There has been lots of talk about the growth of the marketing and advertising market in Asia. WPP’s GroupM predicted in December 2010 that global ad spend in 2011 would exceed US$500 billion for the first time. This is largely being fuelled by the rapid growth in Asian markets, with China expecting growth of US$5 billion and India, Indonesia and Japan all predicting growth of over US$1billion.
Add to this that Unilver have positioned their regional hub for Asia, Africa, Middle East and Central Eastern Europe in Singapore in 2010, and the indication is clear on the strategic importance of Asia’s growth in the global marketing and advertising industry.
So what does this mean for the employment market? Growth needs to be supported by talent. According to the Hudson Report for Q1 2011, 65% of respondents in Hong Kong expect to boost recruitment, more than double Q4’s 31%, with high demand for creatives with online and social media expertise. Media agency GroupM alone has over 150 live vacancies in the region. But where will this talent come from?
With the digital expansion throughout Asia coming later than the US and Europe, there is a major talent shortage, meaning that many media companies and advertising agencies are needing to attract talent from as far afield as Europe, the US and Australia. This is not sustainable or economically viable in the long term, and the need to develop local talent across the region is high on the agenda across the large agency networks.
John Wren, CEO of Omincom in a recent interview with Campaign, highlighted the opportunity for staff training and development, especially in China. John said; ‘A year ago, we tested 17 companies within the group and trained 11,000 people. We are now ready to spread that across the group in 2011 and train every employee so they are digitally capable with the added objective of certifying each employee’.
This strategy is also confirmed by the Hudson report with 65% of respondents from the Media/PR/Advertising sector in Hong Kong offering education and training as an incentive way above monetary incentives at 29%. There will still be substantial salary rises however, with 56% of employers expecting to pay more than 10% increases.
The Year of the Rabbit is set up to be a very prosperous one for the marketing and advertising industry. For candidates, growth means new job opportunities, pay rises and extra training and development. For employers, the battle to attract the best talent has never been more challenging, with the rapidly developing digital arena, and the difficulty not only to attract, but also to retain top talent. The importance of strong career development programmes and investment in training is significant in supporting growth.