Study on the advertising operations of the media industry in Namibia

Abstract

Abstract provided by author:

In the study of the media and advertising industry in Namibia, the researcher looked at their respective histories and how the roles of these different agencies have evolved from just being economic entities, to well established agencies, with the goal in mind to create a Namibian consumer culture, through the upliftment of advertising standards in the country

The intrinsic relationship between advertising and media extends beyond the format and delivery of an individual advert. The Namibian media industry is almost completely reliant on advertising for its existence

Without a media system to convey advertisements, the modern advertising industry would probably never have come into existence

This industry is composed not only of advertising agencies, but includes businesses engaged in all aspects of advertising creation and distribution whom are today playing a far more important role then just to inform consumers on new products, services and news, but they do it in such a way that the ordinary citizen can make an informed choice on how to improve quality of life through choice

This enables institutions to project a visual message of the state of the Namibian society as a whole, and not just on businesses and products alone. As these industries influence our day to day life, the researcher focused the research towards the operations and regulation of these industries in Namibia

The researcher focused on the problem of the advertising regulations in Namibia, and its existence. The objectives that derived from the problem was to establish if Namibia has its own advertising identity, if the Advertising Association of Namibia was effective in its duties and to establish how advertising standards in Namibia compare to advertising standards in South Africa. The method used by the researcher was to interview all the relevant players in the respective fields of advertising and the media in the scope of Windhoek

The key findings were that, there was no advertising regulations in Namibia, and that Namibian advertising compared poorly to that of South Africa. The most interesting finding was to find out that Namibia had no formal advertising regulations, and that all ethical and moral decisions are made on a voluntary basis by the individual agency. The Advertising Association that was established to deal with ethical and moral dilemmas was ineffective, and non operational