I just saw a study from Strategy Analytics that finds Asia Pacific poised to overtake North America this year as the world’s biggest digital ad spending market.
Surprised? I was. I’m a marketer based in Singapore and for years I’ve been told that our region is always 2-5 years behind the US. By at least one metric, we’ll have caught up to (and soon exceeded) our friends on the other side of the globe. But to what extent is this digital growth within APAC happening in B2B technology marketing?
We wanted to find out.
B2B Tech digital spending is on the rise in APAC
My TechTarget colleagues and I just released what we believe is the first (and only) State of IT Digital Marketing in APAC study, a benchmark survey of 75 tech marketers across the region. The headline: digital spending in B2B tech in APAC is undoubtedly on the rise:
- 63% say they’re spending significantly more than they did on online marketing five years ago – 26% say they’re spending somewhat more.
- Most marketers believe they spend as much as their counterparts here in region but (not surprisingly) admit that they still trail their North American colleagues.
Content marketing leading the way
If you follow the APAC digital marketing money trail, it’ll lead you to straight to content marketing: 82% of marketers have done a content marketing campaign in the last 12 months. The next two big digital tactics in region involved brand building: contextual advertising across publisher sites (65%) and programmatic advertising (65%). Interesting, an old digital stalwart, the eDM/list rental (60%) is also in widespread use.
Executing digital marketing strategies still a challenge for many companies in APAC
Spending on digital is one thing. Doing so with a strong degree of comfort is another. Most marketers have more faith in their own digital skills than in their companies’ overall digital capabilities. In fact, 60% said their company is just average when it comes to executing digitally; 10% feel they’re worse than their peers. Personal confidence at execution is greatest with content syndication, microsites and display. Levels are far lower when it comes to mar-tech, corporate website work and programmatic buys.
Learn more about what keeps APAC marketers up at night
If you would like to learn more about the survey findings, drop me a note. I’d be happy to set up time to review the full report, including some insight on what marketers are spending their money on, factors holding back digital, how advanced their digital strategies are and a whole lot more.
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