In this weekly segment, ExchangeWire sums up the key industry updates on ad tech from around the region – and in this week's edition: HK ad spend up 17% during CNY; WPP subsidiary inks ecommerce partnership in China; WeChat Moments ads popping up too often; and Maxus China launches content division.

HK ad spend climbs 17% during CNY

Advertisers in Hong Kong spent HK$3.3bn (US$424.5m) during the Chinese New Year month of February 2015, up 17% from the same month last year.

This pushed the total ad spend for the first two months this year to H$7bn (US$902.6m), a year-on-year increase of 10%, according to a Marketing Interactive report, which cited data from admanGO.

Digital accounted for 12% of overall ad spend, while spending on mobile platforms climbed 80%. Ad spend on magazines dipped 8% year-on-year and paid newspapers and radio also saw a 1% fall. Spending on TV grew 8% and free papers and outdoor ads also saw a climb of 12%.

Top advertisers in Hong Kong comprised the Dairy Farm Group, which expanded its ad spend by 13% year-on-year to HK$179.9m (US$23.2m), and Proctor & Gamble which pumped in 19% more ad spend at HK$116.9m (US$15.07m).

WPP subsidiary inks ecommerce partnership in China

The media agency's wholly-owned Chinese subsidiary specialising in ecommerce marketing, Kuvera, has signed an agreement with Paipai to develop mobile social ecommerce for global brands operating in China.

The partnership will see Kuvera tapping social networks and other marketing tools to help WPP's clients conduct online retail business on Paipai's ecommerce platform. The latter is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China's second-largest ecommerce operator, JD.com.

Kuvera will be given access to Paipai's advertising inventory including the website's organic traffic and social media communications, such as WeChat and QQ.

JD.com CEO Richard Liu said: "It is a milestone that we are going to provide a total solution package including advertising and online sales for global brand names under social ecommerce context."

According to WPP, the agency generated US$1.5 billion revenue in Greater China last year, of which US$450 million was digital.

WeChat Moments ads popping up too often

WeChat users in China say ads are popping up too frequently on the mobile messaging app's content-sharing platform, Moments, according to a survey that polled 6,215 users. The company began pushing ads on the app in January, serving content from advertisers such as MBW China, Coca-Cola and Vivo Communication Technology.

Some 51.5% of respondents cited ads frequency as the biggest irritant, while 27.1% pointed to the lack of channel to file complaints about bad ads, reported Campaign Asia. About 42.5% of respondents said they wanted the option to filter ads that they were not interested in, while 26% asked for personalised ads.

Some 23.8% liked ads that were relevant to their personal interests, while 23.3% preferred ads to relay information about promotional activities.

Maxus China launches content division

The media agency has created a new division to address growing demand for more centralised marketing strategy that can be executed across different touchpoints.

Called Play, the business unit comprises 15 media specialists from Maxus including creative, social media management, and technology to offer services to clients such as Haier and Sakura. Maxus China's head of digital, Kevin Ko, will front the new outlet.