Over £3.5 Billion Spent On TV Advertising Last Year
More than £3.5 billion was spent on TV advertising during 2002, a decrease of 5.7% on the previous year, when adspend topped £3.7 billion.
FMCG companies spent around £40 million less on TV advertising during 2002 than they did in the previous year. However, they still invested almost double that of entertainment, media and leisure companies, who ploughed almost £450 million into the medium.
Retail brands also spent heavily on TV during 2002, with adspend exceeding £431 million, almost £90 million less than in 2001. Financial companies invested £359 million in the medium, but this was overshadowed by the £657 million that they spend on direct mail.
Automotive and IT/Communications brands were relatively light TV advertisers, spending £299 million and £194 million respectively. However, both invested heavily in press advertising, with automotive companies ploughing £571 million in to the medium and IT/Communications brands spending £379 million.
2002 was a difficult year for TV advertising with the ongoing advertising downturn and the rise of more accountable forms of marketing taking their toll on the UK’s main commercial broadcasters. However, recent forecasts from Initiative Media suggest that the worst could be over, with TV adspend predicted to grow by 3.8% during 2003 (see UK Advertising Forecasts From Initiative Media).