THE ADVERTISING BUSINESS IN NIGERIA
Nigeria forms the third largest advertising company in the whole of Africa, South Africa being the first, followed by Egypt and Nigeria. The total advertising campaign expenditures spent in Nigeria each year is approximately Twenty one billion naira (N21,000,000,000 according to the report of Bovee Aren on ‘Contemporary Advertising’. 35 percent (35%)of this capital expenditure goes on Television commercials, 20 percent (20%)on Radio campaigns, 15 percent (15%)on Billboard Ad, 8 percent (8%)on Press Ad, 12 percent (12%)on shows, 5 percent (5%)on below the belt like Posters and Hand bills, while the remaining 5 percent (5%)is on Point of sales Ad. Large multinationals and indigenous companies like MTN, Celtel, Glo, Cocacola, Pepsi, Nokia, Motorola, Procter & Gamble, Cadbury, Liver-brothers, Unilever, Nestle, Guinness (etc) budget as much as almost 10-30 percent (10%-30%)of their entire budget on advertising campaign each year.
Television commercials
Television commercials share the largest percentage of these total expenditure expended into advertising campaign in Nigeria. It is an amazing discovery that the budget allocation used in producing a 45 to 60 seconds TV commercials is much more than what is used in making a full length 2-3 hours home video in Nigeria. Multinationals like Guinness, MTN, Glo (etc) go as far as South Africa to shoot some of their TV commercial, paying flight fee, world class production fee, hotel accommodation for their Staff, Ad Agency Staff and Models, Model fees etc. Companies sometimes spends as much as three to forty million Naira (N3,000,000-N40,000,000) on a single 45-60 seconds TV commercial.
Advertising on Nigeria Television
Watching TV is the most common leisure activity in our country today. It is the medium where the consumer spends the most "attentive" time. A number of surveys report average daily television viewing time as high as five to six hours. No wonder it has grown into a giant advertising medium.
While the newspaper may cover the city’s general metropolitan area, TV offers the greatest possibility for creative advertising. With a camera, you can take your audience anywhere, and show them almost anything. The power of television is in its ability to simultaneously appeal not only to sight and hearing, but to strengthen interest through the dimensions of movement and the realism of full color. It is comprised of pictures and words, but of the two, the pictures are infinitely more important.
TV advertising can show and tell many people about your product or service, and actually demonstrate the benefits of ownership. Since they see how it works and how it is packaged, every time they see it they will be psychologically reminded of their desire to have it.
Television always has been a popular medium for large retailers, but because of lowered production costs and the ability of cable to reach smaller market areas, its use by small and medium size businesses is becoming more popular. Television is often referred to as the "king" of the advertising media. It has proven its power to influence human behavior again and again. But it is also the "king" of advertising costs as well.
Television is often called "king" of the advertising media, since a majority of people spend more hours watching TV per day than any other medium. It combines the use of sight, color, sound and motion...and it works. TV has proven its persuasive power in influencing human behavior time and time again.
Some advantages of television advertising include the following:
1. Advertising on television can give a product or service instant validity and prominence.
2. You can easily reach the audiences you have targeted by advertising on TV. Children can be reached during cartoons and housewives during the afternoon soap operas.
3. TV offers the greatest possibility for creative advertising. With a camera, you can take your audience anywhere and show them almost anything.
Producing a commercial is also an important variable to consider. On the whole, television audiences have become more sophisticated and have come to expect quality commercials. A poorly produced commercial could severely limit the effectiveness of your message, and may even create a bad image in your customer's mind.
Advertising agencies or TV commercial production facilities are the best organizations for creating a commercial that will be effective for the goods or service you are offering. But the cost of a well-produced commercial is often more expensive than people think, ranging from $7,500 to $240,000 per commercial! Some TV stations will claim they can put together commercials for "almost nothing." Before agreeing to this, find out what "almost nothing" means. Then, determine if the commercial quality and content they are proposing will represent your organization's image.
Creativity: A Vital Element
When you advertise on TV, your commercial is not only competing with other commercials, it's also competing with the other elements in the viewer's environment as well. The viewer may choose to get a snack during the commercial break, go to the bathroom or have a conversation about what they just saw on the show they were viewing. Even if your commercial is being aired, viewers may never see it unless it is creative enough to capture their attention. That's why it's so important to consider the kind of commercial you are going to create...and how you want your audience to be affected. Spending money on a good commercial in the beginning will pay dividends in the end.
Consistency is Key
If you're running TV and radio commercials, keep them consistent. Use the same announcer and music for your commercials. Use the same tag line. You want to keep everything consistent so your potential customers and/or donors start identifying your tag line, your colors, your font, your announcer, jingle - everything that relates to your organization's ad campaign.
Television Advertising - Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages of Television Advertising
• Television reaches very large audiences - usually much larger than the audience your local newspaper reaches, and it does so during a short period of time.
• Since there are fewer television stations than radio stations in a given area, each TV audience is divided into much larger segments, which enables you to reach a larger, yet, more diverse audience.
• It has the ability to convey your message with sight, sound and motion, and can give a product or service instant validity and prominence.
• You can easily reach targeted audiences. Children can be reached during cartoon programming, housewives during the afternoon soap operas, and insomniacs after midnight.
Disadvantages of Television Advertising
• When you advertise on TV, your commercial is not only competing with others, it is also competing with the viewer’s environment as well.
• Even if your commercial is being aired, viewers may never see it unless it is intrusive enough to capture their attention.
• A minimum amount of airtime provides limited length of exposure and ad clutter.
• The message comes and goes, and that’s it! Unless you buy additional time, the viewer doesn’t see your commercial again.
• Multiple exposures are required to achieve message retention and consumer action. If you don’t reach your viewer at least 5-7 times, you are just throwing money away.
• No station loyalty; Viewers have little or no loyalty to the station itself - especially since cable can bring dozens of viewing alternatives into the home. For example, viewers will watch a given channel for a program they know will be aired at a specific time. If a football game, popular movie or some other preferred form of entertainment appears on another channel, the viewer will not hesitate to switch channels without leaving the couch.
• During a commercial break the viewer may choose to get a snack, go to the bathroom or have a conversation about whatever they were just watching.
• Because of a larger "area of dominant influence," the relative cost will be higher - both the terms of airtime and production.
