening
a direct channel for marketers to communicate with
consumers living in China’s smaller cities.
“The reality in China is wealth is growing faster in
lower-tier cities, where there is a growing middle class,
but it takes time before you build the entertainment
capabilities, the shopping malls, bringing the brands in in
order for them to be able to spend their money,” he said.
“So actually, ecommerce platforms are now being driven
more by the three-, four- and five-tier cities than theTier
1 cities.”
MERGERS,ACQUISITIONSAND PUBLIC
OFFERINGS
China’s social commerce revolution is also driving
heightened merger and acquisition activity as the
country’s leading internet companies scramble to obtain
access to the mobile and social channels that feed
ecommerce sites.That competition is in turn likely to
accelerate ad spending in an attempt to drive traffic to
these new, newly competitive channels.
“It’s funny because the BAT—Baidu, Alibaba and
Tencent—all started out [with] unique niches; their
marketplaces, if you will,” said Asia Media Services’
Cohen. “In the last couple years they have each kind of
gone after the other’s core markets, all of them making
sure that they have long-term monetization opportunities.”
One of the most important strategic investments of
2013 was Alibaba’s April purchase of an 18% stake in
Sina Weibo for $586 million.The deal offered Alibaba’s
ecommerce sites access to traffic from one of China’s
most popular microblogging services in return for cash to
develop advertising revenues. Sina had already partnered
with Baidu to integrate search functionality into its mobile
website.The deal also provided a platform for the January
2014 integration of Alibaba’s Alipay service into Sina
Weibo. Sina later spun off Sina Weibo in a US IPO that
raised a less-than-expected $285.6 million.
Tencent responded in kind via the April 2014 acquisition
of a 15% share of ecommerce platform JD.com for nearly
$215 million, in the process integratingTencent’s existing
ecommerce plays such as consumer electronics specialist
Yixun. In one stroke, the deal matched Alibaba and Sina
Weibo by offering WeChat users access to a strong
ecommerce play. JD in late May went on to exceed
expectations for its US IPO, raising $1.78 billion.
“Tencent had been very good at building audience, but
they really didn’t have an ecommerce play,” said Cohen.
“So they started to build out the payment processing,
and their investment in JD was genius. JD has invested a
ton of money, more than anybody else in the ecommerce
landscape, really, in infrastructure, the warehouses, the
trucking lines, the logistical support of tracking things,
something that Amazon.com does very, very well in the
United States and globally.”
15. CHINA DIGITAL AD TRENDS: MULTIPLE FORCES DRIVING GROWTH ©2014 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 15
For Baidu, the major obstacle was its relative lack of a
mobile play.The importance of mobile as a channel in
China was illustrated by Baidu’s $1.9 billion purchase of
China’s leading third-party app store, 91 Wireless, in July
2013. At the time, Baidu’s mobile search app was hosting
just 9% of wireless searches, as opposed to its 80%
share of the desktop search market.
“Baidu’s big weakness is twofold. No. 1 is that they didn’t
get into mobile soon enough, and the browsing on mobile
is very different so you’re not going to search the same
way,” said Razorfish’s Digonnet. “The second one is they
didn’t get into social commerce at all, so they’re lagging
behindTencent and Alibaba, who are now the real two
behemoths driving the ecosystem in China.”
On the periphery of these major deals, all three of the
BAT companies have invested in a breathtaking array
of auxiliary services. Alibaba bought music streaming
service Xiami;Tencent invested inYelp-style mobile
restaurant and services review site Dianping. Also, Baidu
acquired video streaming site PPS andTencent moved
into search via investment in Sogou.The list goes on,
but a key consequence is that the Alibaba andTencent
ecosystems are increasingly mutually exclusive.
In November 2013,Taobao’s mobile unit blocked the use
of WeChat services, ensuring WeChat users could no
longer purchase goods and services atTaobao stores
via the platform.The same block applies to Sina Weibo
and Xiami.
“If you look atTmall andTaobao, you cannot search those
via Baidu,” said Cohen. “So you can’t put a search budget
into fixed content management on Baidu and expect that
people will find yourTmall store. Alibaba is closed down,
so you have to do search marketing within the Alibaba
family of companies, specificallyTmall andTaobao.”
For brands, the rise of social and ecommerce presents
a unique challenge, one that some argue requires a
much more holistic approach to influencing the customer
journey than in other markets.
