Digital marketing set for phenomenal growth in China next year

SEVERAL Asian and global studies have pointed out that Chinese consumers love shopping online and spend an enormous amount of time watching videos, playing games, and chatting with friends on their smartphones.

It’s no surprise then that a new study by AdMaster found that 79 percent of advertisers in China will increase digital marketing spends next year.

The team surveyed 110 advertisers and 130 digital marketers in China and found that they don’t just want to do more on digital but also have a preference for mobile ads.

Analysis reveals that the average increase in digital marketing spend is about 20 percent, two percentage points higher than the increase in 2018, even though 2019 is forecasted to be a challenging year for business.

However, the study highlighted that mobile platforms will retain their edge over the PC.

Eighty-one percent of advertisers surveyed intend to increase their spend on mobile, while PC marketing will see little growth — only 11 percent will increase spends on computer desktop websites.

Even though advertising impressions from digital TV have surpassed those from PC since Q1 2018, 27 percent of advertisers said they will not advertise on digital TV in 2019.

According to the study, some of the other facts revealed were:

• A majority of advertisers will focus their mobile advertising on social media platforms and video platforms.
• Over a third will advertise on e-commerce mobile apps.
• On PC, search engines have become the most favorable format.

Now, it’s important to note that digital marketing spends isn’t all on search and display marketing. Social media marketing is gaining traction too.

Social marketing spend is likely to grow by 21 percent on average, continuing the past year’s trend.

Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), short-form videos, livestreams, and WeChat official accounts are particularly favorable social marketing formats for advertisers in China.

Original web video content is booming too, and the digital marketing industry has taken note.

Thirty-nine percent of advertisers are willing to increase content marketing spend on web variety shows.

Meanwhile, short-form videos have pulled ahead of both web series and TV series and will become the second-most preferred content marketing format.

Finally, it’s important to note that 60 percent of digital marketers are interested in automated, big-data driven marketing/marketing cloud in 2019, making them the most followed marketing technologies.

However, artificial intelligence and data management platforms remain relevant as more and more businesses begin their digital transformation processes.

The report highlights the fact that businesses in China have a finger on the pulse of the market and are responding appropriately to the changing advertising landscape — ensuring they get the best return for their ad spends.

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