Mobility and technology reshape opportunities: Navigating the Philippine media and advertising trends in the now normal – Manila Bulletin
By: Wesley U. San Sebastian, Strategy & Insights Director, IPG Mediabrands Philippines; and Maita B. Consulta, Chief Technique Officer and Head of Mediabrands Consulting, IPG Mediabrands Philippines
Economy has recovered but external headwinds are expected to weigh heavily
The Philippines rises above growth expectations on its gross domestic product (GDP) from +5. 6% before the year started to +6. 5% as we conclude the first half of 2022. The National Economic plus Development Authority (NEDA) states that we did not only surpass pre-pandemic GDP levels, but we were also dubbed as the “fastest growing economy within the East Asian region” during the first quarter of the particular year.
While our household performance seems to be at the pink of economic health, risks from the outside – including the Russia- Ukraine conflict, China’s financial slowdown, as well as the monetary normalization in the United States – are anticipated in order to impact our growth trajectory flagging the country to avoid resting on its laurels.
Mediabrands Philippines, one associated with the country’s leading marketing communications agencies, offers observed an evolution in the country’s total media and advertising landscape in parallel to this standpoint of uncertainty for the economy.
Linear media consumption and ad spend projections evolve because public mobility increases
After braving one associated with the world’s longest lockdowns, the country is seeing steadily increasing mobility in the past 6 weeks in retail and recreation (+23%), grocery and pharmacy (+63%), parks (+63%), transit stations (+28%), workplaces (+33%), and residential areas (+10%), according to Google’s latest flexibility reports. This expanding people movement stimulated changes inside media plus advertising environments. 3 MAGNA, Mediabrands’ arm for Media Investment & Intelligence, forecasts a +12% total increase in marketing spends reaching PHP 143. 5bn ($2. 9bn) this year.
Media usage data from Nielsen shows that the consumers’ regained mobility in Q1 is seen to reshape opportunities in today’s linear media and advertising scenery when compared to Q4 of 2021.
Television viewing slightly dips in terms of past day usage (from 82% to 80%)4 and average viewing minutes (from 13% to 12%)5. People getting out of their homes as well as watching TV programs on other devices are usually key triggers for this particular national decline of broadcast TV viewership. Meanwhile, the particular long-term effect of the ABS-CBN shutdown on TV consumption is expected to persist as its franchise renewal remains challenged. Despite these contractions in TELEVISION consumption, advertising in this platform still advances beyond the particular pre-COVID spending total. MAGNA predicts television budgets to increase by +9% reaching PHP 76bn ($1. 5bn).
Radio consumption is still driven simply by home listening but softens its reach at 52% coming from a 55% past day exposure. Concurrently, radio advertisement volume will be down by 10% during the first quarter contributing significantly to the 6% dip of total linear marketing spends.
Print readership stays at 15% since the last one fourth of 2021 as online news readership continues to soar in 2022. 9 out of 10 Filipino on the internet news readers are accessing news via social press. In terms of advertising, the budgets are still hugely below their pre-COVID total, and its representation is now less than 1% of overall advertiser budgets. Despite this, MAGNA continue to projects ad spending growth for this touchpoint by +3%, following a good +8% development in 2021.
OOH intake increased in order to 67% coming from a 65% past week exposure in 2021 Q4. This is mainly stimulated by the growing public mobility. Shock and awe giant format billboards along major thoroughfares are observed to be the most salient OOH executions delivering mass achieve of 84%. MAGNA predictions OOH marketing spends to grow simply by +22% leading this touchpoint to reach pre-COVID amounts by 2023.
Digital media positions itself since a go-to touchpoint with positive advertisement outlook
Internet has taken over the particular leadership through TV in terms associated with consumption since the early surge periods of the pandemic. As of the very first quarter, 93% of urban Filipinos have used the internet in the past day time fueled by a myriad of new normal motivations.
Digital consumption data from Nielsen shows that on-line banking plus use of e-wallets entered the list associated with Filipinos’ top 5 on the web activities at the start of 2022 alongside social media, messaging, online calls, and watching of videos. This particular attests towards the country’s ranking as the particular 4th fastest growing digital economies within the world. 6
eCommerce usage furthermore validates the boosted electronic maturity associated with the country with the whopping +134% growth upon the number of Filipinos having online purchases since the particular pandemic hit our shores. This led the government’s positive outlook for eCommerce’s GDP contribution to grow through 3. 4% in 2020 to 5. 5% this particular year. 7
Despite recent pilot tests for face-to-face classes, on the internet schooling even now grew simply by +65% within the first quarter compared in order to Q4 of 2021 among urban areas. Companies announcing return-to-office announcements are also facing challenges as 53% associated with Filipino workers are now preferring remote work setups – 41% of them being amenable to pay cuts if they can move to affordable locations. 8
With these escalating web activities amongst Filipinos, MAGNA projects a +17% growth to our total digital advertising spending this year. Electronic formats (social, video, search, banners, digital audio) right now represents about a quarter of total marketing budgets and is seen to further grow the share in order to 41% by 2026, as more brands strive to move in the speed of their consumers.