“Baidu, Alibaba andTencent all require video to reach a
high concentration of people and to keep consumers’
attention,” said Neo@Ogilvy’s Wang. “They all need
social media to keep consumers’ stickiness. At the same
time, they all need ecommerce to complete consumer
purchases. Internet finance is also an important part that
has linked consumers’ bankcards online to help them
manage their personal finances. All these are built around
the consumer’s needs and lifestyles, and not for the
advertiser.This has prompted a shift to a more holistic
and focused strategy that requires everything from the
headline to planning the customer journey.”
Heightened merger and acquisition activity across the
ecommerce, social and mobile landscape will drive
advertising spend as an increasing number of consumers
gain access to a more diverse range of products and
payment options. Competition and consolidation
will also broaden and simplify advertisers’ spending
choices as these discrete ecosystems evolve, reducing
fragmentation as activity becomes more concentrated
across platforms and services owned by the big
three firms.
HEIGHTENED FOCUS ONTRANSPARENCY
AND ROI
As in other markets around the world, marketers in
China are paying more attention to data, with an eye
on measuring the effectiveness of their advertising
efforts. And increased measurability is a driver of digital
ad growth.
“We’re seeing … more and more emphasis on
performance in marketing, and of course the good news
in the world of digital is that if properly instrumented,
most digital advertising can be tracked and measured,
and should be able to yield through attribution modeling
to bottom-line analysis on your ROI performance,”
said Cohen.
In this respect, the ecommerce boom is a godsend
for digital marketers in certain segments as it provides
exactly the kind of traceability brands demand when
feeling the squeeze on their budgets.
16. CHINA DIGITAL AD TRENDS: MULTIPLE FORCES DRIVING GROWTH ©2014 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 16
“I think part of the reason why more and more brands
are starting to make more money and also to do more
branding on ecommerce is that it can prove immediate
ROI,” said Mindscape’s Wang. “Customers click on a
banner.They’re on to your promotion site.They participate
in an activity.They bought a product. Everything is
traceable. Everything can be proven. So in this respect I
think it fits China marketers. China marketers have always
been more about money and ROI-driven instead of
brand-equity driven.”
The increasing amount of advertising dollars being
plowed into advertising on ecommerce channels is also
spurring changes in the way these platforms interact with
marketers.
Contrary to expectations, given China’s reputation for
difficulty providing data, platforms likeTmall actually make
it fairly easy for brands to export customer information,
according to Mindscape’s Wang. “Taobao has a very good
CRM system that lets brands export their own data out
of theTaobao system.You can get very detailed data like
consumers’ phone numbers, names and addresses.”
With Alibaba’s massive US IPO on the horizon, that
willingness to share data and ease relationships with
brands is only likely to improve as shareholders demand
transparency and adherence to best practice.The
increasing tendency for China’s internet firms to list
overseas should also drive improved analytics reporting
up and down the digital advertising chain.
“I see huge improvement in the transparency of data,”
said Neo@Ogilvy’s Wang. “Data is certainly more
complete now, more authentic. We have the technology
to monitor each point of a customer’s behavior.”
EMARKETER INTERVIEWS
Marketing in China: Digital Advertising at
a Crossroads
Brent Cohen
Managing Director and Founder
Asia Media Services Ltd.
Interview conducted on May 9, 2014
Eugene Chew
Chief Digital Officer
JWT
Interview conducted on May 7, 2014
Andy Wang
North Region Deputy General Manager
Neo@Ogilvy
Interview conducted on May 12, 2014
Charlie Wang
Digital Director
Mindshare
Interview conducted on May 7, 2014
Vincent Digonnet
Executive Chairman, Asia-Pacific
Razorfish
Interview conducted on May 5, 2014
RELATED EMARKETER REPORTS
China Mobile Payments: DuelingTechnologies,
Gigantic Opportunities
China Mobile Advertising:The LongWait Is Over
17. CHINA DIGITAL AD TRENDS: MULTIPLE FORCES DRIVING GROWTH ©2014 EMARKETER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 17
RELATED LINKS
Admaster
AdsMOGO
Analysis International Enfodesk
China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC)
comScore
Data Center of China Internet (DCCI)
Hylink Advertising
InMobi
International Data Corp. (IDC)
iResearch Consulting Group
KPMG
Pacific Epoch
R3Worldwide
Sina
ZenithOptimedia
EDITORIAL AND
PRODUCTION CONTRIBUTORS
Cliff Annicelli Managing Editor, Reports
Ben Clague Chart Data Specialist
Joanne DiCamillo Senior Production Artist
Noah Elkin Executive Editor
Stephanie Meyer Senior Production Artist
Dana Hill Director of Production
Kris Oser Deputy Editorial Director
Ezra Palmer Editorial Director
Heather Price Copy Editor
Katharine Ulrich Copy Editor
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