While newspaper advertising still holds a relatively strong position, when observing closer, there is a steady decline in overall spending across various nations. In 2016, Nigeria’s newspaper advertising expenditures amounted to 38.7 million U.S. dollars, however, by 2018 it is projected to decrease to 35.3 million. Similarly, Tunisia’s print advertising was dwarfed by TV ads, with an almost ten to one ratio in spending. The only region that experienced any growth in newspaper advertising was Kenya, with a modest growth in comparison to the other media. In 2016, Kenya’s newspaper advertising spending amounted to 126.4 million U.S. dollars and it is expected to reach 132.5 million dollars by the end of 2018.
On the other hand, internet advertising across the majority of African countries is showing promising trends, with growing expenditures. In 2016, South Africa’s internet ad spending amounted to 299.7 million U.S. dollars, while by 2018 it is forecast to reach 394.6 million dollars. Similarly, in 2016, Nigeria’s internet advertising spending amounted to 69.5 million U.S. dollars, while by 2018 it is projected to increase to 107.7 million. Across the entire continent, many nations are experiencing their strongest spending growth on internet ads, rather than through traditional media such as print.
With the digitization of Africa, the abandonment of advertising on traditional media in favor of the internet is likely to spread across the continent. In fact, as the number of internet users in nations such as Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt is growing with each year, one can only expect an increase in internet advertising spending and revenue in the coming years.
