Adspend takes a hit in HK with mere 3% increase

Hong Kong's adspend in January and February increased by 3% year on year, with mobile and social advertising recording impressive growth in the first month of the year, according to a study conducted by admango.

The report unveiled that Hong Kong's adspend increased by 3% year on year in January and February 2022. As the market was also suffering from the pandemic in the first two months of last year, there was still a 15% year-on-year increase in January. But in February, adspend in Hong Kong decreased by 10% year-on-year.

Adspend on TV saw an increase of 8% in January and a decrease of 5% in February as the pandemic worsened. On the mobile front, although its adspend increased by 27% in January, it was down 4% in February. Social media showed a similar trend with an increase of 26% being recorded in January. However, it was down 11% in the following month. All print media, including free and paid newspapers as well as magazines, recorded negative growth during these two months.

The report also studied the correlation between the monthly adspend in the city and the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Data showed that as the number of confirmed cases began to decline, adspend rebounded within a month after the pandemic stabilised and continued to grow throughout the year. The report said most advertisers had merely chosen to delay their campaigns instead of reducing their budgets.

When the number of new COVID-19 cases of the fourth wave began to decline in February 2021, adspend started rising in March. Adspend in 33 industries recorded a month-on-month increase in March 2021. Although there was a temporary decline in April, adspend in various industries continued to increase, resulting in a 30% year-on-year growth in Q3 2021.

In January and February 2022, the banking and investment services industries recorded a 14% year-on-year growth (24% in January and 3% in February). Pharmaceuticals and healthcare businesses came second with a year-on-year increase of 5% (1% in January and 10% in February). The industry was benefited from the worsening situation during the pandemic and the increasing demand for pharmaceutical products. Panadol and Fortune Pharmacal increased their budget by 18% and 11% respectively.

In addition, adspend of certain industries and advertisers recorded a month-over-month increase in February. Business services' adspend recorded a month-on-month increase of 44%, the highest among all industries. On social media, travel and tourism (+32%) accounted for the highest month-on-month increase on Facebook in February. Among the top 10 advertisers with the highest adspend from January to February, the adspend of Vita Green and Sony Corporation recorded a month-on-month increase of 21% and 9% respectively.

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