Maximizing Quality and Performance for Advertisers in APAC

DV Global Insights Report Webinar – APAC from DoubleVerify on Vimeo.

Last week, DV hosted a webinar for the APAC region that focused on findings from our 2020 Global Insights Report (GIR). Our panel explored APAC-specific trends on brand suitability, fraud, viewability, contextual targeting, Connected TV (CTV) and predictions for digital advertising in 2021. This in-depth analysis aimed to provide attendees with insight and information to help optimize future campaign placements and improve existing campaign performance.

Speakers Included:

• Collette Spagnolo, Sr. Director, Marketing Analytics, DoubleVerify
• Jordan Khoo, Managing Director, Asia, DoubleVerify
• Asha Nair, Managing Director, Xaxis Malaysia
• Jan Harling, Regional Business Director, Nissan United

Some key takeaways from the webinar include:

Strong Rise in APAC Brand Blocking and Suitability Incident Rates

This past year saw a strong rise in both brand blocking and incident rates in APAC. The DV Global Insights Report found that brands in the region increased block rates and suitability incident rates, which rose 66% compared to EMEA and NA. Advertisers in APAC are just starting to refine their brand advertising strategies, and they are seeking the right level of protection for their digital media investments. 

“Brands have to be nimble to react in real time to the changing news/perception of COVID-19,” Jan Harling from Nissan United commented. “Brand Safety and Suitability are different for every brand. It becomes more complex when dealing with the APAC market, which is likely the most complex market in the world with language and culture nuances at play.” 

DV’s Collette Spagnolo also added that brands should support trusted news publishers and deploy precision targeting tools to ensure their ads run in the right areas.

Connected TV Is on the Rise, but Ad Fraud Is a Threat

The consumption of OTT content is exploding across the world. However, ad fraud on CTV increased 161% this year compared to 2019. Advertisers should work closely with their technology partners to ensure they are purchasing quality inventory. 

CTV is still a nascent medium and the CTV market straddles both the TV and digital world, which opens the door for fraudsters. There is also a lack of technology standardization in the CTV market.

A poll conducted during the webinar said the top three challenges for CTV in APAC were measurement, scale and fraud. However, the participants in the webinar said CTV would continue to grow in the region. “There has definitely been a rise in CTV adoption in Asia,” said Asha Nair from Xaxis Malaysia. “We see CTV as yet another connected device in an ecosystem that is becoming digitized and programmatic.”

The Dominant Trends for Digital Advertising in APAC Next Year

During the webinar, a live poll was taken that asked ‘what do you think will be the dominating trend in digital advertising in 2021?’ The top trend, with 33% of the vote, was “privacy restrictions and the ability to effectively target audiences,” followed by “new and emerging channels (e.g. Tik Tok),” and “linear TV shifting to CTV spend” (21%). 

The rise of regulations such as GDPR and CCPA and the impending demise of Google Chrome third-party cookies has changed the media landscape. Jan noted that Nissan is fully compliant with all of the new data regulations, and he’s been preparing for a future world centered around contextual targeting. This has prompted publishers to develop new privacy-compliant strategies. Over the next two years, we expect  a balanced use of data and contextual targeting to adapt to a cookieless world.

We’ve recently launched custom contextual targeting, which aims to address marketers’ need for effective audience targeting based on interest or intent, as opposed to cookie-tracking. Download our snackable guide to find out more about our custom contextual targeting.