Construction World February 2019

In these tough times Construction World offers the construction industry a vehicle to reach potential customers via various platforms – with pricing ranges to ensure continuity in your company’s marketing message.

COMMENT The cidb Business Conditions Survey for the fourth quarter of 2018 was released in the middle of December and paints a concerning picture for civil contractors and general builders. In fact, never before has the sentiment in the construction industry reached such lows.

lion’s share of their revenue abroad. Politics plays a bigger role than ever before. Across the board – from consulting engineers to architects to building and civil contractors (not to mention the specialist services or suppliers) – the industry is in survival mode. But going off radar in times like these is not wise. The construction industry is cyclical – it may be bad now, but it will improve. It is critical to also advertise in the current economic climate to maintain a long- term positive perception of your brand (be it service or product). Only by advertising do you ensure that your brand is perceived as reliable even in difficult times and this could influence how you are supported when the tide turns. Our readers are your buyers Construction World , in the 37 years that it has been published, has seen the industry that it serves peak and dip. It has always aimed to be a vehicle the construction industry can use to fulfil individual marketing needs. To this end, the brand has adapted: whereas it was purely print based at the outset, it has diversified into online publishing, maintaining its focus on print as, by their

Although there were pockets of improvement in certain grades (notably 5, 6, 7 and 8), the sentiment for building contractors in Grades 3 and 4 fell to a historic low of 26. If you keep in mind that 50 is the divide between positive and negative terrain, one realises just how negative these grades are at the moment. In the Western Cape, which has seen some buoyancy and previously outperformed its provincial counterparts, building confidence dropped by a cumulative 30 index points for the past two quarters and is now at 26. Civil engineering contractor confidence did increase to 35 in the last quarter of 2018 – from an all-time low of 27 in the previous quarter. Although there were minor improvements in some underlying indicators, the indicator measuring construction activity reached its worst level on record. Marketing in tough times The South African construction industry is taking severe strain and the industry is at the mercy of many factors. The landscape of today is very different from the landscape of five or 10 years ago: The Big Five, to a large extent, are no more … or they are making the

very nature, trade publications favour print. In a time of declining print circulations, Construction World has grown its audited number of copies by upwards of 1 000 per month – albeit by means of PDF replicas (which is as tightly controlled as the print circulation). Entrust us with your marketing message. We reach the very people that you want to reach.

Wilhelm du Plessis Editor

REACH YOUR BUYERS (ESPECIALLY IN TOUGH TIMES)

• We have been tuned into our readers for 37 years • The print issue has an audited circulation of 6 092

• We have 11 000 unique web browsers • Every week our newsletter is emailed to 10 500 readers • The print issue is available online – no login required

@ConstWorldSA

www.facebook.com/construction-worldmagazinesa

EDITOR & DEPUTY PUBLISHER Wilhelm du Plessis constr@crown.co.za ADVERTISING MANAGER Erna Oosthuizen ernao@crown.co.za LAYOUT & GRAPHIC ARTIST Katlego Montsho CIRCULATION Karen Smith

PUBLISHER Karen Grant PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY Crown Publications cc P O Box 140 BEDFORDVIEW, 2008 Tel: 27 11-622-4770 • Fax: 27 11-615-6108

TOTAL CIRCULATION: (Third Quarter '18) 6 092

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. PRINTED BY Tandym Cape

Publisherof theYear2018 (TradePublications)

www.constructionworldmagazine.co.za

2

CONSTRUCTION WORLD FEBRUARY 2019