The top 100 US advertisers increased ad spending only 3.1% in 2006, reaching a total of $104.8 billion – still a record, but most growth came from unmeasured media – according to AdAge’s 52nd annual “100 Leading National Advertisers (LNA)” report. Measured media spending grew a mere 0.6%.
The 100 LNA accounted for 41% of US measured spending, including 67% of network TV and 34% of measured internet advertising.
Measure media – such as TV, print and some internet advertising – accounted for 58.2% of top marketers’ US ad spend, down from 59.6% in 2005, according to AdAge. Unmeasured refers mainly to direct marketing, sales promotion and digital communications (including paid search).
(Many more like this table here.)
Ad Age estimates that No. 1 advertiser Procter & Gamble increased its unmeasured US spending 15%, compared with 3.9% increase for measured media spending, which in Q1 2007 was cut 8.6% according to TNS Media Intelligence.
Similarly, Omnicom Group, the world’s largest agency holding company, generated 57% of its revenue in Q1 from marketing services rather than traditional advertising and media, according to Ad Age’s DataCenter.
In the US, 69 of the 100 LNA increased combined measured/unmeasured ad spending in 2006.
The biggest decrease was by General Motors, which cut spending by $814 million – 19.8% – dropping GM to No. 3 in the LNA ranking.
AT&T was No. 2, with estimated spending up 26%, to $3.3 billion.
Leader P&G increased spending 6.8%, to $4.9 billion – some 46% higher than No. 2 AT&T’s.
Measured spend in the No. 1 category, automotive, fell 5.7%, or $1.2 billion, in 2006. Telecom, the No. 3 category, grew 9.6%, or $959 million.