Japanese online spend inches closer to TV: Dentsu

Advertiser spending on internet advertising in Japan grew 16.5% to 1.759 trillion yen ($15.8 billion) last year, according to new figures from Dentsu. The figure is just behind that for terrestrial TV, which was 1.785 trillion yen ($16.1 billion).

Within the digital segment, Dentsu noted an increase in performance-based and video advertising, which were used more widely on social channels.

Dentsu put total advertising spend at 6.53 trillion yen ($58.9 billion), a rise of 2.2% year-on-year and the seventh consecutive increase. It said online spending drove growth overall, although spending on terrestrial and satellite TV was down 1.8%, and on traditional media as a whole 3.3%.

Digital advertising on what Dentsu terms “traditional media companies”—TV, print, outdoor and radio—amounted to an estimated 58.2 billion yen ($525.5 million). Internet advertising accounted for well over a quarter of spending in all media.

Dentsu noted online spending drove growth in advertising spend overall. It said the Japanese market was “in the midst of a structural transformation” and that there had been advances in terms of connecting online and offline media using data and technology.

In terms of industry sectors, consumer electronics, apparel and ‘foodstuffs’ advertisers spent considerably less than in 2017. ‘Precision instruments’ and ‘office supplies’ saw the biggest increase.

According to eMarketer, advertisers in the US will spend over $129 billion on digital compared to $109 billion on 'traditional' media.