APAC marketers plan to increase ad spending by 34%

Social media is the top advertising platform for marketers.

Marketers from the Asia Pacific (APAC) region are planning to increase their ad spending in all channels by at least 34% especially for digital channels, according to the Nielsen Annual Marketing Report.

In a statement, Nielsen said the increase in planned spend is more than twice for some digital channels such as social media, online, and mobile display, and online and mobile video.

Social media media is the most favoured advertising platform for marketers in the region with 56% saying it is the “most effective paid channel,” especially in the retail sector at 64%.

According to the report, 20% of the APAC marketers are expecting a 50% increase in its social media spending, whilst 50% are expecting an increase of up to 49%. A total of 21% expects no change in their social media spending, and 6% sees a decline of up to 49% on spending on the platform.

Globally, social also remains as the most “bankable channel” globally, with 64% saying that it is their most effective channel.

However, marketers globally said they are not prioritising engagement with Gen Z as a key business priority even if platforms like TikTok and Instagram are their primary focus.

Nielsen also found that traditional ad spending is less popular in APAC than globally as there will be “a mismatch between their top business goals and marketing strategies.”

The survey conducted between 2 December 2021 and 12 January 2022 involved 1,943 marketers with 510 coming from APAC.