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STUDY AD MAP PANAMÁ

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We are pleased to present this first AdMAP (Ad Market & Agencies Profile) study in Panama, thanks to a joint effort with the local advertising association (APAP). 

The objective of this first study –in addition to showcasing the current state of the advertising market–, is to define a baseline, a starting point that will allow to analyze the evolution of different indicators and rankings over time, which will enable agencies to make better decisions and discover opportunities within the realm of the relationships with their clients.

CONCLUSIONS

Budget

  • Panamá follows the global trend of investment displacement from ATL towards Digital.

  • Agencies have grown in 2022 vs. 2021 both in billing and profitability. 

  • Drivers:
    1) New business; 2) Increase in the investment of current clients.

Agency format

  • The trend towards specialization is beginning to reverse.

  • The format preferred by the advertisers is the full service agency.

  • Half of the advertisers that work with specialized agencies say that they are not satisfied with this format.

Attributes of the  ideal agency

  • Advertisers and agencies agree in relation to the most valued attributes.

  • Currently, effective creativity is valued more than original creativity.

  • Clients value Strategic Planning as #1 and #2 the Professionalism of the team.

Pitch

  • The format widely preferred by advertisers continues to be the bidding process.

  • Clients and agencies broadly agree (85%) in considering alternative models for agency selection. 

Future of the market

  • Differences of opinion arise between agencies and advertisers regarding the key concerns for 2023.

  • Clients believe that the challenges are focused on consumer knowledge, with a clear focus on increasing sales and achieving loyalty.

  • Agencies are concerned with improving their digital capabilities, which appears as a clear deficit in the local market.

Campaign ranking

  • A long list of campaigns were voted on, which would indicate that there are few prominent campaigns in the local market.

  • The winning campaigns were:

    • COPA (75 years)

    • Tigo (Rebranding)

    • Mar Viva (Plástica)
       

Festivals and awards

  • Traditional differences between agencies and advertisers in regards to the most valuable awards are present in Panamá too:

  • For agencies, #1 is Cannes and #2 Effie.

  • For advertisers, #1 is Effie and #2 is Cannes.

Relationship with agencies

  • The average client-agency relationship time in Panamá is much higher than the global average, which shows a market in which long-term relationships prevail. 

  • 25% of advertisers relationships last more than 10 years.

  • One third of advertisers work with a single agency.

Turnover

  • Agencies and advertisers agree on the concern regarding talent turnover and its impact on agency performance.

  • The difficulty of finding good talent is considered very high by most agencies. 

Gender equality

  • The industry shows maturity in relationship to equal wages and opportunities for women in agencies, with specific measures to make their personal and work lives compatible.   

Remote working

  • There is a majority of agencies that have adopted the hybrid format as a standard. 

  • Flexibility is a value for the new workforce and a talent attraction factor.

Companies Ranking

  • By far the most admired advertiser is COPA, followed by Banco Nacional and Cervecería Nacional. 

  • The big international brands famous for their marketing such as Unilever, Coca-Cola, Burger King or McDonald's do not appear in the top positions. 

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