Information for foreign readers

SÍA – Samband Íslenskra Auglýsingastofa – was established in 1978. In 1982 SÍA became a member of NRF (the Nordic Association of Advertising Agencies) and EACA (European Association of Communications Agencies). The first full service agency was founded in 1961. Currently, seven agencies and two media agencies are members of SÍA employing up to 150 people, with turnovers ranging between US$2 million and US$14 million per annum.
The agencies are mostly owned by people working in the business. There is only one multinational agency in Iceland.

The Market

Icelandic advertisers and agencies operate in a very small market. The population of the country is around 288,000 (86,000 homes) and growing. More than half the population lives in the capital, Reykjavík, and surrounding towns. Icelanders enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world. Around 80% of all dwelling units are owner-occupied while one out of every two inhabitants owns a vehicle. Television, telephones and radio receivers can be found in every household with over 85% of this highly literate society connected to the internet. Mobile phone subscription is also one of the world’s highest. Life expectancy for men is around 77 years, for women 81 years.

Media

Advertising is allowed in all media in Iceland, the largest being newspapers, television and radio. The measured advertising market in Iceland in 2004 amounted to around US$ 95 million and can be broken down as follows *:

            Print media 51,3%

            TV 31,4%

            Radio 10,3

            Magazines 4,4%

            Cinema 0,8%

            Outdoor 1,8%

(*Data from 2004)

The following is a brief media overview: Newspapers: Three national dailies (two morning papers and one afternoon paper), one metro daily, distributed to all homes and businesses in the Reykjavik area.

Magazines: Some 15-20 magazines and periodicals can be of real interest to advertisers.

Radio: Two State-owned radio stations reach the entire population. At least 12 privately-owned stations reach appr. 90% of the population.

Television: One State-owned TV channel reaches the whole population. Two privately-owned subscription TV channels, one of which also broadcasts an unscrambled news and current affairs program to 97% of the population for an hour in the evening (19:00-20:00) and a two hour long morning show. The fourth channel, privately owned, relies totally on income from commercials, reaching approx. 80% of the population.

In addition, Iceland Telecom offers a broadband service reaching at present 35.000 homes featuring around 20 foreign and domestic radio and TV channels.

Outdoor: Limited by environmental law outside of urban areas. Regulated and requiring special permission in towns, however, many billboard sites are available.

Transport: Public buses operating in the Greater Reykjavík area carry advertising internally and externally. Cinema: Most cinemas in Iceland accept and run advertising prior to and during the customary intermission of the main feature film.

Internet: Iceland enjoys one of the world’s highest per capita figures for internet use.

Media Research

Audience and readership measurements are carried out regularly in Iceland by IMG Gallup. Participants in this cooperative project are the TV and radio stations, the various national newspapers and magazines, the Association of Advertisers and the Society of Advertising Agencies. For the first half of 2005 IMG Gallup is testing a new technique of measurement, the so-called Portable People Meter.

Laws and Self-Regulation

Law regarding competition deals with fair business practice and covers advertising to a certain extent. One of the conditions for membership of SÍA is that agencies respect the Code of Advertising Practice, based on the ICC Code and the EACA Code of Ethics. Complaints are dealt with by SÍA Ethics Committee and the governmental Office of Fair Trading.

Advertising in general must be factual, informative and truthful but is restricted by law in several product categories, such as:

Wine and alcohol — Total ban

Tobacco products — Total ban

Medicine — Restricted to over-the-counter drugs.