By Goddie Ofose

The print media in Nigeria attracted N18.5 billion revenue from advertising in 2013, more than double the N9 billion in 2012. The figures are contained in newly released 2013 Mediafacts, produced by MediareachOMD, a media resource for marketing professionals in West and Central Africa which provides media planning, buying, control and inventory management services. The report said due to new publication launches and increased brand activities, “the spends in the print media increased more than 100 per cent,” a new record for the sector.

In the past 10 years, the report added, the highest revenue the print media had from advertisers before now was in 2010 when advertising spend was N16.5 billion. However, he print media was largely in Lagos, with a marginal 1 per cent spend in the North.
Although there was almost an equal spread of spend across the four quarters of 2013, there was a marginal skew in the second quarter with a total N5.1 billion. The first quarter had N4.2 billion; second, N4.5 billion; and fourth, N4.6 billion.

Growth in print media spend was driven primarily by personal paid, corporate, banking and finance, telecommunications, education, hotel, public service, motor vehicles, and telephone handset advertisements.

The top 10 advertising spenders last year were Globacom, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, MTN, Guaranty Trust Bank, Etisalat, Guinness Stout, Airtel, Diamond Bank, Zenith Bank, and Skye Bank.

MediaReachOMD Managing Director, Tolu Ogunkoya, noted that “besides the in-depth coverage of Nigeria and Ghana’s media markets, this latest edition of mediafacts provides deeper insight into the Cameroonian market.

“Media practitioners in the West and Central African regions, and companies making inroads into the markets in these regions, would find this publication useful.” The Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) had earlier released a report which estimates political advertising in 2015 at N20 billion. Former AAAN President, Bunmi Oke, said politics, telecoms and banking are expected to dominate advertising spends, with political campaign alone handing out over N20 billion.

The banking sector plans to spend on new structures and rebranding. Power distribution companies are expected to increase advertising while fast moving consumer goods and small and medium enterprise sectors should equally play a major role.

Oke, who spoke at the first 2104 AAAN media briefing in Lagos, said the Nigerian economy is one of the most developed in Africa and has the second largest stock exchange.

The economy is projected to grow at over 7 per cent; coming mainly from electricity, agriculture, tourism, and information communication technology (ICT).
The role of advertising agencies goes beyond offering marketing communication services, she stressed, for “it extends to fully engendered proper understanding of government policies and revealing to the public ways by which they can participate, benefit and contribute to the growth of the economy.”
AAAN Publicity Secretary, Celey Okogun, reiterated the link between advertising and economic growth, saying there is also a positive correlation between the rates of investment in advertising and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in major markets.

The biggest advertising spenders are also the leading foreign direct investment (FDI) companies in Nigeria, he added.

Okogun, also Chief Executive Officer of Novel Potta Y&R N, an advertising agency, addressed some issues in the industry, including advertising and the economy, as well as contribution by the AAAN.