Revenues for the advertising and related services industry – a broad purview that includes traditional advertising, media buying, public relations and promo advertising – were down slightly in 2009, the most recent year for which data is available.
According to the newly published data from Statistics Canada, the sector generated $6.8 billion in revenue in 2009 – down 0.8% from the previous year – with every province or territory with the exception of Ontario and Saskatchewan seeing revenue decreases.
The traditional market leader, Ontario once again accounted for the vast majority of revenues at 57.8% ($3.9 billion), followed by Quebec (22.6% or $1.5 billion) and British Columbia (9.2% or $622.9 million).
Broken down by individual business sector, advertising agencies generated an industry-leading 42.7% of all revenues, with Ontario agencies generating $1.8 billion in revenue, followed by Quebec agencies at $664.3 million and B.C. agencies with $214.5 million.
Display advertisers generated 11.3% of all revenues, followed by specialty advertising distributors – defined as establishments engaged in creating and organizing the production of promotional messages applied to specialty advertising products like “wearables,” writing instruments, calendars etc. – at 11.1%. The smallest contribution came from direct mail advertising providers, which generated 4.7% of all revenues.
Media buying agencies and media representatives were one of the few sectors to enjoy a revenue increase in 2009, as revenues increased to $416.1 million from $385.3 million the year before.
The most significant revenue decline came among specialty advertising distributors, which saw revenues decline 11.9% to $752.5 million from $854.6 the previous year. Public relations and display advertisers each saw a year-over-year revenue decline of 5.4%, while direct mail advertisers saw a 1.9% drop.
Operating expenses for the sector as a whole reached $6.2 billion in 2009, representing a 1% increase over 2008. Employee salaries, wages and benefits, which represent 38.4% of the sector’s operating expenses, rose 1.4%.
Nationally, operating profit for the sector fell to 8.8% in 2009 from 10.5% the year prior. However, all provinces with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Manitoba posted a profit margin above the national average.
