Despite the economic crunch of 2015, the total advertising spend in the country rose to N97.9bn last year, according to the 2015 Mediafacts, which was released on Thursday.
Mediafacts is a key media resource for marketing professionals in West and Central Africa, which is produced annually by mediaReach OMD, a specialist company that provides media planning, buying, control and inventory management services.
The report revealed that the total advertising expenditure for 2015 represented an increase of N4.8bn above the N93.1bn documented in 2014.
According to the report, last year’s electioneering and the successful change of government may have positively impacted on the advertising spend in 2015, as it recorded a positive growth of about 4.8 per cent over the 2014 total media spend.
Mediafacts stated that television stations attracted the highest advertising expenditure of N39bn last year, while the print media, outdoor and radio stations attracted N23.7bn, N20.1bn and N15.1bn, respectively.
It stated that the advertising expenditure that went to the print media last year declined marginally by four per cent, from N25.8bn in 2014 to N23.7bn in 2015.
In addition, the outdoor performed better the previous year when it attracted N20.5bn advertising spend against N20.1bn in 2015.
However, the TV and radio stations in Nigeria attracted more advertising spend of N39.0bn and N15.1bn in 2015, compared to N34.6bn and N12.1bn the previous year.
Mediafacts put the advertising expenditure in the first and second quarters of 2015 at N23bn each, while the third and fourth quarters of the year recorded N29.8bn and N22.1bn, respectively.
“The highest spend for 2015 was recorded in quarter three (N29.8bn), which represents 30 per cent of the total spend,” the report stated.
On regional basis, Lagos State attracted the highest advertising expenditure of N53.1bn, followed by the North-Central (N12.1bn), South-West (N10.2bn) and South-South (N10bn).
“The highest spend for 2015 was recorded in Lagos (54 per cent); followed by the North-Central zone (12 per cent), while the North-East took the rear position. The paltry spend, less than one per cent in the North East, was traceable to the spate of insurgency in the region,” the report stated.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, mediaReach OMD, Mr. Tolu Ogunkoya, said, “Nigeria’s media is one of the most vibrant in Africa. State radio and TV stations have near-national coverage and operate at federal and regional levels.
“All 36 states run at least one radio network and a TV station. There are hundreds of radio stations and terrestrial TV networks, as well as cable and direct-to-home satellite offerings.”
According to him, television viewing in Nigeria is concentrated in urban areas, adding, “There are more than 100 national and local press titles, some of them are state-owned. They include well-respected dailies, tabloids and publications, which champion ethnic interests.
“By 2014, 70.3 million Nigerians were online (Internetworldstats.com). Mobile phones are commonly used to access the web. Most Internet users are young, educated and urban,” he stated.
Ogunkoya noted that Nigeria’s economy was the largest in Africa, while its manufacturing sector was the third largest on the continent, producing a large proportion of goods and services for the West African sub region.
He said, “Oil has been a dominant source of income and government revenues since the 1970s. Following the 2008-2009 global financial crises, the banking sector was effectively recapitalised and regulation enhanced.”
