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Nielsen on Easter Eggs, Chocolate - and Ad Spend, Blog Buzz

Despite higher egg prices, more than $95 million in egg sales are expected during the week leading up to Easter, as are 17 million egg coloring/dye kit sales and $318 million in chocolate candy sales, according to* Nielsen.
“Egg prices are projected to increase for the third consecutive year as retailers and consumers continue to struggle with higher commodity and energy costs,” said Todd Hale, SVP of Consumer & Shopper Insights, Nielsen Consumer Panel Services.

Regional Differences

Consumers in cold-weather cities tend to purchase more egg coloring/dye kits during the Easter holiday week than those in other markets, according to findings from Nielsen’s analysis of 52 US markets:

Residents of Cincinnati and Buffalo/Rochester buy 81% and 80% more egg coloring/dye kits, respectively, than those in markets of similar size.

Easter Ad Spend Still Strong

Candy advertising spending has been greater during the Easter season than that of Halloween: $61.6 million was spent Sept./Oct. ‘07, vs. $90.8 million March/April ‘07.

Though down 6% from the same holiday period in 2006 (March 5 - April 16), some $65.6 million was spent by US marketers on candy advertising during the weeks leading up to Lent in 2007:

• Cable television captured the most ad spend - one-third ($22 million) of total.
• National magazines accounted for 26% of candy ad spend - $16.9 million.
• Network television was third, with $11.3 million.

In the Blogosphere

Based on Nielsen’s database of 70 million blogs, the following graph shows the percentage of blogs that mention Easter, Feb. 1 - March 11:

On Feb. 6, the first day of Lent, online conversations about Easter-related topics (traditional foods, decorations, and other items) were up 275% from the previous week.

Easter in Europe

Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and Great Britain combined spent more than 42 million Euros in Easter-related advertising in 2007:

• Italy accounted for 42% of the total; ad spend there was nearly 40% more than in 2006.
• Ad spend in Germany was up 87% from 2006 levels.
• Spending in Spain was five times greater than in 2006.

*This projection is based on data from the week ending April 7, 2007 which showed a total of $94.7 million in fresh egg sales, 17.2 million egg coloring/dye kits, and $318.1 million in total chocolate candy sold in US food, drug, and mass merchandiser stores, including Wal-Mart.