Over the same period Procter & Gamble spent £176.2m, according to The Nielsen Company. The COI, which serves government departments and public sector bodies, also revealed it has spent £540m on marketing and communications, up 43% on the previous year. Spend on digital marketing also rose 84% to £40m.
Mark Lund, chief executive at the COI said: ‘The need for government to communicate with the public is greater than ever as society faces challenges such as obesity, climate change and the recession. Government campaigns can help save lives and save money. Smoking rates and road deaths are now the lowest on record. The online tax returns campaign generated savings of £547m.
‘Changing behaviour is difficult, but the benefits to the taxpayer and society can repay the investment many times over.'
The COI said the increases in expenditure had 'been driven by departments taking greater advantage of COI's centralised buying position and expertise, and the growing need for government to effectively communicate important information to the public.'
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