Monday June 18, 2012

Companies likely to increase adex this year

GEORGE TOWN: Companies in the country are expected to increase their advertising expenditure by about 15% this year from RM10.7bil in 2011.

OmnicomMediaGroup managing director Andreas Vogiatzakis said in an interview that the forthcoming Olympics in London and expected general election were going to boost television ratings, which would attract more advertisements.

Vogiatzakis told StarBiz at the sidelines of the The Star Business Awards 2012 (SOBA) first workshop that “we expect 50% of the advertisement spending to come from local brand name companies and the other half to come from global brand name companies”,

“The first quarter of 2012 was slightly softer compared to last year’s corresponding period as there were many holidays in the first quarter. We can now see advertisement spending picking up,” he said.

Vogiatzakis said spending on digital advertising platform was gradually rising.

“We can see funds crossing over to digital advertising platform, but the impact on conventional advertising platform is not so great yet. But digital advertising spending would grow gradually,” he said.

According to IHS Screen Digest 2011, close to half of all TVs in developed markets will have some form of Internet connection by 2016.

“We will see a growing number of screens incorporating Natural User Interface and Near Field Communication technologies to enhance the effectiveness of electronic business transactions and media advertiements,” he said.

He said, however, printed media would not go out of date.

“There are still market segments that prefer advertisement in printed media,” Vogiatzakis said.

On which media platform should companies choose to advertise, Vogiatzakis said the company should understand its customers before reaching a decision.

“They should understand how its customers interact with the products they consumed, their competition, and the dynamics of the market,” he added.

Themed Thriving In Turbulent Times, the one-day workshop featured professionals and experienced entrepreneurs from Branding Association of Malaysia, Media Specialists Association and Exim Bank who shared their ideas, strategies and experiences to help local fledgling companies become future industry leaders. The topics, which covered current business trends and patterns, were aimed at helping participants cope with the mounting challenge.

Subsequent SOBA Learning Series workshops will take place at the following venues: on June 22 at Holiday Inn, Malacca, June 29 at Riverside Majestic Hotel, Kuching, and July 13 at The Royale Chulan, Kuala Lumpur.

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