MEDIA SCENE
NATIVE MEDIA IS
STILL IN BUSINESS
By Lynette M. Thuo
A
lot has been said about
the media disruption that
took place in 2013 after the
digital switch. A report prepared
and released by Reelforge Media
Monitoring looks into the changes
in media expenditure since then.
The report is an informative and
insightful look into the major trends
impacting the media landscape.
The landscape has definitely
grown by number of media outlets,
consumption habits and by number
of new advertisers.
Brands are spending more
One of the key media trends
highlighted by the report was a 6%
increase in the media spends in
2015 compared to 2014. The report
indicates a steady growth in media
spends from Sh69 billion in 2012,
Sh79 billion in 2013, Sh85 billion
in 2014, and finally peaking at Sh90
billion in 2015.
This year on year growth in ad
spends can be attributed to a variety
of factors including heightened
competition in most industries
such as finance, personal care,
gambling and betting. Innovations
in marketing and launches of new
products by various companies to
have an edge over their competitors
‘‘This year on year growth in ad spends can
be attributed to a variety of factors including
heightened competition in most industries
such as finance, personal care, gambling
and betting. Innovations in marketing
and launches of new products by various
companies to have an edge over their
competitors were also major contributors to
the rise in money spent on advertising.”
34 MAL 12/16 ISSUE
were also major contributors to the
rise in money spent on advertising.
After the digital disruption
The decision by the Kenyan
Government to enforce digital
migration in February 2015 led
the four leading TV stations in the
country - KTN, Citizen and NTV
(including its subsidiary QTV) - to
switch off their signals for several
weeks in a dispute over the move
from analogue to digital transmission.
This led to a 3% drop in TV
spends for 2015 which was greatly
beneficial to both radio and print
with each recording an increase of
13% and 19% respectively in spends
as advertisers sought alternative
platforms for ad exposure. For the
year 2015, TV and radio each held a
46% share of advertising spends with
print holding the remaining 8%.
Industries to watch
Communication was the overall
top industry spender in both 2014
and 2015 accounting for 18% of
the total media spends recorded for
2015. The communication industry