There has been so much talk about how much was spent on advertising before the last general election in Nigeria but no one could say for sure how much was spent.
But a report by Compliance and Content Monitoring Ltd (CCM) reveals that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Party (APC) spent a combined N3.23 billion on political campaign advertisements for this year’s general elections, according to a report at the weekend.
According to the report PDP spent for about N2.5 billion (77 per cent) and APC spent N728 million (23 per cent).
CCM said the media advertisements were placed on radio, television, press and billboards for the PDP and the APC presidential campaigns between December 2014 and March.
The report was unveiled after a thorough analysis of over 260 broadcast media (radio and television), 48 print (newspapers and magazines) media and over 1,000 outdoor billboards across the country.
The firm focused on the two main parties, taking into cognisance the nation’s geographical zones, the advertising campaigns of the different political parties, individuals and groups in support of the presidential candidates.
The Managing Director of CCM Limited, Mr. Tunde Onadele, who spoke at the unveiling of the report, said about 253 creative materials were deployed across radio and television channels in all the 260+ stations monitored by CCM, with PDP utilising 145 materials. APC deployed 107 materials.
The split across media platforms showed that the two parties utilised mostly television and press platforms for over 85 per cent of total campaign spending.
The report highlighted that gross media rates were used in CCM’s calculations and the data across the monitored stations account for about 85 per cent of the national coverage.
