(openPR) - North African advertising markets tend to show very dissimilar patterns of progress, a heterogeneity that highlights different realities in terms of competition policies and media openness.

Dataxis Intelligence analyzes the structure of the market, its evolution, as well as the impact of the crisis on advertising in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

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In 2009, advertising expenditure increased 4.3% and 7.6% in Morocco and Tunisia respectively. This growth was offset by a 6% decline in Algeria, causing the overall advertising growth in the Maghreb region to stand at 2.4% in 2009, according to statistics released by Sigma Conseil.

In Morocco, the largest advertising market in North Africa, ad spending reached US$ 562.1 million (or US$ 17.6 per capita) in 2009, whereas in its neighbouring country, Algeria, advertisers invested no more than US$ 166.2 million (or US$ 4.7 per capita) during the same year. Tunisia, which ranks second in terms of ad spending per capita (US$ 9.8), saw its advertising expenditure reach US$ 102.6 million in 2009.

While no prevailing growth model exists among these three neighbouring markets, the structure of ad spending remains relatively similar, as TV accounts for 45% of revenues, press for around 20%, and outdoor for approximately 15 to 20%. Radio and internet remain largely underinvested, with merely 10% (15% in Tunisia) and 2% market share respectively.

Another common denominator is the weight of telecom companies in advertising. Maroc telecom ranks among the first advertisers in Morocco. Similarly, Orascom Telecom and Tunisie Telecom hold the lion’s share in the Tunisian media landscape.

It is very interesting to note that the predominance of local advertisers in the media industry has played a key role in cushioning the impact of the crisis on the North African advertising markets. Except from Algeria, where ad spending declined 6% last year after it increased 26% in 2008, these countries maintained positive growths in their ad market in 2009 (7.6% for Tunisia in 2009 vs 12.9% in 2008). Morocco went from a 25% increase in 2008 to a 5% growth last year. The slowdown was mainly caused by multinational companies who cut down their ad spending on an international level.

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Consequently, market outlooks remain different from a country to another. In Algeria for instance, a take-off in advertising remains inherently linked to the existence of fair competition, a basic requirement for advertising. Similarly, the ad market will continue to play a marginal role in Lybia, as long as prices remain administered.

Morocco, a relatively mature market for advertising, shows a brighter outlook as the international economic environment starts to improve. Although Tunisia enjoys a diversified economy as well, its ad market is and will intrinsically be crippled by the small size of its population.

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DATAXIS, is an international market research and statistical intelligence company that covers 4 play markets worldwide. Our online database: www.dataxis.com contains detailed and up to date data on subscribers, revenues and ARPUs as well as annual forecasts on major operators and technology suppliers. Our news website: www.dataxisnews.com is a great tool to keep telecom professional up to date on the latest developments of the industry. In addition, we also publish our own analyses and Press Releases, under the Dataxis Views Section, that cover different regions worldwide: Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and Latin America.

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Ms. Alkhansa Belouali
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