Digital advertising spending is expected to continue to grow in 2022, though by a smaller margin than the 18% surge recorded last year amid concerns about the weak economy, according to the Thailand Digital Advertising Spend Report.
The report was jointly commissioned by the Digital Advertising Association of Thailand (DAAT) and market research and consulting firm Kantar Thailand.
"Digital ad spending could grow by 9% to reach 27 billion baht in 2022, though the growth would be slower than last year because of a cautious prediction based on economic factors," said Arpapat Boonrod, managing director of Kantar Thailand.
The report examined the digital ad spending information of 42 media agencies covering 59 industries and 16 digital media operators.
Ms Arpapat said Thailand's digital ad spending stood at 2.7 billion baht in 2012, after which it posted a compound annual growth rate of 27.5% up to 2021.
Despite the pandemic, spending still grew 18% to reach 24.8 billion baht in 2021.
"Consumers are more engaged online, increasingly using social media, e-commerce, online video and entertainment, such as e-sports and gaming. Another accommodating factor is internet penetration has increased together with the expansion of 5G," she said.
On the branding side, marketers are using more diverse digital tools to get through to a wider target and engage them, said Ms Arpapat.
"The ability to monitor and measure performance is a key benefit," she said.
According to the study, Facebook continues to be the digital media entity attracting the most investment, accounting for almost one-third of total industry spending in 2021. Facebook is expected to continue to dominate the segment this year.
YouTube was second with a 17% market share.
Online video climbed three tiers to fifth position in 2021 and ad spending on online video is expected to surge 45% this year.
Short video platform TikTok saw considerable growth of 654% in media spending last year and is expected to surge 26% this year, according to the study.
Ad spending on e-commerce and affiliated marketing is predicted to rise 58% and 41%, respectively, in 2022.
"Every media platform is different," said Ms Arpapat.
"Marketers need to adapt communication content to plan a consistent consumer journey and brand interactions. It is vital to measure and learn to further optimise marketing investments".
Last year, auto continued to be the top spending industry on digital with a total investment of 2.9 billion baht, followed by non-alcoholic beverages at 2.7 billion, communications at 2.6 billion and skincare preparations at 2.2 billion.