Local firms outperform Europe in ad spending

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey does not only grow faster than European countries, but it is also outstripping the old continent in advertisement expenditures, according to the Advertisers Association. Nevertheless, significant growth might slow down in the second half, say professionals.

Turkey’s advertisement investments increased 24 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2010, the association said on the eve of the Intercontinental Advertising Cup. “The Cup,” as it is also known, is an international advertisement event organized by the Management Marketing Institute (MMI) and Marketing Türkiye magazine.

This announcement puts the country on top in Europe for ad investments.

The growth in ad expenditures was 9.8 percent in France, 2.5 percent in Germany, negative 5.1 percent in Italy and 1 percent in Britain in the second quarter of 2011, according to data released by the association.

In the first six month of 2011, total Turkish ad expenditures reached 2.227 billion Turkish Liras. The sectors spending the most on advertisements were health, medical, construction, decoration services, home textile, entertainment, sports, education, public enterprises and political parties. The drastic increase in the first half of the year was supported by buoyant growth in the overall economy.
Still, the hike in ad expenditure tends to slow in the second half with the annual rise therefore expected to stand at 20 percent, organizers of The Cup said. Advertisement expenditure in 2010 was 3.613 million liras and is growing at 31 percent annually. The Advertisers Association’s estimates are based on the data of member media agencies.

Global ad event

The Cup is due to be held in Istanbul for the second time in a row on Jan. 26 and 27, 2012, which is a sign of Turkey’s rise in the advertisement market. Organized under the presidencies of Turkey and Slovenia, the event brings together awarded advertisement works from four continents. More than 30,000 applications register every year.

Famous philosopher Slavoj Zizek, dubbed as “the rock star of philosophy,” will attend the Creativity Summit as part of the event and is expected to give a speech on “The Power of Negative thinking,” according to the preliminary program.