India leads in video ad request growth in APAC: Smaato report

Smaato, the global in-app advertising platform, has shared further insights on APAC from its Global In-App Advertising Trends Report’s spotlight on the region. 

With APAC on track to see a 25% increase in mobile ad spending in 2019, this edition of the report dives deep into the trends of importance for APAC from the first half of 2019. 

In-App eCPMs Across APAC 

Comparing in-app eCPMs across APAC, Smaato found that the English-speaking markets of New Zealand and Australia topped the charts. This is possibly due to the ease with which advertisers can adapt existing in-app ad campaigns from other top global markets such as the UK and the US. 

Separately, China, Singapore, and South Korea boast high eCPMs in the region due to their users’ unique in-app behavior and usage. 

Video Consumption Is Driving Mobile Usage and In-App Ad Spending 

The report highlights significant video ad request growth from H1 2018 to H1 2019. The top five APAC markets that experienced the most significant growth were India, China, Thailand, South Korea, and Indonesia. 

Smaato notes that with mobile users in APAC spending more time in-app, and particularly within short-form video apps such as TikTok, advertisers are receiving an influx of video ad requests on which to bid. 

The report also showcases distinct regional differences between which video ad formats attracted the highest shares of ad spending. Rewarded video came out on top in APAC at 35 per cent of total video ad spending, whereas it was the least used format in the Americas and EMEA at approximately 10 per cent of video ad spending. 

The recent Smaato and Liftoff In-App Engagement and Conversion report highlights that amongst all in-app ad formats, video posted both the highest eCPMs and engagement rates. Rewarded video ads have particularly great ROI for advertisers, with 86 per cent lower eCPMs than overall video while maintaining similar conversion rates. Marketers in APAC have already wised up to these advantages of rewarded video, ahead of their counterparts in other regions. One potential explanation for the predilection for rewarded video would be the popularity of mobile gaming in the region, as rewarded video tends to work well with the format. 

In-App Spending During Holiday Seasons in APAC 

The report also examined two major holiday periods in the region, Ramadan and Lunar New Year. Smaato discovered that in-app ad spending rose significantly during Ramadan. Average daily adspending during the month of Ramadan was nearly 2.5 times higher than that of the month prior, a 143 per cent increase. 

The Ramadan boost was most marked in Indonesia, with the country seeing an average increase in daily ad spending of 79 per cent. Malaysia saw a rise of 38 per cent, and Singapore achieved an 18 per cent uplift. 

A spike in mobile usage during the Lunar New Year led to rising in-app ad requests to the Smaato platform during this celebratory period. China, for example, saw a 25 per cent increase in daily in-app ad requests. 

Delynn Ho, General Manager, Smaato APAC, said, “The holidays may represent a missed opportunity for marketers. An influx of in-app ad requests during the holiday period shows the great potential to connect with mobile users who are using apps to exchange messages with friends, watch videos, play games, and exchange virtual gifts and red envelopes.”