MANILA, Philippines -- Consumers are increasingly going "digital" but companies are not putting enough money on advertising and may be missing out on a lucrative market, according to marketing firm OgilvyOne.
"Based on studies, people are spending 30 percent of their time on digital but only about 10 percent of advertising spend is devoted to this emerging medium," said Damien Cummings, digital marketing lead for OgilvyOne Singapore.
Cummings is also general manager for Neo@Ogilvy, a unit under OgilvyOne focused on digital and direct media marketing services.
The company's definition of digital isn't confined to mobile or the Internet; it also covers a broad range of platforms such as billboards or kiosks through which digital content is delivered.
According to statistics presented by the company, traditional media (primarily print and TV) account for $455 billion in ad spending, dwarfing that devoted to digital platforms like Web and mobile estimated at around $55 billion.
But ad spending on digital is growing nearly 25 percent annually, compared to six percent for traditional media, leading to what OgilvyOne refers to as the "marketing confidence gap" or, roughly not enough ad spend to cater to a growing consumer group.
Although industry figures show a trend favoring digital advertising, Cummings admits most chief marketing officers are not yet comfortable with digital as an advertising medium.
"It's not so much about telling them what's going on, technology-wise, but making them know how they can use it to increase brand awareness," Cummings said in an interview.
Asked about the local market, Cummings believes the Philippines carries a lot of potential for digital advertising, given rising percentage of the country's population using the Internet.
"Based on market projections, there will be more than 21.5 million here in the next few years, 80 percent of them in Metro Manila alone," he said.
Locally, OgilvyOne has done digital marketing campaigns for the likes of Nike, Nestle and Unilever which are heavily anchored on the Internet including social networking sites such as Friendster.
Elly Puyat, managing director for OgilvyOne Philippines, noted that more companies are looking at digital and social media to complement traditional "offline" advertising.
"With digital, you need to be in a perpetual state of beta," she said. "It's about getting out a great idea rather than perfecting one first before starting a campaign."
