Spotlight on China

GroupM’s first ever Spotlight on China report, analyses the digital prospects of the world’s second largest economy.

According to the report, China remains the world’s largest contributor of new ad dollars despite rapid consumerization, though its advertising intensity has trended down to a prospective 0.67% GDP in 2019.

A few key highlights in the report include:

• Consumers have transitioned to the mobile era: Cashless lifestyles and heavy reliance on mobile phones have given birth to “Social e-Commerce,” “Live Stream and Short Video,” “New Retail,” “e-Sports Marketing” and other business models that are leaping ahead of other markets. This presents new ways to reach consumers.
• Merging online and offline worlds: Big internet platforms such as BAT (Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent) are helping brands create more direct conversion opportunities through the creation of a uni-marketing retail environment, offering richer channels and marketing resources.
• The risks of a digital advertising supply chain: Risks include not only invalid traffic, poor viewability, and inappropriate brand context (brand safety issues), but also privacy and ad blocking. Many advertisers are starting to use new data monitoring technologies to reduce risk and, especially, to ensure that their ads are viewable.
• Finding the best way of communicating with consumers: Many wrestle with how to communicate effectively with consumers and what are the most innovative ways of reaching them.