Country breakdown: Which ad mediums are expected to grow in 2023?

The APAC advertising market is expected to grow by 8% this year, following the 2021 rebound (18%). According to MAGNA's global advertising forecast, the APAC advertising market will expand by 7% in 2023, slightly higher than the global average of 6%, and in line with the pre-pandemic long-term regional growth. Next year will also see APAC advertising revenues increase by 7% to US$ 237 billion, 35% above pre-pandemic spending levels, driven by digital advertising growth. 

In 2023, APAC advertising revenues will increase by 7% to US$273 billion, 35% above the pre-pandemic spending level, driven by digital advertising growth (12%). 

Linear advertising spending (linear TV, print, radio, OOH) will grow by 2% in 2022, but is expected to decline by 2% in 2023, representing 30% of the total advertiser budgets. As such, linear advertising revenues will only make up 88% of the pre-pandemic total. Linear advertising revenues are also expected to remain on a long-term declining trajectory, eventually amounting to 23% of total advertiser budgets in 2026. 

TV advertising spending will grow by 2% in 2022 to reach US$53.2 billion, and is expected to decline by 3% in 2022, making up 20% of total advertiser budget. Meanwhile, print ad sales will drop by 3% this year, and again by 4% in 2023, representing just 5% of total advertiser budgets. In 2022, radio ad sales will decline by 3% this year, but make a slight recovery (1%) in 2023 - it will make up just under 2% of total advertiser budget by 2026. Additionally, OOH advertising will increase by 4% this year and will grow by another 3%, representing 5% of total budgets. Cinema ad sales will also increase by 31% this year and will grow by another 15% in 2023. 

Digital advertising spending, expectedly continues to grow, and will continue to take shares from linear formats.

Digital advertiser revenues grew by 12% in 2022, and will grow by another 12% in 2023, representing 71% of total advertiser budgets, compared to 54% pre-pandemic (2019). 

Increased eCommerce spending, and increased video streaming, will both result in a higher share of attention of ad revenues going to digital formats. In APAC, digital growth is primarily being driven from mobile advertising campaigns, which will represent 82% of total digital budgets. Video (14% increase), social (13% increase) and search (13% increase) will be the main contributors for growth in digital advertising revenues. In 2023, mobile advertising spending will see a 14% growth, representing 84% of total digital budget. By 2026, mobile advertising spending in APAC will represent 88% of total digital budgets.

In APAC, like in most global regions, lower funnel direct digital ad formats continue to perform better than upper funnel brand advertising-related formats. Leigh Terry, CEO Mediabrands APAC explained that APAC  advertising revenues have continued to rise to 35% above pre-COVID spending levels, largely driven by digital advertising, as digital consumption is even further integrated into consumer day-to-day lives.

"APAC consumption is already more significantly skewed towards eCommerce than it is in western markets. Giants like Alibaba, JD.com, Rakuten, and Pinduoduo, have grown to the point where shopping online is just as large as shopping in person, versus eCommerce sales at an average market share of 20% of total retail sales in the West," he said.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong's advertising sales will see a 3% increase this year, reaching US$4 billion, while its economy GDP will grow by 0.5%, following 2021's 6.4% growth. 

Digital advertising revenues will grow by 16%, making up 51% of total budgets in 2022. This will be led by mobile device spending, which will increase by 20% and represents 76% of the total digital advertising budgets. By format, social media (20% increase), search (18% increase) and video (16% increase) will be the main contributors for growth in digital advertising revenues. Notably, the digital video landscape in Hong Kong is extremely strong, representing 43% of total digital spending - one of the highest totals globally.

On the other hand, linear advertising revenues will shrink by 8% this year, reaching HK$15.2 billion, making up 49% of total budgets. This will only make up 82% of its pre-pandemic values. TV spending will also decline by 7%, losing about half of all the spend gained in 2021. Print declined by 18% reaching 51% of pre-pandemic values. 

Next year, advertising spending in Hong Kong is expected to grow by 5% to reach US$4.2 billion, reflecting the market's new normal post-pandemic. According to MAGNA, brand marketing changed because of COVID-19, with higher demands on discounts and bonuses for linear media. Furthermore, there is more ad-hoc planning and last-minute campaign changes in reaction to market changes, and more efforts spent on contingency plans. Additionally, there are stronger Ecommerce and social commerce efforts from advertisers.

Indonesia

This year, the Indonesian advertising market will grow by 10%, reaching US$9.3 billion, while its economy GDP will increase by 5.4%. Advertising spend is also expected to grow by another 7% in 2023. 

Digital advertising spending will grow by 16%, making up 52% of total budgets - the first time digital advertising spending will surpass half of the total budgets. Next year will see another 12% increase, making up 55% of total advertising budgets. Digital spending will be led by mobile device spending, which will increase by 22% and represent 70% of the total digital advertising budgets. By format, social media (21% increase), video (18% increase) and search (16% increase) will be the main contributors for growth in digital advertising revenues. Digital advertising will continue to outperform linear advertising formats, and will represent 62% of total advertiser budgets by 2026.

Meanwhile, linear advertising will grow by 3%, reaching US$4.4 billion. This makes up only 88% of its pre-pandemic total. TV spending will increase by 4% this year, but print will see a decline of 9%. Additionally, OOH advertising will grow by 10%. Cinema advertising, however, remains significantly below its pre-pandemic total, representing just 80% of prior budgets.

