The HCM City government needs to have plans to develop outdoor advertising, experts said.

Nguyen Quang Nhut, head of the HCM City Outdoor Advertising Club, said outdoor advertising revenues account for about 20 per cent of the country’s total advertising spending of US$1.5-2 billion a year.

But admittedly they have fallen by 30-40 per cent during the pandemic.

At the 2021 Outdoor Advertising Awards last week, Tran Thi Thanh Mai, general director of Kantar Media Viet Nam, said this year global advertising revenues increased by 16 per cent, and are expected to grow by 25 per cent next year.

The segment has enormous potential for development in Viet Nam, she said.

Tran Thanh Vuong of the City Department of Culture and Sports said for nearly 16 years the city has not had an outdoor advertising plan, and so hoardings and advertising board positions are not well organised.

At the event, many advertising enterprises raised questions about the status of outdoor advertising plans.

It is expected to hold a meeting this week to approve the plans.

"This time the outdoor advertising plan is expected to be approved," Vuong said.

According to the city Department of Culture and Sports received 2,200 outdoor advertising applications in 2021, down 26 per cent from last year.

But the numbers have been increasing since the lifting of COVID restrictions. — VNS