The DMMA recently commissioned Analytix BI to conduct a research study to better understand the digital ad spend trends of South Africa’s top advertisers. 104 surveys were completed, the majority of them from South Africa’s top 100 advertisers.
As many of us had hoped (and suspected), the results of the survey clearly show that digital ad spending in South Africa is on a steady growth track, with the current spend making up 10.7% of the annual media budget – compare that to 19% in the US. On the opposite side of the track, it is worrying that a significant percentage of those companies that participated in the survey, are not spending on digital at all! There is therefore still a big gap between the level of awareness of digital advertising and its benefits, vs reality.
One thing is certain, on a global level Digital is storming ahead. Forrester Research has released a new report with projections for digital ad spending over the next five years. These figures are based on the US market – and we all know where the US goes others soon follow. According to the report, online advertising will comprise 35% of total ad spend by 2016! That’s enormous, and leaves only 65% to be split between TV, radio and print.
So although South Africa is still playing catchup, we at least seem to be on the right track. The next five years will be extremely interesting…
Sources: DMMA, Mediatorr Digital Marketing