US Adspend Grew 5.1% In H1 2006
US advertising spend rose 5.1% year on year for the first half of 2006, due to gains across media, according to preliminary figures released by Nielsen Monitor-Plus.
However, a number of media did not show much movement throughout the fist six months of the year, including spot radio, local newspaper, B-to-B magazines, national cable TV, FSI coupon, and the smaller spot TV markets.
Nieslen Monitor-Plus said that first half advertising spending for the top 10 companies reached nearly $9.8 billion, up 3% from last year. Two out of the big three auto advertisers (GM and Daimlerchrysler) cut budgets this year (3% and 13% respectively), causing a decrease of $161 million. AT&T showed a growth rate of over 50%, due to re-branding of the company combined with consolidation.
Spending for the 10 largest categories reached $21.9 billion in the first half, 4% greater than the same period last year. Almost all product categories increased spending, except for local automotive dealerships. wireless telephone services and restaurants showed the largest percent gains (both at 14%), and wireless telephone services also had the largest dollar increase at $206 million.
Nielsen’s product placement tracking service reported a drop in the number of occurrences for the first half of 2006, saying that one factor was The Contender leaving network TV. Last year, The Contender was the number 1 primetime programme featuring product placements, with 7,521 occurrences.
The top 10 programmes that featured product placements in the first half of 2006 accounted for 14,643 occurrences in total. The total amount of brand occurrences was 6,451 compared to 11,455 last year.
Jeff King, managing director of Nielsen Monitor-Plus, said: “Ad spending continues to build in strength when compared to last year, although not at the levels projected by many at the beginning of the year. Internet and Spanish-Language TV stand out as major growth media at 49% and 21.8% respectively.
“As anticipated, internet spending continues to show exceptional growth as advertisers look for additional means to reach their target audiences, while the growth in Spanish language TV can largely be attributed to the World Cup.”