Nearly eight in 10 consumers across Asia-Pacific say a bad ad is worse than no ad at all, while 84% appreciate advertising tailored to specific platforms, according to Connected Content: The Force Multiplier for Maximizing Brand Influence, a new study from Omnicom Media.
Based on a survey of 7,000 adults across seven Asia-Pacific markets, the report examines how increasingly fragmented consumer attention is challenging traditional content-at-scale approaches built around a single hero asset adapted across channels.
The study also introduces “Connected Content,” a framework Omnicom Media says can help brands create more relevant and contextually connected advertising experiences.
According to the report, consumer attention is increasingly divided across platforms, devices, formats, creators, AI-powered discovery tools, and commerce environments, making it more difficult for traditional content models to keep pace.
“The old school spray-and-pray method no longer reflects the reality of the average Asia-Pacific consumer who is hyperlocal, hyperconnected, and more importantly, hyperaware of brand motivations,” said Nina Fedorczuk, Chief Enablement Officer, Omnicom Media Asia Pacific.
“Those of us in the advertising industry must rearchitect the way we ideate, strategise, deliver, and even learn from ads in such a way that they not only fit our target audiences, but our target contexts and moments.”
Research findings:
Advertising Quality Matters
- 78% of consumers say a bad ad is worse than no ad at all.
- 32% say a poor advertising experience reflects more negatively on the brand than on the platform carrying the ad.
- 52% say a better advertising experience would improve their perception of a brand.
- 40% say an improved advertising experience would increase their likelihood to purchase.
Context and Relevance Drive Engagement
- 78% connect more strongly with ads that are relevant to the content they are consuming.
- 84% appreciate when brands have ads that are specifically tailored for specific platforms.
- 76% say they feel connected to ads that appear at the right moment.
Process and Intent Impact Perception
- 75% say they feel connected to an ad when it tries to speak to their heart rather than their wallet.
- 31% of consumers also care about how an ad is made, rather than just the ad itself.
Utility and Relatability Strengthen Brand Connections
- 86% say useful information helps them connect with advertising.
- 81% connect with ads that feel relatable to their lives and experiences.
The study also outlines several implications for marketers, including:
- Reframing messaging around continuity rather than consistency.
- Focusing on additive and augmentative experiences rather than interruptive ones.
- Bringing media, creative, production, commerce, and measurement teams together earlier in the planning process.
- Using audience intelligence, contextual signals, and performance data to refine creative experiences.
- Measuring both immediate engagement and longer-term brand impact.
