ESG advertising slows down in APAC in Q1

The share of ESG advertising as a portion of total advertising volumes in APAC has dropped, Fundamental Monitor finds

Key findings:

• The portion of ESG promotion as a part of the overall advertising spend of asset managers in Asia Pacific has dropped during Q1 of 2022
• A total of 27 asset managers were advertising their ESG capabilities in the Asia Pacific region during Q1 2022, down slightly from Q4 when 28 ESG advertisers were active in market
• All APAC markets monitored by Fundamental Monitor saw some ESG advertising activity during Q1 2022, but most ESG advertisers were active in Singapore (14), Australia (12) and Hong Kong (10)

The portion of ESG promotion as a part of the overall advertising spend of asset managers in Asia Pacific has dropped during Q1 of 2022, according to data by Fundamental Monitor. 

While 28% of all advertising was focused on ESG in Q4 2021, this had dropped to only 6% in Q1 2022. When we only look at the advertising of asset managers who were actively promoting ESG, the portion of ESG advertising has fallen as well, from 43% in Q4 to 13% in Q1.

A total of 27 asset managers were advertising their ESG capabilities in the Asia Pacific region during Q1 2022, down slightly from Q4 when 28 ESG advertisers were active in market.

During Q1 2022, the ESG promotion in APAC was fairly evenly split between brand (27%), insights (42%) and fund promotion (31%). This was a change from Q4, when the majority of ESG advertising focused on thought leadership (57%), followed by fund promotion (30%) and brand campaigns (13%). 

All APAC markets monitored by Fundamental Monitor saw some ESG advertising activity during Q1 2022, but most ESG advertisers were active in Singapore (14), Australia (12) and Hong Kong (10).

In Q4 there were ten advertisers solely focused on ESG advertising, but in Q1 there were only five: Natixis Global Asset Management, American Century Investments, Robeco, UOB Asset Management and Lombard Odier Investment Management.

Below are some examples of the type of ESG campaigns that were in market in Asia Pacific in Q1 2022:

Amundi

Pictet

Nomura