Public funding of €29 million awarded to ORF for promotional purposes
In the year 2024, the Climate Protection Ministry, under the leadership of Leonore Gewessler, emerged as the advertising spending king among public institutions in Austria. The ministry spent a total of 9.1 million euros on advertising, making it the highest spender in the country.
Among the top recipients of this advertising spending were the ORF (Austrian public broadcaster), Google, and the Meta corporation (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp). The ORF received 28.8 million euros in total, making it the largest recipient of advertising revenue in Austria for the year.
Interestingly, 1 million euros of Gewessler's advertising spending went to the ORF, making it the largest ORF advertiser among the ministries in 2024. This strategic choice likely reflects the ORF's status as the most influential and widely viewed media outlet in Austria, providing an effective platform for public campaigns related to climate protection and policy promotion.
The ORF, in addition to receiving 700 million euros from the broadcasting fee from the public purse, also received 28.8 million euros from advertising spending by ministries, states, chambers, and public companies in 2024. This significant portion of their total advertising budget underscores the importance of the ORF as a channel for governmental climate communication campaigns.
Google received 15.8 million euros for advertising by public institutions, while the Meta corporation received a proud 14.2 million euros. A notable portion of Gewessler's advertising spending, amounting to 850,000 euros, was directed towards US corporations like Google and Meta.
The Standard, despite its strong opposition to public advertisements, managed to receive over 370,000 euros from the Green Climate Protection Ministry of Leonore Gewessler. Remarkably, The Standard is even ahead of oe24 and Heute, which both have significantly higher reach, in terms of advertising revenue from the ministry.
It's worth noting that US corporations, which pay hardly any taxes in Austria, received a combined total of 29.7 million euros for advertising by public institutions. This fact raises questions about the distribution of advertising resources and the potential impact on Austria's domestic media landscape.
The combined advertising spending of ministries, states, chambers, and public companies in the ORF in 2024 was more than the three major reach media Krone, oe24, and Heute received together, highlighting the ORF's dominance in the Austrian media market.
In conclusion, the Climate Protection Ministry's higher spending on advertising in the ORF reflects a strategic choice to use the most influential, widely viewed, and trusted media outlet in Austria to communicate climate protection initiatives effectively to the public. This approach allows the ministry to maximize outreach and impact for its information and awareness efforts.
Finance Ministers in Austria's political sphere have been scrutinizing the Climate Protection Ministry's expenditure on advertising, particularly its allocation to the ORF, as it represents a substantial 1 million euros among their advertising revenue in 2024. This finances the promotion of general-news and business-related content that aids in executing public campaigns for climate protection.
The Climate Protection Ministry's advertising strategy shows a preference for media outlets with substantial influence and wide reach, like the ORF, which is crucial for politically-driven informative campaigns to reach a broad audience effectively.
