But will 2010 signal the return to good health that many media owners are expecting? As a barometer of the general mood of advertising investment in the region, it is worthwhile looking at the performance of financial brands. Traditionally one of the biggest spenders in Asia, financial institutions have this year battled against a combination of disappearing marketing budgets and a huge PR problem among the general public. On the face of it, the initial response of financial brands to the downturn was muted. Older brands, particularly those directly implicated in the crisis, chose to lay low. Even in Asia, which was spared the worst of the recession, financial institutions decided the recession was perhaps not the right time to be pushing out big-budget campaigns. Data from Nielsen shows that adspend in the first half of this year was way down on the corresponding period in 2008. And not just in the financial centres of Hong Kong and Singapore - Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan have been equally depressed. With 2009 commitments already locked in, we shouldn’t expect too much change in spend data for the second half of the year
Still, it is encouraging to see the first signs of recovery in the financial market. In the last few weeks, there has been a small but significant upsurge in activity as brands look to life beyond the recession. Standard Chartered is said to be preparing a global corporate brand push, while on a more local level several banks including PermataBank in Indonesia and Malaysia’s RBH have called media and creative pitches. Once 2010 marketing budgets are finalised, we can expect an increase in investment from the more confident financial players. Typically, financial marketing is reactive, and where one bank goes the rest follow. This could even lead to market clutter in the New Year, a welcome headache for media owners.
But it will not be enough for financial brands simply to ramp up investment. In terms of the general image of the industry among consumers, the damage has been done. More than ever, consumers are identifying brand image as a key purchasing criterion (see Financial Brands feature, page 28), in contrast to pre-recession priorities such as products and convenience. As such, financial institutions need to convey a more positive brand image and win back the customer’s trust. In Asia, HSBC has been quick to take the lead in this aspect. Over the next six months, more will need to follow suit.
Got a view?
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This article was originally published in 22 October 2009 issue of Media.