Smartphone sales and telco ad spend rebounding, finds Zenith
A new study by Publicis Groupe-owned Zenith is predicting telecom ad spend to grow substantially off the back of new smartphones and 5G deployment.
According to Zenith’s Business Intelligence – Telecommunications report, published today, growth in ad spend will be slow and steady in Australia, where it is forecasted to reach US$314 million by 2023, up from US$365 million in 2019.
As with other markets, digital advertising locally is expected to rebound more strongly than other media channels, with spend expected to near pre-pandemic levels by 2023 to reach US$217 million, compared to US$224 million in 2019.
It predicts smartphone sales to spring back this year once consumers feel more confident in their future. “Consumers are becoming more willing to finance and purchase handsets independently from their network providers, giving manufacturers and retailers a greater incentive to advertise handsets themselves,” the report stated.
Zenith is also predicting that telecoms brands will increase their digital ad spend at an average rate of 5% a year between 2019 and 2023. “By 2023, digital advertising will account for 54% of all telecoms advertising,” the report stated. In Australia, it is predicting a 3.2% increase by 2023.
In other findings, the top uses for smartphones among Australian consumers (excluding calls and messaging) were checking the time (63%) and reading/sending emails (62%), closely followed by social media (57%), maps/directions (56%), and online banking (53%).
Zenith Australia’s head of strategic insights, Kim Xavier, said: “It’s clear that connection is a key driver in how people use their smartphones, whether it’s to look at emails, or go onto social media. To reiterate this point, we also found that more than 60% of Australians feel being reachable and connected are the most important factors associated with telco services.”
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Olivia Kruimel is the managing editor at Mumbrella. She has more than 15 years of experience in journalism, communications and marketing. Her journalism career began at Fairfax Media (now part of Nine) and includes various B2B publications such as B&T, Travel Today and ALB. As a marketer Olivia has worked for Standard Chartered and various global law firms.
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