Ban on beer ads spells doom for outdoor ad companies
By : Justyna Wrobel
Death knell: By autumn, outdoor beer ads will be banished from Poland's landscape."
Outdoor ad companies' worst fears came true for a second time last week when President Aleksander Kwasniewski signed a bill prohibiting outdoor beer advertising.
When the law takes effect this fall, the sector will have lost another key client less than a year after last December's ban on tobacco advertising.
Kalina Janicka, the president of Plakanda International, said the tobacco ban caused the outdoor ad sector to lose about 20% in year-on-year revenue last year. The ban on beer ads means the loss of another 13-14%, she added.
Although industry players had expected Kwasniewski to sign the bill, they couldn't hide their disappointment last week.
"I deeply regret what happened," said Pawel Kastory, the president of Corporate Profiles DDB. "I think that it reflects the lack of maturity among all the people who made that decision."
Kastory said that those who backed the beer ban failed to consider the interests of certain professionals, such as ad companies, whose business activity is vital to the Polish economy. According to analysts, the advertising sector accounts for about 1.5% of gross domestic product GDP.
"I am convinced that (imposing) limitations on advertising is not going to solve the problem," said Janicka, who added that outdoor advertisers would have a tough time getting through another ban.
"Of course the sector will handle that loss," she said. "But the question is in what way. Of course, there will be a need to look for new clients and new forms of outdoor advertising. But it is going to (come at a price).
"I hope that the new Parliament will consider the problem again and take into consideration the fact that we are planning to join the EU."
Media Watch, which monitors outdoor ad spending, said beer companies spent zl. 70.7 million ($16.1 million) on outdoor ads last year (according to price lists), more than 10% of the outdoor sector's entire turnover of zl. 630.4 million ($143.3 million).
