• by November 29, 2004

Ad spending for the first nine months of this year increased 10.3 percent to $102.4 billion compared to the same time period in 2003, according to data released today by TNS Media Intelligence/CMR. TNS reports that online ad spending posted a 25.8 percent increase to $5.5 billion.

TNS reports that local newspapers led in total dollar spending for the nine-month period with $17.7 billion in spending, up 6.6 percent over the same period in 2003. Spending in the automotive, home furnishings/appliances, and clothing/department stores categories helped drive advertising growth in the local newspaper segment, according to TNS. Spending on Olympic and political advertising for the first nine months of the year contributed $2.3 billion to the overall ad spending figure.

Network TV logged the second highest influx of dollars with $16.4 billion, up 14 percent due, in part, to Olympic ad spending in the third quarter. Nearly half of the media monitored by TNS saw double digit year-over-year percentage growth, among them: outdoor, national syndication, cable TV, and consumer magazines.

The top 10 advertisers for the first nine months of 2004 spent $12.6 billion, a 6.8 percent increase from the same time period in 2003, according to TNS.

Procter & Gamble led in spending with a total of $2.1 billion, an increase of 6.7 percent. TNS notes that while P&G employed all major media, it spent the majority of its budget on network TV, cable, and consumer magazines. General Motors' ad spending hit $1.9 billion and Time Warner's totaled $1.3 billion for the nine-month period.

Verizon Communications and General Motors both posted double digit year-over-year gains at 21.8 percent and 14.6 percent respectively. TNS reports that Verizon's promotion of wireless and Internet services helped fuel ad spending growth.