The Advertising Industry in South Africa 2020

Advertising

The total revenue of South Africa’s advertising industry increased, albeit marginally, in 2019, and continued to be dominated by television and video advertising spend. Internet advertising is, however, consistently gaining ground and is expected to overtake television in the next three years. Internationally, social media is expected to account for over 15% of global spend in 2020 and online video for almost 10%. South Africa has many advertising agencies offering different services and largely owned by a handful of major international holding companies such as WPP, Omnicom and Publicis, with role players estimating that almost 80% of the industry is in foreign hands.

Coronavirus

The knock-on effects of lockdown measures will see companies looking for areas where they can contain costs, and past experience shows that one of the first things to be affected are advertising budgets. Coronavirus has resulted in significant changes to the way consumers are using technology and accessing content, including an increase in television and digital consumption during lockdown. Advertisers are cutting costs, shifting to digital channels and rescheduling investments to later in the year. Filming of adverts and local series and soaps was allowed under lockdown levels 4 and 3 with some filming restrictions, while local shooting of international films and adverts is expected to resume towards the end of the year.

Report Coverage

This report covers the advertising industry in South Africa, with a focus on advertising agencies and above-the-line advertising and includes adverts for print, radio, television, out-of-home such as billboards, digital, cinema, direct mail, e-sports and gaming. It includes comprehensive information on the state of the sector and statistics on advertising revenue, agency and brand rankings and trends. There are profiles of 35companies including major agencies such as Ogilvy and TBWA. Other profiles include agency FCB Africa, which has rebranded to Nahana Communications Group and outdoor advertising companies such as Outdoor Network and Outsmart.