Ad spending likely to drop

BANDUNG (JP): Advertising spending will likely fall to Rp 685 billion (US$49 million) this year from Rp 2.1 trillion in 1997, the Association of Indonesian Advertising Companies predicts.

Association chairwoman Yuska Ismail said here over the weekend that about 50 percent of the ad spending would go to electronic media, 30 percent to print media and the remainder to other media, including radio and movie theaters.

Yuska blamed the economic crisis for the fall in commercial spending as many corporations had cut their advertising budgets. The downturn, Yuska said, would probably force several advertising companies to downsize their operations or even close.

"Two companies in Jakarta have closed down. But I don't know how many advertising firms in the country have ceased operation." (43)