Ad spending grew modestly in first quarter

Hong Kong's advertising market posted moderate gains in the first three months of the year as total spending surpassed the HK$10 billion mark, led by increased campaigns in the banking and investment services industry.

Media-monitoring firm admanGo yesterday reported that advertising expenditure in the first quarter rose just 5 per cent to HK$10.1 billion, from HK$9.6 billion a year earlier, as marketers remained cautious with their spending.

The quarter represented a disappointing start to what industry insiders recently forecast to be a banner year. A survey released in February by the Hong Kong Advertising Association and market-measurement firm Nielsen found that marketers were more positive about the economy this year and planned to increase their television, newspaper and digital platform campaigns.

Advertisers last quarter allocated 90 per cent of their budgets in campaigns over traditional media outlets, which included television, newspapers, magazines, outdoor billboards and radio.

That was down from 93 per cent in the same period last year because of the growing expenditure in online and mobile campaigns. The combined share of online and mobile advertising spending reached 9 per cent in the first quarter, from 7.1 per cent the previous year. Expenditure in the banking and investment services industry grew 9 per cent year on year to HK$917 million as major advertisers, including HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank, boosted campaigns in the areas of personal loan and financing, credit and charge cards, and personal banking.

But the city's leading advertiser last quarter was Paris-based L'Oreal Group, the world's largest supplier of cosmetics and beauty products, with spending that climbed 12 per cent to HK$226.7 million from a year ago.