Pakistan’s Advertising Market Now Exceeds Rs 65 Billion

Pakistan’s total advertisement expenditure now exceeds Rs 65 billion. During the past few years, the ad spending has seen an increase of 10 to 12 percent. 45 billion of that amount is spent on television advertisements while 17 billion is used in print media advertisements.

This information was revealed by CEO of GroupM, Fouad Hussain, Pakistan’s largest ad buying house , whose company manages advertising for several brands and media vendors.

The total billings of the television and print media ads through GroupM are around Rs19 billion, which is over a quarter of the total advertisement budget of the country. –  Fouad Hussain, CEO of GroupM

Brands and Advertising

According to him, most of the TV channels rely on ads from telecom companies and mobile manufacturers. Brands like Unilever, Engro Foods and most of the banks are shifting from TV ads to print media.

Fouad Hussain says that print media’s budget has been continuously increasing for the past 5 to 10 years and brands tend to show more interest in print media over time. The costs of ads in print media have also seen an increase in recent times.

If a newspaper was charging Rs 10,000 for an ad five years ago, it is now charging Rs 100,000. – Fouad Hussain

He says that a lack of research in print media has prevented it from improving over the years. There’s no information on statistics and readerships. Advertisers, therefore, choose to opt for TV channels because information is available like what’s watched more and in which city. This allows advertisers to target specific regions at specific times.

Optimistic Times Ahead

Hussain accused the print media owners of under-investing in journalists and professional writers, which has let to its decline. However, with regards to TV, he was optimistic that it would grow by a digit every year. He expects that  “it should grow in maturity as well so that the content improves.”

Outdoor media is another medium of advertisement. It is also expected to grow as new technology gets incorporated and people make a move to electronic billboards. When talking about digital media, he made a cautionary statement on  the current state of advertising in Pakistan:

Everybody wants to use the digital media but very few know how to use it. So, I think we are going through a learning curve. Also, I don’t think that as a country and as a media market, we have been able to crack a solution as to how the radio should progress. – Fouad Hussain