Trust among advertising companies. The forecast is to close 2023 with a turnover of 9 billion

There is a climate of trust among the industrial, commercial and service companies that invest in advertising and communication in Italy. To support it is Upa, the reference association of the sector, which estimates that the advertising market will close 2023 with a turnover of around 9 billion euros, up by 2.5% compared to the previous year. Numbers that add to the positive data already recorded in 2022 (+1%) and in 2021 (+13), after the collapse of revenues suffered in 2020 due to Covid-19 (-15%).

“In the light of these data, we can say with certainty that in 2023 the advertising market will fully recover the losses reported during the pandemic crisis”, he begins Lorenzo Sassoli de Bianchi, president of Upa, opening today’s meeting of the association at the Teatro Strehler in Milan. “The feeling of confidence is fueled by 3 factors – he adds -: the savings of Italian families has reached 5 trillion euros, the highest level in the EU compared to GDP. The decision of companies in almost all sectors, excluding TLCs, to continue investing in the medium-long term and to prove themselves flexible and resilient to changes in society. Cost inflation, which is different from the positive one generated by consumption, is progressively decreasing”.

The title chosen for this year’s meeting is “We”. “It refers to Russian writer Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin’s 1923 novel, a dystopian text about the future that also inspired Orwell’s ‘1984’ and which imagines the future in a way similar to what we are living now, 100 years after it was written. Upa’s ‘We’ is a precise reference to the whole communication system”, points out the president. Who launches an appeal to all the players in the “system”: “Each of us is making an effort to face the obstacles that are placed in our way, but only if we remain united can we really overcome them”.

Meanwhile, Sassoli points out an interesting novelty that is establishing itself in the advertising market: “We are noticing a fairly balanced growth between the digital world and the publishing world. This means that the journey through the paper press desert could be in its final phase”. A counter-current figure which, according to the president of Upa, is also the result of the average age of the population of our country: “It is clear that the transition from paper to digital is an irreversible phenomenon but this does not mean, as someone claimed a few years ago , that the first is destined to die in favor of the second. Indeed, the most important aspect is that, regardless of the means of information chosen, Italians continue to read and that the information disseminated comes from reliable and secure sources”.

What does the country need at this point? “We need to look ahead trying to take advantage of the positive phase we are experiencing. Italy, at the moment, is the country that is reacting best to the crisis as evidenced by the growth of our GDP. So, now is the time to invest in the culture of innovation”, relaunches Sassoli. Which, on behalf of Upa, throws two proposals to the government: “The first is to try to bring Italian talent back home by introducing a 20% green quota for the under 40s on the Boards of listed companies. The second is to promote a fiscal pact or, better, a virtuous evasion to try to bring back home a part of the Italian capital deposited abroad. How? Half of the capital returned to national borders should be invested in bonds of Italian companies”.

Returning to the numbers, Sassoli dwells on the product sectors with a greater market share, of which 6 of the top 10 have a positive sign. The data for the first 4 months of 2023 show a significant increase in investments in the automotive (+25.9%). Advertising expenditure in support of the sectors is also growing home management (+12%) and dwelling (+9.2%). Slight recovery also i food sectors (+2.5%), personal care (+1.9%) and drugs (+0.8%). Investments, on the other hand, are down telecommunications (-17.2%), media/publishing (-15.6%), distribution (-9%), drinks/alcohol (-6%). Coming to the official research on audiences, the president underlines the strategic importance of the creation of Audicom, which will produce the Total Audience between the press and the web. “The centrality of Auditel for video measurement has become the shared currency and from this point of view the collaboration between the two Audis becomes crucial. The association is also ready to participate in the discussion table on the future measurement of radio”, concludes Sassoli .

After the intervention of the president of Upa, it is the turn of Valeria Sandei, CEO of Almawave: “Artificial intelligence is the kaleidoscope of data and information and opens up multiple opportunities – he explains -. Not only are the tools available to the world of advertising, broadcasting and media intelligence evolving, but also the possibilities for content innovation, in all market areas”. To follow the Professor Quattrociocchi, professor of Data Science and Complexity at the Sapienza University of Rome, who focuses on the dynamics of digital conversations on social networks, also delving into the phenomenon of fake news. “Social media has imposed a new business model on the world of information by rewarding entertainment. The often paradoxical result is a segmentation of opinions into closed ‘chambers’ that do not communicate with each other, in an impossible dialogue in which no one is willing to change their minds”, observes Quattrociocchi. Finally. Silvia Bagliani, CEO of Mondelez Italy, underlines how the great changes in consumers and society have an impact on the way we communicate and how Mondelez International is addressing this issue. “Moving from the search for personalization to the search for relevance allows for the generation of engaging experiences that help brands create an emotional connection with consumers and maintain their loyalty over time. At Mondelez International we are convinced that the strength of big brands is precisely that of creating human connections”, concludes Bagliani.