Thanks to an annual growth rate of 3.7%, Brazil’s GDP was $2.52 trillion in 2011, surpassing the United Kingdom as the world’s sixth-largest economy. Of interest to those of us in the online advertising business, ZenithOptimedia reported Brazil had already become the sixth-largest global ad market in 2010, and according to eMarketer, Brazil is also the sixth-biggest country in terms of video views on YouTube.
Brazilian Internet users aren’t just watching online videos: eMarketer also reports that 87.6% (or 75.7 million) of Internet users in Brazil are using social networks, while research by TG.net suggested that 81% used the web for comparison pricing and 63% for online purchases.
Alongside Brazil’s economic boom comes the rapid development of the nation’s digital media. With approximately 91 million browsers according to Forrester Research, Brazil is the fifth-largest nation globally in terms of Internet users. And while this is already a large number, it’s only 40% of the total population of 192 million. The government has laid out a plan – Programa Nacional de Banda Larga (PBNL), or the “National Broadband Program” – to push broadband access to 70% of the population by 2014. Brazil is poised to become an online market roughly on par with those of the United States and Europe.
According to Brazilian media and marketing firm IBOPE, Internet advertising spending grew by 70.6% to BRL 5.39 billion ($3.23 billion) in 2011, which is 5.4% of total ad spend across channels (BRL 46.38 billion or $27.77 billion). That figure jumped by 15.8% over 2010, showing that marketers are anxious to follow the growing middle class as they go online. TV and newspapers account for 46.4% and 17.3% of ad spend, respectively. The Brazilian digital ad market is fresh and still modest compared to other media, but it’s growing even more quickly than it did in the U.S. and is poised to leapfrog into first place – the only question is: how soon?
The online advertising infrastructure in Brazil is relatively young compared to more mature markets. A small group of portals and content networks are swallowing the majority of traffic of online traffic and revenue, but new players are helping to diversify the market. Marketers and publishers are just wading into the waters of targeted advertising and audience segmentation. While publishers are examining solutions, demand for real-time bidding is steadily growing. Rich media and video advertising are just gaining a foothold.
As they watch the market catch fire, global ad technology vendors are starting to pour over the border, bringing exciting new solutions with them. Many major multinational players are already very active in Brazil alongside local vendors, and Google, the keynote sponsor of AdMonsters Brazil in Sao Paolo on April 24, will be announcing the launch of its DoubleClick Ad Exchange product at the conference.
Throughout the globe, AdMonsters assembles online ad technology leaders to build the future of online advertising. In Brazil the foundations of the online advertising ecosystem are just being laid, and advertising operations professionals in particular should take the lead in building a solid platform for growth.
AdMonsters Brazil will give attendees the chance to interact with speakers and leaders from major online media companies, agencies, and technology companies. Adrian D’Souza, Director of Media Operations at YouTube, will explain why operational excellence is essential for success in the media business, regardless of region or size of company, and focus on how an “OPS 2.0” model can be implemented from the start in Brazil.
The challenges to the emerging digital ad landscape are many – some distinct to Brazil and others well known across the world. According to IBOPE, Brazilian Internet speeds are still middling, with broadband coming in at an average of 1.7 mbps and a 164th world rank. High costs are still an obstacle to widespread consumer adoption of connected technology: although there are close to 250 million mobile phone users, the majority are pre-paid accounts, and mobile data access remains a relatively expensive rarity – for the moment. Only about 6% of Brazilian mobile users access the Internet through their mobile devices and only 1% of Internet access comes from mobile.
Another major factor that will be addressed at the conference is resources. It’s difficult to find staff with deep ad operations and technology skill everywhere, and the same is true in Brazil. AdMonsters will assemble a panel of leading publishers, agencies, ad networks, and others to discuss these issues and more in detail.
Brazil is a very exciting place right now, a nation that is growing at the same pace as the Internet itself. The Brazilian online advertising and marketing ecosystem is being built right now – and on April 24 in São Paulo, AdMonsters will bring the industry’s leaders together to build the future of online advertising in Brazil. Join us – Register for AdMonsters Brazil today!
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The Brazilian digital advertising scene is heating up – AdMonsters Brazil will bring digital advertising leaders and ops professionals together to discuss and develop best practices for the budding Brazilian online ad infrastructure. Register today for AdMonsters Brazil, which will be held April 24, 2012, in São Paulo. |