Kuala Lumpur, 10 December 2014 (Wed): BuzzCity, a leading mobile advertising network, shared its outlook in growth of mobile advertising in Malaysia today at a media briefing in Bangsar. The mobile advertising trend, according to BuzzCity is set to move beyond banner advertising come year 2015 where mobile video advertisements will gain more footholds in the marketplace, shifting advertisers’ focus from spending on banner advertisements to spending more on mobile video advertisements.
This year, up to November 2014, nearly 2.4 billion advertising banners served to 19 million Malaysians across the BuzzCity ad network. There is an increase of 20% in the third quarter of 2014 and by November 2014, Malaysia was ranked among the top 10 mobile advertising markets in the world.
However, a more rapid increase was observed in the mobile video advertisement segment. BuzzCity’s Video Consumption Survey reveals that 2014 sets new wave of connected consumers with 85% of mobile surfers watch online videos; 80% of these viewers use mobiles as their sole viewing device. Top on their viewing list are free to view videos (62%), clips & Short Videos (19%), full length movies & TV series (19%) and user generated content (14%). At least 23% watch online videos daily and another quarter (27%) watch a few times a week.
Of these, free to view content is much sought after (62%) and this would typically be movies & TV series (19%) or short videos (19%). The study expects web videos and web series to play a crucial role in how consumers will experience entertainment in the very near future.
Most videos (62%) are downloaded for viewing but 27% is streamed from video sharing sites (including premium video sharing sites with paid-content).
As with e-commerce, key factors driving the popularity of online videos are variety (35%) immediacy (24%) and customisation (38%) – for consumers, it’s consumption on their own terms! In April this year, BuzzCity’s online shopping survey revealed at least 78% of Malaysian mobile users buy online and nearly half (40%) shopped with their mobiles.
Dr Lai Kok Fung, Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder of BuzzCity commented, “Mobile marketing has evolved from broadcast SMS to targeted display advertising and soon will be the primary device for delivering video ads. Mobile has, in many ways, become mainstream media and marketers are adapting to new platforms, devices, and formats.”
The rise of online videos has led some brands to adapt to become producers and sponsors of their own original content and not just repurposing TV commercials. In many ways though, these brands follow traditional ‘branding on TV’ – once that brand awareness and emotional connection are established, the brand runs retail marketing campaigns that encourage consumers to take a test drive or get a promotional discount.
In 2015, more advertisers are expected to look beyond banner advertising to include rich media and video platforms to deliver their marketing messages. Lai continues, “Companies like BuzzCity will evolve its current offering to include new formats based on these platforms through in-house development or acquisitions.”
During the briefing, advertisers were reminded that 79% of mobile surfers use advertising to make purchasing decisions. Lai also cautioned marketers against looking at digital channels as an independent media. They should instead take an integrated approach across online media, he advised.
