Ecofinance: Morocco leader in advertising market in Maghreb

Morocco is leading the advertising market in the northern African region of the Maghreb with nearly 180 million Euros in 2002, followed by Tunisia (40 millions) and Algeria (15 millions), reveals the latest issue of "Ecofinance, a publication of the Paris-based Jeune Afrique group.

In a story on advertising in Maghreb states, Ecofinance says ongoing liberalization and openness in Morocco are laying the foundations of the country's thriving advertising sector, which is experiencing deep changes. Advertising in Morocco, which provides 2,000 jobs, has known an average annual increase of 20% during the last three decades, crowned by a record year in 2000, thanks to the blooming market of phone operators, the paper said.

However, the paper noted, the worldwide crisis has not spared Morocco which hosts so many international advertising companies that are following multinationals. The economic magazine further noted that in the Maghreb, TV ads take the lion's share, followed by the print. However, Maghreban TV stations are facing a harsh competition from the more popular satellite TV channels.