Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has underlined the growing role of advertising in the country's expanding economy and urged the advertisers to be more creative in promoting Pakistan's strengths. Speaking to country's leading advertisers and representatives of advertising agencies at the Prime Minister House on Wednesday, he said the advertising industry was a booster for economic activities. "What we see in Pakistan today is the increasing role of advertising as the country's economy grows and expands," he said.
Prime Minister was informed that the size of advertising business had grown by nearly 40 percent from Rs 10 billion last year to Rs 15 billion and was expected to touch Rs 20 billion by next year.
Shaukat Aziz said the trends of rising growth in sectors like automobile was helping the advertising business to grow in Pakistan. But at the same time, advertising was instrumental in creating demand and consequently accelerating economic activities.
Advertising was promoting industry and trade and helping in creating more job-opportunities, he said adding many new businesses were thriving on advertising.
Appreciating the growth of advertising business in Pakistan, he urged advertising professionals to be more creative in technique and approach with professionalism and quality as the key factors.
Prime Minister also called for projecting the country's true soft image that had been misperceived saying the advertising had an important role to play in image building. "We need to promote what our strengths are," he said and called for projecting Pakistan as a country where people were warm and friendly and the natural beauty in abundance.
Shaukat Aziz noted that the growing economy had improved the country's stature and investors were now looking at Pakistan as an ideal destination for investment.
Referring to the growing business activities in the country, he said that he recently laid foundation stones of five factories within the radius of five miles in Chakwal district that involved investment of Rs 30 billion. "This is the kind of thing happening in Pakistan," he added.
He said the flow of foreign investors was helping in promoting more soft and true image of the country as those who visited Pakistan realised that the negative image portrayed about the country was contrary to the facts.
The Prime Minister also asked the advertisers and the advertising agencies to focus on event-management that had been growing as a new trend in the world of advertising.