GroupM projects measured media advertising spending in China this year will increase by 9.8% compared to 2013 to reach RMB473 billion (US$77 billion); it also predicts an 11% hike in 2015 to reach RMB525 billion (US$85 billion).
The GroupM report says the share of TV adex will drop below 50% for the first time in 2014. However, TV still holds a dominant place amongst all forms of media in terms of coverage and influence.
From January to April 2014, about 45% of the top 10 hot topics on Sina Weibo were inspired by TV programs. Meanwhile, TV still dominates media advertising spend with an estimated RMB 221 billion (US$36 billion) in 2014, representing a 47% share of all advertising expenditure. TV adex is expected to remain steady this year while Provincial Satellite TV will enjoy much higher growth.
Having passed the RMB100 billion milestone in 2013, China’s online advertising market has reached scale but its growth rate has begun to slow down. The growth rate is expected to reach 35% this year and 33% next year.
China is now the world’s largest e-commerce market with e-commerce search ads contributing the largest share of Internet advertising spend. Brands are beginning to invest in advertising on China’s leading e-commerce platforms. Brand advertisers are investing in advertising on China’s leading e-commerce platforms, not only to drive traffic and sales to their online flagship shops, but also because they recognize the power e-commerce sites are exerting as a ‘medium’.
The report says the traditional OOH will shrink slightly because of the removal of billboards in some major cities and a change in the buying process. However, adex of digital OOH will still increase, supporting a strengthening of the OOH ad market.
Along with the digitization trends of OOH media, there has been a growing trend to digitize bus-stop billboards. 1,500 bus-stop LCD screens in the downtown area of Shanghai are planned to be replaced by 55-inch HD interactive ones. The digitalization of bus-stop billboards in Nanjing is also under way. Two hundred digital screens are expected to start operating this year. The growth rate of OOH adex is forecast to be 5.7% this year and 6.2% next year.
Advertisers have favored the radio in recent years as private car ownership continues to increase. It has also worked hard to demonstrate the power of sales-based medium. GroupM forecast radio adex will rise by 3.6% this year and 3.4% next year.
Policies this year will undoubtedly speed up the print transition to an increased amount of digital content. To promote the digitalization and upgrade of news and publishing industry, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television proposed a three-year plan to support a number of newspaper publishers and to implemented several projects to assist the news publishing industry upgrading its offering.
The Internet continues to play an increasingly important role in China and the biggest revolution currently underway on the Internet is the shift to mobile. Traffic to social networks, online video sites, and search are all beginning to cross the 50% mark. In 2014, brands will attempt to keep pace by funneling more advertising spend into cross-screen mobile search and mobile video campaigns. Mobile display will also continue to ramp up as brands spend more on hero app ad buys and in-app ad networks.
said Andrew Carter, President of Trading and Knowledge, GroupM China.
Source: WPP