Measured Ad Spending Fell 4.1% In '08, 9.2% In 4Q

Ad spending in the major media tracked by advertising monitoring firm TNS Media Intelligence fell 4.1% in 2008 to $141.7 billion. Not surprisingly, the decline accelerated during the fourth quarter, which fell 9.2% from the fourth quarter of 2007, according to TNS MI.

"The ad market at 2008 year end was buffeted by a souring economy, deteriorating consumer confidence and weakening corporate balance sheets," Jon Swallen, senior vice president-research at TNS MI stated, adding that, "Preliminary figures from the first quarter of 2009 indicate little change in the health of the overall ad economy as total spending continues to contract sharply."

Not surprisingly, online ad spending remained the most stable of the measured media tracked by TNS MI, with Internet display advertising expanding 4.6% during 2008. While it grew, TNS MI noted hat it was the "weakest" full-year results for online ad spending, since the dot-com crash of 2002.

The only other media types achieving full-year growth were Syndication TV (+6.5%); Spanish Language Magazines (+4.9%); Cable TV (+2.1%); Free Standing Inserts (+1.8%); and Spanish Language TV (+0.1%).

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Print media felt the harsh effects of accelerating and deep cutbacks across core ad categories. Measured ad spending in the Newspaper sector was 11.8%lower in 2008 as compared to the prior year. Consumer Magazine expenditures declined by 7.5%.

The top ten advertisers of 2008 spent a combined total of $17,306.3 million in measured media, a drop of 2.1% compared to 2007. Among the top 100 marketers, a diversified group representing over 40% of the measured ad economy, 2008 spending fell 3.8% to $61.4 billion.

Procter & Gamble was again the largest advertiser with $3.178 billion in spending, off 7.0% versus a year ago. Verizon Communications held onto the second position with expenditures of $2.393 billion, a gain of 4.3%, and distanced itself from rival AT&T which reduced its outlays by 10.4%, to $1,979.2 million.

General Motors expenditures, despite a fourth quarter retrenchment, were up 11.3% to $2.229 billion for the full year. Toyota Motor was the only other automaker to crack the "Top Ten" rankings. Its spending was $1,021.3 million, a drop of 3.8% from 2007.

The largest increase among the "Top 10" was registered by General Electric, up 17.% to $1.201 billion. The largest decline came from Time Warner, down 20.9% to $1.298 billion. For both companies, the results were primarily shaped by their movie studio divisions.

Percent Change in Measured Ad Spending

MEDIA SECTOR
· Media Type
(Sectors and types listed in rank order of spending)
Full Year
2008 vs 2007
4th Quarter
2008 vs 2007
TELEVISION MEDIA0.1%-5.1%
·    Network TV-0.8%-10.6%
·    Cable TV2.1%-2.3%
·    Spot TV  2-2.8%-3.6%
·    Spanish Language TV0.1%-0.1%
·    Syndication - National6.5%0.0%
MAGAZINE MEDIA 3-7.5%-13.9%
·    Consumer Magazines-7.5%-13.6%
·    B-to-B Magazines-10.5%-18.3%
·    Sunday Magazines-4.8%-12.0%
·    Local Magazines-4.6%-13.0%
·    Spanish Language Magazines4.9%3.4%
NEWSPAPER MEDIA-11.8%-16.5%
·    Local Newspapers-11.8%-16.3%
·    National Newspapers-11.5%-17.9%
·    Spanish Language Newspapers-14.2%-18.3%
INTERNET 44.6%7.0%
RADIO MEDIA-10.3%-14.8%
·    Local Radio 5-11.1%-17.7%
·    National Spot Radio-11.2%-11.6%
·    Network Radio-2.7%-3.2%
OUTDOOR-1.7%-11.2%
FSIs 61.8%5.0%
TOTAL-4.1%-9.2%

Source: TNS Media Intelligence
1. Figures are based on the TNS Media Intelligence Stradegy™ multimedia ad expenditure database across all TNS MI measured media, including: Network TV; Spot TV (101 DMAs); Cable TV (52 networks); Syndication TV; Hispanic Network TV (4 networks); Consumer Magazines (241 publications);,Sunday Magazines (8 publications); Local Magazines (18 publications); Hispanic Magazines (24 publications); Business-to-Business Magazines (264 publications); Local Newspapers (144 publications); National Newspapers (3 publications); Hispanic Newspapers (49 publications); Network Radio (5 networks); Spot Radio; Local Radio (32 markets); Internet; and Outdoor. Figures do not include public service announcement (PSA) data.
2. Spot TV figures do not include Hispanic Spot TV data.
3. Magazine media includes Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) data.
4. Internet figures are based on display advertising only.
5. Local Radio includes expenditures for 32 markets in the U.S.
6. FSI data represents distribution costs only.

 

 
 
 

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