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While digital is a well-defined medium, it is becoming increasingly complex through the take-up of different devices and other forms of media going digital. You need to be able to navigate your way through this complexity in all the markets you are in, because it is clear: Jakarta is not Sao Paulo, Istanbul is not Berlin…
To improve your digital advertising effectiveness today, you need to understand how people consume media and use different channels in different markets. We’ve taken four countries that exhibit key characteristics common to many others as an illustration. These four markets show that you can’t simply create your plans based on maturity levels or the stage of economic and digital development. Findings from our GfK Crossmedia Landscape Report for Germany, Turkey, Brazil and Indonesia show that no two markets are the same.
Choose the most relevant device for your market
Consumers in some developing markets have leapfrogged using PCs to get online and have gone straight to smartphones. This is illustrated by our findings for Indonesia, where 95% of time spent online is via a smartphone. Smartphones are also increasingly favored as a means of getting online in developed markets. If you target consumers in Germany with your digital campaigns via their smartphones, for example, you will reach 48% of the online population. But the amount of time people spend online using particular devices is only one part of the picture. It is also important to assess the intensity and kind of usage of different device types during the times they are used.
Most page impressions still displayed on PCs
Although time spent on smartphones is crucial for the analyzed markets, PCs still win in terms of gaining the lion’s share of page impressions. In Brazil and Germany, over 80% of page impressions are attributable to PCs. For advertisers, knowing which devices people in a particular market use for the majority of their web browsing is key to developing creative and planning campaigns that will have the maximum reach and impact with a target audience.
Compare mobile online activity on app vs. browser
We know that many consumers are accessing the web via their smartphone, but it’s essential to know whether to create advertising for mobile apps, web browsing, or both if you are to reach your audience. In all four markets, apps are the preferred mobile online entry point with Indonesia leading the way.
It’s worth noting that not all mobile use is the same. For instance, the majority of mobile devices in Indonesia are used purely for communication (e.g. chats, messaging, etc.), while mobile devices in Turkey are mainly used for social networking. The leading apps in each country reflect their inhabitants’ main uses for their mobile devices. Facebook or Google applications, however, appear top of the list of apps used in all four analyzed countries.
Build media plans around cross-device use
Understanding cross-device usage is crucial to maximizing the effectiveness of your ad spend. This is particularly true when assessing how different devices such as PC, smartphone and tablet are used to access content in combination with each other and how those combinations differ by market. In each market, the greatest device crossover is with PC and smartphone.
This information can help you maximize reach across different devices and also provide insight into adapting creative treatment. In Turkey for example, 15% of the online population accesses content across all three devices, so storylines and format can be tailored to develop complementary campaigns across all devices to improve overall cut-through.
Four markets, four stories
Successful media planning relies on strategic insights to better understand market differences, ensuring your message gets through using the right channels and devices. In addition to these topline findings, the Crossmedia Landscape Report can provide deeper insights on:
- Cross media usage including smartphone, tablet and desktops across social-economic classes, age and gender
- Media habits, including online and offline versions of major newspaper and magazine titles
- Key TV genres and their viewership
- Key e-commerce players, mobile apps or top social media
This report will be rolled out to Netherlands, Poland, UK, Russia, Italy, Spain, Argentina and Mexico during 2016.
Stefan Heremans is the Product Head of Crossmedia Link at GfK. Please email me at Stefan.Heremans@gfk.com to share your thoughts.