Find Advertising, Marketing and PR expertise in Bangladesh

The advertising, marketing and PR sector in the country is considered small in comparison with other Asian countries relative to its population. However, the industry has seen impressive growth and the advertisement market is estimated by industry experts to be more than TK 2000 crore annually, with a growth rate of 10 percent a year (2012). A large part of this growth is thanks to mobile companies. Banks and the real estate sector also provide a significant proportion of advertising revenue.

The sectors are expected to continue to flourish with the increased access to technology and various media, including the internet and satellite television, and with a large emerging young population. With the growing economy and population, experts predict that more international brands will be attracted to the country, fuelling the growth of the advertising industry

Numerous international agencies operate via their locally based affiliates. These include Ogilvy and Mather Communications Pvt. Ltd., part of the global Ogilvy and Mather, operates from its office in Dhaka, the global agencies AdPeople Worldwide, Grey, BBDO Bangladesh, and Bates, a WPP company. One aspect of developments in the country’s industry is represented by Ogilvy Noor, the first bespoke Islamic branding firm in the world. With the growing number of both international and local advertising firms, the sector continues to become more competitive.

One of the largest marketers in the country is Unitrend, the Bangladesh affiliate of McCann Worldgroup. Other prominent companies include Mindshare.

The PR industry is the country is relatively new and has seen significant growth over recent years. There are now several local and international PR agencies operating in the country, including the prominent firms Northbrook Consultants, Concito PR (an affiliate of Burson Marteller), Impact PR, Masthead PR and Forethought PR.

Primary organisations in these industries include the Advertising Agencies Association of Bangladesh (AAAB), the Bangladesh Public Relations Association (BPRA), and the Marketing Association of Bangladesh.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report (2012-13) placed Bangladesh 119^th out of 144 countries, with a value of 3.3 out of 7. Coming below the mean of 4.1, this indicates that companies in the country are less likely than average to utilise sophisticated marketing tools and techniques. In relation to buyer sophistication, the country placed 94^th with a score of 3.1, below the mean of 3.5. This suggests that buyers in the country are more likely to make purchasing decisions based on the lowest price rather than on a sophisticated analysis of performance attributes.

The country has seen the growing use of mobile phones in advertising, in line with global trends. This is also true of the growing use of social media in the country, which is transforming the market in the country, and reflects the overall trend for increased online advertising.

Press advertising continues to be important. Many newspapers rely on advertisement, a significant proportion of which is government-sponsored. The advertising industry continues to employ television advertising, infomercials, radio advertising and billboard advertising to a significant extent.