DIGITAL MARKETING TRENDS

Digital marketing spending in Nigeria drops as Covid restrictions ease

By our News Team | 2022

Prominent local marketer’s observations mean the country would be at odds with global trend of rising digital spend.

Bucking the trend seen in many other countries, digital marketing spend seems to be reducing in Nigeria as Covid-19 restrictions in the country ease and many consumers struggle to get access to smart devices and the internet.

Speaking to the publication Marketing Edge, the President of the Association of Digital Marketing Professionals in Nigeria, Oti Ukubeyinje, said the growth of digital marketing was not on par with expectations.

He believed investment was shifting back towards offline. And although Nigerians were spending more time on digital platforms, the number of users had not increased notably.

“Why? It is because the cost of data has not dramatically dropped; the cost of devices has not dramatically dropped. So, the disposable income of purchasing these devices has not suddenly become available. [Therefore], internet penetration is not moving as fast as we would have expected and that is limiting the growth of digital marketing as a whole,” Ukubeyinje told Marketing Edge.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Broadband expansion project may help grow digital

He added that he hoped the broadband expansion project of the Federal Government, which will enable telecom companies to reach more areas with the 3G network, will impact significantly on digital adoption and penetration.

The Nigerian experience is at odds with international predictions for spending on digital marketing.

In a study published in December 2021, global digital marketing consultancy Zenith Media predicted that advertising across all digital channels will exceed 60% of global adspend for the first time in 2022, reaching 61.5% of total expenditure. This share will rise to 65.1% by 2024, Zenith said.

“The structural change in the economy towards e-commerce means that advertising is playing a greater role in driving sales growth. In particular, it has sparked a surge in retailer media advertising: display or search advertising that appears on e-commerce platforms,” the study explained.

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