• April 3, 2003

Media account turnover totaled $160 million in March, down sharply from $348 million a year ago and $603 million last month, according to the MAP Barometer. Year to date through March, media account turnover in 2003 is $1.262 billion versus $2.658 billion for the same period last year. Seven advertisers reassigned their media accounts in March compared to 12 in February. "March was the slowest month for media account changes in more than a year," said Jim Surmanek, Chief Executive Officer of MediaAnalysisPlus, which publishes the MAP Barometer. "So far, media account turnover is running at a pace that is $1.4 billion less than this time last year. The biggest media assignments recorded in March were each worth a reported $35 million in billings: DHL Worldwide to Mediaedge:cia, and Excedrin to Under the Radar. (BBDO's win of a portion of the $150 million America Online account, and the long-running $125 million California Lottery account review, are not reported in this Barometer issue and will not be until final resolution of these accounts. Founded in 2001, MediaAnalysisPlus specializes in third-party audits of ad schedules for advertisers and invoice verification, in addition to econometrics, media training and agency searches. MAP's parent company is Cable Audit Associates, Denver, the leading auditing firm for the cable television industry.