Online video viewership grows, but ads failing to connect: Nielsen

Four out of five people in Asia have watched online video content in the past month, an increase of five percentage points since 2010 and 6 per cent higher than the global average of 74 per cent, according to the Nielsen Global Multi-Screen Report. Two out of five in Asia watch on a daily basis.

Unsurprisingly, people in Asia, like most of the rest of the world, are watching online video more frequently, with the percentage reporting weekly viewing on any device rising from 63 per cent last year to 68 per cent in the most recent study. On the other hand, the study holds some surprises in the frequency of viewing across different countries. For example, the Phillippines leads the region in the percentage reporting daily viewership (41), a category in which Indonesia (36), Thailand (36) and Vietnam (34) also show strongly. In contrast, only 15 per cent of Koreans and 11 per cent of Japanese report viewing online video daily. In fact, 64 per cent of people in Japan report not viewing online video on any device in the last 30 days.

Online video viewership (on any device) in the last 30 days. (Source: Nielsen)

As for advertising, Nielsen found that just 33 percent of digital consumers in Asia trust online video ads. Moreover, only 36 per cent report that the messages delivered via online video advertisements hold relevance when they're searching for product information.

“Online video advertising is the new frontier for agencies and advertisers,” said Kerry Brown, Nielsen’s APMEA region cross-platform audience measurement director. "The platform provides a unique opportunity to engage with consumers, but the messages need to be relevant and capture web browsers’ attention."