Global ad spending rises 4.3% in Q3 2012

The global advertising market saw healthy growth during the third quarter of 2012, according to Nielsen’s quarterly Global AdView Pulse report. Spending was up 4.3 percent over Q3 2011, to $139 billion. This gain outpaced the 2.7% growth seen in the first half of 2012.

An influx in advertising investments drove growth in the Middle East and Africa (up 18.9% YTD), as well as in North America. The North American market showed a 5% increase through September, bolstered by an impressive 10.2% increase during Q3.

In North America, both the automotive and industry and services categories increased by double digits year-over-year, for both the year-to-date and Q3. The industry and services category includes political ads, a big spend area leading up to the U.S. presidential election.

“Growth in global ad spend accelerated in Q3. The Olympics, a major media event in all parts of the world, and the U.S. presidential election helped drive investment up,” said Randall Beard, global head, advertiser solutions for Nielsen.

“We’ll be watching carefully to see if the growth was sustained in Q4 and into 2013, or if there’s a dip in comparison to this year.”

Ad spend also grew in the Asia Pacific region, reporting a 2.7% increase in ad spend for the year-to-date through September and a 3.5% increase for Q3. Ad spend for the region was supported by the recovery of China’s advertising market, which showed positive ad-spending trends in Q3 (up 3.1%) after two consecutive quarters of decline.

Western Europe, which reported a 2.7 percent decrease in year-over-year ad spending during the first half of 2012, saw deeper Q3 cuts in advertising (-4.8%), as advertisers watched their budgets carefully due to ongoing economic instability. This decline contributed to a year-to-date decrease of 3.4 percent in Europe.