Thank goodness for the 2010 soccer World Cup. World governing body Fifa has spent an average R8m each month in SA to advertise the four-yearly showpiece. It's a welcome injection of spending, at a time when many other sectors are cutting back.
The 2009 adspend figures, up to August, are on the next page. No-one is cutting back more than the motor industry. Ford, the biggest advertiser, spent an average R20m every month during 2007. Last year this was down to R15m. In the first eight months of 2009, the company's average adspend was just more than R13m. Its crisis-ridden compatriot, General Motors, has cut back even more - from a R13,5m average in 2007 to R12m in 2008 and R8m this year.
Even market leader Toyota has cut its monthly average from R12,5m last year to R7,5m. Given the desperate state of the new-vehicle market, this slowdown is not surprising. But when the Mercedes-Benz average plunges from R12m to under R4m year-on-year, it's time for concern.
Durban-based food and household-goods group Unilever remains the biggest of the big spenders this year, and there is little movement immediately below it, with Shoprite, Vodacom, MTN and Pick n Pay in their usual supporting roles. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), however, has made a sharp move up the charts. The group has had a number of memorable ad campaigns since last year.
Bad news for hard-pressed taxpayers is that their cash is required in ever-increasing volumes to fund government publicity. In the first eight months of this year, the national government spent R175m on advertising, SA Revenue Services R40m, the Gauteng provincial government R62m and its KwaZulu Natal counterpart R57m. Oh yes, and the cash-strapped SABC somehow found a way to spend R95m.
