The Canadian advertising industry continues to thrive even as the industry continues to evolve and change, according to the latest annual report compiled by Statistics Canada.
According to the report, operating revenues for the advertising and related services industry increased 2.9% to $7.1 billion between 2011 and 2012, with all provinces except New Brunswick seeing an increase.
Ontario remains the industry’s powerhouse, accounting for more than half (57.7%) of all revenues. It is followed by Quebec (23%) and British Columbia (8.5%).
All industry sectors reported a rise in operating revenue, led by the all other services related to advertising category (such as sign painting or window dressing) with a 7.5% increase, followed by media agencies with a 6.5% increase.
Media agencies generated $458.6 million in operating revenue in 2012 – a 6.5% increase from $430.7 million in 2011 – with Ontario and Quebec combining for more than $400 million of that total. Operating profit for Canadian media agencies was 17.3%, up slightly from 17% in 2011 and far outpacing the overall industry average of 10.2%.
Advertising agencies accounted for more than a third (39.7%) of the industry’s operating revenues, almost three times as much as direct mail advertising and advertising material distribution (12.7%). Display advertising was ranked third with 12.1% of total industry revenues, followed by all other services related to advertising (10.8%), specialty advertising distributors (10.3%) and PR services (7.9%).
