Digital advertising investment in Southeast Asia spiked 17.8% last year and is projected to increase by 11.3% in 2022 to hit $4.10 billion, eMarketer reports.
As digital advertising grows more popular in the region, Kantar revealed the Southeast Asia winners for its 2022 Digital Creative Awards, which were selected from analysis of around 300 digital ads last year.
The winning campaigns offer lessons not only to global marketers, but to those looking to improve the creative quality of digital content.
Three grand winners were announced:
- Virtue’s YouTube spot, “JW, Love for the street,” for Johnnie Walker in Thailand, which Kantar describes as “a great example of how brands can connect across borders and cultures.”
- BBH India & Publicis Groupe Indonesia’s Instagram spot, “KV Motion,” for Kraft Heinz in Indonesia, which Kantar says “tightly but overtly conveys its new variant message by simply sliding the new variant bottles into view in time with lively music.”
- Fuse’s “#FlexYOKCK” TikTok video for Unilever’s Tide in the Philippines, which is “different in execution and an engaging jig from an unlikely and inclusive cast,” Kantar says.
Keys to creative digital advertising
Pablo Gomez, head of creative and media solutions at Kantar Singapore, noted 5 key digital creative themes among the winners:
- Unique content designed for use across platforms.
- Delivering product news through fun, innovative demos.
- Breaking category stereotypes empathetically.
- Communicating brand DNA while recognizing and embracing local nuances.
- Making ad length an advantage with clever, brief messaging.
“A big outtake from our winners is that brands can earn attention by entertaining and making people feel with and for the brand,” Gomez said, noting, “All you need to get right is measuring the capacity of your creative to hold attention and land the brand message.”
Kantar also released findings from its 2021 Media Reactions survey, including that over 70% of global marketers intend to spend more on digital media this year, with social content, influencer marketing and digital video all set to increase.
The study found that creative quality is the second most important ingredient to drive profitable advertising, but it’s only ranked as fourth by marketers.
“Great creative is more than just connection. It transcends ROI too,” Gomez said, adding, “These winning ads all boast very strong and consistent creative across all touchpoints.”
Two recent studies from Arnold Worldwide and Talkwalker and Hootsuite also found creative quality to be a key factor in connecting with US audiences.
“Brands who put authenticity and courageous creativity at the core of their plans are the ones who generate the most brand love,” said Maggie Lower, chief marketing officer of Hootsuite.
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