Mobile operators Nigeria’s biggest advertising spenders

Nigeria’s telecommunications industry was the country’s biggest spender on above-the-line (ATL) advertising during 2009 with a total spend of N15.096 billion (US$100.4 million).

The banking and finance sector features in second place with a total of N6.176bn ($41.1m). Personal paid advertising accounted for a total of N5.278bn ($35.1m).

These figures are contained in the recently released Mediafacts Addendum, produced by Media Reach OMD.

ATL advertising generally includes television, radio, print and out-of-home. Cinema, direct mail and the internet are sometimes also included but does not feature in the report. With ATL advertising an agency normally contracts the broadcast time and advertising space on behalf of a client.

Above-the-line advertising expenditure – Top 20 product categories of 2009 Source: Media Monitoring Services Ltd (MMSL)

Above-the-line advertising expenditure – Top 20 product categories of 2009 Source: Media Monitoring Services Ltd (MMSL)

Mobile operator MTN was the brand that spent the most on ATL advertising with a total of N6.634bn ($44.1m). It is followed by fellow telecommunications companies, Globacom, Etisalat and Zain. Star Lager Beer is in fifth place.

Above-the-line advertising expenditure – Top 20 brands of 2009 Source: Media Monitoring Services Ltd (MMSL)

Above-the-line advertising expenditure – Top 20 brands of 2009 Source: Media Monitoring Services Ltd (MMSL)

During 2009 television advertising attracted N38.350bn ($255.2m), followed by out-of-home with a total of N24.251bn ($161.4m), print with a total of N15.815bn ($105.2m), and radio with a total of N12.511bn ($83.2m).

According to the report, MTN spent the bulk of its ATL marketing budget on out-of-home advertising. The company dished out N4.457bn ($29.7m) on out-of-home, N1.495bn ($10m) on television, N387m ($2.6m) on radio, and N298m ($2m) on print.

Compared to South Africa, Nigerian brands allocated a much larger percentage of their advertising budgets to out-of-home. According to a report by OMD South Africa, only 4.4% of the country’s total ATL spend during 2009 went to out-of-home.