Currently the department’s above-the-line advertising campaigns are placed through the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), in compliance with the Cabinet Memorandum No. 1 of 2011 which was adopted on 8 June 2011.
GCIS uses an independent tool to assist in determining the best mediums to procure from for any specific media campaign request. The mediums chosen are based on the Telmar software tools which guide on the best option to propose to a department making the request. This tool is supported by Independent media research analysis based on South African Advertising Research Foundation, TAMS and RAMS complemented by Audit Bureau of circulation data.
From the time the GCIS brought the in-house media buying, it has reaped considerable savings and discounts for Government.
Although the question asks for advertising costs incurred from financial years 2015/16 and from April 2016 to date, advertising is a standard line item in each department’s / entity’s budget, which is approved by Parliament annually.
Government departments and its entities accounts for expenditure by tabling annual reports every year and this document, inclusive of this line item (i.e. advertising) are audited by the Auditor-General, who makes recommendations on any findings. Annual Reports are widely available to the public.
---ooOoo---