Ad sector slump

   Ad spending shrank in 2000 for the first time since the economy opened up more than a decade ago unsettling industry executives who couldn’t agree on the reasons for the slump.

   “It was a difficult year for the advertising sector,” said Jarek Ziebinski, general director of Leo Burnett Warszawa. But he said the industry had stabilized during the year.

   However, Andrzej Czajkowki, managing director of advertising agency Czajkowski & Brajdia, said the market was still in the doldrums in 2000 after years of double-digit growth. “The market is stagnating,” he said.

   Jakub Benke, the managing director of media house Starcom, said ad spending on TV, radio, outdoor advertising, newspapers, magazines and cinemas could reach z3. 7.9 billion ($1.8 billion) this year, 13% higher than in 1999. But with an inflation rate at around 10%, this year’s growth would be a lot less than the 30% increase between 1998 and 1999, when ad spending soared to z3. 6.96 billion ($1.8 billion) from z3. 5.33 billion ($1.5 billion).

   On a bright note, 2000 marked the first year that a Polish advertising agency – Leo Burnett Warszawa – brought home a Golden and Bronze Lion award from the 47th International Advertising Festival in Cannes, France.

   Leszek Popowicz, the general director of the Advertising Agencies Association (SAR) in Poland, said the EFFIE awards were also a key event for the industry. The awards were the first edition of the international ad contest that measures the effectiveness of campaigns rather than their creative aspects.