eMarketer and IAB Singapore release new forecast for digital ad spending in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan

The forecast shows that digital ad spending across the six Southeast Asian markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam plus Hong Kong and Taiwan varies significantly.

In Singapore to date, ad spend on traditional media has been dominant but in 2017, digital will account for 23.8 per cent of media budgets climbing by 18 per cent to reach $376.5M. eMarketer predicts that investment on digital channels in Singapore will see strong growth in the coming years with mobile accounting for $404.6M, or 4 out of every 5 digital ad dollars by 2020.

eMarketer South East Asia  ()

Along with Singapore, advertisers in Taiwan and Hong Kong have also been embracing consumer digital adoption. In 2017 digital spend will account more than 20 per cent of overall media budgets in Hong Kong growing to 24 per cent by 2020. In the case of Taiwan more than two-fifths (40.4 per cent) of total ad spend in 2017 will be digital – the highest proportion of all the countries forecasted. 

At the other end of the spectrum, advertisers in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam have a lower digital share of total ad spend compared to the other countries forecasted. eMarketer expects that digital ad spending will account for less than 20 per cent of overall media investment in 2017 in these markets.

However, by 2020, digital ad spend in these markets is expected to account for up to 25 per cent of overall media spend. The growth trajectory is representative of government dedication to connectivity locally and globally.

Shelleen Shum, senior forecasting analyst at eMarketer commented: “Internet and smartphone penetration rates are still relatively low in developing parts of Southeast Asia – leading to a relatively lower digital share of total media spending. 

As internet and mobile connectivity in Southeast Asia develops in the coming years, this presents a unique opportunity for advertisers to tap into a new market of fast urbanizing middle class consumers.”

Lisa Church, president at eMarketer commented: “eMarketer’s is delighted to partner with IAB Singapore to produce this digital ad spending forecast for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. This forecast is a great addition to eMarketer’s comprehensive coverage of the Asia-Pacific market and will benefit the thousands of eMarketer subscribers across the region rely on eMarketer data to plan their digital strategies.

Miranda Dimopoulos, CEO & ambassador to SEA, IAB Singapore commented: “Southeast Asia is beautifully diverse with digital providing the connectivity within markets and beyond. We can tangibly see that it is digital’s time to shine even brighter, so experiences keep getting better, smarter and more meaningful. We intend to review these figures every six months and look forward to participating in the conversations that these reports will no doubt trigger.”

Source: eMarketer

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