Twelve Nigerian banks listed on the stock market spent a sum of N60.01 billion on marketing and advertisement in the year 2021, a marginal increase compared to the N59.85 billion recorded in the previous year.

This is according to analysis carried out based on the financial statements released by the banks on NGX (Nigerian Exchange).

The compilation shows that FBN Holdings topped the list of banks with the highest marketing and advertisement expenses in 2021 with N10.46 billion, closely followed by Access Bank with N9.49 billion.

Advertisement is one of the major means by which companies gain market presence and customer base. It also serves as a medium to communicate with customers and keep good public image. Therefore, companies across all sectors, prioritise advertisement and promotions in their marketing strategy.

These advertisements could be done through television, radio jingles, billboards, and various online platforms. In recent times, the use of social media and other online platforms as a medium of advertisement has grown significantly with Nigerians now being more digitally savvy.

Promotion as one of the Ps of marketing has been dubbed as a major indicator of revenue growth. In the year under review, the twelve listed banks in Nigeria raked in N2.88 trillion as interest income, growing by 5.8% from the previous year (N2.72 trillion).

Similarly, profit after tax also grew by 12.7% to N1 trillion as against the N887.1 billion posted in the previous year.

Notably, Nigerian banks have spent at least N294.86 billion on advertisement and promotion in the last five years. A further look at the data shows that every other bank, apart from Access, Fidelity and Zenith Banks recorded an increase in their advert expenses.

Here are the top advert spenders:

First Bank – N10.46 billion

First Bank Holdings spent a sum of N10.46 billion on advertisement and corporate promotions in 2021, accounting for 17.4% of the total advert expenses by the twelve banks under study.

The advert cost of the bank increased by 35.5% year-on-year compared to N7.72 billion recorded in the previous year.

Although, its interest income declined by 23% to N601.7 billion on the back of low-interest rate regime of the CBN. It was able to grow its gross earnings by 28.2% to N590.66 billion in the review year.

Access Bank – N9.49 billion

Access Bank ranked second on the list after spending N9.49 billion on advertisement and marketing expenses. This is 16.1% lower than the N11.32 billion spent in the previous year. The banks advert expenses accounted for 15.8% of the total banks’ advertisement expenses.

The newly restructured company into a HoldCo generated N971.89 billion as revenue in the review year, an increase of 27.1% compared to N757.29 billion posted in 2020.

Despite the low-interest rate adopted by the apex bank, Access Bank was able to increase its interest income by 23% to N601.7 billion. Its net profit also surged by 51.1% to N160.2 billion from N106 billion recorded in the previous year.

UBA – N8.75 billion

United Bank for Africa spent N8.75 billion on advertisement, promotions, and branding in 2021, a marginal increase compared to N8.51 billion incurred in the previous year.

Its advert cost accounted for 14.6% of total N60.01 billion recorded by the twelve banks as advertisement expenses.

The company was also able to increase its interest earnings by 10.8% to N474.26 billion in 2021 from N427.86 billion recorded in 2020, while it posted an 8.7% increase in profit after tax to N118.7 billion.

Zenith Bank – N7.1 billion

Zenith Bank spent a sum of N7.1 billion on advertisement in 2021, a 7.3% reduction compared to N7.66 billion spent in 2020. Its advert cost accounted for 11.8% of the aggregate advert expenses by the twelve banks.

On the other hand, its interest earnings recorded a marginal increase of 1.6% to N427.59 billion in 2021, while its gross revenue expanded by 9.9% year-on-year to N765.56 billion. Zenith Bank also grew its profit after tax by 6.1% to N244.56 billion in the review year.