Quantcast's State-of-Play report reveals advertising trends and challenges

The Quantcast Asia Pacific 2022 State-of-Play report predicts rises in advertising spend in Connected TV, as well as social and programmatic video in the region.

The report explored the future of digital advertising, the challenges and opportunities for advertisers and publishers, where advertisers are looking to invest in the new year, as well as the skills gaps that need to be filled.

Quantcast noted that the demise of third-party cookies will be a key theme this year among marketers, media agencies and publishers.

There is also a renewed focus on implementing a multi-channel campaign approach and navigating evolving issues around consent and accessing first-party data.

Among the big challenges for marketers and agencies in the APAC region noted in the report are changing consumers, marketing ROI and measurement, as industry professionals across the board plan to upskill in audience insights, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology.

In terms of opportunity, Connected TV (CTV), social and programmatic video is expected to see a rise in spending and media budgets in the APAC region.

Investment in traditional channels such as print and out-of-home (OOH) are set to decline.

Quantcast's managing director for Asia Pacific, Andrew Double said: "The APAC media industry is currently undergoing its most pivotal transformation yet, with recurring themes such as the demise of third-party cookies, consumer privacy, and programmatic shaping how the advertising sector plays out in our accelerating digital future."

"Ad spend is on the rise and is slated to reach $243.6 billion in the APAC region alone in 2022. We’re anticipating a lot of this budget to be invested in connected TV, programmatic video, and social media in 2022 and beyond.

"The industry needs to develop their workforces, get the right expertise on board to increase brand-building activity and ensure they can deliver on campaign performance.

"Many are looking to partner with the right ad tech company to help fill knowledge gaps and improve measurement and insights."

The report by the global advertising technology company is based on an online survey of up to 600 advertising and marketing professionals across Australia, New Zealand and Asia.