Figures point to 2bn pesos in political adspend potentially drowning brand campaigns
MANILA – Should brands campaign while politicians are out on the stump?
There are conflicting views as to how much of brands’ spend will be drowned out by politicians campaigning for the May 13 mid-term elections. Deutsche Bank AG Hong Kong forecast election adspend would top 2 billion pesos.
If the figure does materialize, it will represent a 66% hike over 2007 levels, a staggering increase considering new curbs imposed on TV and print campaign advertising this year.
Curbs include a 120-minute limit for every national candidate on all channels (versus 2010’s 120-minute limit on each channel) and 60 minutes for local candidates and three-times-a-week per publication ceiling for print advertising.
But Carat Philippines is weighing the possibility that election TV spending could be lower since not every candidate is likely to campaign on the airwaves. In the past election, 16 candidates accounted for 62% of spending, according to the agency.
“Our clients are being cautious. What happens sometimes is political ads get priority and so it’s not necessarily an issue of being drowned, but getting the spots we want,” said Carat’s consumer insights and research director April Yap.
“The cap is some sort of assurance, but not a complete one, because there can be ads like advocacy material that fall into a gray area – is it affected by the cap or not? By the time the whole thing is sorted out, the campaign period might be over.”
ZenithOptimedia chairman Venus Navalta expected the caps would see political advertisers pace their frequency in order to achieve the strongest share of voice in the four weeks leading to the election.
Should advertisers show restraint, they will be doing so at a time when consumers are expected to unleash a spending spree. Kantar’s 2013 Outlook survey noted that households generally spend 5 billion pesos more on FMCG products during election years.
This article originally appeared in adobo magazine issue #44 (March – April 2013)
