Spending on ads down 30 per cent

(L-R) Marketing Society of Kenya (MSK) Chairman Pheodor Mundia, ReelAnalytics Marketing Manager Irene Chelimo and MSK CEO Edward Oswe confer during the release of advertising spend report for the first half of 2020. The ceremony was held at a hotel in Nairobi.

A clampdown on betting and the Covid-19 pandemic saw advertising expenditure fall 30 per cent in the first half of the year compared to a similar period in 2019. 

A new report shows that government and private sector players spent Sh52 billion to buy advertising space on radio, television and print media during the period under review compared to Sh74 billion spent in the first six months of last year.

The report was released on Monday by the Marketing Society of Kenya and marketing and media intelligence firm ReelAnalytics.

It was based on a gross rate card, showing that spending on marketing activities in all sectors had shrunk. Last year, the government introduced new gambling regulations, which included the banning of outdoor and social media advertising.

According to the MSK report, increased campaigns by government and private sector to sensitise the public on Covid-19 posted the highest growth, accounting for nine per cent of the total advertising revenues in the period under review.

“The communication industry was the top spender, accounting for 14 per cent of the total adverts spend followed by the financial sector with 13 per cent,” the report noted.