Politics shoots up outdoor advertising revenue to N97bn

According to the compendium, the figure represents a growth of 7.3 per cent over the amount spent the previous year, 2009. In 2010, it said Lagos region accounted for 52.7 per cent or N51.415 billion, while the North accounted for 19 per cent or N18.578 billion. The Eastern part accounted for N16.218 billion or 16.6 […]

According to the compendium, the figure represents a growth of 7.3 per cent over the amount spent the previous year, 2009.

In 2010, it said Lagos region accounted for 52.7 per cent or N51.415 billion, while the North accounted for 19 per cent or N18.578 billion.

The Eastern part accounted for N16.218 billion or 16.6 per cent while the western part of the country accounted for the remaining 11.6 per cent or N11.338 billion..

The bulk of the amount spent on advertisement during the year under review was political in nature. This leaves no one in doubt as last year was the eve of the nation’s elections which was one of the costliest in the nation’s history.

‘’The report is accurate and straight to the point. Media spend last year by politicians in this country was huge and over-kill. They wanted the glitz and electronic billboards that would be sited at strategic points around and they got it. You know billboard rates are high. You can then wonder how many billions of naira states would spend on the bill board,’’ Mr Babatunde Ayeni, a social analyst said.

According to Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group, ad spending in the United States of America top $3 billion.

Borrell Associates and predicted spending get as high as $4.2 billion last year.

Besides, analyst said the fact that such a huge amount of money was spent on outdoor advertising is a good development to the sub-sector of  advertising which was inter alia relegated.

A member of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria(APCON), Mr Adewale Tunde, told our correspondent that advertising and political campaigns are like Siamese twins.

He explained that with expenditure on outdoor, there is,  indeed, a revolution in the sector in the years to come.

He said Nigeria has not really tapped from the inherent benefits in outdoor advertising unlike what obtains in other civilized countries in the world.

‘’I don’t want to whip up sentiments into the expenditure on outdoor by the governments. I would rather commend them for spending public money for the purpose of the public. By investing such huge money, they have created a good job for large numbers of people in the sector. They have equally created another source of revenue for governments too.

‘’I want to charge corporate organisations to do more for the outdoor sector. The sector is in need of growth and I believe corporate organisations can do something in this regard to propel growth,’’ he added.

Mr Hassan Suleiman, a lecturer in the School of Communication, Lagos State University (LASU), said outdoor advertising has come to be reckoned with in Nigeria.

He said advertising practitioners should not rest on their oars to sustain the tempo the sub-sector is growing even as he advised the government to consider ways of adding value to the lives of ordinary Nigerians who voted for them.