Government mindful its advertising ‘must not be towards a political end’; spending guided by impartiality: Tan Kiat How

SINGAPORE: The Government is mindful that its advertising “must not be towards a political end” and that spending on advertisements is “guided by impartiality”, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Tan Kiat How said in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 28). 

Campaigns by government agencies aim to inform or educate the public, he added.

“The Government is not unique in spending on advertising to promote awareness to the public. Many companies advertise to ensure that their brands reach their intended audiences,” said Mr Tan.

“However, unlike private companies which can choose their target segments for marketing, the Government has to ensure that our messages reach out to all Singaporeans.”

Mr Tan was responding to questions from MP He Ting Ru (WP-Sengkang), MP Leon Perera (WP-Aljunied) and Nominated MP Janet Ang about the Government’s advertising strategy.

Last year, the Government spent between S$175 million and S$200 million on advertising – about 0.2 per cent of total government expenditure. 

The Government’s advertising spend increased during the pandemic, as it was necessary to keep the public informed about COVID-19 and the Government’s response.

“We expect Government’s spending on advertising to come down after COVID-19,” he added.

Ms He asked what obstacles were there in either tracking the effectiveness of the Government’s advertising campaigns or publishing reports of key performance indicators.

The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) uses established industry metrics including impressions, click-through rate, cost-per-click, and the number of views for digital media advertising, said Mr Tan.

For print, radio and free-to-air television advertising, surveys are conducted to measure metrics like message recall, he explained.

Mr Tan added that respective ministries are better placed to assess their advertising approach based on the outcomes that they seek to achieve.

“Ministries have to rigorously evaluate their advertising budgets and be accountable for their programmes,” said the Senior Minister of State.

He added that advertising is part of a “broader programme” and effort by the ministry and its outcomes should be evaluated against whether those programmes and initiatives have met the needs or desired outcomes.

“That is how we chose to see the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, not just looking at specific advertising programmes,” Mr Tan explained.