By Sharina Ahmad
AdEasy Sdn Bhd plans to expand its reach beyond Malaysia by penetrating the Singapore and Thailand markets by the third quarter (3Q) of next year.
Its CEO Melissa Sim said the reason for entering these two markets was the huge interest from its potential media partners there. She added that demand for offline advertising such as billboards was still there regardless of changing times.
“We have a strong network of contacts in Singapore and Thailand as the appetite for offline advertising is still high,” she tells FocusM.
The company also intends to venture into other markets in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam and the Philippines in the next couple of years.
“We will make thorough feasibility studies and if they show positive insights, we might consider leveraging our platform there. We believe that the offline advertising landscape will always be relevant as it evolves with time and technology,” she said.
Sim, who has 12 years of experience in the ad and media industries, said the offline ad began from the good old times of putting up posters, to evolve into billboards, and now digital billboards.
“And contrary to common misconception, there is no one or the other between offline and online advertising.
“It’s about understanding the functions of each, and decide which would work best to achieve the objectives of the company. A good marketer would know how to strike a balance between the two, to be present in as many touchpoints as possible, while working within the company’s marketing budget,” she said.
She noted that the demand for offline advertising will be on par with online. This is because when the market becomes more sophisticated, businesses will know the value of both online and offline advertising, and will be seamlessly integrating them in their campaigns for optimal results.
AdEasy is an online marketplace for offline advertising. It is a one-stop-platform for advertisers to browse and book offline advertising spaces such as radio, cinema, billboard, magazine, newspaper, television and car.
Based on data compiled by AdEasy last year, the demand for traditional media, especially radio, out-of-home (OOH) and cinema ads is still high. The company’s 2018 revenue was contributed mainly by radio at 56%, OOH 21% and cinema 15%.
According to a 2018 Malaysia advertising expenditure (Adex) report by GroupM Worldwide Inc, out of the RM4.48 bil spent on ads, 72% went to traditional media.
