For the majority of countries in Asia Pacific, official primetime television starts at 6pm and finishes at 11pm*. Taking a closer look at viewing habits around the Asia Pacific region, however, the time slot when the bulk of viewers tune in is between 8pm and 9pm, when close to one third of the Asia Pacific# population (32%) is watching television.

The Cricket World Cup (CWC) was held this past spring, and much like the Super Bowl in the U.S., it is a must-do event for global advertisers. In addition to its popularity in England, cricket is popular in many parts of Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, India and Pakistan. It draws sponsors from a range of multinational and local companies, from the auto industry to fast moving consumer goods. And for good reason: it is estimated that 1 billion people in 180 territories tuned in to the tournament …

One in seven people surveyed said they intended on buying residential property as an investment – a sharp drop from the one in four who indicated the same desire a year ago.

Sales may increase when a brand is promoted, but is the promotion actually supporting the brand? In Australia, it is estimated that up to 30% of all grocery purchases are made on promotion and trends indicate that this could increase among the key retailers.

The recession that has gripped much of the world over the last year has caused consumers to seek out entertainment that provides the best value for money.

Like shoppers around the world, consumers across Asia Pacific have become focused on saving and reducing debt this year, and as a result, have become less inclined to spend on bigger ticket items and out-of-home-entertainment.

While traditional methods such a newspaper and magazine ads still have their place, New Zealanders like many others now go online for a large portion of their research.

While connected by a common language (accents notwithstanding), history and location, Australians and New Zealanders have always had a degree of friendly rivalry. But that rivalry is diminishing to some extent as more Australians visit their neighbor to the southeast, according to research from Nielsen’s BuzzMetrics service.

Overall ad spending stayed afloat in Q1 ‘09 vs. Q1 ‘08
Toward the end of 2008, the global downturn was adversely impacting advertising spending throughout many key markets around the world, with Europe and the Americas struggling more than others.  The exception to this was Asia Pacific (APAC), which appeared to be relatively impervious to the worst of the downturn. Beginning in late 2008, and escalating as the first quarter of 2009 unfolded, the majority of APAC markets were finally succumbing to declining economic conditions with substantial declines in advertising activity. …

In a poll that surveyed more than 25,000 people worldwide, Nielsen found that New Zealanders were among those getting most bored of media coverage regarding the global recession, with more than a quarter of Kiwis polled saying that there was too much coverage.
Although 40 percent said that the media did a poor job of informing them of the issues that led to the crisis, 52 percent say that the media is now helping them to better understand the issues at play while 23 percent said that they were let down …