Shanghai | March 13, 2019 – OMD China has launched the 2019 edition of its ongoing research series, Transcend, offering marketers a list of predictions on media trends shaping the practice of marketing in the People’s Republic of China. Now in its fifth year, the report provides forward-looking insights and implications for brand marketers, agency professionals and media owners to make better informed decisions when it comes to media investment planning.
In the 2019 edition, OMD’s findings cover topics ranging from transparency in OTT to the increasing importance of data safety. Here are brief summaries of the study’s key findings and implications on the practice of marketing in 2019:
1. Finding transparency in OTT
OMD’s research reveals that there is an increasing number of consumers who are watching OTT platforms for longer time periods each day. However, the OTT landscape remains fragmented and blurred. Advertisers will need to find trusted partners such as the Baidu-Alibaba-Tencent (BAT) companies, due to their robust tracking and transparent execution and use Cost Per Day (CPD) buying as well as Data Management Platform (DMP) to test campaigns for targeting purposes.
2. Short videos still in trend
Short video will remain an important channel in 2019 for targeting younger audiences. Its penetration (52%) is catching up with OTV penetration (73%), and consumers are watching an average of 128 short videos per day. As the audience base increases, short video will grow from an engagement media to a reach media. Brands who see opportunities in short videos will need to act fast and capture the largest audience pool before they move to the next ‘trendy’ platform.
3. E-commerce, more than just performance
E-commerce will no longer be a pure performance media, but a channel for branding. As consumers visit online shopping channels at various times throughout the consumer journey, E-commerce will need to be integrated within the rest of the media planning process to ensure the delivery of a cohesive brand message.
4. Data safety first
Data safety has the become the number one prerequisite for any data strategy. While advertisers use first-hand consumer data for segmentation and retargeting, the possession or trading of third-party consumer data is prohibited without the consumer’s consent. However, targeting is predicted to become limited to the BAT offerings, and brands will need to be on top of new regulations in order to ensure data safety.
Speaking on the findings, Bhasker Jaiswal, Managing Partner at OMD China, comments: “As E-commerce and new media channels continue to evolve in China, increasing the fragmentation of the media landscape, 2019 presents even tougher challenges for marketers to reach their consumers. We hope Transcend 2019 will serve as beacon for brands to navigate through these challenges while also shining a light on the emerging opportunities that each change brings with it.”
Aaron Wild, CEO of OMD China, adds: “As the media landscape continues to evolve, the onus is on us as business partners to our clients, to understand the disruption transforming the practice of marketing and how we should adapt our strategies accordingly. Transcend is a brilliant and unique research initiative that allows our clients to stay ahead of the curve by understanding the opportunities that the changes bring with them. At OMD, we’re excited about the future that Transcend reveals, and look forward to working with our clients on tapping into emerging media trends to help their businesses gain a competitive edge through their media communications.”
Read the full findings from OMD’s Transcend 2019 research report here.