Social advertising, on a global scale, is noticed to decelerate this season. However, 8 away of ten Filipinos are usually thriving strongly in this particular space making it the largest digital advertising format in the country with 60% share of the total electronic advertising revenues.
Nielsen data shows that Filipinos are on social platforms at an average associated with 4 hours and six minutes per day. Keeping in touch with family and friends tops record of motives for Filipino netizens to use this touchpoint. This fear of missing out there (FOMO) transcends beyond what is happening in their innermost circles because Social is usually also used to read news stories (51%) and viewing what is definitely being talked about (49%).
Meta platforms, according to Data Reportal, continue to dominate this touchpoint with Facebook since the majority of used system with 96% past month penetration followed by Messenger at 94% and Instagram at 76%.
Video follows the lead of Social as the country’s second largest file format in digital advertising along with 18% share in income based on MAGNA. Consumption inside this platform, as reported by Data Reportal, implies that YouTube’s ad reach equates to half of the Philippine population with movies plus songs since top searches in the system. Meanwhile, the particular rise associated with vertical- short form videos continues to be driven by TikTok with a potential reach of 36M Filipinos equivalent to 32% from the complete population.
MAGNA also predicts that Video will be the most dynamic structure in 2022 and it is poised to reach the +16% development ($68 billion) in electronic advertising space globally. This serves as a validation in order to the growing shift associated with Video usage from geradlinig TV towards on-demand, addressable platforms (mobile devices and, increasingly, connected TV).
Search advertising also represents 18% of the total digital ad returns within the Philippines according to MAGNA. Google takes nearly 95% of the overall country’s market shares with regard to search engines based on Information Reportal’s electronic media review. In February 2022, Google released a summary of trends from the Philippine research behaviors in 2021 uncovering thematic signals of interest within this touchpoint. 10
Online searches containing ‘which one is better’ grew simply by +195% establishing Search as a mainstreamed digital space regarding consumer’s consideration behaviors in recent times. Indications of life reexaminations were furthermore observed as search interests for ‘quality time’ plus ‘with family’ grew by +140% and +110%, respectively. Filipinos’ gifting activities were not hindered simply by last year’s peaking levels of quarantine measures as lookup interest intended for ‘virtual gifts’ also grew by +260%. Lastly, despite our challenges in fostering financial inclusivity, the nation remained interested in money management products as ‘quick loans’ plus ‘0% interest’ grew by +80% and +70% in search interests, correspondingly.
Display placements own 4% share of the total electronic advertising profits as documented by MAGNA. This touchpoint’s growth
within desktop environments is at 4% while it also grew simply by 11% to get mobile devices.
Despite this positive ad perspective, the digital space does not get exempted from external headwinds layered by unique difficulties in its own realms.
On top of economic and inflationary pressures, the particular impending ‘cookie-less’ future because well since Apple’s updates within their privacy management protocols are expected to offset some of the organically harnessed strengths associated with digital mass media. Advertisers are usually seen to be driving campaigns to collect as much first party information as possible as consumers are set to enjoy better personal privacy and interest-based digital experiences by 2023. Thus, slight, and gradual shifts are expected in electronic ad spends towards campaign strategies that can be directly attributed to sales.
Tech developments may be placing great challenges soon for today’s advertisers, yet recent technologies may furthermore serve as
must-have weapons in one’s advertisement arsenal.
Programmatic technologies, while well because precision targeting methods are expected in order to spur growth for digital advertising and will continue to evolve whilst the panorama of privacy matures. These external triggers are not seen in order to cause advertisers to veer away from electronic spending, but only anticipated to fuel diversification of investments from one format to another in this evolving area.
Despite these types of, digital formats, including digital OOH, remain as fast-growing platforms like data sciences and focusing on technologies aid brands in activating meaningful advertising encounters for 21st century consumers.
Regained mobility plus new technologies puts the particular consumers inside even greater power
The Philippines can be once again exhibiting early media adoption behaviors synonymous to when texting and social media were introduced in order to us. Today, the power of defining one’s content environment has landed within the hands of the consumers since Filipinos have begun determining their brand new sources of information and new primetimes associated with media intake.
“As their own digital maturity and outdoor mobility rises, consumers’ influence on the current media surroundings accelerates”, says Mediabrands Philippines’ Chief Executive Officer, Tricia Camarillo-Quiambao. “This poses the great urgency for marketers to elevate their press and consumer intelligence to craft campaigns that will shift needles in the today normal”, she added.
The opportunity to rise over the global uncertainties, therefore , lies on brands’ thorough understanding of the particular novel behaviors of this particular ultra-social nation – fueled from the rising empowerment of today’s digitization.
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