Print is well ahead of direct mail and TV in the 2013 advertising expenditure rankings

Although the Swiss print media have lost considerable advertising revenue in recent years, they still lead the revenue rankings by a wide margin. With a turnover of over CHF 1.6 billion, the press remains the most important advertising category in Switzerland. It has more than twice as much net advertising revenue as television, which generated a total of CHF 749 million. In the perception of many people not familiar with the industry, print media advertising turnover is rarely rated so highly. This may be due to the fact that advertising in print media is spread across a media landscape of around 800 advertising-relevant titles and is therefore perceived as far less dominant. Surveys on advertising acceptance also show that advertising in print media has a significantly higher level of acceptance than advertising on TV or online advertising, for example.

Of the most advertising-intensive product groups in Switzerland, it is primarily the major distributors, economic campaigns and the education, watches/jewelry, finance and furnishings sectors that rely on print to an above-average extent. Their print shares of total advertising sales are over 60%. These figures come from Mediafocus 2012 (Swiss Advertising Statistics does not collect industry information). Despite their clear lead, print media are currently losing the most of all major media types. Compared to the previous year, they have recorded a loss of 9.4%, which corresponds to CHF 168 million and is more than the entire radio turnover in Switzerland. Classified ads, especially job advertisements, were partly responsible for the decline in recent years. With a share of 13.2% of total daily press sales, job advertisements in 2013 are at their lowest level since the Swiss advertising statistics were first compiled (1986). In the record year 2000, job advertisements accounted for more than 25% of total daily press sales, and for the major newspapers this figure was significantly higher. Tempi passati. Nevertheless, last year job advertisements appeared for over 110 million francs. This would make this "industry" one of the top ten advertisers in Switzerland.

The drop in sales in the print media does not affect all titles equally. At 16.8%, the daily press I category (large daily newspapers) lost the most compared to the previous year. Medium-sized newspapers suffered only half as much, with a drop of 7.9%, while local and regional newspapers even managed to gain ground in 2013 with an increase of 10.3% compared to the previous year. Despite the internet, the credo "all business is local" still seems to be true here. Ultimately, this category is also far less dependent on classified ads. Here is a look at the net advertising sales figures for the other major media categories. Direct advertising is in second place in the advertising turnover ranking with CHF 1.086 billion (plus 6.9%). Addressed direct advertising accounts for around 80% of total DM expenditure. Television advertising follows in third place with a turnover of 749 million (plus 3.1%). 50% of TV revenue (including TV sponsorship) is attributable to SRF's public broadcasters and 50% to foreign advertising windows and private Swiss broadcasters.

Out-of-home advertising is in third place with a turnover of 565 million (minus 0.4%). Analog poster advertising still accounts for 58% of total expenditure. The big unknown in the Swiss advertising statistics is online advertising. The published turnover figure of CHF 642 million is an estimate and is therefore not included in the total advertising expenditure. The Foundation's attempt to record and publish the net figures for display advertising in the same way as the other media types has unfortunately failed due to the unwillingness of website operators. But hope dies last! In the interest of transparent sales figures that effectively reflect the advertising market, accurate publication of advertising sales for all media types is essential.

Net advertising expenditure for 2013 totaled CHF 4,209 million. This means that advertising investments were 1.7% below the previous year. The positive development of the gross domestic product (GDP) of plus 1.0% was therefore not reflected one-to-one in net advertising sales.

Otto Meier

Swiss Advertising Statistics Foundation
 
The Swiss advertising statistics provide information on the net amounts that advertising clients have invested in distributing their advertising messages in the most important advertising media (distribution costs). In contrast to the advertising pressure figures from Mediafocus, the Swiss advertising statistics only include the actual sales invoiced. These are net customer sales after deduction of discounts. Commissions such as BK and JUP are not included. The costs for consulting, conception and creation of advertising are not measured. The Foundation has commissioned WEMF AG für Werbemedienforschung to collect and publish the Swiss advertising statistics. The results are available in the form of a brochure or can be found at www.werbestatistik.ch.