Digital ads reach across APAC for 18-34 year olds improving

The success rate of digital advertising campaigns in reaching their intended audiences has lifted significantly within a number of demographic groups across Asia Pacific, in particular for the highly sought-after 18-34 year old segment, as advertisers and their media agencies become more adept with media planning and buying, according to a new benchmarking study of the global digital advertising landscape by Nielsen.

The Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings Global Benchmarks study, which assessed more than 47,000 digital campaigns across 17 countries in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific, found that across Asia Pacific, digital advertising campaigns intended for consumers aged 18 to 34 years had the highest on-target success rate, with 63% of the advertising destined for these consumers hitting the mark, up from 53% in 2015.

Campaigns aimed at females within the 18- to 34-year-old age group experienced the highest lift in on-target reach, posting a 15-percentage-point improvement to 51%.

“The Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings benchmark report is shining new light for advertisers on how their digital advertising campaigns are faring in comparison to industry norms,” said Annette Kunst, managing director for Media at Nielsen Singapore.

“The year-on-year performance improvement shows that an increase in independent measurement can lead to more transparency, and that ultimately improves overall reach and ad spend efficiency,” said Kunst.

Across platforms, advertising served up via desktop still outperforms mobile advertising when reaching broad audience segments. Desktop advertising intended for people aged 18 to 49 years achieved a 70% on-target success rate, compared to 66% for mobile.

Conversely, for more niche audiences or narrower segments such as the 18- to 34-year-age group, mobile has a higher success rate – 65% of mobile ads hit their mark, compared to 61% for desktop.

“Mobile’s success reaching more narrowly defined audiences reinforces that mobile devices provide a highly personalized platform with the potential for more precise connections, and that’s reflected in the rapid increase we’ve seen in mobile advertising, where 45% of the digital advertising campaigns we measure today across Asia Pacific include a mobile component,” said Kunst.

“With increasing media fragmentation, marketers need to consider all the screens at their disposal when trying to reach their audience,” she said. These benchmarks can help media buyers and sellers better evaluate total digital reach.”

Looking across categories, Computer & Electronics and Travel marketers had an easier time reaching their desired audience, achieving an on-target success of 68% and 67% respectively. The Automotive and CPG sectors highlight opportunities to optimize reach and maximize return on ad spend, with 47% and 43% of digital ads respectively reaching their intended audience.