The North African giant will see monumental change to its communications landscape, Alexandre Beaulieu says

Algeria might be the largest country in Africa, but its communications market is relatively tiny, even when compared with its immediate North African neighbours. That is the by-product of the quasi-civil war of the 1990s, but also of a closed economy deriving over 95% of its wealth from hydrocarbons exports. This has led most institutions and companies to consider that the best communication strategy was to keep off the radar screen as much as possible. In French, the country’s main business language, this translates as “Vivons bien, vivons cachés.”

Communicating is generally perceived as more of a liability than an opportunity. This official reticence to communicate is contrasted by the vigour of the print media, probably amongst the freest and feistiest – along with that of Lebanon – of the whole Middle East and North African region. Algerian print dailies are amongst the most-widely circulated and read in the region, and most are very critical of the government and private companies.

Now, after a 12-year hiatus, the Algerian media and communication landscape is set for some significant evolutions that will gradually upend the situation described above and pave the way for the development of a stronger communications industry.

The first such novelty is the recent amendment to the legislation regulating the audio-visual sector. This allows for the creation of thematic private TV stations where previously there existed solely the state-controlled ENTV (derogatorily called “The One & Only”). These new TV stations will bring advertising prices down and allow many more companies to afford TV advertising, still the only way to reach deep into Algerian society. All-news TV stations will upend the way institutions and companies manage their corporate images and align themselves with international standards.

The second main development is the December 2013 launch of 3G mobile services. This will bring mobile internet to a country with a relatively low internet penetration (generally assumed to be around 11-12% of the 38-million strong population), opening up a trove of communication opportunities that are now common sight in more developed countries. This new competition space will help fuel internet penetration in the country.The third is the evolution of consumer behaviour alongside the rise of consumer activism on social media (Algeria counts from 4.5 million Facebook users). Newly created consumer protection associations are discovering the incredible power offered by social media and testing companies’ ability to respond, often with disastrous results for their corporate reputations.

For institutions and companies, these developments will force profound changes to communications habits and structures, evolving from a closed mentality to what is now the international norm: an “always on” news environment. For we communications specialists and agencies, this represents a tremendous opportunity for growth as our services are suddenly in high demand. Communications departments need to be staffed and structured, strategies developed and rolled-out. Governmental institutions will gradually feel the need to upgrade their communications, turning to specialist agencies to help them.

For someone reading this from Europe or the US, this could seem a bit strange; these developments are long past in more developed countries, and even in many emerging markets. But for a formerly closed country like Algeria, this is tremendously new and transformative. Given the strategic role Algeria plays between Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as its “natural” (geographical and financial) leadership on Europe’s southern frontier, the evolution of its communications industry takes on a new meaning. These are exciting times for the whole communications industry in Algeria.

Alexandre Beaulieu is the regional director for North Africa at TBWA.