EU candidates’ outdoor advertising has increased dramatically compared with previous Euro elections

Most expensive billboard campaign runs to EUR 100,000

print this

The advertising by candidates running in EU elections is increasing strongly. The phenomenon is particularly conspicuous in outdoor advertising on billboards.
      ”Our outdoor advertising sales alone are equal to the amount used for the outdoor campaigns of all candidates during the last Parliamentary elections”, says CEO Klaus Kuhanen of JCDecaux Finland, one of the leading outdoor advertising companies in Finland.
      ”Compared with the previous EU elections in 2004, our sales have multiplied by a factor of 3.5”, Kuhanen reports.
     
JCDecaux covers two-thirds of Finland’s entire outdoor advertising.
      For example, it offers advertising space on Helsinki’s trams, buses, at metro stations, as well as at bus and tram stops.
      According to Kuhanen, the company’s most significant advertisers are the National Coalition Party and the Social Democratic Party, while the biggest individual outdoor advertising budget amounts to about EUR 100,000.
      It is to be expected that the most expensive election budgets will amount to hundreds of thousands of euros.
     
The advance notifications submitted to the National Audit Office of Finland (NAO) do not yet show the biggest election advertisers.
      According to the received notifications, the three most expensive campaigns, namely those run by Reijo Paananen (SDP), Petra Paasilinna (SDP), and Eija-Riitta Korhola (Nat. Coalition), all remain around EUR 60,000.
      So far, the biggest outdoor advertising campaign that has been made public is that of Eija-Riitta Korhola, namely EUR 39,500.
      Korhola urges that other candidates should also report on their election budgets without delay.
      ”As far as voters are concerned, it is only fair to tell them at what price a candidate is seeking an EU seat. Advance notifications were regarded as an important issue during the campaign funding debate. Now the issue should be seen through”, Korhola demands.
      Even Clear Channel Finland, another major outdoor advertising company covering one-third of the outdoor advertising market in the country, reports that the election enthusiasm can be seen in their sales figures.
      ”Compared with the Euro elections in 2004, the volume of our election advertising has doubled”, says Managing Director Timo Tammi.
      According to Tammi, the biggest individual investment in the EU elections is around EUR 20,000.
      Tammi estimates that outdoor adverising sells well, as ”the candidates want to be seen among people”.
     
Helsingin Sanomat has traditionally been a major election medium.
      According to Sales Team Manager Sami Smolander, one of the reasons for this is the fact that the readers of the daily newspaper are active voters.
      ”A survey on the issue was conducted in 2004, indicating that some 85 per cent of all readers had actually cast their votes. As far as I remember, the general turnout was then 41.1%”, Smolander notes.
      Compared with the last Euro elections, the advertising sales of Helsingin Sanomat have increased by some 40 to 50 per cent, Smolander reports.
     
More than ten per cent of the election campaign sales of Helsingin Sanomat come from online advertising.
      Compared with the previous EU elections in 2004, the proportion has multiplied by a factor of five.
      Executive Vice President Heikki Rotko from MTV3 also says that the funds used for election campaigns are significant.
      ”While it is true that the previous Euro elections also saw some advertising, the current volume is clearly bigger”, Rotko notes.
      Rotko is unwilling to state the exact sum of money that has been used to buy advertising time on television. However, he estimates that the growth has been ”around half a million plus”.
      According to Rotko, no single candidate is more conspicuous than the others.
      ”Many candidates spend around EUR 10,000 to 25,000”, Rotko reports.
     
When it comes to outdoor advertising, political parties are already booking space for the next Parliamentary elections.
      ”The sale of advertising space for the 2011 elections is already at full steam. Soon we will have nothing to offer”, Kuhanen of JCDecaux chuckles.
     
The European Parliament elections will be held on June 7th.
      Finland elects 13 MEPs, and the entire country is regarded as one constituency.


See also:
  Helsingin Sanomat candidate selection engine (in Finnish)

Links:
  National Audit Office of Finland (NAO)
  Ministry of Justice Election Portal

Helsingin Sanomat