Y&S Insights: Digital Advertising in Indonesia’s Urban Areas

Y&S Insights ● Digital advertisements are on the rise in Indonesia’s urban areas. Several companies are transitioning from traditional out-of-home campaign methods such as banners and billboards to digital out-of-home methods on TV screens both small and large, especially in densely populated urban areas.

Any screen that advertisers can get their hands on has the potential to unlock new customers. This applies to screens with minimal engagement time, which is usually the case in high foot traffic areas, where people are constantly moving with little time to observe their surroundings. Such areas include pavements and public areas of office buildings. In addition, public transport areas are also targets of advertising.

While the purpose of setting up ad campaigns is the same in both traditional and digital forms, this shift challenges advertisers to engage potential customers with their products and services. Advertisers need to capture their audience’s attention within the limited amount of time that the audience has. Furthermore, the ad material needs to clearly communicate not just the products being advertised, but also the perception about the brand or company that they want to set on their customers.

Digital campaigns need to leave a lasting impact on their audiences as much as traditional campaigns do. Those impacts can range from being able to remember having seen the ad, clearly identifying the brand being advertised, to recalling the elements, information, and message conveyed in the ad.

According to an analysis done by Y&S on several ads installed in apartments and office buildings, a typical 15-second ad can be recalled without any visual aids by 8.8% of the audience on average. This recall refers to the ability to correctly attribute an ad to a brand and tell the contents of the ad.

When stimulated by showing the playback of a particular ad, 52.0% of the audience was able to recall having seen the ad play in their apartment or office building on average. This means there is room for growth in this aspect, by making ads impactful for the audience such that they are aware of the ad and product being advertised and minimise brand slippage—the tendency of mistaking the brand in an advertisement for another.

Ad campaigns not only need to persuade people to buy products but also engage people further with the content and the brand. The willingness of people who were exposed to the ads to search for information about the brand and share about the product are some important metrics for advertisers to pay attention to.

Advertisers need to convince audiences to look for more information about the advertised brand by keeping them exposed to ads placed at strategic locations, leading them along in a journey. Furthermore, ads that evoke emotions are more likely to be shared by viewers, increasing the ads’ reach.

With the advancements in technology, advertisers are encouraged to integrate them in ads. For instance, QR codes can be embedded in advertising material to evoke curiosity among viewers, some of which may scan the code to find more information.

Furthermore, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) should be leveraged to optimise digital campaigns. Aside from supporting the creation of ad materials, it can also support in determining the locations of campaigns, ensuring that as many people are exposed to the ads as possible.

Since advertisements serve as a way for brands to communicate with potential and current customers, advertisers need to design ads not only around their products’ strengths and uniqueness, but also around what viewers would do after being exposed to the ad. This is crucial in driving the number of an ads’ viewership and to reach new and current audiences more effectively and efficiently.●

YAMADA Consulting & Spire (Y&S) merupakan perusahaan riset dan konsultasi bisnis terkemuka di dunia dengan kantor pusat di Tokyo, Jepang, dan kantor pusat regional Asia Pasifik di Singapura. Sebelum diakuisisi oleh Yamada Consulting Group, perusahaan ini dikenal dengan nama Spire Research and Consulting.

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