Swiss advertising market stagnates for four years

In 2014, CHF 4.89 billion was spent on advertising in the media - not including the considerable discounts granted in some cases for campaigns. Of the various sectors of the economy, the food industry clearly invested the most in advertising its products, with 508.3 million Swiss francs. This resulted in an increase of 1.6 percent for the sector. At CHF 457.7 million, 0.4 percent more was spent on vehicle advertising than in the previous year. Originators invested 354.8 million Swiss francs in initiatives and campaigns. Political campaigns accounted for CHF 67.4 million of this total. At 23.6 percent, the increase here was extremely significant - the intensive referendum campaign on the SVP immigration initiative at the beginning of the year is a sign of things to come. Retailers, the fourth most important source of advertising revenue, spent 351.5 million Swiss francs on advertising, generating growth of 5.7 percent.

Less advertising francs for shampoos

Cosmetics and personal care cut advertising spending by 6 percent to 331.2 million Swiss francs. The trend here was very mixed: 18.5 percent more advertising dollars were spent on hygiene products and 40 percent more on sun creams and the like. On the other hand, manufacturers of hair and body care products, fragrances and hairstyling products were stingy. Why brands such as Pantene, Head & Shoulders. Schwarzkopf, Syoss, Davidoff and Vichy made themselves scarce, eluded the knowledge of the advertising experts. On the other hand, brands such as Lancôme, Labello, Calvin Klein and Gliss Kur intensified their advertising activities.

The financial industry as a whole ran advertising for 303.1 million Swiss francs, an increase of 5.5 percent in times of dwindling reputation. Insurance companies were the main driving force behind the industry's advertising growth, with an increase of 25.5 percent. Of all the sectors or products, advertising for tobacco products suffered the biggest decline in 2014, down 27.3 percent. However, the volume here was also rather modest at CHF 15.5 million. At 16.2 percent, the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry recorded the greatest growth. It invested 165.3 million Swiss francs in advertising.

Little movement in the advertising market

The experts at Media Focus see the advertising market in Switzerland as stable, despite varying conditions for the various sectors. The number of advertisers remained constant year on year at 20,000. At 2700, new entries remained at the previous year's level. Around 3000 new products were advertised. In December alone, advertising expenditure in Switzerland shrank by 0.4 percent compared with the same month last year. According to the data, 431.1 million Swiss francs were spent on boosting the Christmas business. (SDA/pd)