Only the vehicle market reduced advertising activities in 2017
Jens Windel, CEO of Media Focus, sums up the year: Thanks to digital media, the Swiss advertising market has not grown as strongly since 2011 as it did last year.
Last year’s advertising market surpassed the 6 billion gross francs mark for the first time. Measured advertising volume in 2017 totaled 6.08 billion. On an unadjusted basis, this represents an 11.4 percent increase compared to the previous year. Adjusted organic growth showed an increase of 4.5 percent.
The Swiss advertising market, on an adjusted basis, has not grown as strongly since 2011 as it has in 2017. Digital media are the key drivers behind the increase of 244 million Swiss francs in gross advertising revenue.
The automotive market is showing a downward trend
From a market perspective, a closer look reveals very different trends. Of the five largest Swiss advertising markets, only the Automotive Market its advertising activities. Despite tax savings in the U.S. and record sales (VW), management’s focus here appears to be on cost structures rather than marketing communications. Thus, despite declining sales figures in Switzerland fell by 25 million Swiss francs gross, or 5.3 percent, compared with 2016. This marks the third consecutive year of decline, indicating a clear trend. The other four major advertising markets Food, Retail trade, Tourism as well as the Financial Market (including the insurance industry), on the other hand, are flexing their muscles and increasing their advertising spending by a total of 154 million Swiss francs (gross). These four industries account for 40 percent of the total advertising market.
Traditional media strategies are losing their relevance
In the advertising market Cosmetics & Personal Care It seems the days of major advertising campaigns in the mass media are over: For the fifth consecutive year, advertising spending on creams, styling products, and hair care products has declined, and with 278 million Swiss francs in gross advertising revenue, the industry now ranks only 11th in the current industry rankings. As a reminder: In 2012, this industry was still the third-largest advertising market in Switzerland, with 418 million francs in advertising spending. The long-term decline of 140 million gross francs is clearly spread across all traditional media. Newer forms of brand presence (content, influencers, etc.) allow brands to reach a significantly «broader» audience. The industry Cosmetics & Personal Care This is a prime example of the declining relevance of traditional media strategies.
The Industry Services It is the only advertising market to grow by more than 20 percent compared to the previous year. An increase of nearly 70 million Swiss francs (gross) places the industry in 7th place in the current industry rankings. More than 7,000 advertisers (Siroop, Parship, Scout24, Homegate, Comparis, Jobcloud, Ricardo, Starticket, Tillate & Co.) account for nearly 400 million advertising impressions and a 7.5 percent share of the total advertising market.
The industry is seeing significantly less advertising activity compared to the previous year Drinks The 30 million Swiss francs gross decline is primarily attributable to three retailers (Coop, Migros, Denner) and four advertisers (Coca-Cola, Unilever, Wander, and Nestlé). With 200 million in advertising spend, this market ranks 14th out of a total of 21 in the ranking.
Internet usage to reach one-third soon
The media group's share Internet The share of the advertising pie (including print, TV, out-of-home, radio, and movie theaters) is clearly heading toward 30 percent. The expansion of digital measurement for the advertising market, as reflected in the 2017 data set, clearly shows just how large the digital share of a brand’s advertising activity has become. Seven Swiss advertising markets now show a share of over 30 percent for the “Internet” media group. The industries Services and Build, Industry, Facility Each accounts for over 40 percent, putting them in the top spots. Currently planned additions to the statistics (the inclusion of search data from French-speaking Switzerland and YouTube) will significantly reinforce this trend in the current advertising year.
The question of the lead medium can thus be reframed. Traditional channels are evolving into drivers of «owned media.» A brand’s story must therefore be told in the TV or Print can no longer be told in their entirety. The logical consequence is smaller formats and shorter commercials. In the 2017 advertising year, for example, commercials lasting up to 10 seconds were aired 138,000 times more often than in the previous year. The same applies to spots lasting 11 to 20 seconds. For spots in this length range, there was even an increase of 360,000. For spots longer than the classic ‘30-second spot,‘ the trend is the opposite, with a current decrease of 34,000 airings. Omnichannel strategies thus encompass significantly more channels, though each individual channel—it seems—is being reduced to its core function.
A total of 30,000 companies were active in advertising during the past advertising year. The traditional media groups all reported slightly lower figures, with two exceptions: Out-of-Home has stagnated at around 5,940 viewers, and the Audience-, Finance- and Business Press This results in a delta of plus 101, bringing the annual total to 2,013 active advertisers.
«Search» with over a billion advertising impressions in German-speaking Switzerland
Standing out in the media group Internet is the manageable number of advertisers in the subgroup «Display» (1,719). Although this base grew by nearly 300 in 2017, it appears small compared to the more than 14,000 companies running AdWords campaigns in Switzerland. Of these, only 750 advertisers also run display ads at the same time. The web giant based in Zurich is evidently pursuing its consistent long-tail strategy with great success. Its base number of advertisers has doubled since 2014. This is an indication that many advertisers recognize the value of pay-per-click billing. Media Focus now measures the media subgroup «Search» Over one billion ad impressions annually for German-speaking Switzerland (Search Desktop and Mobile)! This is a massive increase, especially when you consider that the ad values from GDN, YouTube, and Search French-speaking Switzerland—all part of the Internet Media Group—must also be factored in.
The collection and evaluation of advertising data is becoming significantly more complex. The comprehensive mapping of brand visibility is becoming more challenging, yet also more granular. The analysis is both holistic and competitive. Media Focus aims to address this trend with «Total Brand Visibility» and the «Brand Trends» live up to.
