THE closure of ABS-CBN Corp. has jolted the country’s P150-billion advertising industry as many companies now have to tap other avenues to reach their target consumer market.
Dan Villa, chairman of advertising agency CreatiVilla and a former chairman of the Advertising Board of the Philippines and the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies-Philippines, said the closure of the network would have implications on the general economy, particularly on the advertising and marketing industry.
“ABS-CBN, being the largest broadcast network, also has the greatest marketing reach in the country. This means the selection of an array of proven efficacy and reach becomes too narrow and ineffective,” he said.
Villa said many companies that depend on ABS-CBN for their advertising exposure were affected by the NTC order, including consumer goods manufacturers, herbal medicine producers as well as food and beverage firms.
He said based on market research studies of Kantar and Nielsen, Unilever and Procter & Gamble remain as top advertisers, but small-to-medium players also started to invest and join the TV spending as part of their marketing plans.
He said new players include the branded herbal medicines and others with no known therapeutic claims, catapulting the quasi pharmaceutical product section up in the ladder of expenditures.
“Leading the product section rankings are the regulars: personal care (first), food (second) and beverage (third)–all of which increased their spending from an average of 22 percent to 29 percent. Other new players also emerged in the advertiser milieu,” he said.
Villa said while these companies would not immediately move, they were already thinking of adjustments.
“This is just a transition, and the advertisers shall not immediately go berserk but instead, shall be cautious a bit. Somehow, they were already forewarned about the foreboding with a counter scenario and possible alternatives already offered. Up to 45-percent share is the reported captured audience and reach of ABS-CBN, so even the clients won’t move at the moment. But they are definitely ready with Plan B,” he said.
Villa said the next big channel–GMA 7 would be the biggest windfall beneficiary.
Villa said, however, that this would be bad for the industry.
“Competition in the media is a major component for a media buyer’s choice with more options to choose from.
“The other channels like TV 5 and the other minorities may fill in their buckets. Also now, the real alternative media come in–digital and social media–an upcoming significant medium to opt to now,” he said.
“Advertising is a major player of the marketing mix…and TV still dominates the media sphere. The absence of one dominant TV network tilts the balance,” said Villa.
Villa said this would create a gap in media buying. “We have to be more creative in media buying with this kind of scenario. While digital media is fast occupying the media landscape, it doesn’t fulfill a good media mix. TV still dominates,” said Villa.
