SAUD AL-RASHED WRITES – That the digital advertising industry in the Asia Pacific hit the $80 billion mark in 2017 is not only exciting, but surprising. To put this into perspective, this amounts to double the size of all the digital advertising in Europe, Canada, Latin America and Western Europe put together. Statistics indicate that the Asia Pacific region makes up 40% of the world’s digital advertising, and it is increasing by an average of 20% every year.
Why is this region performing better than some regions across the world? What are the media policies that these countries have put in place to get ahead of others in this respect? These are some of the critical questions that market analysts have been asking.
The Asia Pacific is unique in many respects. The first factor is the increased consumption of internet services in the region. It is notable that more than one-third of the Asian population consists of internet users. Most countries in the Asia-Pacific have invested considerable resources in the expansion of internet coverage. As a result, a lot of people are in a position to access information on digital media. Interestingly, the technological infrastructure in this region is expanding every day, which has provided an opportunity for residents in remote areas to access the internet.
Digital media innovation in the Asia Pacific has achieved stratospheric levels. With each day, new ideas are being created, and these innovations have been essential in improving the quality of digital media content. Technology is an integral part of the educational systems in these countries, such as Japan. Koreans train their children to accept technology in their early school days. As a result, the children grow up appreciating the importance of technology in society.
However, the most important factor which appears to have played a critical role in improving digital advertising in the Asia-Pacific region is innovation. Innovation means coming up with techniques that will be suitable or in line with the unique needs of local populations. For other regions to experience the impact of digital marketing as extensively as in the Asia Pacific, it is incredibly important to adopt innovative practices in their media activities.
Societies react differently to media innovations, which means stakeholders must conduct research that will best address the needs of local populations. Besides that, the expansion of internet coverage to reach even the most remote regions would allow many more people to have access to various digital content. Lessons from the Asia-Pacific are important in helping people from other regions improve their utilization of digital marketing.