IAA presents the state of the International Advertising Industry – study finds industry sectors align on global priorities

According to the first State of the International Advertising Industry Survey by the International Advertising Association (IAA) industry professionals across the world, marketers, agencies, and media companies all agree that social media effectiveness, purposeful brands, media & technology trends and mastery of data & engagement are taking priority since the dramatic change brought about by technology, globalization, and the economic re-set.

Click for summary of the full study here – IAA State of International Advertising Industry-Overview Analysis-FINAL.pdf

Despite the study surveying individuals in over 50 countries, geography had only a subtle effect on overall responses regarding global trends, underscoring how professionals in the industry are motivated by best brand practices, are connected by international media and technology, and care about consumers first.

Geography does matter, though, in perceptions of key world markets about Growth, Idea Creation, Technological Innovation, and the Next Generation of Multinational Brands.

Although overall survey responses clearly project the respondents’ global optimism and strong international marketing understanding, local passions still run deep when exploring the future potential of specific markets. Regional pride or national sensitivities affect these answers even among members of a sophisticated global industry.

This first State of the International Advertising Industry Study extracted a broad range of insights on today’s top priorities and future challenges, as well as viewpoints specific to individual actions and intentions. In addition, questions were asked about particular world markets in terms of levels of growth, idea creation, technological innovation, and the next generation of multinational brands. The survey concluded with two open-ended questions about pressing local marketing challenges and most admired advertising campaigns, the answers to which reflect the complexities of our worldwide industry.

Access to the survey was by invitation to IAA members, and those visiting the International Advertising Association global website, www.iaaglobal.org. The State of the International Advertising Industry was open for participation between May 8 and June 30, 2012, and 370 individuals completed the full survey. Nearly 70 percent (68.6%) stated that they were IAA members. Participants represented a range of companies with roughly half (52.2%) indicating they worked for a multinational corporation, while 23.2% specified regional businesses and 26.7% stated a local company.

The Geographic breakout of respondents follows: Europe- 35.1%; Asia Pacific -31.1%; North America- 30.0%; Middle East/Africa- 19.4%; South/Central America- 7.4%; Unspecified-7.0%. Participants indicated their industry sector as Advertisers- 21.5%; Agencies- 66.6%; Media- 21.9%; other-5.5%. (Specific breakouts are also available by agency type- full service, creative, digital, media, etc.).

Respondents see the “Reinvention of Marketing” as a must and say the industry needs to:

• Build Brands that consumers associate with purpose and meaning (56.1%)
• Deliver shared values to consumers and customers (35.8%)
• Embrace 21st century brand transparency given the impact of the socially-empowered consumer.
• Harness the benefits of “Big Data” while insuring consumer privacy.

In terms of idea creation, the US significantly tops the chart at 20 percentage points ahead of India, the next market on the list at 44.5%, with China in the No. 3 spot at 43.7%

All sectors – advertisers, agencies and the media concurred on US dominance in this area.

However, when isolating Advertiser-only responses, this group ranked Brazil as the #2 area for Idea Creation, followed by India and then China in 4th place. But China was the clear leader of the pack in terms of which nation will be the greatest producer of the next generation of multi-national brands.

The question of regional sources of idea creation over the next 3 years also shows a second tier of key markets among worldwide respondents: Europe at 36.7%, Brazil at 33.5% and Korea at 22.1%. More than one-third of global participants still view Europe as a source of advertising ideas, despite current concerns about economics or overall growth potential. This section reflected the greatest degree of regional difference when looking at specific geographic breakouts.