Prime-time advertising slots on state broadcaster China Central Television for next year were once again snapped up by liquor brands this week despite new restrictions on alcohol advertising coming into effect next year.
The total value of auctioned and pre-sold advertising on CCTV next year hit a record of 14.26 billion yuan (HK$17.46 billion), up 12.5 per cent. The auction in Beijing on Tuesday itself raised 12.25 billion yuan.
The CCTV advertising auction is seen as a gauge of corporate spending power and analysts view the results as a key indicator of business confidence across the whole economy.
A total of 245 companies from 28 countries and regions joined the 18th auction, with 104 successful bidders, mostly from the mainland.
Liquor companies ranked top, spending 3.35 billion yuan on successful bids, up 37 per cent. Their share of winning bids was up 3 per cent, according to Charm Communications, a leading mainland advertising agency, and they occupied the No1 position for the ninth year in a row.
Maotai's total spending of nearly 498 million yuan ranked top among all companies. Three liquor companies - Maotai, Yanghe and Jiannanchun - won the bid for the 10-second slot before the 7pm newscast for 656 million yuan, The Beijing News reported.
Bank of China paid 76 million yuan, up 51.7 per cent, for standard 10-second advertising slots after the newscast for two months.