Battle for Customers: Access, Zenith, 6 Other Banks Spend Over N18bn on Ads, Branding in 3 Months

• Nigeria banks collectively spent over N18 billion on advertising and promotional activities in the span of three months
• This is a massive increase from what was spent in the same period in the previous year, reflecting a highly competitive battle for customers.
• Effective marketing strategies are important to stay ahead in the competitive banking industry

In an effort to enhance their brand image and attract potential customers, eight commercial banks in Nigeria spent over N18 billion on advertising expenditures during the first quarter of 2023.

This represents a 61.2 percent growth when compared to N11 billion the same banks spent in the same period of 2022.

The expenditure was captured in the banks' financial statements submitted on the Nigerian exchange(NGX).

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The surveyed Nigerian banks included Access Holding PLC, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), Fidelity Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Union Bank, Wema Bank, and Zenith Bank.

Breakdown of banks' advert spending

Fidelity Bank emerged as the top spender among the surveyed banks when it comes to advertising and branding expenses.

The bank witnessed a staggering 1434 percent increase in its marketing, communication, and entertainment expenditure, reaching a total of N6.46 billion in the first quarter of 2023.

This represents a significant jump from the N2.65 billion spent during the same period in the previous year.

Following closely behind is United Bank of Africa Plc (UBA), which allocated N3.8 billion towards advertising, promotion, and branding expenses in Q1 2023.

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This is a 60 percent increase from the N2.38 billion spent during the corresponding period in 2022.

Securing the third spot, Zenith Bank allocated N2.3 billion for advertising expenses in Q1 2023, indicating a growth of 21.7 percent from the N1.89 billion spent in the same period of 2022.

Other bank's ads expenses in Q1 2023

• Access Holding- N2.04 billion from N1.72 billion (Q1 2022).
• Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO): N1.7 billion from N1.07 billion (Q1 2022).
• Stanbic IBTC Holdings: N0.60 billion a decline from N0.59 billion (Q1 2022).
• Wema Bank: N0.43 billion from N0.36 billion (Q1 2022).
• Union Bank of Nigeria: N0.37 billion from N0.32 billion (Q1 2022).

Zenith Bank chairman Jim Ovia makes over N13bn in 5 hours, buys more shares

In another report, Legit.ng revealed that Jim Ovia, the owner of Zenith Bank, has purchased additional shares in his bank.

The new shares were purchased after he made over N13 billion from President Tinubu's inaugural speech.

He made money between 9:30 and 14:30, the trading hours of the Nigerian stock market.

Source: Legit.ng