By: TNS LT
The market research and consulting company TNS LT reports that media advertising in Lithuania fell 39.2 percent in 2009. Media advertising spending made up LTL 329.6 mln in 2009 including advertising volume discounts and other discounts.
According to Director of TNS LT, G.Juodpusis, as was expected companies delayed the approval of advertising budgets at the start of 2009 due to the uncertain economic situation in the country, and this had a negative impact on the advertising market. In 2009, the slump of the Lithuanian advertising market was worse than expected – the advertising market returned to the level of early 2004.
“The 2009 data of advertising monitoring show that advertising volume started shrinking from of January 2009 onwards. This tendency continued the whole year abating only in the summer months when advertising volume increased on television and internet. Advertisers reduced budgets, media channels cut advertising rates, competition among media channels increased – these were the main reasons that led to the decline of the advertising market,” pointed out Director of TNS LT, Gytis Juodpusis.
As in previous years, the largest share of advertising revenue in 2009 came from TV and newspaper advertising, 44 percent and 21.8 percent, respectively. Compared with 2008, adverting spending decreased in all media channels in 2009. advertising revenue of magazines fell 48.6 percent, newspapers 46.7 percent, TV 37.2 percent, outdoor medium (outdoor video screens and fillboards) 36.1 percent, radio 28.2 percent, internet 33.3 percent and cinema 8.3 percent. advertising spending per capita in 2009 fell from LTL 161.25 to LTL 98.39, year-on-year.
At the first time TNS LT estimated Indoor (screens at shopping centres and filling stations) and BTL (unconventional advertisingmedium) advertising market. It was 4.5 mln LTL and 3.5mln LTL respectively.
The most active advertisers in 2009 were shopping chains, mobile communication operators, food producers, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies, state institutions, events organizers. The biggest advertisers in 2009 were Tele2, Procter&Gamble, Bite, Danone Group, Henkel, Omnitel, Reckitt-Benckiser, Maxima LT, Palink, L’Oreal.
The owners of the largest media planning agencies and media channels who took part in aTNS LT survey of media experts in February-March 2010 expressed pessimistic expectations. They forecast that in 2010 the Lithuanian advertising market will shrink 14 percent, TV advertising 10 percent, radio 13 percent, newspaper 18 percent, magazine 16 percent, outdoor 12 percent, cinema 13 percent. According to media experts, only internetadvertising will grow in 2010 and the growth may reach 15 percent.
TNS LT conducted the survey of the Lithuanian advertising market based on the 2009 advertising monitoring data, in cooperation with the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission, media planning agencies, national commercial televisions, the Lithuanian National Radio and Television, the largest internet service providers, and cinema, outdoor and indoor advertisers. The data represents 95-100% of TV, 95-100% of radio, 90-100% of print, 90-100% of outdoor, 95-100% of cinema, 80-100% of internet, 100% of fillboard and 95-100% of indoor TV advertising market.
