A Review of the Structure and Participants in Cameroon's Advertising Market

Abstract

This article reviews the structure of Cameroon's advertising market. After discussing changes in the market since 1985, the authors describe its current structure. A comprehensive approach leads them to consider the market as a system based on interaction between institutions or organizations involved directly or indirectly in the advertising process. The authors conclude that, overall, Cameroon's advertising market is weakly structured and dominated by a small number of large advertisers. They feel that the advertising agency system, especially in terms of the services it offers, is poorly adapted to Cameroon's small and medium-sized advertisers. They therefore propose a system of small and medium-sized agencies that would play a specific role geared to the limited needs of these advertisers.