Investment in Advertising Dropped to N80bn in 2016 over Economic Recession

Raheem Akingbolu

Against the N103.858 billion spent on traditional advertising in 2015 by advertisers in Nigeria, the figure dropped to N80.446 billion in 2016, the 2017/18 Nigerian Media Advertising Guide (NMAG), has revealed. This, according to the report represents 23% decrease over the 2015 traditional advertising spending. The decline was blamed on 2015 elections and the economic recession of the second quarter of 2016.

An annual publication of Media Perspectives, NMAG, is a compendium of global and local marketing research data, with complementary actionable insights and market intelligence that will help industry practitioners make informed business decisions that ultimately impact positively on the bottom-line.

In this edition which covers this year and next year, the report also established that the top seven brands across all media were representative of the top spending categories. The highest spenders come from telecoms, banking and finance, beer and dairy products sectors.

While it posited that terrestrial TV stations in the country have grown to over 160 from 150 in the previous year, with NTA still dominating with about 107 stations pan Nigeria, the report slammed the print media for currently facing stiff competition from online news blogs and sites. It however concluded that online versions of the various newspapers remain an inevitable weapon to sustain readership.

Though, the report stated that the top TV advertisers in the country are mostly telco brands, it admitted that apart from other corporate advertising, the banking sector had the overall highest activity by any category in the print media options. According to the report, the need for banks to build and sustain brand equity with corporate stakeholders by featuring regularly on newspaper and magazine pages remained the major push for their visibilities.

On the influence of Telcos on TV, the report stated that: “This was expected, given the audio-visua effect that is highly desired to drive sales of Telco products over a relatively short advertising response period. Most telecoms & FMCG advertisers rely strongly on TV to drive consumer response over a relatively shorter duration.”

As a result of TV digitalisation, the report urged business owners and advertisers to consider consolidating on Pay TV, which is increasingly affordable due to the availability of low-end consumer platforms and cost of data. It noted that internet holds a high degree of usage, especially among the young and middle-aged population, which are increasingly considered very important in terms of purchasing power.
The report also established that digital media is an effective engagement platform that has an ROI advantage as it is more accountable compared to traditional media. It also stated that exposure to media is higher amongst the southern region (with Lagos blazing the trail), compared to the north, due to ongoing insurgence.
In a statement issued by Media Perspective on the industry publication, its Chief Operating Officer, Jude Odia, was quoted as saying that “there is urgent need to democratise media research data as it will helps grow market appreciation and the potential of the industry in Nigeria.”