KSA
KSA’S advertising expenditure witnessed a drop of 13% in 2017 from 1.1 billion USD in 2016 to 999 million USD in 2017. The decline can be seen across print and radio; in contrast the markets for outdoor and TV improved in 2017 relative to the years prior. Print is currently the dominant advertising medium, attracting 44% of total spending in 2017. Print closed the year at $438 million but with a loss of 29% compared to 2016. Outdoor advertising overcame radio to be the second largest player with 30% of total spending in 2017. Outdoor had another year of positive growth, up by 16%, much better than 2016’s 4% rise, and gaining a share of 9 percentage points over 2016. Radio was the third largest player behind print and OOH, with 21% of total advertising spent in 2017. Radio has been on a slow decline, with its share decreasing by an average 3 percentage points from 2016. Radio registered a loss of 27% year-on-year. Overall spending on TV advertising for the year increased by 10%, a nice bounce-back after a 21% decrease in 2016. Looking at the top brands, Saudi Telecom earned the largest market share ahead of other main telecom companies Mobily and Zain KSA, which is still listed in the top 10 brands, holding the last spot. Almarai came 2nd followed by Ford. Spending on media continues to shift from traditional to digital products and services at a rapid pace. By 2018, as digital media gain ground, advertisers are increasingly accepting the validity of advertising on these media, moving away from the typically high-cost traditional media to less expensive options. Despite our emphasis on the shift to digital, however, we should not forget that traditional media remain more considerable. The opening of cinema in March 2018 will play a roll in the expected growth for 2018.