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China Expected to Lead Global Advertising Growth in 2017

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China Expected to Lead Global Advertising Growth in 2017

Media investment group GroupM recently announced that global advertising expenditure is tipped to reach $US547 billion in 2017, with the digital share representing 77 cents of each new dollar. China and the US will account for half of all net growth, with China taking a narrow lead.

It also seems that despite some uncertainties such as the US election and Brexit, advertising budgets have continued to grow, particularly in the digital sphere.

China’s expenditure                     

Expenditure on advertising in China is predicted to reach more than $US86 billion – an increase of 7.8% on 2016. GroupM states that the growth level has been supported by a combination of consumer confidence and increasing urbanisation of China’s populace. However, digital advertising spend is expected to fall slightly – from 29.5% in 2016 to 21.5% in 2017.

China’s digital advertising revenues

Despite a slight fall in spend, strong growth is anticipated in the digital advertising sphere. According to market research company Statista, the size of the digital advertising revenue market in China will be nearly $44bn in 2017, the biggest segment of which is online search at more than $30bn. This trend is expected to continue well into the future, with search advertising remaining substantially larger than other segments such as video and banner ads, social media advertising, and classifieds.

Digital / mobile patterns

Data collected by Statista also shows that during 2016, mobile ad revenue in China began to outrank that of desktop for the first time, at approximately $23bn to $21bn. The mobile/desktop split is predicted to be $35/$20 billion in 2017, and $71/$17 billion by 2020!

What it all means

These figures and trends provide clues as to what is happening in advertising markets in China – such as the ways in which digital is outgrowing traditional advertising, but in particular how mobile is fast outranking desktop. They also reflect what is occurring amongst China’s consumers – which includes a strong preference for online search, and especially for using mobile devices.

It’s important for all China digital marketers to be aware of the patterns and to respond accordingly if they wish to remain competitive, such as:

  • Focusing more on digital marketing and advertising, rather than on traditional methods such as television and print media.
  • Optimising websites for Baidu, China’s largest search engine, to increase visibility and search ranking.
  • Increased marketing and advertising through mobile – such as social media apps (WeChat for example) and mobile video.

Need help with marketing in China?

If you’re not sure where to make a start, or you need a little assistance in refining your marketing and advertising campaigns, contact our bilingual China marketing team. We can guide you in developing the right mix of digital, search, mobile and other methods to reach the audiences you wish to target in China.

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