Study finds 2 in 3 consumers tune out repetitive ads, and urges brands to adopt omnichannel strategies to combat rising fatigue in a fragmented media landscape.
A study by global adtech organisation The Trade Desk revealed that 66% of Southeast Asian consumers are tuning out repetitive ads shown on a single channel.
The findings in the study “The Untapped Opportunity of Omnichannel” underscore the urgent need for advertisers to move away from siloed, multichannel strategies and adopt connected, omnichannel approaches that align with how consumers actually engage with media today.
The study looked at the difference between omnichannel campaigns and multichannel campaigns and their impact to the consumer experience and engagement. While both approaches use multiple channels, the distinction lies in execution.
Multichannel campaigns often operate in silos with separate strategies across different platforms. In contrast, omnichannel campaigns unify three or more digital channels (such as mobile, display, native, video, audio, DOOH, or CTV/OTT) into a connected experience that optimizes message sequencing and frequency based on how users consume media.
Fragmentation is fueling fatigue
Across Southeast Asia, consumers are spending over eight hours a day on an average of five media environments including CTV/OTT, music streaming, gaming, news, and websites. This growing media fragmentation makes it increasingly challenging for marketers to deliver relevant, engaging ads without overwhelming their audiences.
At the same time, ad fatigue has become widespread across the region. Among the six markets surveyed, Indonesia (69%) and the Philippines (67%) report the highest levels of ad fatigue, followed closely by Thailand (65%) and Singapore (63%).
The issue is especially pronounced among Gen Z, who are 57% more likely to feel annoyed when the same brand appears repeatedly on a single channel. As digital natives, they expect advertising to be seamless, personalised, and non-repetitive across channels.
“As media consumption becomes increasingly fragmented, ad fatigue is emerging as a major challenge for marketers,” said Simon Morgan, Senior Vice President, The Trade Desk.
“Our research shows that an omnichannel approach is far better equipped to manage frequency across channels, publishers, and platforms, while delivering a cohesive sequence of relevant messages. When campaigns are audience-first and aligned with how people actually consume media, they reduce fatigue, while driving stronger business outcomes.”
Window of opportunity for omnichannel
Despite rising ad fatigue, Southeast Asians remain open to relevant, well executed advertising. More than half (55%) say ads influence their next purchase, and that number climbs even higher in Thailand (66%) and Indonesia (60%).
In fact, Southeast Asians are 1.6 times more likely to be inspired by ads when shopping online compared to their global counterparts. This is a clear signal for marketers to adopt omnichannel strategies that deliver timely, relevant messages that align with where consumers are in their purchase journey.
Recent studies reveal that omnichannel approaches significantly outperform disconnected media strategies, reducing ad fatigue by 2.2 times and boosting persuasive impact by 1.5 times.
Additionally, advertisers leveraging The Trade Desk’s platform for omnichannel campaigns saw a 1.7 times increase in purchase intent when three channels are connected holistically.
The impact of strategic alignment across channels on the open internet is further validated by findings showing a 77% uplift in return on investment when five channels are integrated.
Other key findings and recommendations
- Thailand leads Southeast Asia in brand recall: Thailand stands out for its exceptional brand recall across digital channels, with particularly strong recall in online video, gaming, and websites. Notably, CTV/OTT is emerging as a cornerstone of longterm brand equity. Thai consumers exposed to CTV/OTT ads are 23% more likely to remember the brand and 16% more likely to trust those ads than ads on any other channel. With its dual ability to drive both recall and trust, CTV/OTT is now a critical pillar of effective omnichannel strategies in Thailand.
- Premium channels outpace social media ad effectiveness in the Philippines: While social media remains dominant in Philippines, its effectiveness as an ad channel is undermined by low consumer trust. In contrast, premium open internet environments including CTV/OTT, music streaming, and online video command 1.2 times greater ad trust than social media platforms, making them far more effective for building meaningful brand connections. To build deeper brand connections, marketers must move beyond social-first strategies and embrace holistic omnichannel plans that leverage these high-trust channels.
- Trust is the differentiator in Singapore: Singapore consumers are the most ad-skeptical in Southeast Asia, yet they actively seek reliable information from trusted media sources. Ad trust is highest in CTV/OTT, online video, and music streaming, while social media and gaming lag behind. Millennials stand out as a key audience segment, showing elevated levels of both message recall and product awareness when brands engage them across multiple trusted channels. In this attention-fragmented market, brands must deliver cohesive, full-funnel storytelling across high-trust environments to earn both consumer attention and loyalty.
- Indonesia tops the region in ad recall but trust gap exists: Indonesia leads Southeast Asia in ad recall, with a striking 81% remembering ads, well above the regional average of 66%. However, despite Indonesia’s high recall rates, it ranks just behind Singapore for low brand trust, suggesting that visibility doesn’t always equate to credibility. This underscores the need for an omnichannel strategy that lead with high-impact, trusted formats like online video and CTV/OTT to boost both recall and trust, and ensure that messaging across display and social is consistent and credible.