Malaysia

Malaysia's advertising revenue will see a 14% increase this year, reaching US$1.5 billion, while its economy GDP will grow by 5.6%, following 2021's 3.1% growth. 

With more than 82% of the population now vaccinated, consumer behavior is returning to normal. 

Digital advertising spending will grow by 18%, making up 63% of total budgets. This will be led by social media, which will increase by 25% and represent 47% of the total digital advertising budgets. By format, mobile (24% increase), display (17% increase) and search (14% increase) will be the main contributors for growth in digital advertising revenues. Digital advertising will continue to outperform linear advertising formats, and will represent 73% of total advertiser budgets by 2026.

Meanwhile, linear advertising revenues will increase by 6% to MY 2.3 billion ringgit, 68% of its pre-pandemic levels. According to MAGNA, because linear ad spending will erode from here as consumers continue to shift to digital media formats, linear advertising revenues will never again approach their pre-COVID highs. TV spending will increase by 1%, while cinema advertising will see a growth of 330%, recovering from the fallout due to closed operations. Additionally, OOH spending is expected to increase by 13% this year, and will increase by another 15% in 2023. 

In 2023, Malaysia's advertising spend will grow by 6%, reaching US$1.6 billion, and its GDP will continue to grow by 5%.

Philippines

Advertising spending in the Philippines will increase by 12% this year, to reach US$2.9bn.

Real GDP will increase by 6.5% this year, slightly higher than prior expectations of 5.6%. While only one third of the population was vaccinated at the end of 2021,  around 62% is now vaccinated, allowing more mobility and further growth in 2022.

In this environment, linear advertising revenues are increasing by 12%. Television budgets are increasing by 9% to US$1.5bn. Television spending is advancing past the pre-COVID spending total. Print will grow by a small amount (3%), following a growth of 8% in 2021. Print budgets remain hugely below their pre-COVID total and now represent less than 1% of total advertiser budgets.

Out of home spending will grow by 22% and MAGNA predicts out of home to reach pre-COVID totals by 2023. Finally, cinema revenues are growing this year by 32%. Digital advertising spending will grow by 17% and now represent nearly one quarter of total budgets. By 2026, digital advertising will represent 41% of total budgets.

Singapore

This year, Singapore's advertising sales will increase by 11%, reaching US$2 billion, while its economy GDP will increase by 4%. 

According to MAGNA, this comes as the government looks to switch from a "zero COVID-19 policy" to a policy of learning to live with the virus. As a result, consumer behavior has returned to normal, leading brands to deploy the dollars they cut during the pandemic to take advantage of the new reality.

In 2022, linear advertising revenues will increase by 8%, making up 60% of total budgets -  the best performance since 2010. Among them, TV advertising spending will grow by 8%, representing 31% of total budgets. Meanwhile, spending on OOH will grow by 17%, following its strong growth of 47% in 2021. Overall, linear advertising revenues are expected to surpass the pre-COVID total this year to US$1.2 billion. However, as it is expected to decline from 2023, it will never again reach this year's number. 

Meanwhile, digital advertising revenues will grow by 17%, representing 40% of total advertiser budgets in Singapore in 2022. Social media advertising will see the most spending, with a 21% growth and 39% representation of the total digital budgets. By format, mobile (20% increase), search (17% increase) and video (13% increase) will be the main contributors for growth in digital advertising revenues. Digital advertising will continue to outperform linear advertising formats, and will represent 54% of total advertiser budgets by 2026.

Thailand

In Thailand, media owners advertising revenues are increasing by 5% in 2022 to reach US$3.9billion.

The economy is expanding by 3.3% on a real GDP basis, following 2021’s increase in 1.6% real GDP growth. Furthermore, despite vaccinations readily available throughout Thailand, only about 73% of the population is vaccinated. Combined with the persistent reluctance of Western tourists to travel abroad, this creates economic uncertainty and a headwind to advertising spending.

Pre-COVID, tourism contributed to 20% of the Thailand economy. In this environment, linear advertising revenues are growing by 3% and represent just 81% of their pre-COVID level. Linear advertising budgets represent the majority of spending in Thailand (72% of total budgets), and the delayed recovery from the COVID crisis for linear ad spending creates a significant drag on total market growth going forward. Television ad spend is stagnant (0%) and represents 53% of total advertising spending.

Television spending is still short of the pre-COVID total. With spending eroding, TV will never reach its all time high. Print spending is still declining, and is falling by 17% this year and represents just 3% of budgets. There are only a few core spending industries that still deploy budgets on print: real estate, finance, autos, and CPG. OOH spending is seeing a strong rebound of 20% growth this year as the economy recovers from the COVID outbreak in 2021.

Digital advertising spending will grow by 13% in 2022 and represents 28% of total budgets. Growth is led by mobile device spending, which will increase by 15% and represents 78% of total digital spending. By format, growth is led by social (+15%), search (+14%), and video (+13%).

Looking forward to 2023, ad spending will again grow modestly (+5%) to reach THB 131.0bn ($4.1bn) as Thailand returns to normalcy post pandemic.

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