Government Budget promotion: €428,000 in marketing contracts

The government spared no expense in promoting Labour’s political agenda last year, with the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) alone spending an astonishing €428,000 of public funds in October 2024 to promote the Budget.

This figure does not account for numerous other marketing efforts undertaken by various ministries, all drawing on taxpayer money to push their agenda — initiatives typically rooted in the annual Budget exercise led by the Finance Ministry.

According to official data published in the Government Gazette, on 24 October—when Finance Minister Clyde Caruana presented the Labour administration’s latest Budget—the OPM, under Prime Minister Robert Abela and Principal Permanent Secretary Tony Sultana, issued a flurry of direct orders to a handful of well-connected firms, many of which are regularly linked to Labour Party electoral campaigns.

These contracts, most of which bypassed public procurement procedures and were awarded without competitive calls, were fully funded from public coffers.

The annual Budget marketing campaign has grown in scale year on year, deploying an arsenal of advertising tools to saturate the public sphere with messaging lauding the government’s performance. This included billboards, wrapped buses, bus shelters, social media, traditional newspapers, digital portals, leaflets, television broadcasts, electronic signage, streamers, and more.

As in previous years, a small group of favoured contractors emerged as primary beneficiaries. These are the same companies that frequently receive direct orders from government departments and have been known to support Labour’s election campaigns.

Ikona Artworks—an agency owned by former ONE TV employees and a regular recipient of Labour contracts—was awarded €75,000 to develop a Budget “brand” and place adverts in newspapers and online portals.

Pure Concepts, another preferred agency, secured €90,000 for social media promotion, while Cowfish Limited, owned by Daniel Abela and Claire Cassar, received €20,000 to disseminate budget information at bus stops—locations predominantly frequented by non-voting third-country nationals and tourists.

Sharp Shoot Media, owned by Justin Farrugia, brother of former government communications chief Kurt Farrugia, was paid €25,000 for video content used in Budget promotions. An additional €23,000 went to Ponder & Pitch, a relatively new entrant in the marketing scene.

Tens of thousands more were funnelled to Tik Services Ltd, owned by Jonathan Haber, as well as to Borg Digital and Border & Co, which were collectively paid nearly €60,000 for outdoor billboard space.

It is widely acknowledged that many of the same contractors who benefit from government spending are also enlisted by Labour during election campaigns—reportedly offering their services “gratis” during the campaign period. Such in-kind contributions are not reflected in the financial declarations that political parties are required to submit to the Electoral Commission.

With the government expected to unveil its final budget in October—before widely anticipated early general elections before the next summer—spending on promotional activities is forecast to rise significantly.