Measurement, transparency, scarcity of supply among APAC marketers' 2020 concerns

While marketers in Asia-Pacific's developed markets are enticed by newer channels like connected TV, they also remain concerned about at a lack of premium inventory in the region.

That's according to an Integral Ad Science (IAS) report, which found that marketers in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) and Singapore are planning to prioritise connected TV and OTT video advertising in 2020. Less than half (44%) of respondents in Japan noted CTV/OTT as a priority, since “connected TV still has limited advertising opportunities in Japan.”

The online survey, conducted in November, included 168 media professionals across Australia, Japan, Singapore and New Zealand.

Overall, connected TV charted as the fourth most popular priority channel in 2020. Digital video claimed the top spot, with 86% of respondents citing it as a priority. Mobile came in a close second (82%), driven by 86% of respondents in Japan who said handheld devices will be a key component of their media strategy in the year ahead. Digital audio came in fifth at 36%, while linear TV was only cited as a priority by 30% of respondents.

Despite the interest in channels like CTV and digital audio, a lack of premium inventory was the second biggest concern expressed by marketers in ANZ and Singapore, cited by 40% and 62% of respondents in those markets, respectively. Topping the list as the biggest concern was the ability to target relevant audiences.

Measuring business outcomes is by far the most pressing challenge across the Asia Pacific region. Respondents emphasised the difficulties behind measuring campaigns that run across multiple devices and assessment of the ROI that digital campaigns bring. Data-privacy legislation remains a more distant concern in APAC likely due to the lack of pan-regional laws.

When it comes to minimising risk, nearly two-thirds (62%) of respondents said their company will take proactive steps to block and filter content considered unsuitable for their brand. Viewability measurement (57%) and brand-suitability monitoring (53%) remain popular tactics, followed by ad-fraud mitigation (45%). Four in 10 media experts said they will use cross-device attribution and ROI assessment tools, directly addressing measurement challenges media professionals expect to tackle in 2020.

Supply-side platforms and publishers are expected to bear the brunt of the ad-fraud mitigation work in 2020, whereas the expectation will be lower for brands.

Moving on to social media, unsurprisingly, the majority of respondents across ANZ and Singapore believe that social-media platforms don't provide adequate transparency when it comes to brand safety (76% agreed) and viewability measurement (69% agreed). Just under half (44%) said these issues will negatively impact their media spend in 2020, although we've heard that before. Increasing reach and sophisticated targeting capabilities remain core benefits of social-media platforms that outweigh the drawbacks.