US Adspend In 2004 Up By 6.3%
US advertising expenditure rose by 6.3% during 2004, fuelled by the additional spending from the summer Olympics and Presidential election, according to figures released by advertising intelligence service, Nielsen Monitor-Plus.
Commenting on the results, Jeff King, managing director of Nielsen Monitor-Plus said: “Ad spending was effectively spread evenly across the year, with the strongest quarter being the third, helped by additional spending from the Summer Olympics and Political Advertising. The Summer Olympics, with total spending reaching over $1.8 billion, contributed to much of Network and Cable’s increase. After several years of slow growth, Syndicated TV advertising rose 13.7%.”
He added: “Automotive advertising experienced the largest dollar increase, with the Prescription Drug and Credit Card Services categories following. These three categories contributed to an overall increase of $2 billion compared to the same period last year.”
Nearly every advertiser was reported to have enjoyed growth during 2004, with Procter & Gamble leading the way, spending 9.5% more, bringing its total up to $3,030 million. The next three biggest spenders were automotive companies, with DaimlerChrysler up 34.6% to $1,800 million, General Motors up 19.2% to $2,581 and Ford Motor Co up 18% to $1,549 million.
These figures are in line with the strong performance predicted for the US advertising industry over the coming year. According to forecasts released by TNS Media Intelligence, US adspend is predicted to increase by 5.1% in 2005, to $150.5 billion, with quarter by quarter growth estimated to enjoy a rise of 6.9% for the first half of 2005. The second half of this year is forecast to slow to a 3.5% increase, due to the absence of major events, including the Olympics and Presidential elections (see Online Advertising Spend Leads Growth Projections For 2005).
