Asia Pacific ad spend is expected to grow by 8.0% to US$229 billion this year, with Australia and India forecasting especially high growth rates. Dentsu’s latest ad spend report said 2021 growth in those to countries is expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels in China.
Digital media company iMedia is entering the social commerce scene with a full acquisition in Lovelife Technologies, owner and operator of beauty eCommerce and influencer marketing company Favful.
Carsome Group has acquired 19.9% of iCar Asia from Catcha Group. Carsome and Catcha Group have also made a joint proposal to iCar Asia’s independent directors to acquire the balance of 80.1% of iCar from its shareholders. The total transaction is estimated to be worth more than US$200 million and according to Carsome, makes it Malaysia’s first tech unicorn. It also reportedly cements Carsome’s position as Southeast Asia’s most valuable digital automotive marketplace.
Procrastinators of the world can throw a party whenever they get around to it: Google has once more pushed back complete third-party cookie deprecation. The new target is “early next year.” Reasons for the delay include concerns expressed by U.K. data regulator Information Commissioner’s Office, an ongoing inquiry by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, and widespread discontent in the advertising ecosystem.